by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com
It’s an important week for motorcycle fans across the world as one of the year’s largest specialized events, EICMA, kicked off in Milan, Italy. Several high-profile premieres are on the floor of the Rho Fairgrounds, including BMW’s newest version of the S 1000 XR, taking the floor alongside other BMW-Motorrad machines on display there.
The adventure sport bike got significantly upgraded for the new generation with the inclusion of a new engine, the shaving of some kilos from its waist and the addition of several never-before used technologies for this range.
The heart of the new bike is the inline 4-cylinder engine, a new version of the powerplant usually deployed on the S 1000 RR. In the XR however the unit is 5 kg lighter than on the model it replaces, accounting for exactly half of the total 10 kg weight reduction of the bike when compared to the previous model (2020 XR tips the scale at 226 kg unladen).
The engine uses for the first time in the range engine drag torque control (MSR) and develops a total of 165 hp. It can be configured to run in four driving modes, namely Rain, Road, Dynamic, and Dynamic Pro.
The suspension of the bike has been reworked as well, shaving off 2.1 kg from the total weight. The direct linkage hardware has also been tweaked into reducing the unsprung masses by 1.6 kg.
As standard, the XR will be offered with LED lights all around, except for the U.S. market where the bike will have no LED turn indicators. Regardless of where it will sell, the bike will however provide the same, larger, 6.5 inch TFT screen, complete with connectivity, for better visibility.
BMW did not say when the new S 1000 XR will go on sale. The full spectrum of modifications made can be found in the press release.
