Steve Rapp poses at COTA in 2016 with the BMW S 1000 RR that he raced to second place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca the year before. Steve Scheibe has returned the bike to streetbike form, and it is now for sale. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

By definition, “provenance” is a noun meaning “the place of origin or earliest known history of something.” To collectors of art, ephemera, cars, and yes, motorcycles, “provenance” is a critical factor in setting the intrinsic value of the collectible.

Steve Scheibe, owner of Scheibe Engineering and Scheibe Racing, currently has for sale a 2015 BMW S 1000 RR that not only has provenance but also a legacy. Three of BMW’s current, top-of-the-line, production motorcycles—the S 1000 RR, the R 1250 GS Adventure, and the R 1250 GS—are equipped from the factory with Hayes Performance Systems front brake calipers, and the origin of the calipers on those bikes can be traced directly back to Scheibe’s 2015 BMW S 1000 RR.

Scheibe’s Hayes Brakes-equipped BMW streetbike sits outside his airplane hangar/race shop. Photo courtesy of Steve Scheibe.

Scheibe purchased the brand-new bike at Schlossmann BMW on June 29, 2015. Nearly six years later, it is still a near-pristine streetbike that is virtually in stock form, except that it is equipped with Hayes Brakes. But, beneath its showroom appearance, this fairly unassuming bike has quite a story to tell.

In 2012, through his company called Atom Developments, now known as Scheibe Engineering, Steve Scheibe started working as a consultant with Hayes Performance Systems. Hayes manufactures components for the mountain bike industry, and their brands include Hayes Disc Brakes, Manitou Suspension, SUNringlé Wheels, Wheelsmith Spokes, and ProTaper Products. In addition, Hayes manufactures braking and control systems for powersports, agriculture, the military…and motorcycles.

Trophy bike. How’s that for collectible provenance? Photo courtesy of Steve Scheibe.

Scheibe purchased the 2015 BMW S 1000 RR at his local BMW dealer for the express purpose of engineering, developing, and testing Hayes brake calipers and pads for motorcycles.

And, exactly like he did with the Harley-Davidson VR1000 Superbike that he was in charge of creating and developing for The Motor Company, Scheibe tested his brand-new Hayes brakes-equipped S 1000 RR at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, Illinois, before joining the MotoAmerica Series in 2015. Incidentally, the VR1000 program spearheaded by Scheibe formed the production basis for the Harley-Davidson VRSC V-Rod, which was a flagship motorcycle for H-D throughout its entire model history from 2001 to 2017.

With Steve Rapp aboard Scheibe’s Hayes Brakes-equipped BMW S 1000 RR, Scheibe Racing competed in the final three rounds of the 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship, including round seven at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where Rapp finished as runner-up on the podium in the bike’s very first race. Rapp and the team also raced at selected MotoAmerica rounds in 2016. And then, in 2017, the team competed in the full 2017 Superstock 1000 season with French rider Sylvain Barrier and New Yorker Jason DiSalvo in the saddle of the S 1000 RR.

When Scheibe Racing stepped up to the Superbike class with Danny Eslick as the team’s rider in 2018, Scheibe’s 2015 S 1000 RR became the backup bike to a newer-model S 1000 RR that Scheibe had purchased. The ’15 BMW also had the same role this past season with Jake Gagne as the team’s Superbike rider.

Throughout the majority of the ’15 BMW’s existence, as Scheibe explains, “the stock bodywork and all the streetbike-specific bits and pieces like the lights, mirrors, etc., were tucked safely away in boxes.” The boxes were carefully stored inside Scheibe’s combination airplane hangar/race shop.

And, while all of us have been sheltering-in-place, Steve Scheibe decided to return his first BMW, that 2015 S 1000 RR that he purchased at the local dealership, to full-on streetbike form.

Oh, except for one thing: the bike is equipped with Hayes current-production front-brake calipers. The same brakes that Scheibe engineered and developed as a consultant to Hayes Performance Systems, and that BMW Motorrad specified and now sells as OEM equipment on their current S 1000 RR, R 1250 GS Adventure, and R 1250 GS.

Want to buy a pristine 2015 BMW S 1000 RR with a very special provenance and legacy? Steve Scheibe has one for sale.

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