Is it worth the price difference compared to the naked F900R?
AOh yes. Clearly, if you’re after a naked bike the F900R self-selects. But the XR version is far better – not just because its fairing means greater all-round ability, but because it’s dynamically far superior. The F900XR was the intended outcome when BMW converted their F850GS into a pure road bike; the point of the project was to build a little brother for the S1000XR and create a bike that could steal customers from Yamaha’s Tracer 900 (which is massively popular in Europe). And so the XR feels like a wonderfully well-developed and together bike. BMW then reshaped the new adventure-sports XR into the ‘dynamic roadster’ F900R – and it hasn’t worked, despite changes to the geometry, suspension and riding position. Steering is weighty, handling far less agile. It feels like a best effort from the leftovers.