X-CITING R-OADBIKE
“WHAT MAKES THIS BIKE SPECIAL IS THE WAY IT ALL COMES TOGETHER”
BMW describe the F 900 XR as a sports adventure machine, with “an uncompromising mix of sportiness and touring capability”, which makes it a sportstourer in my book. But the big difference between this bike and previous sports-tourers is the heritage. This bike has been developed from the GS Adventure bikes, not sportsbikes or touring machines, so it has an upright riding position, long travel suspension and a modified version of the parallel twin we first saw in the F 850 GS, although enlarged to 895cc and now producing 99hp for the Australian model.
At 219kg wet weight, we’ve got a classic formula of around 100 horses pushing 200kg of dry weight, easy to handle yet offering plenty of performance. Combine those figures with good-quality long travel suspension, a comfortable riding position and you’ll have a versatile bike just as at home riding to work as it is charging through the twisties or touring the country.
Australia is a land of dirt roads though, and it’s the sort of bike that will attract owners not scared of the gravel. My GPS unit directed me to the first dirt road I rode on the bike as I searched for the Tarrengower Tower outside Maldon in Victoria. The GPS gave me a route, one that quickly turned into a dirt road. “Fine,” I thought. “The road looks pretty good, let’s see how the XR copes.” Heading towards a
