{"id":1495291,"date":"2021-01-02T13:28:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T03:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeme.tv\/?p=1495291"},"modified":"2021-01-02T13:28:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T03:28:06","slug":"2020-bmw-s-1000-xr-carbon-sport-review-meet-mr-ruthless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/2020-bmw-s-1000-xr-carbon-sport-review-meet-mr-ruthless\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 BMW S 1000 XR CARBON SPORT REVIEW \u2013 MEET MR RUTHLESS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Images by NICK \u2018SCHARNHORST\u2019 EDARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

I reckon it’s the best-looking XR ever made.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The efficiency and confidence with which the XR Carbon Sport attends upon the road is astonishing.<\/p>\n

It is ruthlessness incarnate \u2013 magnificent in that pure and special way most motorcycles aspire to, but few attain.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve put too many big words in there, huh?<\/p>\n

Sorry.<\/p>\n

\"\"

There are never cops where there are yellow flowers.<\/p><\/div>\n

Let me simplify it for you: The BMW S 1000 XR rocks. It rocks hard. It rocks mean. It will amaze you.<\/p>\n

It certainly let me explore limits I rarely even nudge, on roads that reveal every single fault your bike and you might have.<\/p>\n

\"\"

I did a few runs with my beloved wife, Lynette. She pointed out places of interest while also liking the pillion perch. So it’s pretty good two up. My missus is a Size 8-10 by the way.<\/p><\/div>\n

I rode the initial model at the Australian press launch a few years back. The XR was an amazing bike even back then, albeit with a few issues. The main one being the annoying buzz through the handlebars right in the rev-range you kinda ride in most of the time.<\/p>\n

That buzz is now gone. Sure, it still buzzes like any in-line four when you fist up the throttle, but that\u2019s its nature and not a fault.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Carbon porn. Seriously.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

It actually doesn\u2019t have any faults. It certainly has a few issues that concerned me personally, but I\u2019m not you, and they might not bother you at all.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll get to them in a sec.<\/p>\n

\"\"

It was a touch frosty that morning.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

A brief examination of the important numbers before we proceed, yes?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 226kg wet \u2013 so 10kg lighter than its predecessors. It has 114Nm of torque and 165 horses \u2013 so the same as before, but with better fuel economy and a smoother and more responsive tune. If you combine this mathematically, you\u2019ll find it more than adequate. Shut up. You\u2019re not Marquez. Your arm works and you\u2019re much slower.<\/p>\n

\"\"

All the Whoa Nelly you’ll need.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Gone are the XR\u2019s dirt pretensions.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, BMW imagined some gimlet-eyed souls would prefer hammering a hard-revving in-line four along rocky mountain trails instead of the far more dirt-orientated GS unit.<\/p>\n

\"\"

This was my mate Nick’s XR. The new one (right) is a touch lower, 10kgs lighter, with narrower handlebars and no silly had-guards. And the headlights are symmetrical.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

And some doubtlessly did. But most did not.<\/p>\n

So a redesign and rethink, and the XR is now all about the road. The handlebars are narrower, the handguards are gone, as is the squint-eyed asymmetric headlight arrangement \u2013 and the whole bike has been groomed and purposed to carve road miles quickly, efficiently and ruthlessly.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Two beautifully ruthless things in one picture. And a pile of rocks in the distance.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s that word again. I keep coming back to it because it perfectly captures what the XR is all about. It\u2019s just so relentlessly and uncompromisingly good at what it does, ie. ruthless.<\/p>\n

My friends, all of whom are much of an age, consider it an older bloke\u2019s sportsbike. And it is certainly that because of its ergos and performance. But it is also more than that.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The daytime running lights were very sexy.<\/p><\/div>\n

It carries none of the bulk the Adventure Tourers haul about like some badge of honour, and it doesn\u2019t make unseemly sporting demands on your body. You basically just sit there in comfort and smash along at obscene speeds hoping the Highway Patrol is elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The XR I spent a few months with was the top-spec unit.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Simple…yet brilliant. And this is just one of many things you can see on the TFT dash…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

…and this is another view.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

As long as it tells you it’s OK, it’s OK.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

And so on and so forth…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

There are two iterations that sit beneath it. The Tour version, and the base XR version. There are no substantive performance differences in any of the three \u2013 it\u2019s just a matter of equipment levels. I\u2019m not going to list the differences here. You want to know, go to the BMW link at the bottom at check them out for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Your problem will never be bad bitumen.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

I ended up putting some 5000km on my XR. Almost all of them were touring miles. Fast ones. Bag strapped to the back with Andy Strapz, and a sheepskin on the first run because I\u2019d somehow ended up with the short person\u2019s seat (you can also get short person\u2019s suspension), and it was like sitting in a big padded coffee cup.<\/p>\n

\"\"

I’m sure BMW will make a black version soon. Please.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Interestingly, when the standard seat was put on after I got back from my run, it didn\u2019t look all that much thicker. I actually curled my lip at it, imagining buttock-angst. There was no such thing. It still cupped your bum, but it proved surprisingly comfortable. But you\u2019re locked into one position on the seat. You can\u2019t shift your bum forward or back. Where you sit is where you stay. I was convinced it would bother me, but it didn\u2019t. And I did 800-plus kay days.<\/p>\n

And not once did I wish for more of anything\u2026well, maybe a louder exhaust.<\/p>\n

\"\"

That quickshifter rules. Up and down. Superb.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The S1000 R engine is an angry-sounding unit. And its anger is somewhat muted with the stock can.<\/p>\n

Still it does get quite of a howl on when you\u2019re engaging meaningfully with the throttle, and its flawless quickshifter only enhances that up-and-down-the gears symphony.<\/p>\n

\"\"

“Where is Nick hiding now?”<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

This is probably where you\u2019d expect me to detail the staggering array of electrics the XR is equipped with. Once again, I direct you to the BMW website where you can do your own research and go \u201cOooh\u201d and \u201cAaah\u201d all you want. There\u2019s too much going on for me to start listing all it is capable of.<\/p>\n

\"\"

If only there was a hand they could fall easily to…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Put succinctly, it is a burger with the lot. The TFT dash is superb in terms of clarity and in what you can ask to be displayed. The entire electrics package is one of the most sophisticated on the market, and it\u2019s pretty easy to move through. BMW keep refining this, and it shows. Each year it gets a touch better. The XR will all talk to your phone, your stereo, your TV, and even that annoying widget that controls the lights in your house (actually, all I know is it will talk to my phone).<\/p>\n

\"\"

The screen is manually adjustable. The bugs, not so much.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

In the end, it must all be about the ride \u2013 and the XR offers a ride that is second to none. The suspension can be set up in all the ways your crazy heart desires \u2013 from racetrack firm to \u201clet\u2019s float, baby\u201d. The brakes are great (you\u2019d expect otherwise?), and one of life\u2019s great visceral joys is throwing the XR up and down the Thunderbolt\u2019s Way, the Oxley, and of course, Mother Putty. It handled the rubbish that is the Gresford-Dungog road with aplomb, and I\u2019m sure it would burble nicely through traffic if that was a thing I did anymore.<\/p>\n

\"\"

More than enough stuff for three days away.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

One of its great strengths is the appalling corner speed it can carry with so little fuss.\u00a0 It\u2019s simply unflappable, even when confronted with road-surface anomalies. If you\u2019ve come fast down Thunderbolts Way on your way into Gloucester, you\u2019ll know the surface there is as vile as anything on earth. Broken, lumpy bitumen that will send most motorcycles skating across the road rather than getting you around the bend. If you\u2019re pushing on and you\u2019re having a bad day there, it\u2019s gonna get worse. The XR just kinda shrugs all that off and goes around the corner \u2013 if your heart is in your mouth, that\u2019s your business. Not its. It\u2019s a combination of the ride position, the power delivery, the electronics, and the overall balance and weight-distribution of the bike. It\u2019s just ruthlessly brilliant.<\/p>\n

\"\"

If you don’t know where this is, I’m not telling you.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

And I will have no sass about it being bland or boring. Twist the throttle harder if all that superb engineering is causing ennui. \u00a0Leave it in Dynamic Mode and see if its bland.<\/p>\n

The level of finish is likewise otherworldly. Mine was pimped with carbon-fibre of such searing perfection I\u2019d find myself touching it from time to time in sheer admiration. The Carbon Sport really is somewhat special \u2013 on top of what is already a special bike. Yeah, I\u2019d actually pay the extra money because I\u2019m worth it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

This is my happy commuting look.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

So, about those issues I mentioned earlier? It\u2019s really just a single issue.<\/p>\n

I would have liked the side-stand to be a touch longer.<\/p>\n

\"\"

I like the way it looks. There’s a flow to its various elements that works.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The XR is not a bike designed for shortish people. You can tell because the seat is sculpted in such a way as to make its overall height less intimidating. Getting on and off it can requires a decent lifting of the hind leg to get over the back of the bike. Nothing too undignified. It\u2019s just noticeable.<\/p>\n

Given that, when you then put a bag on the back, and you decide to pull up on the side of the road and get off, and maybe the surface is uncertain and carries a slight camber, levering the XR off its stand takes some effort when you get back on. If the stand was a little longer, this niggle would disappear. I had a few almost-oops moments on Thunderbolts when I stopped to take pictures and went to get on again.<\/p>\n

\"\"

I’m all about the flowers.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Still, if it was my bike, planning where I stopped would soon become second nature and then this niggle would cease to be an issue.<\/p>\n

The other thing I wished it had was the usual rear rack most Beemers seemed to come with once upon a time. Some still do. You mount a top-box to it. Or, if you\u2019re yet to fall down that tragic rabbit-hole, it was a good place to strap your non-BMW luggage to. Still, there are enough fix points on the XR to make the pillion seat the place for your luggage to live.<\/p>\n

\"\"

And a centrestand as well. What a time to be alive.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

In every other respect, the XR took my breath away. It\u2019s ruthlessly fast, ruthlessly serious in its ability to handle that speed with ease, and thus madly rewarding to ride hard.<\/p>\n

It is certainly a much better bike than its predecessors \u2013 and we all know how good they were.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it’s time to put some ruthless in your life?<\/p>\n

HOW MUCH? The base XR starts at $27,975. The Carbon Sport I was on is in the mid 30s \u2013 and that\u2019s before you decide you want matching luggage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

COLOURS? Red or grey in this iteration.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CRUCIAL TOP-OF-THE-GAME QUESTIONS ANSWERED<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do the controls fall easily to hand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Totally. But there are so many controls you might need very big hands, or perhaps consider dropping the controls from a lesser height.<\/p>\n

Someone wrote the seat is like a lounge. is that true?<\/strong>
\nNo. That’s a lie. Or he’s homeless and has never sat on a lounge.<\/p>\n

But what about the vibration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go back and read the yarn. Or go away. I don’t care which you do.<\/p>\n

That creamy torquey cream-torque, yes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hell, yes. But more beery than creamy because Bavaria.<\/p>\n

ALL THE SPECS AND CONFIGURATIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Images by NICK \u2018SCHARNHORST\u2019 EDARDS The efficiency and confidence with which the XR Carbon Sport attends upon the road is astonishing. It is ruthlessness incarnate \u2013 magnificent in that pure and special way most motorcycles aspire to, but few attain. I\u2019ve put too many big words in there, huh? Sorry. Let me simplify it for [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1495292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[142,106,58,415],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495291"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1495291"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1495319,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495291\/revisions\/1495319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1495292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1495291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1495291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1495291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}