Basic ergonomics:  I was considering the KTM Superduke 1290 and this bike (I had deposits down on both of them.  I was first on both dealerships' lists), but the info on cycle-ergo.com had me a bit concerned about the KTM, and thinking more positively about the BMW.  My old K1200R fit me so well it was as if they'd used my body to design the ergs of the bike, and according to Cycle-ergo.com the new S1000R fit almost exactly the same.  The KTM, though, had a far more upright position, which worried me.
When I actually did test ride the KTM, it turns out I was right to be concerned.  The bike has an adjustable bar clamp (which is cool) but even with it all the way forward and perhaps swapping out for a straighter bar I'd still be too upright.  The S1000R, though, fit me like a glove.  I can find no fault with the ergs of the bike, but I'm sure the pegs will be too high for many.  In fact, I suspect that more people would find the Superduke comfy than the S1000R, with its lower pegs and more upright bars- but not me.
The saddle is fine, but I'm not particularly particular about those things.  I've raced bicycles for most of my life, and compared to those saddles any motorcycle seat is a barcalounger.

Controls:  The heated grips are BMW style, with high/low/off settings.  Because the bars are completely exposed in the breeze, the grips aren't as effective as they might be on other bikes, even though they do get plenty hot.  Some on the S1000R board have fit GS-style handguards, which would help keep the mitts warm.  I might do that at some point in the future for cold-weather riding, but hey- I live in Southern California and only get the occasional snowy, icy ride.
The bike has non-BMW traditional turn signals.  In fact, all current BMWs have the Japanese-standard style signal switches now.  The left switch assembly also has the button to turn the ABS and TC off, and another button to change the preload settings for the DDC (Dynamic Damping Control, or electronic suspension) in addition to the typical high beam switch, turn signals, and trip/info switches.  It sounds really busy, but it isn't too bad.  On the top of the switch housing is where the magic happens- the cruise control.  It functions exactly like a car CC, with an on switch and a separate set/resume switch.  It's dead simple to use, and works flawlessly.  The CC has some interesting quirks which I'll detail later.
On the right side you have the heated grip switch, the TC/power map switch and the kill switch/starter button.  The mode switch is difficult to hit with your thumb while maintaining throttle, so I generally reach across with my left hand.  Otherwise it's all easy-peasy.

The shifter is equipped with a quick-shift, which completely rocks.  Once you get used to the things you never want a bike without.  Same for the slipper clutch.  Seriously, I'm not going to buy another bike without them.

The brakes are absolutely freaking awesome.  Hand of God type awesome.  One finger and your eyeballs launch out of your head awesome.  Seriously, they are unbelievable.  I'm used to them now, having had the same brakes on my S1000RR, but whenever I jump on another bike I wonder why it is so much work to slow down.  The ABS is generally unnoticeable, and its thresholds are set by the TC mode you choose.  In "Rain" mode the ABS kicks in a lot earlier, and in "Dynamic Pro" mode the rear has no ABS at all and the front only kicks in very little and very late in the game.  The brakes are sometimes linked.  In "Rain" or "Road" mode the front lever activates the rear as well (to a degree).  In "Dynamic" or "Dynamic Pro" modes the brakes are independent.  At no point does the rear lever activate the front brakes.

The gearbox is smooth and the shifts are clean and sure.  Maybe not quite Honda perfect, but at least as good as, say, a GSXR gearbox.  The engine vibes exist, and are more exaggerated than in a Honda or Kawasaki, but again, no rougher than a GSXR.  I had a set of Manic Salamander throttle locks from the S1000RR, and I swapped them onto the new bike even though it has cruise control.  The heavy weight of the things helps quell the vibes a bit I'm sure.

So- enough of all that.  How does it work on the road, you ask?

Really damned well, I have to say.  The bike is exceedingly sure-footed.  The DDC works very well at keeping the bike from ever getting out of shape.  It never feels as if you're in over your head.  It's always stable, and ready to do whatever you want.
In contrast, my old Double R was a pussycat and a perfectly calm, easy to ride bike until you switched into "Race" or "Slick" mode and got the RPMs up.  If you did that it turned into a raging beast that was barely on the edge of control and a serious threat to one's sanity.  The Single R never gets that way.  "Dynamic Pro" mode doesn't have the extremely angry throttle response that "Slick" mode on the Double R has, and the motor of the Single R doesn't spin up anywhere near as quickly, either.  As a result it's a lot harder to ge the bike to go completely mental- which, for most of us, is a Very Good Thing.

Things I really like about the bike:

It fits me very well.  I find it perfectly comfortable for long periods, and thanks to the better view and wider, higher bars the position is fantastic for control on narrow, loose, sketchy back roads in a way the Double R was never going to be.

Cruise control.  It really rocks on long, boring stretches.  It's nice to be able to take your right hand off the bars every so often, and to be able to maintain a constant speed without thinking about it.

The motor.  It's as good a road motor as anything I've ever ridden, and better than most.

The brakes.  They really are all that.

The electronics.  People complain about "electronic nannies" but the reality is that you don't even notice them, and in the meanwhile they let you get on with riding better than you could without them.

The DDC suspension.  It's wonderful to be able to adjust for the conditions as the conditions change.  Soft and supple on a bumpy rippled road, firm and hard for a fast rip through smooth twists... all just a button away.

Odd quirks:

The high beam/low beam shutoff thing, for one.  WTF were they thinking?

The cruise control shuts off when you get airborne.

The TC will stay in whatever mode you left it in when you shut the bike off, unless it was "Dynamic Pro".  If that's what you'd been in when you turned the bike off, when you start up again it defaults to "Dynamic".

Mods I've done to my bike (and plan on doing):

I wired in a PDM-60 'fuse block' (with BMW-K's help).  I'm using it to run all my add-ons, even though the bike has three auxiliary connectors on the wiring harness.  This is mainly to isolate anything I do from the bike's core systems.

I bummed some cheap LED driving lights from BMW-K as well, and some ghetto mounts he fabbed.  Our group of SoCal locals tend to ride at night, rapidly, and under adverse conditions.  I'd like to be able to see when doing so.

I also wired in a Powerlet plug for my heated vest.

I installed a USB socket to charge my phone (which lives in a RAM mount on the bars) while riding.  I use the phone as my all-in-one GPS, music source, info center and sometimes telephone paired with my SENA headset.

I installed a little charging system indicator LED, since I wasn't totally certain the charging system would be able to run headlights, driving lights, grips and vest at the same time.  SO far, so good.  Not an issue.

I swapped some hot-rod halogen bulbs in the headlights.  65 watts, high and low beam.  Down the road I'll probably go with HIDs, but I may test out some LED lights first.

I installed radiator and oil cooler guards, because a lot of my riding is on roads of questionable cleanliness and that are very remote. The last thing I need is a punctured radiator or oil cooler.

I have a race pipe and PC-V to install.  I was waiting until after my Laguna Seca track day to do this.

I also have some sexy lightweight wheels to put on, which I'll probably do at my next tire change.

I'm probably going to give up on using my phone as my GPS, and if I do I'm going with a Garmin Montana, which I'll hardwire in.

When the chain wears out I'll do a 520 conversion.

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Things I really would like to do in the long term:

I would love to fab up a set of mounts so I could run the BMW Sport hard bags:
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I had a set on my K1200R and I loved them. 

Rebuild the stock fork and shock with upgraded parts.  The DDC rocks to no end, but ultimately they are still OEM-level suspension components.  There's a suspension shop in Australia that's got it all figured out, and now they are trying to calculate prices.

Ride the wheels off the bike.  I'm committed to this thing long-term, and I plan on racking up plenty of miles on it.

Ah. I did not recognize the road in the picture which I assume is Cholame. Haven't been on that one but I figured it was one of those less traveled in the Central Valley.

Nice write up.

Ah. I did not recognize the road in the picture which I assume is Cholame. Haven't been on that one but I figured it was one of those less traveled in the Central Valley.

Nice write up.

No, that's not Cholame.  That's Coalinga-Los Gatos Rd.  One of my favorites in the area.

....If I wanted to tuck in, I'd have kept the Double R (which, by the way, is being rebuilt into a Bonneville bike).

Always keep it interesting Miles. 

Sweet!

Great review, Miles.  Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Now that's all kinds of cool.

Quote from: kneescrubber on June 27, 2014, 09:50:59 AM

Quote from: miles on June 26, 2014, 11:41:22 PM

....If I wanted to tuck in, I'd have kept the Double R (which, by the way, is being rebuilt into a Bonneville bike).

Always keep it interesting Miles. 

Here's a pic of my old bike in its new incarnation:
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Do you have a head on shot?

Here's a shot of the Bonneville Salt Flats this weekend:

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Skies and a powerboat tow.

Miles - thanks for the time given to the review 

Your observations closely echo those of the customers we've had trade RR's for R's. The DDC has been the main reason many have traded up from RR's to HP4's too.

High/low beam switch - there is a trick if you haven't figured it out yet. The problem most have with it is getting from high to low without triggering the flash yielding a high/low/high/low result (even without gloves on). To avoid this simply give a quick, firm squeeze bringing the switch immediately and fully back to the flash position (yields no low only result) and then release to let the switch default to the low position sans any unwanted flashing result.

Quote from: GRN on August 24, 2014, 10:15:48 PM

High/low beam switch - there is a trick if you haven't figured it out yet. The problem most have with it is getting from high to low without triggering the flash yielding a high/low/high/low result (even without gloves on). To avoid this simply give a quick, firm squeeze bringing the switch immediately and fully back to the flash position (yields no low only result) and then release to let the switch default to the low position sans any unwanted flashing result.

My problem isn't flashing other road users- it's not having all the light I possibly can when riding empty roads at night.

Sorry, read those as two separate things...

IIRC, it's the same switch used on several other models that close both circuits when switched to high (R's, K's & S-RR), you should be able to reroute the low beam circuit to get the desired effect.

With no CanBus errors?

Same switch, so with schematics from one of the models that closes both on high you should be able to modify to match. Give your service manager a call tomorrow and see what they say, it's probably something they can do pretty efficiently. If you don't like their answer, I'll see what my guys say... seems simple enough, but there could be a variable I'm not accounting for.