• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Bmw s1000xr

gladdens my heart to see more people wanting 19" front wheels.
 
19 inch front wheels are the worst on streetbikes. None of these bikes have the travel to go anywhere that a 19 inch front matters, and you have to live with a tiny selection of tires for any good road use compared to 17s. If you want an offroad bike, buy an offroad bike, and if you're going to do nothing but ride it on road, please keep your Long Way Around fantasies in the bedroom.

What we really need is for someone to make an urban standard: 10 inches of suspension travel, 150+HP, 17s front and rear, massive brakes, upright seating position, slender for lane splitting, ~400-450 pounds. Maybe a windshield for the babbies. Think SuperDuke 1290 with +4 inches of suspension front and rear, significantly more ground clearance, and a bit more room to move around and you've about got it.
 
Z3n said:
19 inch front wheels are the worst on streetbikes. None of these bikes have the travel to go anywhere that a 19 inch front matters, and you have to live with a tiny selection of tires for any good road use compared to 17s. If you want an offroad bike, buy an offroad bike, and if you're going to do nothing but ride it on road, please keep your Long Way Around fantasies in the bedroom.

What we really need is for someone to make an urban standard: 10 inches of suspension travel, 150+HP, 17s front and rear, massive brakes, upright seating position, slender for lane splitting, ~400-450 pounds. Maybe a windshield for the babbies. Think SuperDuke 1290 with +4 inches of suspension front and rear, significantly more ground clearance, and a bit more room to move around and you've about got it.
Click to expand...

you sure are taken to hyperbole
 
I'm sorry, did I interrupt your fantasy of a long 2 up ride with Ewan down the road of bones?
 
Z3n said:
I'm sorry, did I interrupt your fantasy of a long 2 up ride with Ewan down the road of bones?
Click to expand...

:laughing

I dunno, you seem pretty expert on the subject :twofinger


Agree that the GS has contributed to some kinda peter-pan dream do-all moto that's built like a tank but touted as all terrain conquering
 
planegray said:
:laughing

I dunno, you seem pretty expert on the subject :twofinger


Agree that the GS has contributed to some kinda peter-pan dream do-all moto that's built like a tank but touted as all terrain conquering
Click to expand...

Similar to bikes covered in MotoGP livery.
 
cleverusername said:
are you being sarcastic?
Click to expand...

Yes. :laughing

Adventure bikes as a whole are almost always brought down by the fantasies of the owners rather than the practicalities of the owners. This is why I laugh when I see people talking about getting motorcycling to go "mainstream" in the US - we sell bikes based on fantasies of being a badass biker dude, charlie and ewan, rad ass racer dudez, stuntlyfe, etc.

The NC700 is a "mainstream" motorcycle. The BMW C1 is a mainstream motorcycle. Mainstream bikes are boring, practical affairs. Any bike that's sold on an image is inevitably going to contribute more to the exclusivity of bikes that the acceptance of bikes. Racer guys don't care about motorcycles, they care about sportbikes. Adventure guys don't care about actually riding a bike offroad, they care about the image. If they did, they'd be buying bikes that were actually functional offroad, which a 600 pound touring bike isn't. Just cause some folks can ride around the handicap doesn't actually make it a good offroad bike.

With that in mind, the entire category of "Adventure bikes" for normal riders should be bikes that have a pile of electronics to get you to work safely, 17 inch tires for the most modern, all weather rubber around, enough suspension travel to get you into and out of a pothole without drama (anyone seen that doozy developing in the leftmost lane on entrance to the baybridge from oakland?), strong enough brakes to stop you before you impact that taxi, enough power that you never care what gear you're in when someone starts to merge into you, bars that are high enough to miss most mirrors, a slim profile, etc.

The dream bike for me on the small displacement size is an SXV chassis with a Ninja 650 engine shoved in it. Would be around 330 pounds, but 65hp, twin that can easily handle freeway, massive brakes and loads of travel. Perfect city bomber.

The dream bike for larger displacement setups like that is the +4 inches of travel on a superduke mentioned above.

With all that in mind, the only reason adventure bikes don't resemble something like that is because they only get sold and are popular because they market an ideology rather than a bike. The BMW/KTM Adventure lines are great touring bikes, but that's inspite of their marketing and design compromises made to fit that marketing. Looking at the use cases that 95% of ADV riders have, they'd be a lot better off with better rubber, better electronics, better brakes, and suspension travel designed for street use, not "offroad?" use.
 
Last edited:
Z3n said:
19 inch front wheels are the worst on streetbikes. None of these bikes have the travel to go anywhere that a 19 inch front matters, and you have to live with a tiny selection of tires for any good road use compared to 17s. If you want an offroad bike, buy an offroad bike, and if you're going to do nothing but ride it on road, please keep your Long Way Around fantasies in the bedroom.

What we really need is for someone to make an urban standard: 10 inches of suspension travel, 150+HP, 17s front and rear, massive brakes, upright seating position, slender for lane splitting, ~400-450 pounds. Maybe a windshield for the babbies. Think SuperDuke 1290 with +4 inches of suspension front and rear, significantly more ground clearance, and a bit more room to move around and you've about got it.
Click to expand...

Hell yes. Sign me up for that. Though I'd happily trade some of the top-end power for lighter weight. And a tall seat with more legroom would be nice too.
 
Z3n said:
19 inch front wheels are the worst on streetbikes. None of these bikes have the travel to go anywhere that a 19 inch front matters, and you have to live with a tiny selection of tires for any good road use compared to 17s. If you want an offroad bike, buy an offroad bike, and if you're going to do nothing but ride it on road, please keep your Long Way Around fantasies in the bedroom.

What we really need is for someone to make an urban standard: 10 inches of suspension travel, 150+HP, 17s front and rear, massive brakes, upright seating position, slender for lane splitting, ~400-450 pounds. Maybe a windshield for the babbies. Think SuperDuke 1290 with +4 inches of suspension front and rear, significantly more ground clearance, and a bit more room to move around and you've about got it.
Click to expand...

You just want an updated version of the KTM 990SM.

I'll go ahead and join you in this moto fantasy.

I must admit though after riding a KTM 950 Adv, that with decent dual sport rubber you can tear shit up even on the pavement. I even bumped a peg here and there and was surprised how much grip that narrow tall front tire actually had. It's like a big flywheel just tractoring over everything.

But it was the longer travel that sold me! :thumbup
 
ilikefood said:
Hell yes. Sign me up for that. Though I'd happily trade some of the top-end power for lighter weight. And a tall seat with more legroom would be nice too.
Click to expand...

The acceptance of those who believe what I believe is all I ever wanted. :laughing

Brown81 said:
You just want an updated version of the KTM 990SM.

I'll go ahead and join you in this moto fantasy.

I must admit though after riding a KTM 950 Adv, that with decent dual sport rubber you can tear shit up even on the pavement. I even bumped a peg here and there and was surprised how much grip that narrow tall front tire actually had. It's like a big flywheel just tractoring over everything.

But it was the longer travel that sold me! :thumbup
Click to expand...

Agreed, the 950 and 1190 and 1290 adventure bikes are surprisingly excellent. Modern tires are damn good, even in the offroad sizes. But the pursuit of "damn good" is the pursuit of second place.

But yes, what I really want is a ~450 pound, 1290 engined, 10 inches of travel, 1290 SM/SM-T. Ideally with 5 gallons of fuel capacity, M50 Brembo brakes, hard luggage and top box as an option, and enough space for 2 up riding.

Hell, with that setup, I'd put Ewan on the back and take him to the road of bones.

:laughing
 
Brown81 said:
You just want an updated version of the KTM 990SM.

I'll go ahead and join you in this moto fantasy.

I must admit though after riding a KTM 950 Adv, that with decent dual sport rubber you can tear shit up even on the pavement. I even bumped a peg here and there and was surprised how much grip that narrow tall front tire actually had. It's like a big flywheel just tractoring over everything.

But it was the longer travel that sold me! :thumbup
Click to expand...

Yeah, suspension travel is key, and that's where the 950 SM suffers (6.3" and 5.3"). I didn't think tall suspension mattered until I started riding DRZs, and potholed, bumpy city streets suddenly turned from annoying to fun.
 
DefyInertia said:
The S 1000 XR is based heavily on the S 1000 R naked, which makes 160 horsepower at 11,000 rpm and 83 foot-pounds of torque at 9,250 rpm. With a wet weight of 502 pounds, the XR comes in at about 40 pounds heavier than the Multi, while making similar horsepower figures, but 20 fewer foot-pounds of torque.
Click to expand...

iehawk said:
... which was created to go after the GS. :teeth

Are you sure the Multi's weight is not dry? BMW is usually the only manufacturer that quote wet weight.

Suspension travel: 5.9 inches front and 5.5 inches rear.
Click to expand...

Archimedes said:
This. The 2015 Multistrada is 511 wet, the XR is 502 wet.
Click to expand...

There you go, Defyinertia. :)

It's a mainly street touring/adventure bike they can go on gravel roads if needed, which any bikes can do. And in my experience, 500 lbs. is not bad at all for touring (light for a touring bike in fact), still easy enough to balance and Arlie enough in the twisties. If any, it helps to stabilize the bike at cruising speed instead of being wobbled by side wind.
 
Z3n said:
[EDITED]......The dream bike for me on the small displacement size is an SXV chassis with a Ninja 650 engine shoved in it. Would be around 330 pounds, but 65hp, twin that can easily handle freeway, massive brakes and loads of travel. Perfect city bomber.....
Click to expand...


YES!

those engines are el cheapo on eBay
&
the Ape's a good-enough chassis looking for a non-toolroom mill

have there been many successful SXV-with-a-new-motor re-dos?
[I remember an SV650 rumor.....]
 
A few. SV engine doesn't fit due to the length of the front cylinder. I really want to do that project, but someone else would need to bankroll materials and be patient. Could probably get it done all in for under 5k though.
 
SFSV650 said:
^ So its more about being both super comfy AND responsive on bad roads, not off roads?
Click to expand...

Yes. That's exactly the design brief for the Multistrada ("multi road"): a comfortable, high-performance sporty bike with longer-travel suspension suitable for all manner of roads, including bad ones and the occasional gravel one. Not really intended as an offroad bike.

And this BMW is a clone of it.

I rarely need >6.7" of suspension travel on the road, so it's close to the ideal (though I find the GS to be a better touring bike).
 
Everyone ripping these adventure bikes and how they supposedly suck on the street, blah, blah, I wonder how many of you have actually ridden one. I just bought a GS to go along with my RT, and it's a freaking blast to ride on the pavement. Supremely comfortable, great visibility for commuting, good weather protection, awesome leverage with the bars, very quick, handles better than you'd ever need on the street, etc. I bought it because I want to extend my riding to light dirt duty as well, but if all I ever did was ride it on the street, I'd prefer it to any bike I've ever owned, save maybe the LC RT next to it in the garage.
 
Archimedes said:
Everyone ripping these adventure bikes and how they supposedly suck on the street, blah, blah, I wonder how many of you have actually ridden one. I just bought a GS to go along with my RT, and it's a freaking blast to ride on the pavement. Supremely comfortable, great visibility for commuting, good weather protection, awesome leverage with the bars, very quick, handles better than you'd ever need on the street, etc. I bought it because I want to extend my riding to light dirt duty as well, but if all I ever did was ride it on the street, I'd prefer it to any bike I've ever owned, save maybe the LC RT next to it in the garage.
Click to expand...

:thumbup
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top