BMW S1000XR (2015)
February 2016 - December 2016
Collection February 2016
Collection day for the XR coincided with the MCN London Motorcycle show at the ExCeL centre; we decided to visit the show first and than head from Docklands to Brighton to collect my new bike.
Regular readers will know that the London show is something of a PassportTours favourite when compared to the much larger and much further away NEC event in November. All the major manufacturers are at the London show, and there are sufficient trade stands to make it interesting; it is also 45 minutes’ ride for us rather than the 2 hours plus from the NEC.
After leaving the ExCeL, we took the Woolwich ferry across the Thames (another first and surprisingly quick and easy…and free!) and headed down the A20 to the M25, then round to the M23 and south to Brighton.
Martyn at Chandlers was as efficient as a year ago when I collected the K, all paperwork prepared and ready for the flurry of signatures required. I was sad to see the K go, the ride from home to the ExCeL and then to Brighton had shown the K in its best light, effortless and easy for long distances, and with all luggage attached, still extremely nimble. However, the new XR looked amazing and when I got on it to ride away, so incredibly light and easy to ride. A very different experience to the K, the same power and slightly less torque, over 110 kg less weight. Running in restricts revs to 9000 for the first 600 miles and with brand new tyres and brakes to also bed in, I was taking it all very easy. The weather was also not the best, damp although not icy like last year, so the XR was left firmly in Rain mode where “only” 100bhp is available and a much smoother throttle response.
Early impressions were good, despite a buzz around 5000 rpm, the XR was generally smooth and certainly has plenty of go, even with the power and throttle response restriction. The ride home predictably saw lots of traffic on the M25 (early afternoon on a Friday, perhaps not a great surprise) and so no real opportunity to open things up. I am hoping for warmer and drier weather for that in the weeks and months to come and of course the 2016 tour…
Replacement December 2016
After collecting the S in February, the first milestone was its 600-mile service back at Chandlers BMW Bikes in Brighton. When there, Martyn kindly lent me a GS Adventure to ride whilst my S was being serviced. Oh dear! Immediately it was clear I had bought the wrong bike! Of course, the S is faster and a lighter, the GS is plenty fast enough in the real world however, much more comfortable with a vastly superior ride, and much better equipped. Having only just bought the S though, trading it would be prohibitively expensive so the S remained.
Over the next few months getting to know the bike better, it was always a mixture of explosive performance and amazing noise, but just too intense for my liking and with a very firm ride. It also suffers from vibrations through the bars and to some extent, the pegs, contrasting hugely with the bike it replaced, BMW’s K1600 with its turbine smooth 6-cylinder engine. A visit to Motorscot for a puncture repair and proprietor Steve Grover, himself recently having taken delivery of the same bike, agreed with the vibes issue. His was so bad that on collection, he almost took it back after 5 minutes! His fix? Lead shot in the handlebars. BMW have acknowledged the problem with isolating rubber for the 2017 year model.
Unfortunately, the lead shot fix was not available before heading off on the 2016 Passport Tour so buzzing hands were prevalent. The bike performed supremely well as expected of course, incredible top end acceleration (and even more so with the plug-in power extending chip installed under the seat) and comfortable for the mountain days, if not the long rides there and back where numb bum syndrome was a constant problem. Despite the huge top-end performance, top gear roll-on and low down torque was no match for my 5-year old R1200R that came along for the trip, some 50bhp down on power to the S but with more torque, proving that away from the racetrack, torque is more fun! The overriding memory though is of the explosive exhaust note in all gears, and that with the stock can.
After returning from the 2016 Tour, the lead shot fix was installed and together with heavier bar end weights, made a big difference. Despite that though, whenever I was going somewhere, including daily commuting to work, I always opted to ride the R1200R, including for IAM Observing and for taking both the IAM National Observer and Masters tests in the autumn of 2016. This told me all I needed to know about how I felt about the S. Great bike, just a bit too much for me. And that’s before considering the poor cable operated clutch and chain drive needing oiling and cleaning.
By December 2016, the bike had only done 4,000 miles, 2,500 of those on the 2016 Tour. It seemed mad to have an expensive bike not being used whilst a much older, lower tech bike was in daily service. A call to Martyn at Chandlers and a deal was done to trade both bikes against a new R1200GS Adventure Triple Black, reducing the PCP payments by £50/month in the process, a no brainer.
December 2016
Collection day for the XR coincided with the MCN London Motorcycle show at the ExCeL centre; we decided to visit the show first and than head from Docklands to Brighton to collect my new bike.
Regular readers will know that the London show is something of a PassportTours favourite when compared to the much larger and much further away NEC event in November. All the major manufacturers are at the London show, and there are sufficient trade stands to make it interesting; it is also 45 minutes’ ride for us rather than the 2 hours plus from the NEC.
After leaving the ExCeL, we took the Woolwich ferry across the Thames (another first and surprisingly quick and easy…and free!) and headed down the A20 to the M25, then round to the M23 and south to Brighton.
Martyn at Chandlers was as efficient as a year ago when I collected the K, all paperwork prepared and ready for the flurry of signatures required. I was sad to see the K go, the ride from home to the ExCeL and then to Brighton had shown the K in its best light, effortless and easy for long distances, and with all luggage attached, still extremely nimble. However, the new XR looked amazing and when I got on it to ride away, so incredibly light and easy to ride. A very different experience to the K, the same power and slightly less torque, over 110 kg less weight. Running in restricts revs to 9000 for the first 600 miles and with brand new tyres and brakes to also bed in, I was taking it all very easy. The weather was also not the best, damp although not icy like last year, so the XR was left firmly in Rain mode where “only” 100bhp is available and a much smoother throttle response.
Early impressions were good, despite a buzz around 5000 rpm, the XR was generally smooth and certainly has plenty of go, even with the power and throttle response restriction. The ride home predictably saw lots of traffic on the M25 (early afternoon on a Friday, perhaps not a great surprise) and so no real opportunity to open things up. I am hoping for warmer and drier weather for that in the weeks and months to come and of course the 2016 tour…
Replacement December 2016
After collecting the S in February, the first milestone was its 600-mile service back at Chandlers BMW Bikes in Brighton. When there, Martyn kindly lent me a GS Adventure to ride whilst my S was being serviced. Oh dear! Immediately it was clear I had bought the wrong bike! Of course, the S is faster and a lighter, the GS is plenty fast enough in the real world however, much more comfortable with a vastly superior ride, and much better equipped. Having only just bought the S though, trading it would be prohibitively expensive so the S remained.
Over the next few months getting to know the bike better, it was always a mixture of explosive performance and amazing noise, but just too intense for my liking and with a very firm ride. It also suffers from vibrations through the bars and to some extent, the pegs, contrasting hugely with the bike it replaced, BMW’s K1600 with its turbine smooth 6-cylinder engine. A visit to Motorscot for a puncture repair and proprietor Steve Grover, himself recently having taken delivery of the same bike, agreed with the vibes issue. His was so bad that on collection, he almost took it back after 5 minutes! His fix? Lead shot in the handlebars. BMW have acknowledged the problem with isolating rubber for the 2017 year model.
Unfortunately, the lead shot fix was not available before heading off on the 2016 Passport Tour so buzzing hands were prevalent. The bike performed supremely well as expected of course, incredible top end acceleration (and even more so with the plug-in power extending chip installed under the seat) and comfortable for the mountain days, if not the long rides there and back where numb bum syndrome was a constant problem. Despite the huge top-end performance, top gear roll-on and low down torque was no match for my 5-year old R1200R that came along for the trip, some 50bhp down on power to the S but with more torque, proving that away from the racetrack, torque is more fun! The overriding memory though is of the explosive exhaust note in all gears, and that with the stock can.
After returning from the 2016 Tour, the lead shot fix was installed and together with heavier bar end weights, made a big difference. Despite that though, whenever I was going somewhere, including daily commuting to work, I always opted to ride the R1200R, including for IAM Observing and for taking both the IAM National Observer and Masters tests in the autumn of 2016. This told me all I needed to know about how I felt about the S. Great bike, just a bit too much for me. And that’s before considering the poor cable operated clutch and chain drive needing oiling and cleaning.
By December 2016, the bike had only done 4,000 miles, 2,500 of those on the 2016 Tour. It seemed mad to have an expensive bike not being used whilst a much older, lower tech bike was in daily service. A call to Martyn at Chandlers and a deal was done to trade both bikes against a new R1200GS Adventure Triple Black, reducing the PCP payments by £50/month in the process, a no brainer.
December 2016
