ITS HERE S1000XR

[DING-DONG]

I noticed the vibes straight away, tecman also, it's only when into 3 figures(down my drive) it felt vibe free. My Fazer used to suffer with vibes and I tried everything /barsnake/lead filled bars I'd get rid of the vibes for it to move elsewhere, to the foot pegs

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

exactly what I said IN 2013 ..I will NEVER buy a new BMW model until its at least 12 months old and has been thoroughly tested by the UK riders ..alot of people are saying the same thing and the fault for this lies with BMW themselves

Sadly by the sounds of things the 2nd year gsw wasn't that great either!

Have a test on the xr booked for through the week. It is the last on my list to try.

 

[tecman]

I noticed the vibes straight away, tecman also, it's only when into 3 figures(down my drive) it felt vibe free. My Fazer used to suffer with vibes and I tried everything /barsnake/lead filled bars I'd get rid of the vibes for it to move elsewhere, to the foot pegs

vibes I was getting were rev related, so as long you avoided prolonged stay at 5k-ish I was vibes free, or at least they were not making my right hand fingers numb.

 

[Nutty]

So the heat output is normal then !

Really strange because the grips on the 2015 RS were that hot on pos 2 I had to turn them off .

Yep. Quite a few complaints on the S1000R forum.

 

[Bengaz]

The hand guards should have made a load of difference too with the heat. The R's are barely warm, just good enough for a mild spring day.

 

[patzx12]

Tried one today, Went to Chester BMW (a great place to buy a HD) they wouldnt let me take the bike out because i had an Irish licence !!
Went to Southport, no such problem.
Review.
A well built bike and i was getting into it near the end of the ride.
Tall, the seat locks you into one position, i was leaning my weight onto the bars, a tight knee bend and i am 5-7.
Its a sportbike, feck all up to 6000 and then manic over 7000 up to the restricted 9000 running in redline.
4 cylinder vibes and plenty of un-pleasing intake howl.
Co pilot was happy enough. handled nice.
A great bike on the right day on the right road like all sportsbikes, but on a cold blustery day on the west coast i was happy to hop back onto my GSA.
I really dont know where you would ride this bike in the buzz zone on the UK's clogged up roads.

 

[Nutty]

Tried one today, Went to Chester BMW (a great place to buy a HD) they wouldnt let me take the bike out because i had an Irish licence !!
Went to Southport, no such problem.
Review.
A well built bike and i was getting into it near the end of the ride.
Tall, the seat locks you into one position, i was leaning my weight onto the bars, a tight knee bend and i am 5-7.
Its a sportbike, feck all up to 6000 and then manic over 7000 up to the restricted 9000 running in redline.
4 cylinder vibes and plenty of un-pleasing intake howl.
Co pilot was happy enough. handled nice.
A great bike on the right day on the right road like all sportsbikes, but on a cold blustery day on the west coast i was happy to hop back onto my GSA.
I really dont know where you would ride this bike in the buzz zone on the UK's clogged up roads.

As great as I'm sure the XR will be, it's certainly no replacement for a GSA.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

As great as I'm sure the XR will be, it's certainly no replacement for a GSA.

It might be for some but it isn't for me either.
I had a test on one and I agree with most of the points people are making. The buzz is actually pretty bad for some reason. Haven't driven an rr or s but I assume the engines are all the same. It isn't that comfortable and I couldn't see me driving all day. I think 3 hours and everything would ache quite a bit. As others have said it is a sport bike on stilts. Handling, power and acceleration is all good though I did expect more grunt low down. It was still a fresh engine so maybe that will get better with miles. Not too keen on the instruments either. It's a minor point but they just look dated for some reason. Too much analogue not enough digital.

Not for me and my deposit will safely remain on another bike.

Oh and the heated grips were shit. They were working but other than a chilly summer morning I can't see them being any good.

 

[Blackal]

As great as I'm sure the XR will be, it's certainly no replacement for a GSA.

I'm pretty sure that neither BMW or the buying public are under the illusion that it is - so not entirely sure what your point is?

Al

 

[Arsey]

I'm pretty sure that neither BMW or the buying public are under the illusion that it is - so not entirely sure what your point is?

Al

Possibly that as a huge majority of tossers on here have a GSA,then the XR probably won't be the bike for them,even if quite a few still go for a tyre kick.

 

[DING-DONG]

Marki_GSA makes all the points I also noted so we all cannot be wrong !
The RS I took out after the XR run was a much nicer bike and the engine characteristics and heated grips are somewhat better then my 2 previous gs wc bikes !!

 

[Nutty]

I'm pretty sure that neither BMW or the buying public are under the illusion that it is - so not entirely sure what your point is?

Al

My point was that Pat pointed out that he was happy to get back on his GSA. He would be, as that's the more comfortable, better all round bike.

Marki_GSA makes all the points I also noted so we all cannot be wrong !
The RS I took out after the XR run was a much nicer bike and the engine characteristics and heated grips are somewhat better then my 2 previous gs wc bikes !!

Are you still getting the XR then, Dave?

If I were to get one, it would be to have alongside my GSA, not to replace it.

 

[patzx12]

is that the best they can do with a 1000 4 cylinder engine?
Its not a criticism just wondering from a technical aspect.
imo such an engine should be howling away from 2000 rpm all the way up to 150mph.
Maybe the engines DNA is so race focused that it couldn't be adapted to do low speed running.The Kawa Versys 1000 engine goes and feels better.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

If I were to get one, it would be to have alongside my GSA, not to replace it.

Not sure if you would. The direct competitor to this is the multistrada but the ducati is a better bike. If you felt you could trust ducati reliability and you aren't a BMW only person it would be the best choice IMHO.

 

[Nutty]

Not sure if you would. The direct competitor to this is the multistrada but the ducati is a better bike. If you felt you could trust ducati reliability and you aren't a BMW only person it would be the best choice IMHO.

I'm not a BMW only person. I've had Triumphs and Yamahas, but kept coming back to BMW, as they currently make bikes that I prefer.

The Multi is the only other bike that is tempting, looks like a cracking bike, and is on the radar next time I'm looking for a change. Just like BMW though, their first year models also come with their own issues, so I'm keeping an eye on the Ducati forums to see how the bike develops.

 

[Paulvt1]

Interesting observations. I'm looking forward to a go - but after sitting on the one my local dealer has - it did have that "locked in" riding position that the old Multistrada suffered from.
I was quite taken with a demo on the new Kawasaki Versys 1000. Very comfy and nimble too...oh and a lot more cost effective.

 

[Davy F]

I'm not a BMW only person.

The Multi is the only other bike that is tempting, looks like a cracking bike, and is on the radar

The Nutty Multistradaer.........nope, not going to happen.

 

[DING-DONG]

Are you still getting the XR then, Dave?

I've got an extended test ride nxt wk, however from my experience so far if I could find a buyer for my order, I'll throw in £1k off retail for top of range model, I'd jump ship.

 

[tecman]

I've got an extended test ride nxt wk, however from my experience so far if I could find a buyer for my order, I'll throw in £1k off retail for top of range model, I'd jump ship.

Hi Dave

Did you have a chance to ride XR again?

 

[DING-DONG]

Hi Dave

Did you have a chance to ride XR again?

Yes I did, as long you keep it either under 65 or over 100 mph then you will at least be able to feel your hands/fingers !

Strange how not having wisdom tooth ache and a wearing a different lid makes all the difference once you dial yourself in and change your mindset from twin to inl4 you forget the niggles and realise its not a bad bike at all, quickshifter is much better then the gs it allows downshifts whilst on the throttle and the noise it makes is like a Ferrari on full chat vibes are still there 65+ tingling is prominent and you can't see what's in the mirrors at this stage !

One thing I noticed is the XR had done 1250 miles and is weathering better then the gs I saw with 1k on the clock, it looked as tho it was corroding standing still wtf.