BMW S1000 XR
The BMW S1000 XR is a proven sports tourer with a great reputation for balancing fun and practicality.
But at over 16,000 pounds starting price, you are probably going to want to be pretty sure about it before you buy one.
we’ll go through the 9 key things that you need to know before you buy one.
BMW S1000 XR Engine Performance
Now, almost universally amongst owners, the most commonly mentioned positive thing about this bike has to be the inline four engine, which makes bags of power at 170 horsepower peak.
And it’s nice and revvy too. That means it’s capable of everything from touring to track days, and it absolutely tallies with my experience of riding it out on the road, where it barely ever fails to put a big grin on your face.
Plus, you’ve got some of that sports bike feel with the inline four engine character and sound, and so that helps to make the bike feel exciting to ride, especially when you consider it’s set against this relatively comfortable riding position.
Torque
The only downside, I guess, is that it doesn’t have masses of bottom end and low rev grunt.
And again, that’s mentioned by quite a few owners in their reviews. But for me, that’s just part and parcel of it being an inline four.
It’s not a specific criticism of this bike, just one of the facts of this particular engine configuration.
And with all things in the motorcycle world, there’s always a trade off.
If you’ve got great top end revvy power, it’s probably going to be at the sacrifice of grunt elsewhere.
For me, I still think there’s a reasonable enough mid-range to make it a fairly practical bike to ride in.
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It’s nice and smooth on the throttle in the mid to low revs, but if you’re someone who doesn’t like to hang onto the gears much and likes a bit of a kick down low in the revs, then you’re probably better off with something like a GS.
Overall, though, on balance I’d say the engine remains a strong point of this bike, and it’s only enhanced by the Akrapovic silencer, which is part of the impact that’s fitted to this particular bike.
BMW S1000 XR Quickshifter
And also the Quickshifter, which I think is part of the dynamic pack.
Now, this is another feature that seems really popular with owners because it’s crisp and accurate, and also adds to that sensation of riding a superbike powered armchair.
Braking Power
Now that sort of sporty story continues down here with the brakes with a set of four piston radially mounted Brembo calipers are nice big three 20mm disks, and that ability to scrub off speed quickly.
And the very sporty braking setup is another thing that’s mentioned amongst owners.
Now, previous to borrowing this particular press bike, I was actually on the M bike version, the M 300 ZR, and that one gets proper superbike level brakes in the form of their M brakes, which you’ll notice are sort of anodized blue.
Now, those are very aggressive and sharp on the bike.
And so what I will say about the brakes on the S2000, ZR is I actually like that they’re still very strong and have plenty of feel, but also a little bit more gradual and usable day to day.
Personally, I think if you’re just doing general town riding or commuting or touring, especially if you’ve got a pillion on the back, These just allow you to be that little bit smoother.
Suspension
Now, I think it’s since the 2020 update of this particular bike that they’re dynamic essays.
So they’re semi-active electronically adjustable suspension has been fitted as standard. And this is something that a lot of people really do seem to like.
Up front you’ve got this upside down marzocchi fork and then the marzocchi monoshock at the rear.
And with both of them, damping can be varied in real time to suit your particular riding style and also the current road conditions.
Now on top of that, you can also choose from two modes through the switchgear and dash.
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So you’ve got rode or dynamic, and rode is generally going to give you a slightly softer feel.
That bias is more so towards comfort, whereas dynamic or firm things up and is better suited to sportier riding.
For me, that sort of versatility is ideally suited to a versatile kind of bike like this, where you might well be going between touring and commuting in the week, and then over to those quicker group rides at the weekend.
And so you can pretty much always find the ideal suspension setup without having to even get off the bike.
Then you’ve also got automatic preload, which will get the bike level regardless of whether you’re riding solo or two up or with luggage or both.
And it also has stuff like Anti-dive which firms up the fork under braking. So lots of power and handling and braking and performance abilities.
Comfort
But I think the real beauty of this bike is how it juxtaposes that with a really very comfortable riding position.
So if you’re somebody who wants that sort of sports bike riding experience, but you can’t handle the lowness of the clip on handlebars, then realistically this is probably going to be the answer that you’ve been looking for.
There’s plenty of room from the seat down to the pegs so your knees are nice and open.
The seat’s been made slightly larger for 2024, so it is fairly comfortable.
And also you’ve got this really wide and upright handlebar position that keeps you back nice and straight.
On top of that, you’ve got plenty of room for a passenger, some decent grab rails, and so all round for everybody involved.
This is a super comfortable bike that’s also really quick.
BMW S1000 XR Vibration Issues
Now the only potential party pooper in terms of comfort for previous generations anyway, were some of the engine vibrations which had come up through the seat and bars.
Generally, I’d say you’d expect an inline four to be pretty comfortable, but I think it was widely known that this particular engine in this particular bike was a little bit irritating, especially over decent motorway miles.
Fortunately, in 2017 they changed the handlebars to make them rubber mounted.
You’ll see that if you pull up and down on them, the risers and mounts moving ever so slightly.
And from what I can tell, it seems to have done the trick because there aren’t really any mentions of this discomfort in more recent owners reviews, and also in this particular 2024 bike, I haven’t really noticed any truly irritating vibes.
I mean, it does still buzz a little bit, but it’s no worse than any other bike really. And I’d say for 2024 it’s perfectly acceptable.
BMW S1000 XR Seat Height
Now. Another thing they changed for 2024 was the seat height.
They brought it up by ten millimeters, which brings it in at 850 as standard.
And there’s no adjustability with this stock seat.
And the thing is, while it’s not necessarily a massively heavy bike at about, I think it’s 226kg curb.
It does seem to lean over quite a bit when it’s on the side stand.
I don’t know if that’s just because the side stand is relatively short, or the fact that the automatic preload is fully maxed out when the engine’s turned off, but I have noticed it’s relatively difficult to pick up off the stand for a bike at this sort of weight.
That’s only going to get more difficult when you’ve got it loaded up with luggage, especially if all the cases are full.
And so if you are around my height at five foot 9 or 175cm, you might want to look into one of the lowering options, especially if you’re not really used to tall bikes.
In the accessories catalog, there’s a low seat option, which I think takes 20mm off the total height.
And you could also combine that with the suspension lowering kit, which takes another 30 off and combined.
That would bring it down to a much more easy to manage 800ml.
Now, I mentioned that this press bike has the MPG fitted, which I think is about three grand and gets you a bunch of nice goodies like the M style paint job, lightweight forged wheels, the Akrapovic silencer, a lap timer, a lightweight battery, and their endurance chain.
BMW S1000 XR Windscreen
But perhaps one feature I’m not that keen on is this sport windscreen.
I mean, while it is still adjustable, it sits very low and seems to be only biased towards esthetics with a bit of a look of the M 300 ZR, wind protection is fairly minimal, and for me, I’d probably rather stick with the standard screen or potentially even look into that taller touring windscreen, which I think comes in at around £200.
It’s always a little bit of a tricky one, working out what’s part of what pack on the BMW configurator, but personally I would hope that if I’m paying near to 17 grand for the bike, then another three grand for the impact that had at least not have to pay that £200 to revert back to a decent windscreen.