With time, everything gets super specialized. That is the nature of things. Fifty years ago, you needed just a high school degree to get a decent job. Today, you need a master’s degree and crippling debt to even be in the tray of consideration. This super specialization has carried over to all fields, including the automotive industry. It isn’t enough to be a touring motorcycle or a sport bike anymore – the products now cater to niches we didn’t know existed.
Want a motorcycle that is actually a scooter, with a large storage space where the fuel tank is? Step this way. Want a three-wheeler that leans just like a motorcycle? We got you. Would you like a bike with eight cylinders, eight speeds in its gearbox, and an eight-speaker audio system? You’re in luck!
Can One Size Fit All?
Nature wants to balance everything, and so it is with motorcycles as well. For every niche product out there, there are other products that are developed to appeal to a wide audience. Yes, we know the saying about being a Jack of all trades. However, with the kind of technology and expertise we have, it really isn’t beyond our capabilities to engineer a genuinely quality product that can do everything well. Most sport bikes are gradually heading in this direction, trading aggression for daily usability. Naked bikes have had sporty versions for a while now. And touring motorcycles are also learning to be good on the commute.
The BMW S 1000 XR Gets Everything Almost Perfect
The crossover segment is relatively new and is replacing the sport tourers in some ways. These are tall motorcycles that look like adventure motorcycles for the most part. However, they combine the long-travel suspension and comfortable rider triangle with 17-inch alloy wheels and sticky tarmac tires. There are quite a few of these running around now, but arguably the best of them is the BMW S 1000 XR. It has a great base price with a power figure that is extremely impressive, and it is equipped with all the electronics and safety features that you’d expect from a premium sport tourer. That is why the BMW S 1000 XR is the motorcycle that gets everything almost perfect.
Value Price Is A Nice Surprise
There are quite a few competitors in this segment, and with this sort of displacement. BMW usually asks for a premium price over the competition, but in the case of the S 1000 XR, it asks for $18,825 as a base price. This is a great price for anything in the segment, let alone a BMW. The manufacturer has done this by giving it an intelligent selection of features that don’t let you feel like you are missing something.
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The Inline-Four Engine Brings Sport Bike Power
The S 1000 XR has an engine similar to the other liter inline four engines that BMW has. It displaces 999 cc, has an extremely short stroke design because it is derived from the S 1000 RR sport bike engine, and offers 170 horsepower at 11,000 RPM. The power figure is significantly lower than that of the sport bike because priority has been given to torque, which peaks at 84 pound-feet at 9,250 RPM.
BMW has also deleted certain features like the titanium valves and the variable valve timing. For all the high-rev peak figures, in the real world, this engine is really quite flexible and capable of being a good tourer engine. A six-speed manual gearbox with an assist and slipper clutch feeds power via a chain to the wheel.
The Aluminum Chassis Is Optimized For Touring
This is ostensibly a sport bike chassis – an aluminum twin spar frame that uses the engine as a stressed member. It even has an aluminum swingarm to keep weight down. So this is very much a road bike, but the rear subframe takes into account its touring credentials. It is a bolt-on subframe, and is a stronger than usual unit, for the rigors of carrying pillion and luggage.
Semi-Active Suspension Is One Of The Highlights
The S 1000 XR has conventional suspension for a BMW – a set of 43 mm inverted forks and a rear single shock with identical travel of 5.9 inches has been fitted. It is fully adjustable at both ends, and dynamic ESA is standard. That means it is a semi-active electronic system. 17-inch alloy rims and tarmac tires are present, as we’ve mentioned before. The brakes have larger-than-usual twin 320 mm discs at the front with the standard radial four piston fixed calipers, while at the rear, a two-piston floating caliper is pressed into duty.
It Is Big On Comfort
The S 1000 XR lets go of some weight saving in the interest of comfort and reliability, at 500 pounds with a full tank of fuel. However, this is very good for the class – and it is quite a large machine, at 84.8 inches long, 33.5 inches wide, and with a seat height of 33.5 inches. The fuel tank holds 5.2 gallons of fuel, which might not be enough for a long distance between stops, simply because the S 1000 XR is so much fun to ride hard!
Base Feature Set Is Good
The S 1000 XR toes a fine line, aiming for a great (low) base price while still offering enough to be considered premium. The 6.5-inch TFT display with its Bluetooth and navigation offers a good start. You also get keyless ignition, adaptive headlamps, the electronic suspension, and a storage compartment under the seat. The by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU also open the door to BMW’s Riding Modes Pro, which allows customization of hill start assist, cornering traction control, cornering ABS, and cornering engine brake control.
But Things Get So Much Better With Options
There are a couple of features in the options list that make so much sense on a sporty premium product like this, like the two-way quickshifter, the Dynamic ESA Pro that adjusts parameters like the damping and preload in real time, and tire pressure monitoring. Some others also appeal, although not as much, like the heated grips, luggage carrier, and the lowered suspension. The rest are mostly features that will make it specialized, like carbon fiber or forged wheels, a titanium end can for the exhaust, the M lap trigger, and more M Division parts than you could possibly want.
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It Has Almost-Perfect Competition
This is a tightly contested segment, with some incredibly strong products in it. Two of the closest competitors sadly have to be discounted, though. The Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak costs simply too much at $33,995 to be a part of this conversation, and the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT ($20,499) doesn’t have a MY26 model yet. Meanwhile, the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST is the right price, $19,999, and it does have some good features, but it is down on power and up on weight compared to the BMW.
This is also the case with the Kawasaki Versys 1100 ($19,499), but it is a conscious choice by Team Green to chase torque instead of horsepower for its sport-touring models. It makes them extremely practical, but also dulls their fun. We’re left with the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX. It is priced similarly, at $18,749, has similar power (150 horsepower) from an identical engine layou,t and an almost-identical displacement. It too has electronic suspension, a two-way quickshifter, a TFT display, and is made from a liter sport bike. But it doesn’t have the performance or the premium badge of the S 1000 XR, and so it lags behind just a little overall.
Source: BMW USA