BMW F900 XR

by Geoff Hill from https://www.mirror.co.uk Same engine, frame and brakes as the F900R, but a very different bike Small changes can make a huge different to a machine and the adventure version of this middleweight Beemer proves it by being much better than the naked roadster version, says Geoff Sometimes small is big. And before you think I’ve come over all Zen and am sitting on the stone floor of a hut halfway up Mount Fuji contemplating my hara and coming up with koan riddles, I mean that even small changes to a motorbike can alter its character completely. This can be a good thing, such as when Triumph moved the bars back on the Rocket III, and the pegs back and down very slightly, to create the Roadster. It was only a matter of an inch or two, but it made for a much sportier ride. It can also be a bad thing, like when Ducati moved the footpegs forward on the Diavel to create the XDiavel, effectively emasculating a brilliantly macho machine. Which leads me, naturally, to the BMW F900 XR. I’d just got off its stablemate the F900 R, which was good but not memorable, and although the XR has the same engine, frame and brakes, it feels like a completely different bike. Whereas the F900 R is a naked roadster, the XR is an adventure tourer and it feels like it from the moment you sit on it, with wider bars, and a more upright and neutral position, which not only means all-day riding comfort, but better visibility all round, including a better view in the mirrors. The TFT screen is the same simple but effective model as on the R. Riding off, it feels right from the start, with perfect low speed balance which on […]