If you’ve read the title and wondered what this blithering fool is on about then calm down my friends and let me explain before you revert to the DSTV and watch a ‘Come Dine With Me’ SA repeat and contemplate suicide. You see this new four-cylinder BMW is the fourth incarnation of their superb 1000cc four-cylinder engine platform and after spending a day in the saddle at a recent South African launch you’ll most certainly want, like myself, the brilliant XR to be with you for a very long time – get it now?
Back in 2009 BMW entered into the superbike market with their S 1000 RR and then came the too complicated HP4 version, then onto the very good S 1000 R naked version, and now we have this XR model, which uses basically the same engine from the S 1000 R naked bike because it has more low down torque and horsepower and not so much a screaming top end that generates a mild case of angina when ridden hard on the road, and therefore only really belongs on the race track. Confused, so am I, as much so as a poor little hamster with a broken exercise wheel, but this XR is by far the best option for everyday fun and dare I say the best BMW I’ve ever ridden to date, there I’ve said it! And they call it an Adventure Sport, can’t argue with that designation that’s for sure.
But the confusion continues because I don’t know what BMW expect from their new XR or more importantly who’s going to buy it. You see their biggest problem is the GS range, still the best selling’ big bike’ in SA. I know I’m going to have hate mail and my house petrol bombed for this, but I’ve never really seen the attraction of the ‘bike with the sticking out cylinders’. Sure it’s a great all-round bike and can perform off road antics but to me it’s a bit like a Range Rover, if you know what I mean? And, a recent survey reported that 95%, yes ninety-five percent, of GS riders (including the massive Adventure version) never go off road, and hence owners of the GS seem to prefer to polish their bikes to covering them with wandering and shortly after that dead sheep and the like – WTF! 
Now let me tell you GS riders out there who comfortably fit into the 95% bracket, do not ride this XR, because you’ll want to jettison your GS immediately, believe me. And if you’re thinking of buying a new GS for the first time please go ride the XR first? Basically, it’s the same thing but better on every count… and the first glass bottle full of BP’s finest 95-octane has just come through my bedroom window, er, great, really great! That was quick!
So why is it so much better then you ask, you horrible man? Well it’s all down to the engine. I love four-cylinder power units and this 228kg XR with its 999c 160hp/112Nm unit is of no exception. Switch off all the electronics, of which there are many, perhaps too many, and you’ve one of the world’s best touring bikes with a large dose of lunacy thrown in, unless you like all of that i-pod stuff and the safety features they offer, which BMW like you to have.
It’ll scream around to over 240kmh, wheelie like a mad thing, turns like its superbike stable brothers and it’s supremely comfortable in the seat/footrest/handlebar ratio department, sounds fantastic, and well, I couldn’t find anything to moan about for once, and I, like everyone, enjoys a good moan either under or out of the sheets.
To be honest I don’t want to get into all the electronic details of the XR because it’s all a bit boring to write about. Just go onto the Internet, or BMW’s site, and let them explain it all instead whilst I mow the lawn. This particular SA spec XR has everything you’ll need though, and so it should for R212,000, including stuff like heated grips, cruise control, mission control, out of control and, and, and, if you catch my drift? But I did enjoy the quick-shifter that goes both up and down, so once you’ve let the clutch out you’ll never need it again until you come to a stop, oh, besides deploying monster wheelies as well, if that’s your thing. And if you’re wondering about how I actually handled the plethora of electronics – well I just turned everything off and set everything to maximum, so there. 
Launches are fun and I later enjoyed BMW’s hospitality, perhaps in a too vulgar manner and I did need an Anadin intervention the next day to ease away the flight home. Dave (2Wheels TV dude) and I had the same thoughts on this new XR and we both decided we’d like more time in the saddle to enjoy the bike without ‘filming pressure’ and relax a little instead of showing off like a kid with a giant water pistol in front of his mates. But as we hugged after we collected our baggage and departed from the airport carousel (well not really but it does sound a fitting end) we both said, “Wow, what a bike BMW has in their ever expanding line of touring machines!’ and that my friends says it all, and neither of us can recommend a BMW test ride more. May the fourth be with you…
Go to www.bmw-motorrad.co.za to locate your closest dealer and book a ride on the XR.
