Sports tourers. For me, they’re like the wagons of the motorcycle industry. Fun but utilitarian, yet seemingly often overlooked. The only difference is that we still have a lot of sport-touring bikes available in our market today.
In fact, there’s also one in BMW Motorrad’s vast lineup of big bikes: the BMW F900 XR. This is the beefed-up sibling of the F900 R. I was recently able to test this bad boy out, and having already tried its naked stablemate out, I had high expectations for this one. Did it let me down or not? Read on to see what I’ve discovered.
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Styling
I’m more of an ADV guy than I am a sport- or naked-bike person. While the R nineT sits at the top of my list of dream bikes, I still generally prefer the styling of adventure tourers.
The F900 XR, however, is styled just right for me. It’s more aggressive-looking than a GS, but it’s not as menacing as an S1000 RR. It also looks tamer than the S1000 XR—its bigger and arguably scarier-looking sibling.
This bike has more flair than the F900 R thanks to those fairings up front. It’s got a split headlamp with accentuating DRLs that give it a nice light signature. This sports tourer looks very sharp, and the specific unit I got even had a nice blue finish as well. Frankly, I like the Triple Black finish better, though.
The saddle
BMW really nailed the ‘touring’ part of this bike. The F900 XR has a very comfortable seat for both the rider and the pillion. The handlebars are positioned in a way that even the average Filipino rider like me who stands at 5’5” would find comfortable to use. I do think a riser would make it even better, as this was probably built for slightly taller riders.
Not that I couldn’t reach the ground, of course, as the seat height is a very manageable 775mm. Note that that’s already slightly lowered, as the seat is 825mm high straight out of the factory. For taller riders, you can have that lifted to as much as 870mm.
The ‘sports’ part of the bike’s present, too. The riding position is fairly upright, but the footpegs are set a bit to the rear, perhaps to enable a slightly aggressive riding stance for spirited rides. I appreciate what BMW has done here: a good balance between comfort and sportiness.
The pillion seat, as I mentioned, is also very comfortable. The grab bars and rear footpegs are properly positioned even for smaller pillion riders like my five-foot-flat girlfriend. She had no complaints during the few long rides we took with the F900 XR. Taller riders will probably be okay with the pillion-seat position here, too.
Engine performance
Powering the F900 XR is the same 895cc liquid-cooled, in-line-two cylinder engine that’s found in the F900 R. It’s rated at 104hp at 8,500rpm and 92Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. This is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
The gasoline mill’s a pretty punchy one, and I found I could get a lot out of it whenever I wanted to. There’s so much power across the rev range that overtaking is never an issue, and with the clutch and gearbox making light work of gearshifts, I could easily stay within the powerband if I needed to.
You’ll definitely find some other bikes with a similar displacement or at a similar price point that could offer better performance, but I can assure you that the two cylinders you get in the F900 XR are enough for long-distance touring purposes. Track days? Well, that one I’m not so sure. Could be questionable.
Ride and handling
As I mentioned earlier, BMW did exceptionally well bringing out both the sport and touring side of the F900 XR when. It came to the saddle. Once you hit the road and you get the bike going, it’s basically the same.
While the suspension won’t be able to just eat up sizeable potholes–you shouldn’t be putting your tires and wheels under such torture, anyway–it makes for comfortable everyday riding within the city. Metro Manila’s harsh terrain proves to be more than bearable despite the 17-inch wheels being shod in not-so-chunky 120/70 front and 180/50 rear tires.
Riding this across the city regularly also wouldn’t be too big of a hassle. The clutch is far from stiff–looking at you, R nineT–and the bike’s heft and weight are distributed properly so straddling it across traffic won’t be punishing. The engine underneath you won’t get hot that easily, either, so that’s one less thing to worry about when you’re crawling through gridlock.
But traffic jams shouldn’t be where the F900 XR will be regularly ridden. The bike deserves to have its legs stretched–even if just on weekends–on long, open roads like the expressway. That’s where it’ll truly shine. It’s amazingly comfortable on long stretches of properly paved roads, so it’ll take time for fatigue to kick in.
It’s a lot of fun to ride across twisties, too. While it may not offer a very aggressive riding stance like a sport or even a naked bike would, it’s still easy to bank through corners.
One thing that’s also worth mentioning are those brakes. The F900 XR gets dual discs up front and a single disc at the rear with dual-channel ABS. BMW’s brakes are simply some of the best in the business. There’s always confidence when braking hard with this bike, and that stopping power and stability is something I often look for when I’m trying out bikes below this caliber.
Extra features
The F900 XR comes standard with that BMW instrument cluster that you can find across the Motorrad range. It provides basic riding and trip information and allows for smartphone connectivity through the BMW Motorrad app. As with other BMW bikes, you can navigate through the menus using a knob by the left grip. The display is as clear as it gets, and it’ll serve you well whenever you’re on the road.
This two-wheeler also gets other touring-oriented bits such as the hand guards and heated grips. I just wish the windscreen was a bit bigger, though.
Also available in typical BMW fashion are the adjustable clutch lever and passing light toggle. But to add more to that touring package, this one also comes with mounting points for saddle bags at the rear. I’m guessing you’ll need proprietary BMW accessories to make good use of those, though.
Verdict
The F900 XR is one of the quieter, less aggressive bikes in the BMW Motorrad lineup. You shouldn’t dare sleep on it, though, because this is one well-rounded two-wheeler.
But let me rework what I just said about it: It’s one of the more balanced bikes in the range. It’s comfortable in the city for the most part, and is a dream to ride on during longer trips on weekends. Assuming seat height–and budget, because this costs P995,000–isn’t an issue, then I don’t see how you could go wrong with this one.
The BMW F900 XR also poses itself as a lighter alternative to the GS. Lighter in every sense of the word: literally and figuratively (financially). It’s the perfect bike for those who want an upright-riding BMW but aren’t exactly into off-roading and all that jazz. If you’re one of them, then this is a bike you should check out.
SPECS: 2024 BMW F900 XR
Price: P995,000
Engine: 895cc liquid-cooled, in-line-two
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Power: 104hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 92Nm@ 6,500rpm
Seat height: 775mm-870mm or 30.5-34 inches (adjustable)
Score: 8.5/10
More photos of the 2024 BMW F900 XR:
