My XR with M package was collected new in the UK on 1st July, the 600 mile running-in service was performed a week later on 8th July, and it was taken abroad on a European road trip on 13th July. Today is 20th July, so with over 2,000 miles now under the wheels, here are my initial thoughts from Krnov in the Czech Republic, including what I think vs an R 1250 RS that myself and regular pillion in my 16 year-old and 6'2" (188cm) son also took on a test ride before making our decision. Did we make the right choice in choosing the XR?
Sporting edge - As the rider, I find the XR to be a sharper weapon than the RS when the going gets twisty and I am in the mood to be 'on it' rather in full touring mode. This applies whether ridden solo, or with pillion and three pieces of luggage giving an all-up weight that I reckon is just over 400Kg. It is absolutely effortless to make accurate and flowing progress, helped by the huge stomp from the powerhouse between my legs. My son agrees from his pillion perspective. Back off to full touring mode and the RS has the edge but I wanted a sports-tourer and have exactly such a machine.
Touring abilities - We each found both the RS and the XR to likely be equally all-day comfortable. We have not ridden an RS all day but have done so my XR with MRA Vario screen and are agreed that it is great. Comfy ergonomics for rider and pillion and great control of wind blast. Even with the lighter forged wheels of the M Package I've found the XR to be stable when wanting to tour gently on a meandering road, but much wish the gearbox had a seventh speed. Spinning at 6,000RPM when making high speed motorway progress is fine and suits the mood, but spinning at 4,200RPM for a legal limit cruise is busier than it needs to be when considering how much torque is on tap from lower RPM than this. I'll see what I find online about alternative changing to a larger primary and smaller secondary sprocket without materially blunting the bike's awesome acceleration capabilities when the time comes for new sprockets and chain.
Engine - We love its characterful nature and muscular music vs finding the flat drone of the boxer to be as audibly stimulating as a wet fart. The RS has more torque, yet we don't find the XR exactly wanting when ridden in lazy mode; turbine smooth and judder-free 6th gear roll-ons from the end of a 50kph limit will still drop most other traffic. In contrast to riding like this, the first time I asked the XR for everything it had was at the very beginning of an autobahn where the first few KM are de-restricted. The sweeping start was taken in 2nd gear, and with just two cars to pick off I then wound the throttle fully open and kept it quickshifter-pinned until I had to lift off knowing of a 130kph limit coming up. The Datatool Stealth S5 tracker app confirms that the bike peaked at 150MPH (242kph on the speedo - so accurate), but the way it got there fully laden two-up and with three pieces of hard luggage was the most impressive aspect. Just relentless in a way that the RS could never deliver either in terms of absolute speed or ability to increasingly fight the force = mass x velocity squared of moving a lot of air our of the way - and it still had 18kph to go before the speed limiter. It would have been there shortly afterwards.
Manouevring on foot - Here the RS has it by a mile. Easy to push round vs the XR which I alway find like a top-heavy tower waiting to fall over. Part of this is that being of average height, my left arm is uncomfortably close to my chest whilst my right arm is at full stretch, so I always have it leaning harder on my body than any other bike I have pushed around. If I stand the bike closer to vertical it gets easier but then I am over-stretched and feel at risk of it falling away from me.
Quickshifter - Mega. How did I manage without one before?
Cruise control - How did I manage without it before?
Endurance chain - This Regina item has impressed me in still needing no adjustment when I checked this morning.
Three-piece BMW hard luggage - Expensive, but I like both the aesthetic design and the elegant simplicity of operation. I'm glad I didn't go aftermarket, even if I do check the top-box locating lugs very carefully before each ride (includes the two moveable lugs that hold it in place) after reading here of other owners who have had theirs fall off. My son likes the padded backrest and says that it gives him confidence when the bike is accelerating hard, simply to feel that he cannot slide back even if in many years of riding pillion, he never has.
Lowered ride height - I would not be able to own an XR without this but it comes with the cost that the centre stand grounds out too easily at about 42 degrees of lean according to the TFT. The bike is so planted on its feet that it's very easy to reach this without going ape - which I don't do. It is also so convenient to have that I don't want to remove it, but when back home I will look at whether I can raise the parked position with thinner rubber bushes, or shamfer the edges with a file and then repaint.
Low seat - I have this optional thin seat fitted and was dreading torture after what I had read online, but had nothing to fear. Towards the end of a tank of fuel (say 160 miles when we start thinking about stopping) it starts to pinch on the inside of my thighs but after the fuel stop I am good to go again. We've done a ten-hour riding day without issue. The difference in comfort between it and the M package seat that the bike was delivered with is small, at least for my 72Kg (11.3 stone) bodyweight. The vinyl low seat looks cheap though compared to the M Package item that the bike came with, so I will have it re-covered to match.
Centre stand - My first bike with one - so the first time I have used one since taking my motorcycle test back in the Nineties. With such a heavy, and top heavy, machine I was paranoid about dropping it but it turned out to be easy-peasy to use; I had nothing to fear. For taking off the stand I put the bike in first gear and turn the rear wheel forwards against engine compression, as well as putting the sidestand down. With the bars turned to the left, the bike then drops against me and cannot roll forwards. I then gently put it on the side stand.
MRA Vario screen - I cannot comment on the OEM sports screen as I asked for it not to be fitted, but I can comment that the MRA Vario is ace - both in lowered and raised positions. The only downsides I have found are that it causes optical distortion that matters when manouevring feet up in a confined space (avoiding a patch of oil, I came close to clipping the kerb entering a Eurotunnel train as I was not exactly where I thought I was), and in the raised position it clips exactly where I want to look when making swift progress off the motorway. With the screen lowered, the latter problem is solved.
Connected Ride cradle - Very convenient and I love the whizzy wheel integration with the Motorrad Connected app that it brings, but one smashed Samsung S10 and iPhone 8+ later, it is getting expensive. Both fell out despite careful adjustment to hold them in place and doing-up the knurled wheel designed to stop adjustment relaxing. The Samsung was destroyed utterly beyond repair having been run over many times by other vehicles before I could retrieve it, and the iPhone is currently being repaired here in Krnov having escaped being run over; new glass back and new metal frame, the screen amazingly being unmarked. Unlike the Samsung on a busy road in England, it fell out in a quiet Czech village at 25MPH (40kph) and was retrieved by my son mere seconds later.
So, to my question; did my son and I make the right choice in choosing the XR?
Absolutely, yes - and my wife agrees too having come for a ride the day before yesterday.
