2013–2014 · Supersport · Buyer's Guide
Track Electronics, Street Ready
The HP4 is the sharpened, low-volume version of the S1000RR platform, and the sharpening landed in the right places. The 999 cc inline-four makes 193 hp and 83 lb-ft with a genuinely fat middle to the rev range, so the drive shows up well before the top end rather than only at it. Wrapped around that sits BMW Dynamic Damping Control, semi-active suspension that reads the surface and your inputs and sets the damping itself. Add launch control, wheelie control, ride modes and a 439 lb wet weight, and you have one of the most completely engineered superbikes of its era.
It rides the way BMW's fast bikes tend to ride: speed arrives organized rather than dramatic, and the bike stays calm while you do the work. That suits a rider who already has the skill to use a 193 hp motorcycle and wants the machine to stop being the limiting factor. The honest caveat is that focus cuts both ways. The riding position is committed, the 32.3 in seat and 4.6 gal tank set the boundaries of a long day, and the equipment list is aimed at going fast, not at making the commute pleasant. Buy it for what it is.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 193 hp (142 kW) |
|---|---|
| Torque | 83 lb-ft (112 Nm) |
| Displacement | 999 cc |
| Engine | Inline-four |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 200/55-17 |
| Seat height | 32.3 in (820 mm) |
| Wet weight | 439 lb (199 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.6 gal (17.5 L) |
| Fuel economy | 36 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Drivetrain
Safety
The named systems that set this bike apart — and what each one does for you.
Suspension
Swing a leg over and the HP4 feels smaller than its numbers. The 32.3 in seat sits you high, but the reach to the bars is long, and at a stoplight you notice how much of you rests on your wrists. Fire it up and you get that hard, metallic inline-four wail as the revs climb, with a fine buzz through the pegs that stays honest and never goes numb. At real road pace the semi-active damping is doing quiet work underneath you, so ripples and expansion joints reach you as information instead of impact. The wide 200/55 rear gives the whole bike a planted, substantial feel once you load it. Everything your hands land on, switchgear, levers, the finish on the controls, has the density of properly made hardware rather than parts chosen to hit a number.
This section isn't my riding notes. It's what has accumulated over years of listening: paddock small talk, garage conversations with owners, club nights, and the messages riders send me directly after a season with the bike. On the HP4 the accounts agree more than they usually do, and they split cleanly into what the bike does and what it costs.
The suspension dominates. Riders describe damping that stays compliant over a beaten road and firms up the instant they push, and they talk about it as something they trust rather than something they configure. The engine draws the same volume of comment: a hard top-end hit with more midrange under it than expected, kept in hand by electronics they rate highly. The riding modes and the fine steps of traction adjustment get named as things they actually use. Braking power and feel earn steady approval. Lighter wheels and trimmed components come up as well, usually in the form of a remark that it drops into a corner more readily than the bike it is based on, and a few admit the titanium exhaust note is part of why they kept it.
Cost is the recurring gripe. It sold at a premium, and owners say it has stayed expensive to keep, naming both servicing and insurance. A smaller group finds the inline-four sterile and buzzy at town speeds, with the character arriving only once the revs climb.
Fuel pump failure (Recall 21V-060)
Affected units may experience fuel pump failure, leading to engine stalling. BMW issued a safety recall for 2011-2014 S1000RR and HP4 models.
False neutrals and quickshifter hesitation
Some owners report intermittent false neutrals when using the quickshifter, accompanied by engine hesitation and difficulty engaging gears manually. The issue typically appears after several thousand miles.
Where this BMW HP4 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the HP4 is actually built for.
This is your bike. Lean clearance, semi-active damping and launch control hand you a platform to work on braking points and apex speed instead of spending the day fighting setup.
Made for Barber Motorsports Park · WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca · Circuit of the Americas
On Angeles Crest the DDC earns its keep, absorbing broken pavement without going soft when the road opens up. You will use maybe half of what it has, and that is fine.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
On the Dragon this is more motorcycle than the road asks for. It turns cleanly and holds a line, but you will spend most of the day in first and second gear.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this BMW HP4. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
