Unlocked potential

Stock bike’s inner wolf allowed out PHOTOGRAPHY: BMW, MIKE ARMITAGE

by bike-magazine |

Published on17th September 2025 at 11.47am

Naked racer

Find the Street Triple RS or Hornet SP a bit predictable? Build your own naked hot rod instead. Mike Armitage takes a spin on a BMW F900R Cup race bike…

Stock bike’s inner wolf allowed out PHOTOGRAPHY: BMW, MIKE ARMITAGE

It probably comes from the same thing that makes us cheer for the 150/1 outsider in the Grand National. The mindset that wants the crooning old boy to win whatever tedious talent show is on telly this week, or the little fella to win the brawl. Supporting the underdog. Not that you’d necessarily view BMW’s F900R as such, of course. But the road-focused twin-cylinder naked would certainly be on the back foot if thrust up against the freshly sharpened tools on the preceding pages.

Unless it’s in Cup specification. In which case the jazzed-up BMW has the potential to make them feel a tad stodgy.

Running as part of the British Superbike circus, the F900R Cup is a one-make race series with strict rules. Modifications are limited to K-Tech fork internals and rear shock; rear ride height adjuster; steering damper; rearset footpegs, a remote brake adjuster and crash protection; and a barking Arrow race exhaust. All parts come from authorised supplier Fortis Racing. You can also tinker with the rear sprocket size and play with suspension spring rates (within specific boundaries), and there’s an ECU flash – but that’s it. Engine, frame, swingarm, yokes and even spindles must be original BMW parts.

With decent prize money, the F900R Cup attracts young ’uns looking to make a name and more senior pilots keen to prove a point. And today this one is being guided around Mallory Park by my hammy fists.

‘It dances through the Edwina’s chicane and scoffs at the tight hairpin and Bus Stop’

Don’t let the number 1 plate go to your head, Armitage

And it’s chuffin’ brilliant. Taller and far more up on its toes than a standard bike – or any of the hot-stuff nakeds in our group test – the way the F900R tips into and rails through corners is glorious. Gerard’s is a ridiculously long 180° turn that you tip into at three-figure speed and makes my palms sweaty, but the Beemer gives confidence like I’ve never experienced.

After skipping in breezily yet with utter composure, it encourages steadfast lean and ever-increasing corner speed.

No matter how fast I manage to go, the F900R always feels like there’s oodles in reserve. I’ve been tooling around on an S1000R Sport today as well, and the differences in front-end feel, agility and faith at big (ish) lean are amazing.

It’s the same for the rest of the lap. The F900R dances through the Edwina’s chicane, scoffs at the tight hairpin and Bus Stop chicane, and encourages full-throttle flying out of the Devil’s Elbow. Its suspension is luxurious. The 895cc parallel twin’s 104bhp isn’t setting the straights alight, but in Mallory’s tight confines it’s plenty fast enough – especially as the chassis’ grip and handling brilliance allow rapid cornering and hearty twistgrip usage. Delicious deep soundtrack as well.

Twiddling is allowed, but not too much

May sound stupid, given it’s a race bike, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. It’s the most confident I’ve felt on a track in yonks.

Racers get a deal. They can buy one bike for £6995 and the complete race kit is £5995, plus £252 for the ECU flash. That’s £13,242 – plus £960 to have it built. Ignore bits like the radiator guard, fibreglass bodywork and shark fins, and a hot-rod road version could be cheaper. Leaving the exhaust off and going full street-sleeper, the essential parts are the fork internals, rear shock, rearsets and ride height widget, which, when added to the standard bike’s on-the-road starting price of £9090, comes to a whisker over £11,800 (plus fitting or a bit of knuckle skin). In other words, the same as a Street Triple RS or MT-09 SP.

If your summers are spent barrelling around on trackdays or you want the classiest, raciest ‘middleweight’ naked, building your own F900R Cup replica would be a hoot.