![\"\"](\"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/P90371803_highRes_bmw-s-1000-xr-11-201-300x212.jpg\")
Part of that \u201cedge\u201d will be suspension that is right at the top of the adventure bike class, given the XR\u2019s Dynamic ESA Pro electronic suspension adjustment system having a wider range than ever. The top-of-the-range Dynamic mode is almost S1000RR-firm, while Road is more accommodating than the softest damping available on the first-gen ESA system. Besides the reduction in vibration, the biggest improvement to the 2020 XR is its wider range of damping adjustments.<\/p>\n
Said versatility is backed up by boasting no fewer than six seat height options. Ranging from the standard 840 mm to a low of 790 mm and a high of 860 mm, there is quite literally a seating arrangement for a wider percentile of riders than virtually any adventure bike I can think of.<\/p>\n
That said, unlike every other adventure bike I have tested, the new XR has a deeply sculpted \u2013 and surprisingly firm \u2013 almost touring-oriented \u201cbucket\u201d seat. I found it quite comfortable, but it does tend to lock you into one place. Those who like to move their butts around a flatter seat may find the tight constraints a little confining. And there will be far less \u201changing off\u201d the S1000XR during cornering, with the pronounced edges of the seat limiting Marc Marquez-style knee-down heroics.<\/p>\n
Sportier Ergonomics<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s a noticeable stretch compared with the previous XR and, as I said, most other motorcycles claiming adventure status. Indeed, the S1000XR now feels more like a naked bike with an adventure tourer\u2019s fairing. There\u2019s a little more control in the corners, but less comfort on the highway. BMW says this is what XR riders want. Personally, I predict someone is going to make a killing making S1000XR bar-back handlebar risers because, as it is, the seating position will probably be the biggest impediment to purchase.<\/p>\n Jewel of an Engine<\/strong><\/p>\n BMW deliberately didn\u2019t include its ShiftCam VVT system, but one still feels a dramatic \u201ccoming on the pipe\u201d around 7,000 rpm as the XR responds with two-stroke-like frenzy. One minute, it\u2019s all mild-mannered FZ1; the next, it\u2019s doing a fair S1000RR impression. Oh, The XR\u2019s 162 hp may seem be muted compared with the 205 horses BMW\u2019s superbike boasts, but compared with other adventure bikes, it\u2019s a monster. An addictive monster. I may not have liked the new riding position, but that might be a good thing because I don\u2019t think my driver\u2019s licence could survive a comfortable S1000XR. If you like your adventure bikes \u201csuper,\u201d the S1000XR is right at the top of the class.<\/p>\n One last thing to like about the new S1000XR: it turns out that S1000 owners are a little more Scrooge-like than most of BMW\u2019s traditionally bucks-up clientele. The previous-generation XR\u2019s comparatively bargain pricing was, according to BMW\u2019s research, the most popular reason for purchase. For 2020, the XR starts at $19,750 and, while that is some $1,650 more than the previous version, it\u2019s still $1,445 less than Ducati\u2019s cheapest 1260 Multistrada and even undercuts the Kawasaki Versys LT SE by a couple of loonies. Enough perhaps to afford a set of those bar-back risers I mentioned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The S1000XR\u2019s redesign brief included eliminating annoying vibrations. I really don\u2019t think BMW needed to focus-group hundreds of first-generation S1000XR owners to glean that the most significant improvement it could make to its original adventure sports bike was reducing the revvy, superbike-derived engine\u2019s incessant vibration. Pretty much every motorcycle journalist told them that five years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[366,1842,1947,1853,1852],"tags":[93,2160,1405],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/P90371818_highRes_bmw-s-1000-xr-11-201-300x160.jpg\")
The odd thing about BMW\u2019s choice of seat contours is that while the saddle seems more touring-oriented than before, the riding position is decidedly sportier. BMW foresees much of the XR\u2019s clientele as disaffected superbikers with aging lower spines no longer able to tolerate below-the-triple-clamp clip-ons. Nonetheless, these riders don\u2019t like the \u201csit up and beg\u201d riding position of traditional adventure bikes, so BMW rendered the new XR more comfortable \u2013 er, familiar \u2013 for them by lowering the 2020 XR\u2019s handlebar by 10 mils and moving it forward by another 20 compared with the outgoing model.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_9898-300x200.jpg\")
Okay, enough with all these creature comforts considerations. The real reason anyone buys an S1000XR is that great honking engine. Well, thankfully, while all that annoying vibration has been largely banished, the big four\u2019s eagerness to rev has not. Oh, there\u2019s enough low-end torque \u2013 \u201cplenty\u201d would have been too strong a word, especially with the taller gearing in the top three gears \u2013 but, if you\u2019re an ex-superbike rider, you\u2019re just going to love the way this engine claws for revs.<\/p>\n