I spent 90 minutes on a demo S1000XR on Saturday while the GSA was in for a service; of all the BMW range its the only one I was thinking could be an alternative to the GSA. However I found, as above, it is in no way a GS with a S1000 motor, which is what I had been led to believe (don't ask), so it came as something of a shock!
Hated it for the first ten minutes. The non-adjustable cable-operated clutch was horrible, mounted on flat bars that were too much of a reach, my heels were tucked up somewhere under my bum, and the wind was pulling me all over the place.
Then I relaxed, started to treat it as more of a sports bike, and played with the quick shifter. Wow, that thing hustles! Pulls from anywhere in the revs, smooth and linear, and the quick shift allows for a rapid turbine smooth increase in silly speeds. Downshifts equally impressive. The sporty position, wide bars and smaller front wheel encourage you to throw it around; genuinely felt you could anything with that bike. Rather than a 4-cylinder GS it felt more like a supermoto/street-fighter cross. Not had so much fun since I don't know when.
Downsides? That clutch is heavier and at the limit of my finger length. I felt the tingling vibes others have commented on, in the bars and foot pegs, but not so bad they would deter me. Oh, and the heated grips seemed particularly ineffectual, and slightly less weather protection than I am used to.
Again, as others have said above, I still consider the GSA my one bike for all jobs, and will more likely preserve my license. It does a different job and if I had the money, I'd have a XR as well in a heart-beat.
