Start your engines; Lego’s new superbike is a Technic treat!
Lego have been testing the 2-wheeled waters in recent years with more significant sets like the Technic Ducati Panigale 42107 and even the Creator Harley-Davidson 10269 making a bit of a splash. Lego’s new 1:5 scale BMW M 1000 RR is by far its largest motorcycle to date, measuring in at a massive 45cm long and 27cm tall. It’s truly stunning. BMW’s first ‘M’ series motorbike will sit amongst any Technic or vehicle collection with pride. The build earns its black-box 18+ rating by being surprisingly challenging at times, and with 1920 pieces, this superbike is no slouch in the piece count department either. Having arrived on shelves on Jan 1st for $319.99, its performance at a price.
Like any decent Technic set worth its weight in Lego, this one throws you in the deep end right away. From step one you’ll be wrestling with the nitty-gritty of this monster’s engine and gearbox. It’s all worth the pain though when its working 4 cylinders and 4 gears (including neutral) emerge from the mass of axles, connectors and pins. Lego forged eight new parts to achieve the set’s level of detail at this mammoth scale. Builders will no doubt enjoy the monstrous new wheels, rims and suspension forks and I can imagine the sleek new windscreen popping up in many a MOC jet or spaceship. Now add 62 terribly tiny links together and the stunning gold drive chain brings the beast to life. It’s these moments of the build that keep me coming back to Technic sets no matter how many injuries my fingers may incur!
As satisfying as it is to build and mess about with the set’s many functions, this is a set mainly for display. Accordingly, we’re provided with two options to keep the Beemer upright. The first is a raised stand with UCS-style plaque and is more than just fancy; it’s cleverly used to aid the build process. I’m more partial to the alternative race stand that is more befitting of a realistic display similar to the one seen in the Ducatti 42107 set. When you do grace the shelf with your new set you have three options of dash display to choose from. These come in the form of interchangeable 2 x 4 tiles with stickers of either digital or analogue style gauges, or a simple BMW “M” series logo. Nice touch.
It’s not all sunshine and revs, the one and only (barely) printed part in the entire set is the windscreen and this piece highlights the model’s lack of any mirrors. Perhaps on the real thing they are removable but this does not seem readily apparent from Lego and BMW’s own marketing material. In any case, the Lego consumer isn’t given the option. The result is a sleeker looking build but this may be a distracting omission for some.
Speaking of the lack of printed parts, the set overcompensates with a whopping 83 stickers all requiring careful application on and across multiple and varied parts. Technic sets like this are not at all strangers to large quantities of stickers but unlike, say, the smaller Ducatti set mentioned earlier, the stickers here are so numerous and account for nearly all of the colour details. For an 18+ set with its accompanying price tag, I did expect more.
In all, if you can stomach the price, forgive a couple missing mirrors and tolerate a bunch of stickers, this motorbike is both a pleasure to build and a showstopper to behold. It’s fair to say this set is more display than play but its many functions will still surely impress your mates – even the ones that can’t tell a plate from a brick!
Words by Lukas Mack
Photos by Lukas Mack
Editors Note
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This set was provided free of charge from The LEGO Group. Opinions expressed in the review are those of the reviewer.
Perth Lego Users Group 