2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year: BMW S 1000 XR

Combine sportsbike performance with long-travel suspension and a comfy ride position and what have you got? BMW's superb S 1000 XR…

BMW's S 1000 XR is no stranger to the Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards. It triumphed in our inaugural awards last year in the Adventure Sport category and this year it's back for another crack at outright victory – when it comes to adventure bike comfort, real-world suspension and blistering performance, the S 1000 XR still reigns supreme.

While the technological complexity of this beast is immense, the S 1000 XR involves, at heart, a fairly simple recipe. Take one in-line four superbike engine – from the formidable S 1000 RR – detune it just a little for real-world riding, then wrap it in a taught alloy beam frame, add high-spec suspension and powerful brakes and finish off with a comfortable, upright ride position.

Throw in a clever package of electronics and voila – you have an adventure-sport bike able to devour mega miles both on bitumen or on good quality dirt roads, in absolute comfort.

Performance and ergonomics
Like its more off-road-edged brother, the R 1200 GS (also present in this year's Bike of the Year test in Rallye X form), the S 1000 XR is a big machine. With a seat height of 840mm and a wet weight of 228kg, it's a fair amount of bike to muscle around in the shed, but the weight melts away the moment you open the taps.

When you do, the S 1000 XR erupts in a blur of furious acceleration, its claimed 165hp and 112Nm making your neck muscles work overtime as your cling onto the broad handlebar. But it's a pussy cat around town, where its excellent fuelling and nice balance render it as placid as it needs to be to conform with today's busy city streets.

To that end the S 1000 XR is quite a Jekyll and Hyde sort of bike – mild mannered when it needs to be; a land-bound missile when it isn't. In missile mode it's an absolute thrill to ride hard, and in fact the term 'missile' doesn't quite hit the mark as this bike can slice up a mountain road with the best of them.

In fact, given its longer-travel suspension, the S 1000 XR will actually perform better over many of our typically crappy roads than many sportsbikes – certainly XR pilots will be more comfortable as they explore their bike's potential.

Features and electronics
And then we come to the S 1000 XR's long list of goodies… Our test bike is fitted with BMW's Touring Package so it comes with Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment. This essentially adjusts the bike's damping to suit the actual riding conditions, and you can adjust the preload to suit whether you're riding solo or two-up, and with or without luggage, at the press of a button.

Other Touring Package items include the frames and mounting plate for the topbox and panniers, and the preparation for the Navigator VI sat-nav unit. The Touring Package adds $1760.

Our test bike also sports the Dynamic Package ($1375), which includes Dynamic Traction Control, a quickshifter (or, in BMW-speak, Gear Shift Assist Pro), Riding Mode Pro (a choice of four riding modes), ABS Pro (cornering ABS), Dynamic brake light, cruise control and white LED indicators.

However, perhaps even more impressive is the way BMW has integrated the controls for all this gadgetry into the S 1000 XR. All the handlebar-mounted controls are easy to get to and easy to alter, the instrumentation is easy to read and in general the human/bike interface is all very intuitive.

Broad scope
This Beemer also scores incredibly well when it comes to its 'all-rounder' status. It might not be able to match its GS siblings for off-road cred, but it’s perfectly fine on decent dirt roads and, as mentioned, it's dynamite on the blacktop. Add panniers and a topbox and it's a top-notch tourer, yet it's refined enough to trickle along at walking-pace speeds in heavy traffic (although its handlebar is fairly wide, making filtering a more considered affair than on smaller, slimmer machinery).

Amid all this glowing praise, are there any downsides? Well there is a bit of vibration present through the handlebars and the mirrors, which blur readily. It's an issue that's been spoken of before but it really depends on what sort of inherent vibration you're used to in a motorcycle as to whether it will annoy or not.

Yes, it's vibey as far as in-line four-cylinder motorcycles usually go, but the vibrations only really make themselves known as the revs rise beyond, say, 6000rpm, and when this happens a rider is usually having too much fun to notice them anyway.

For cruising down the highway, at which point at 100km/h the S 1000 XR is pulling 4500rpm, it's not a big issue. Fuel economy? We achieved an average figure of 6.95lt/100km, which equates with a safe range of around 260km from the 20-litre tank.

Comfort is excellent – the seat is supportive and well-shaped, there's plenty of leg room and the manually adjustable screen punches an effective hole through the wind's blast. Two-stage heated handlebar grips soften the blow on cooler days and there are two auxiliary power outlets in logical spots to power heated vests or other items if need be.

And, in a major win for practicality, the S 1000 XR was the only bike on test to come fitted with a centrestand, which makes lubing the bike's chain a far easier proposition.

Summing up
As for value, the optional Dynamic and Touring packages push the S 1000 XR's base $22,190 price to $25,325 plus on-roads. Yes, it's getting up there but there's a lot of technology on offer here and the build quality is first class. BMW's S 1000 XR is the champion once again of the Bikesales Bike of the Year Adventure Sport category, and it's a performance-packed all-rounder par excellence.

SPECS: 2017 BMW S 1000 XR
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve, four-stroke, in-line four-cylinder
Capacity: 999cc
Bore x stroke: 80.0mm x 49.7mm
Compression ratio: 12.0:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 165hp (121.4kW) at 11,000rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 112Nm at 9250rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet, multi-plate
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Aluminium composite bridge frame, engine as a partially stressed member
Front suspension: Inverted telescopic 46mm fork, Dynamic ESA
Rear suspension: Monoshock, Dynamic ESA
Front brakes: Dual 320mm discs with radial mount four-piston calipers
Rear brake: Single 265mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Tyres: Bridgestone Battlax T30 – 120/70ZR17 front, 190/55ZR17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed wet weight: 228kg
Seat height: 840mm
Wheelbase: 1548mm
Fuel capacity: 20 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $22,190 (plus on-roads)
Colours: Racing Red, Ocean Blue Metallic Matt or Light White/Granite Grey
Metallic/Racing Red
Warranty: Two-year/unlimited kilometres
Bike supplied by: BMW Motorrad Australia

2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year: BMW S 1000 XR

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