I had an hour test on one yesterday. The demo unit I rode was really buzzy from 4-5k RPM. My Multistrada has vibration too, but with the XR, it's the frequency of the vibs which are problematic for steady-state cruising. The MTS vibrates the most when you're trying to ride the bike at too low of an RPM (1-2 gears too high). The XR's vibration is in the middle of the rev range where you want to be for cruising in traffic - to avoid the vibration at freeway speeds, I suspect it would be necessary to gear the final drive taller - like +1 front -2 rear. Aside from that, the bike is lovely to ride. The auto-blip downshifts were a nice feature on the twisty roads I rode. The brakes were great - better than my 2013 Ducati, very similar in feel to the S1000RRs I've ridden. I have ridden the 2015 Multi S Touring and the new model is much improved in terms of brakes, as good or better than the BMW in my opinion. The electronic cruise control was a nice feature. It was my first time using one on a bike and I found that it worked well and was easy to operate. Handling - again typical S1000 platform. Lighter steering effort at speed compared to the MTS1200 due to the bike's geometry and lower CoG, slower steering at low speed due to the damper. Suspension was less compliant than the MTS at the softer "road" setting, but the XR pitches less as the result - more sportbike, less ADV. The Ducati feels more balanced front to rear - there's a better sensation of mechanical grip on the MTS, despite that my 2013 has Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2s vs the Rosso 2s on the demo unit I rode. That said, it would still be much easier to ride the BMW "fast" on tight twisty roads because the steering effort is lighter, the auto-blipper, the close-ratio gearbox and the overall stiffer suspension. The question I was left with when I came home from the ride was "should I have waited 3 months bought the XR?". For me, the answer is no, unless I was also getting rid of my sportbike and consolidating to one machine. The XR is a better sportbike than the Ducati, but it's not as comfortable, it's arguably not as good of a touring platform, I doubt it's quite as good 2-up in terms of passenger accommodations and I personally don't think it's as well put together aesthetically.
+bampie1 Ye, saw one in the flesh, nice bike, till my mate showed me that. I had an S1000R, this should be the perfect bike (I have a Multi before that), but the 'vibe' he refers to at 5K RPM is a major problem. The mirrors on the S1000R were barely usable. If its worse here, it rules the bike out for me.
I have test ridden the bike and it is probably the best bike out there at the moment however a few things that will turn me of it are reliability, servicing costs and cost of accessories
+bampie1 I too rode one this weekend. Fantastic bike. Not much I didn't like. Ignoring the astetics, not much wrong. BMW will sell millions of them. Don't like the short gearing for cruising, slight vibration but not as bad as the S1000R. Great seat and riding position.
+Charl Tintinger try googling the issue. It's sorted with heavier bar ends. In addition it is likely that the bike will be much smoother when the motor breaks-in. My 990 adventure R vibed a lot before it reached 2-3k miles. Now it's fine.
+bampie1 The bike is rubbish. Too expensive, too unreliable, too complicated, ugly, vibration etc. What is the pro of this thing? Power? big whup, how much is enough? Why not convert a diesel locomotive to motorcycle use. Thousands of bhp. The machine would be utterly unusable but hey, POWER right! If power is the only metric to the "best bike out there" well the loco-cycle would win hands down. See how easy it is to make silly unsubstantiated claims. I SAY fuel economy is the only important metric in bikes hence the Honda Grom is the best bike out there.
I have now had my XR for a month and totally agree with your review. Also agree the only negative is the humming that comes through the bars at around 5-6K rpm. Any suggestions on what one might do to eliminate or lesser the hum?
Jerry Fuentes Hi Jerry, yes bar-ends are a way to sort out the vibes, also look at some rubber mounting between the bars and the caps. I'll be interested to hear if these options work for you.
Good review mate. I think value for money Kawasaki Versys 1000 is a much better bike. It's just better thought out I recon. I would love to see a comparison
And that is why the 2017 bikes are now coming with anti vibe bars from BMW as an improvement / fix. Point is, the vibe issues vary from bike to bike. Yours might be fine.
When listing prices - like "18 grand", it might be an idea to qualify that statement with the currency you are talking about. Remember that on the internet, you are international and 18 grand in UK money is beyond anything that any normal bike would cost unless you're into Ducati 1299s territory...
The vibration issue is overblown.Heavier bar ends do reduce the vibes. I've done 8hrs straight on motorways and barely noticed any vibes. Apparently on the 2017 model BMW have put in some kind of damping on the bars
artbrana Motor cycle news of the U.K have already tested the 2 together and the Beemer came out on top. The German bike was a bit more sporty, quicker and handled better yet was just as comfy and practical as the Multistrada.
+Boz I suppose qualifying it as "practical as the multistrada" is a fair statement. In the big picture, neither is practical. Both are a tremendous waste of money for an expensive toy. Motorcycles are not practical. They are silly, uncomfortable, inefficient and dangerous. Yes I own one and ride for the pleasure of it. Heroin and crack addicts do their thing for pleasure too, but no one is trying to argue that those vices are practical.
That's quite a lot of money for a toy....plus maintenance gonna be very pricey too. You really have to calculate it into working hours this give you a better perspective...
Thanks for thé reply, I will be doing a test ride next week.
I had an hour test on one yesterday. The demo unit I rode was really buzzy from 4-5k RPM. My Multistrada has vibration too, but with the XR, it's the frequency of the vibs which are problematic for steady-state cruising. The MTS vibrates the most when you're trying to ride the bike at too low of an RPM (1-2 gears too high). The XR's vibration is in the middle of the rev range where you want to be for cruising in traffic - to avoid the vibration at freeway speeds, I suspect it would be necessary to gear the final drive taller - like +1 front -2 rear.
Aside from that, the bike is lovely to ride. The auto-blip downshifts were a nice feature on the twisty roads I rode. The brakes were great - better than my 2013 Ducati, very similar in feel to the S1000RRs I've ridden. I have ridden the 2015 Multi S Touring and the new model is much improved in terms of brakes, as good or better than the BMW in my opinion.
The electronic cruise control was a nice feature. It was my first time using one on a bike and I found that it worked well and was easy to operate.
Handling - again typical S1000 platform. Lighter steering effort at speed compared to the MTS1200 due to the bike's geometry and lower CoG, slower steering at low speed due to the damper. Suspension was less compliant than the MTS at the softer "road" setting, but the XR pitches less as the result - more sportbike, less ADV. The Ducati feels more balanced front to rear - there's a better sensation of mechanical grip on the MTS, despite that my 2013 has Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2s vs the Rosso 2s on the demo unit I rode. That said, it would still be much easier to ride the BMW "fast" on tight twisty roads because the steering effort is lighter, the auto-blipper, the close-ratio gearbox and the overall stiffer suspension.
The question I was left with when I came home from the ride was "should I have waited 3 months bought the XR?". For me, the answer is no, unless I was also getting rid of my sportbike and consolidating to one machine. The XR is a better sportbike than the Ducati, but it's not as comfortable, it's arguably not as good of a touring platform, I doubt it's quite as good 2-up in terms of passenger accommodations and I personally don't think it's as well put together aesthetically.
Brilliant review. We couldn't think of much we didn't like either.
Thanks, I'll give it a try and see if it helps.
I experienced the vibration too, other than that what a great bike! Hope BMW will fix it soon.
+TheOutdoorFun I had an S1000R, the vibration was enough for me to sell up (plus the riding position). If this is worse, its a deal breaker.
What's with the metal scaffolding at the back end for the luggage that is such a poor effort what's wrong with integrated luggage.
+bampie1 Ye, saw one in the flesh, nice bike, till my mate showed me that. I had an S1000R, this should be the perfect bike (I have a Multi before that), but the 'vibe' he refers to at 5K RPM is a major problem. The mirrors on the S1000R were barely usable. If its worse here, it rules the bike out for me.
I have test ridden the bike and it is probably the best bike out there at the moment however a few things that will turn me of it are reliability, servicing costs and cost of accessories
+bampie1 I too rode one this weekend. Fantastic bike. Not much I didn't like. Ignoring the astetics, not much wrong. BMW will sell millions of them. Don't like the short gearing for cruising, slight vibration but not as bad as the S1000R. Great seat and riding position.
+Charl Tintinger try googling the issue. It's sorted with heavier bar ends. In addition it is likely that the bike will be much smoother when the motor breaks-in. My 990 adventure R vibed a lot before it reached 2-3k miles. Now it's fine.
+bampie1
The bike is rubbish. Too expensive, too unreliable, too complicated, ugly, vibration etc. What is the pro of this thing? Power? big whup, how much is enough? Why not convert a diesel locomotive to motorcycle use. Thousands of bhp. The machine would be utterly unusable but hey, POWER right! If power is the only metric to the "best bike out there" well the loco-cycle would win hands down. See how easy it is to make silly unsubstantiated claims. I SAY fuel economy is the only important metric in bikes hence the Honda Grom is the best bike out there.
I have now had my XR for a month and totally agree with your review. Also agree the only negative is the humming that comes through the bars at around 5-6K rpm. Any suggestions on what one might do to eliminate or lesser the hum?
Jerry Fuentes I've heard you can get heavier bar ends to dampen those vibes out. Maybe something to look into?
Jerry Fuentes Hi Jerry, yes bar-ends are a way to sort out the vibes, also look at some rubber mounting between the bars and the caps. I'll be interested to hear if these options work for you.
Good review mate. I think value for money Kawasaki Versys 1000 is a much better bike. It's just better thought out I recon. I would love to see a comparison
I'd buy the standard as it is less complicated and will be less prone to issues.
Prone to issues? What do you base that on?
Kryten L I am a long time BMW owner.
Me too ...and have an XR now ....all been perfectly fine.
Maybe some weighted bar ends might fix the vibrations some
The vibration issue is overblown. The heavier bar ends do reduce the vibes. I've done 8hrs straight on motorways and barely noticed any vibes.
And that is why the 2017 bikes are now coming with anti vibe bars from BMW as an improvement / fix. Point is, the vibe issues vary from bike to bike. Yours might be fine.
When listing prices - like "18 grand", it might be an idea to qualify that statement with the currency you are talking about. Remember that on the internet, you are international and 18 grand in UK money is beyond anything that any normal bike would cost unless you're into Ducati 1299s territory...
+YarekBalear With that accent I'm guessing he is Australian, so AUS $
Hi, what about the vibrations on the handlebars owners are talking about. Did BMW took care of it or still happening.
The vibration issue is overblown.Heavier bar ends do reduce the vibes. I've done 8hrs straight on motorways and barely noticed any vibes. Apparently on the 2017 model BMW have put in some kind of damping on the bars
sir what's your height
what the hight of the anchorman ?
How would you compare this to the multistrada?
artbrana They are very close. We'll be putting the bikes head to head in an upcoming test very soon to give you a definitive answer.
artbrana Motor cycle news of the U.K have already tested the 2 together and the Beemer came out on top. The German bike was a bit more sporty, quicker and handled better yet was just as comfy and practical as the Multistrada.
+Boz
I suppose qualifying it as "practical as the multistrada" is a fair statement. In the big picture, neither is practical. Both are a tremendous waste of money for an expensive toy. Motorcycles are not practical. They are silly, uncomfortable, inefficient and dangerous. Yes I own one and ride for the pleasure of it. Heroin and crack addicts do their thing for pleasure too, but no one is trying to argue that those vices are practical.
Do you still get the vibration on the 16,000 model?
Frank Stocker no the 2017 model no vibes great bike
Music?
Is it suitable for 5.5 height
You may find it a bit tall, but I think there is the option for a low seat to be fitted -- Rennie
Very nice bike...BMW are the best :-)
That's quite a lot of money for a toy....plus maintenance gonna be very pricey too.
You really have to calculate it into working hours this give you a better perspective...
More ridding, less talking
achei uma merda essa roda pequena na dianteira...
+alexandre josé brambilla brambilla É mesmo ??