Last week I got to ride the new 2020 S1000XR for the first time...just over 20 or so miles but on broken and twisty pavement enough to try out the bike.
I have to say in the flesh the bike looks really good.Especially the grey one that has the same color as the 1250GSADV.
The LED lights have now also cornering lights as also the bike had the LED fog-lights that also come stock on the ADV.
The TFT dash is also very nice with a build in lean angle sensor and a lot of other information..very easy to read.
Also the tank has a build in compartment like the GSADV for money for tolls,etc very practical.The bag mounts are as clean as the ones on the GS without exposed tubes...very clean.
The biggest difference is the seating position.Still very comfortable but sportier...more forward with a lower/narrower handlebar not unlike the 80's superbikes.You can hang-off and move your butt much easier more on the seat were on the old one you were held like on a tractor seat in the classic Mike Hailwood upright seating position...
So far so good.Starting the bike it still sounds angry but not as rough and gruff as the older especially 2015/16 EU-3 S1000XR."Thanks" to the arseholes in Brussels I would definitely buy a pipe to get more sound and maybe reflash the ECU to get the backfires off throttle.I don't think the new EU-5 engine is slower but it feels more linear and smoother.Gears 4,5,6 are taller bringing the rpms down up to 900 rpm...Maybe some people might like this even better but the old one felt more angry for people who like loud engines that are not too smooth...
I guess it is a testament to BMW that the new engine still makes the same power even with it's throat strangled due to EU-5 arseholes wth ever more stringend laws...So in the engine compartment I would say the old an new are even in performance.Still fun to ride but more mature which might be good or bad thing depending on your perspective.
But where the new bike shines is in handling and seating position.The pegs higher and more forward less upright sitting much sportier as also much easier to hang off without upsetting the bike and very quick steering ! Very good and fun on back roads ! Very comfortable also.Perfect !
Also the suspension itself felt more compliant due to the new motorcycle specific ESA valves.
I would say a very good motorcycle and probably the only superbike that makes sense on the street for but still sporty enough to be fun and capable on the track !
Would I buy one ?
Probably not even if the top-end is really fun but my 1250GS-HP with sports suspension is not that much slower but way torquier and does not need to be shifted as much and in my book I value driveshaft and Telelever higher than 30 more hp on top...
Not that I don't dream of a GS with 160hp/nm 220 Kilo wet and 17 inch wheels... M 1300 GS !
The only thing I would change on the XR is next to the exhaust that is too quiet for my taste is the windshield tht was too loud...LOL
What BMW could do is bore out the engine to 1100 0r 1200 cc to give it more torque and maybe 200 hp...but even with 165-170 hp like now it is fast enough to be fun and due to added rpm and shorter gearing as fast as the 1290 KTM's but much quicker steering/better handling and more comfortable because the tank does not interfere with your legs as also BMW's bags and topcase is better tan the stuff KTM's offers...as also the fact is comes with a practical centerstand !
I have to say in the flesh the bike looks really good.Especially the grey one that has the same color as the 1250GSADV.
The LED lights have now also cornering lights as also the bike had the LED fog-lights that also come stock on the ADV.
The TFT dash is also very nice with a build in lean angle sensor and a lot of other information..very easy to read.
Also the tank has a build in compartment like the GSADV for money for tolls,etc very practical.The bag mounts are as clean as the ones on the GS without exposed tubes...very clean.
The biggest difference is the seating position.Still very comfortable but sportier...more forward with a lower/narrower handlebar not unlike the 80's superbikes.You can hang-off and move your butt much easier more on the seat were on the old one you were held like on a tractor seat in the classic Mike Hailwood upright seating position...
So far so good.Starting the bike it still sounds angry but not as rough and gruff as the older especially 2015/16 EU-3 S1000XR."Thanks" to the arseholes in Brussels I would definitely buy a pipe to get more sound and maybe reflash the ECU to get the backfires off throttle.I don't think the new EU-5 engine is slower but it feels more linear and smoother.Gears 4,5,6 are taller bringing the rpms down up to 900 rpm...Maybe some people might like this even better but the old one felt more angry for people who like loud engines that are not too smooth...
I guess it is a testament to BMW that the new engine still makes the same power even with it's throat strangled due to EU-5 arseholes wth ever more stringend laws...So in the engine compartment I would say the old an new are even in performance.Still fun to ride but more mature which might be good or bad thing depending on your perspective.But where the new bike shines is in handling and seating position.The pegs higher and more forward less upright sitting much sportier as also much easier to hang off without upsetting the bike and very quick steering ! Very good and fun on back roads ! Very comfortable also.Perfect !
Also the suspension itself felt more compliant due to the new motorcycle specific ESA valves.
I would say a very good motorcycle and probably the only superbike that makes sense on the street for but still sporty enough to be fun and capable on the track !
Would I buy one ?
Probably not even if the top-end is really fun but my 1250GS-HP with sports suspension is not that much slower but way torquier and does not need to be shifted as much and in my book I value driveshaft and Telelever higher than 30 more hp on top...
Not that I don't dream of a GS with 160hp/nm 220 Kilo wet and 17 inch wheels...
M 1300 GS !The only thing I would change on the XR is next to the exhaust that is too quiet for my taste is the windshield tht was too loud...LOL
What BMW could do is bore out the engine to 1100 0r 1200 cc to give it more torque and maybe 200 hp...but even with 165-170 hp like now it is fast enough to be fun and due to added rpm and shorter gearing as fast as the 1290 KTM's but much quicker steering/better handling and more comfortable because the tank does not interfere with your legs as also BMW's bags and topcase is better tan the stuff KTM's offers...as also the fact is comes with a practical centerstand !
Truckers are more busy than ever as gun and coffee shops or liquor stores.Only the toilet paper isles in the local Supermarkets look as empty as in the days of the Soviet Union...Americans obviously don't have showers or bidets or are full of sh't or both...
