Here’s all the reasons that I’d like to own BMW’s meteoric M1000 XR: Comfort, riding position and the sophistication of its 999-cc four-cylinder engine.
Now, here’s all the reasons, I’d pass on owning BMW’s M1000 XR: handling and, considering BMW’s reputation for catering to all the whims of its owners, some odd equipment choices.
Now, wait a minute. The thing you like best about BMW’s monster-motored M1000 XR was its comfort and the thing you disliked was the handling? Seriously? You do know, Dave, that you weren’t riding a GS, right?
Well, take it from me, the last thing I thought would be the XR’s standout feature was its seat. After all, its 999-cc fire-breathing engine boasts 201 horsepower and a 14,600 rpm redline. Yes, a 14,600 redline on what is supposed to be, on face value, an adventure bike. On the other hand, I expected to be fully whelmed by its handling, what with the incredibly light weight — 223 kilograms; three fewer if you opt for the Competition Package’s carbon fibre wheels. So, yes, it’s a little confusing. Confusing enough to warrant an explanation of, if nothing else, what makes the XR so comfortable and how can any BMW with an “M” not be a handling god?
First off, the comfort thing. Riding position, fairing coverage and seat comfort are very much a personal decision. Especially this last. If I have learned nothing else lo these 41 years of testing motorcycles, it’s that one man’s Russell Day Long is another’s torture rack.
But in this case the M1000 XR fit me like my favourite pair of 10-year-old Gap jeans with the faded knees and oh-so-soft denim. Yup, best motorcycle seat of the year. So good I wished my damned V-strom, after its multiple customizations of both foam and form, were so comfortable. Making this all the more confusing is that the S1000 XR — my only previous excursion on BMW’s four-cylinder adventure bike — had one of the worst seats I’d ever been subjected to. Seriously uncomfortable.
Making this all the more confusing was that the R1300 GS’ — you know, BMW’s real adventure tourer — seat was not nearly so accommodating. Ditto the K1600 GT I rode last year. So yes, I am saying that the M1000 XR has the most comfortable seat in BMW Motorrad’s lineup and, considering how important posterior accommodation is to my love of motorcycling, it really is the thing I loved best about the XR. (And for the record, the same seat is now on the S1100 XR as well).
As for my seemingly-silly criticism of the XR’s handling, that’s a very specific — as in specific to me — reproach. When most people are judging handling, they — even if they never ride their bikes this hard — are speaking of its cornering ability at the limit. Handling, in its classic sense, is mostly a question of tire grip and suspension damping. Long ago having made my peace that I am not — nor ever will be — a track demon, what I seek in a sporting motorcycle is linear steering; once bent into a corner, the most important thing a bike can do is maintain that same arc without constant reinforcement from Yours Truly.
The XR, probably as the result of its superbike-sized tires (120/70-17 in front and a whopping 200/55-17 in the rear) combined with its tall stance, needs some counter-steering to keep it heeled over. Said coaxing isn’t particularly troubling and the sensation of wanting to stand up fairly disappears at speeds over 70 km/h, but the R1300 GS I rode immediately after the XR steered better, even if, by the classic definition, it doesn’t handle as well. If you’re used to modern superbikes, you’d hardly notice. If you’re used to a steady diet of skinny-tired sportsters, it does require some course corrections. I, as you can tell, prefer the latter. So, technically speaking, the M1000 XR handles just fine; it just needs some extra effort in the steering department.
On the other hand, that which I probably should have started this review with — the engine — is almost impossible to fault. But again, it wasn’t the expected power that grabbed my attention… at first.
Previous iterations of BMW’s 999-cc four, at least in adventure touring guise, vibrated like buggery. Virtually every point of contact — seat and pegs — was bothersome but none more than the handlebar. I’m not sure what caused it — less than perfectly tuned crankshaft/connecting rod/piston balancing or just maybe some poorly chosen dampers in the hand grips — but an hour hanging onto to the previous S1000’s dirt bike-like handlebar was as potent a numbing agent as novocaine.
Not the XR. Oh, the mirrors still tingled enough to make images to the rear a little blurry. But that was only above 6,500 rpm by which time you were deep into a “stunting” territory. Otherwise, the once-vibey four was a model of decorum. Not a single vibration was felt through the seat, the pegs were similarly calm and the handlebars were, if not crystalline smooth, then at least passably so. Seriously, I can think of any number for inline four touring bikes that transmit more of the secondary imbalance to the rider. Well done, BMW, however you’ve conquered the challenge.
Of course, the power is nothing short of scintillating. But, even so, it is, at least initially, not overwhelming. There’s enough torque down in the mid-range, for instance, to almost convince you that BMW may have softened the cams for adventure use. And indeed, if you short-shift at eight grand, you can — or, at least, I did — convince yourself that you’re capable of handling what the M badge promises.
In point of fact, unless your name is Canadian superbike champions Ben Young or Jordan Szoke — who have, between the two of them, won all but three of the Canadian Superbike Championships since 2006 — you aren’t. Somewhere around 10,000 rpm, the ShiftCam variable valve timing switches into “racetrack use only” mode and, by the time you hit 12,000 — a blink of an eye in the lower four gears — you might be, if you’re older and slower to heal, seriously dissuaded from trying to hit that 14,600 rpm redline. With its high sit-up-and-beg riding position, the front wheel gets light, the adventure style handlebar makes it decidedly harder to hang on (for dear life), and, by the time you hit fourth you’re praying that BMW wasn’t fibbing when it said that those little MotoGP winglets on the fairing really do generate 11.4 kilograms of downforce at 220 kilometres an hour. There are all manner of fast adventure bikes out there, from KTM’s 1290 to Ducati’s Multistrada V4 RS, but the M1000 XR is some “next-level” s#!t.
There’s a whole bunch of other performance stuff to laud. The brakes — always important when your bike boasts 201 horses — are sublime. The front’s Nissin four piston calipers combined with huge 320-millimetre discs brake with authority. The radial master cylinder offers phenomenal leverage and the brake pads bite hard with the very first brush of the lever. We’re talking racetrack worthy braking.
Ditto the suspension. Up front, there’s some Marzocchi 45-millimetre inverted forks and in the back there be a Marzocchi single shock. Both can be calibrated with BMW’s Dynamic Damping Control which has base settings for each of its modes — Road, Race and Dynamic — that then self-adjust according to speed, lean angle and road conditions as determined by the six-axis IMU. The only adjustment you’re allowed to make in these “lesser” modes is traction control.
In Race Pro mode, however, you can set the suspension settings yourself, adjusting compression and rebound damping electronically after which the settings remain fixed and don’t change with speed, lean angle and road conditions. You can also, because BMW’s M Division now assumes you know what you’re doing, adjust throttle response, wheelie control and engine braking. I, being both fearful and smart, just stuck with the pre-set modes.
There are also some nifty little tidbits not strictly performance focussed. There is, for instance, a cool coin cubby conveniently located just ahead of the gas cap. The brake and clutch levers are milled aluminum that fold in the middle meaning that you can drop the XR and still be able to get home with full brake and clutch capabilities. And the 20-litre tank means there’s more than 300 kilometres of range when you’re out on a tour.
Nonetheless, the lack of touring luggage remains the XR’s major fault. Indeed, it was noted in pretty much every other road test I read. The M1000, as it comes from the factory, cannot be equipped with hard cases for long-distance touring. In order to save weight, BMW ditched all the luggage mounting hardware available on the S1000 versions of the XR. So, no hard saddlebags and no topcase. Not only that but the windscreen is sportbike tiny and BMW isn’t offering larger versions. In other words, with its vibe-free engine, comfortable seat and upright seating position, the M1000 XR is ready for the open road; you just can’t take anything — or anyone for that matter — with you.
That didn’t sit well with Robert Houle, an XR owner from Montreal, who saw in the M1000, the possibility of the ultimate two-wheeled Gran Turismo. With tools handy and BMW’s microfiche parts list as his guide, he managed to graft the S1000’s sidecase mounting hardware as well as its rear luggage carrier onto his M1000 (see below). Basically, says Houle, aka motorcycle_sherpa, all the parts needed are interchangeable and available from BMW. The only exception was the little bracket that mounts the rear preload adjuster to the subframe which needed a slight relocation to clear the bags.Then he added a larger, more protective windscreen from WRS and, presto, he has the fastest — not to mention comfortable — touring motorcycle on the planet. Maybe BMW should take heed and make a similar accessory package available from the factory.
What BMW does offer is a Competition package — adding $6,960 to the XR’s base $30,145 base MSRP — which includes various carbon fibre trim bits, some billet footrests and, the star of the show, some carbon fibre wheels. They trim a whopping three kilograms of unspring weight which should make the suspension’s performance more impressive, improve acceleration — especially through the first few gears — and, what I’d be hoping for, reduce gyroscopic precession enough to make the M1000XR more neutral steering.
Actually, I kinda hope it doesn’t. I really can’t afford a $40,000 motorcycle right now!
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