The Fast Bike That Makes Weekend Riding Feel Effortless
Back in the day, if you wanted to ride fast, it meant making some sacrifices, such as comfort. Fast bikes made you get into a fetal position; you had to tuck your chin into the tank, and you couldn’t sit upright at all. This was then coupled with sporty chassis and suspension that transmitted every single bump from the road right to the seat of your pants. Great for judging grip at a racetrack, quite the opposite on a badly maintained public road. Today, things are a bit different. Comfort and performance can co-exist, birthing some fast machines that make weekend rides feel effortless. A certain European machine leads the way in doing that.
Sport-Touring Bikes Blend Performance And Comfort Like Nothing Else
By trying to balance performance and comfort, bikemakers have come up with a really elegant solution to this problem. They didn’t muzzle the performance of a sports bike-derived driveline much, but they put it into a capable chassis designed more for long-distance touring comfort than a track. Throw in long-travel suspension and the ability to carry a pillion and luggage, and what you come up with is a motorcycle that is plenty quick, with all-day comfort — truly the best of both worlds when you’re out on a public road.
This has birthed a section of sport-tourers with superbike-derived powerhouses, mildly detuned for more usable oomph. And it’s gained popularity worldwide, meaning nearly every bikemaker has such a machine in its portfolio. That includes Italians, Germans, British, and Japanese companies. Out of the heated competition, it is BMW that seems to have cracked the recipe the best. Its XR range has sporty intentions with baffling performance, alongside a massive perch and all the creature comforts you’ll ever need.
The BMW S 1000 XR Is Fast, And It Makes Weekend Riding Feel Effortless
The S 1000 XR does exactly what we mentioned above. It is a combination of superbike and tourer in the sense that the driveline is a detuned S 1000 RR engine. It also retains sticky tires and 17-inch alloy wheels, but couples them with long-travel suspension and an upright seating position with a massively comfortable saddle. The result is something that is sports bike quick and touring bike comfortable all at the same time, making it one of the best BMW bikes that make long-distance riding feel easy.
A Startlingly Good Base Price Sweetens The Deal
The S 1000 XR’s base price is $18,825, making it the most powerful touring bike under $20,000. Of course, in true BMW fashion, you can add optional packages to it that drive the price up significantly, but unlike usual BMWs, the base S 1000 XR does not fall short of anything. Even in this form, it’s a perfectly capable motorcycle, and when pitted against other models in its segment, it comes across as great value thanks to a great selection of standard features.
Screaming Four-Cylinder Engine Offers Manic Acceleration On Demand
The S 1000 XR’s engine follows an inline four-cylinder layout, displacing 999 cc with an extremely short stroke design and a high compression ratio of 12.5:1. The result is 170 horsepower at 11,000 RPM and 84 pound-feet at 9,250 RPM. This is run through a six-speed manual transmission with an assist and slipper clutch, and the two-way quickshifter is an optional extra. There are no high-tech additions like titanium valves or variable valve timing, but this is an engine that has good torque spread across the rev range. This makes it a fast motorcycle that makes sense outside the track.
Sporty Chassis Promises Sharp Handling
The chassis looks a lot like a sports bike chassis because it is a cast aluminum twin-spar frame that uses the engine as a stressed member. The double-sided swingarm is made out of aluminum as well. At the front, there are 45 mm inverted forks, and a link-type monoshock is present at the rear. Both ends are fully adjustable with Dynamic ESA, which is BMW code for semi-active electronic suspension. 5.9 inches of travel are available at both ends.
The brakes are again sports bike spec, with dual 320 mm discs at the front paired with radial four-piston fixed calipers, while at the rear, there’s a 265 mm disc with a two-piston floating caliper. 17-inch alloy wheels fitted with tubeless radial tires round out the chassis specs. The result is a sport-tourer that feels fast, forgiving, and surprisingly practical.
A Tall And Wide Machine, As You’d Expect
The S 1000 XR is a tall bike because it is a crossover, and it is a little wide as well because of the inline four-cylinder engine placed transversely. It is 84.8 inches long and 33.5 inches wide, with a seat height of 33.5 inches. This is a full-size motorcycle, so the wheelbase is 60.6 inches. The fuel tank can hold 5.2 gallons of fuel, and the curb weight stands at 500 pounds ready to ride with a full tank. However, the dimensions are such that it can replace everything in your garage.
Optional Packs Elevate The Feature Set
The S 1000 XR is well equipped and gets everything almost perfect, even though the base price is one of the lower ones in the segment. It starts with the 6.5-inch TFT display that has Bluetooth and navigation enabled. Other standard features include a USB charging socket, emergency calling, adaptive headlamps, a storage compartment under the seat, and keyless ignition. A full electronic suite is present thanks to a by-wire throttle and a six-axis IMU. There are all the usual safety features like cornering ABS, traction control, engine brake control, wheelie control, and slide control.
If you want anything beyond this, you will have to go to the options menu. For things like a center stand, a quickshifter, cruise control, and tire pressure monitoring, you will need to add the Premium Package to the S 1000 XR. If you want your S 1000 XR to be sportier, you can add the M Package, which includes a GPS lap trigger, M forged wheels, a lightweight battery, an Akrapovič muffler, an M Endurance chain, a different seat, and a different windshield.
Some Very Good Rivals Are Present In The Segment
When we delve into the competition of the S 1000 XR, we’re going to leave out super-premium options like the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 and the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak because the pricing is in a different dimension. Then, the Kawasaki Versys 1100 has all the features you’d want in a large, comfortable sport tourer that allow it to do 500-mile days without complaints. But Team Green’s focus on delivering torque and smoothness rather than excitement works against it in this context.
That brings us to the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST, a bike that makes cross-country easy. It has the performance and features to claim to be one of the best in the segment, and its newfound focus on tarmac has made it a sharper handler, but its curb weight and the badge on the tank make prospective customers hesitate.
The Suzuki GSX-S1000GX is just as versatile a sport-touring motorcycle as the BMW. It too uses an older sportbike engine and chassis mated to long-travel, electronically controlled suspension and sportbike wheels, tires, and brakes. It isn’t too far behind on performance either, with 152 horsepower, and it weighs a mere 11 pounds more than the BMW. It might not have the prestige of the badge, but this is definitely the only true competition for the S 1000 XR.
Source: BMW USA
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