F900 R

by Geoff Hill from https://www.mirror.co.uk Starring in his own remake of Freezy Rider, our man Hill tackles the elements to see if the Beemer has what it takes in the tough middleweight sector and finds it’s close, but not quite a cigar It was freezing, raining and blowing a gale – and I was on a bike with zero miles and new tyres. Perfect conditions, then, for pushing the limits of the Bavarian firm’s naked roadster whose mission, should it choose to accept it, was to give a good spanking to Triumph’s new Tiger 900 and the established and very popular Yamaha MT-09. “Mmmm. I’d start in Rain mode if I was you,” said Ian at the dealership, slapping me cheerily on the back and going back to his nice warm office, the swine. Oh well, I was obviously being punished after getting home from back to back launches in southern Spain and Morocco, and at least first impressions of the Beemer were good – compact but comfortable riding position, tilting you forward in a mildly sporty fashion on to the bars to give you a view of decent mirrors and a fairly simple but informative TFT screen. A quick toggle of the Mode button through Road, Dynamic and Dynamic Pro into Rain, another toggle of the Electronic Suspension Adjustment to solo rider with luggage to take account of the fact that I’m heavier than the average ride, three presses of the heated grips button to get them up to the maximum setting – and I was off. The fuelling at low revs was slightly snatchy and acceleration in Rain mode was a stately affair, and was never going to set my pants on fire, particularly since they were now soggy anyway. Why BMW designs very expensive suits with the […]