When it comes to superlatives

BMW has built motorbikes since 1923 – in 2018 over 160,000 were sold worldwide. The company’s sales have been increasing for years. Ten years after the first generation of the “RR model” captivated the motorbike world, in 2018 the world-renowned motorcycle manufacturer took performance to the next level with the “BMW S 1000 RR”. This involved reworking nearly every single component of the “RR” – from front to rear. The result: The superbike of superlatives. Hence the need for the super rubber-metal vibration damper for the handlebars. A challenge had been set for the engineers of Angst+Pfister.

“After the first meeting with BMW’s engineers, we quickly realised that we would not be using the standard bushings from our catalogue,” says Mario Eckel. BMW required an axial rigidity of 350 to 500 N/mm. In addition to demonstrating our engineering skills, we also needed to impress the new customers with a good development pace – and this in the face of ultra-high quality requirements. BMW supplied Angst+Pfister with data and two concept proposals. Following a brainstorming session with BMW, Angst+Pfister’s engineers opted for the concept involving vibration dampers in the handlebars – counterweights would be screw-fixed to the vibration damper. This is beneficial as both the counterweight and the vibration damper can be replaced. In addition, it looks good optically.

BMW then provided Angst+Pfister with detailed specifications. “After the first results were in, we discussed a few design adaptations with BMW so several different bushing rigidities could be used in the first prototypes,” recounts Mario Eckel. Angst+Pfister had already delivered three different samples at the end of 2017 – with several rigidities and rubbers.