Given a choice, we’re sure that everyone would want the ideal number of bikes in their garage, which is ‘one more’. However, life being what it is, not many people can live that dream, and a single-bike garage makes a lot more sense. Of course, everything is going to be a compromise, and that is true of the single-bike garage as well. You will have to figure out under what conditions you will ride the bike the most, and get a motorcycle that suits those requirements the best.
Why Sport-Touring Bikes Are A Logical Choice For A One-Bike Garage
By and large, touring motorcycles, adventure touring motorcycles, and naked bikes are the kinds of motorcycles that have the widest appeal because of how well they can do multiple things. Of late, premium naked motorcycles have become sports bikes without fairings. They are getting more aggressive, chasing higher horsepower, and packing in technology like never before. Adventure touring motorcycles are much of the same. They are getting bigger, heavier, loaded with more electronics, and more powerful with each passing year. Thus, a touring motorcycle is simply better than the other two if you want to ride it daily and go on long rides as well. In this vast space, if you stick to tarmac, then the sport-tourer is the logical choice for maximum ability.
All Your Favorite Brands Have Sport-Tourers On Offer
Due to this balance, the popularity of sport-touring bikes is high, and nearly everyone has a competitor in the space. Europe, in particular, has always had great sport-tourers. One of the most exciting ones is the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT. However, it needs an update to be considered seriously. The Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak is the other big name from Europe. However, it still has a little bit of that high-strung nature that makes Ducatis so exciting, and things like the single-sided swingarm are not going to make it easy when you have to service it.
The Japanese Challengers
Japan has more logical alternatives than the Europeans. The Kawasaki Versys 1100 LT SE is the most logical of the lot. It targets high torque at the cost of horsepower, even though it has a large four-cylinder engine. The Suzuki GSX-S1000GX is a great contrast to it because of the lower displacement and way more horsepower. This renders slightly dull at lower RPMs, but thoroughly exciting when you let the engine have its way.
The American Upstart
America is known for great touring motorcycles, but not for sport-touring ones. However, there is an upstart in the ranks now. The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST has the most technologically advanced engine in its segment. It has a high-performance chain drive system, the only one of its kind on sale today in Harley’s lineup. It has electronic suspension with the works, but it is a little portly and rough around the edges, which is why, in the face of the competition, it sometimes cannot hold its own.
10 Most Powerful Touring Bikes That Don’t Pack A V-Twin
The most powerful motorcycle here is a supercharged sports tourer with over 200 miles of riding range.
The BMW S 1000 XR Is The Bike That Replaces Everything Else In Your Garage
Scour the market for a bike that does everything well on tarmac, and one name keeps popping up consistently: the BMW S 1000 XR. It is based on the subliminal S 1000 RR superbike but detuned for a touring focus. However, it doesn’t seem to have lost much of its edge. It is among the quickest in its segment, it has all the technology you possibly need or want, especially with options fitted, and it has a great base price.
Priced Under $19,000
BMW is a premium brand known for premium pricing, but in the case of the S 1000 XR, it asks for just $18,825 for the base variant. That is great pricing when you consider that it is lower than most of the competition, and it offers one of the highest horsepower figures. Of course, the price does go up with options, and especially BMW’s notorious add-on ‘packs’. But this is still a very complete motorcycle, even as a base variant. So props to BMW for giving it great value.
With Great Power Comes… Many Revs
The S 1000 XR has borrowed its engine from the S 1000 RR, but it does not have the exact same engine. For obvious reasons, it doesn’t need that much power, and a more cost-effective engine would suit its role better. So BMW has deleted the titanium valves and the variable valve timing. The result is 170 horsepower at 11,000 RPM and 84 pound-feet at 9,250 RPM. It redlines at 12,000 RPM, which makes it almost like a sports bike itself. An assist and slipper clutch helps transfer this power to the six-speed manual transmission. A two-way quickshifter is optional, and a chain transmits the power from the gearbox to the wheel.
Sportbike Chassis But Touring Suspension Offers Great Combination Of Ride And Handling
The S 1000 XR follows convention in the chassis department with a cast aluminum twin spar frame with the engine as a stressed member. The swingarm is made out of aluminum as well, and the rear subframe is bolted on. BMW has chosen conventional suspension for the S 1000 XR with 45 mm inverted front forks and a rear link-type monoshock. Both are fully adjustable and have Dynamic ESA for electronic adjustability on the fly. 17-inch alloy wheel rims with radial tubeless tires help put that massive power down effectively. Equally important are the big brakes: the front gets twin 320 mm discs with radial four-piston fixed calipers, and a 265 mm disc with a two-piston floating caliper is present at the rear.
Weighs In At Just 500 Pounds
The S 1000 XR is a full-size motorcycle with a length of 84.8 inches and a width of 33.5 inches. That is appreciably narrow for a transverse inline-four engine, and it will need that because the seat height is a reasonably high 33.5 inches. BMW does not provide ground clearance figures for the S 1000 XR, but the wheelbase is 60.7 inches, which shows how large this motorcycle is. Its fuel tank is also large with a capacity of 5.2 gallons, and if you fill it to the brim, the bike will weigh 500 pounds ready to ride.
Premium Features Come Standard
The base S 1000 XR also gets a very decent feature set. It includes a 6.5-inch TFT display with Bluetooth and navigation, keyless ignition, adaptive headlamps, electronic suspension, and a storage compartment under the seat. However, things get better with the options list. You can add a two-way quickshifter, tire pressure monitoring, heated grips, a luggage carrier, carbon fiber wheels, forged wheels, a titanium muffler, an M Laptrigger, loads of M division parts, and even lowered suspension.
But if you opt for the lower suspension, you cannot equip the S 1000 XR with Dynamic ESA Pro, which is the advanced electronic suspension. It adjusts the damping and preload in real time. You can also add the Riding Modes Pro, which allows you to utilize the by-wire and six-axis IMU to the fullest. With this box ticked, you can customize the hill-start assist, cornering traction control, cornering ABS, and cornering engine-brake control.
Source: BMW USA