How can it possibly get better than this – sportsbikes, I mean? We as riders have been saying this for years now, but somehow, they just do. But maybe we’ve reached the zenith of road-legal superbike glory with BMW’s S 1000 RR, because I just can’t see many places that it can get better. Horsepower? It’s got 210 of those, and that’s sufficient that only the god-like beings that race at the highest levels can harness and utilise such power without the bike’s extensive rider aids to keep the rest of us from spearing ourselves into orbit.

Handling and braking? Well, that is at a level on the S 1000 RR that you and I will never exceed their limits – I just can’t see how things can get better. From the moment you start the thing, you know things are about to get real. It’s revvy and bouncy on start-up while the fuel injection riches things up for the cold start, settling down to an angry and lumpy-cam idle not long after.

The S 1000 RR Race you see here also sports a factory-fitted Akrapovič pipe, which sounds gloriously fruity. Interestingly, if you head off and cruise up the road, you’ll find that the engine is quite a pussycat – soft-spoken and polite of manner. But open the taps and unleash the full noise, and it’s like being smashed in the face with the world – shit blurs and things approach you with a rapidness that requires your full attention, otherwise you will die.

Adding to this shock to the senses, and beautifully in cahoots with the soundtrack from the Akra pipe, is the roar of the S 1000 RR sucking down litres of air into its airbox. There’s not a sense in your body that isn’t in an extreme state of alertness when you twist the throttle to the stop on this thing – if you dare. This level of superbike glory doesn’t come cheap, but its goodies cup does runneth over.

Check this out: Dynamic Brake Control (otherwise known as cornering ABS), Dynamic Traction Control – you get it, don’t you – Ride Height & Swingarm Pivot Adjustability, LED lighting all round, a big bright 6.5" TFT display with connectivity (that you could almost binge a Netflix series on), a deck of riding modes (Rain, Road, Dynamic, Race, Race Pro (1–3)), USB port, drop sensor, launch control, pitlane limiter. Exhausting, isn’t it? Well, that’s just on the standard S 1000 RR. If you opt for the S 1000 RR Race because you are cool and must have trick stuff, then it also gets Tyre Pressure Monitoring, forged wheels, an M Endurance Chain, that sexy-as-hell Akra pipe, electric damping control, heated grips and cruise control. That has taken up half my word count and I haven’t even covered everything, so if you need more techy details, check out the spec sheet.

The S 1000 RR is simply a race bike with lights – no grey areas there – but I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised with its relative comfort. I’m a big lad, 186cm to be exact, and my edges are rounded rather than chiselled, but I wasn’t uncomfortable on it. That’s not to say I’d go touring on it, but I didn’t need a hoist and a contortionist’s diploma to get on and off the sucker. In fact, with the amount of performance at hand, and with it looking all sexy with its winglets and fat rubber, I found myself thinking, hmmm, that would look nice nestled in my shed – something handsome to pull out on the occasional Sunday and I thought I was of an age where I’d stopped lusting after such bike because they are to uncomfortable.

Now, I was going to talk about the S 1000 RR’s 832mm seat height and that it carries 16.5 litres of fuel etc, but who cares? You buy an S 1000 RR for three reasons and only three reasons: first, you want a bike that is absolutely brilliant in every way, secondly, you like things that are insanely fast and lastly, because it looks mean and sexy just sitting there.

There’s no room left for improvement. The engine, the handling, the brakes – they’re all so impossibly good you’ll never test their limits. I don’t think things will ever be better for those looking for an open-class superbike. Sooner or later the safety Nazis will ban bikes like this, so don’t miss out. We have reached the zenith of superbike glory, and there the S 1000 RR sits.