Took one of the late version XRs out. Fast and furious. But just not for me. Lacked torque, engine needed revs, then took off like a missile. Somehow very bland at low revs. lots of vibes through seat and frame. It only seemed to work at high speed, with lots of gear changes. Just hard work and lacked character. A bike that required spanking to enjoy it, followed by time out waiting for driving ban to finish! A shame as the ergonomics are near perfect, less weight than the GS. But the GS for me is just a much better all rounder, fantastic punch out of tight corners, quick enough and I prefer the cornering characteristics too. No doubt on track or very high speed (smooth) roads the XR would come in to its own. Where can you use it though?
For my taste, you’d need to take it all the way back to standard. Nothing you’ve done to your bike would make it desirable for me. GLWS
I actually like the XR, the best of the adv/gt bikes looks wise for me. Unfortunately large capacity bikes don’t do anything on public highways that a good middleweight can’t. Welsh B roads and less aren’t good roads for litre bikes IME.
Was just getting rid of the saffron and trying REALLY hard to move away from the BMW discussion that this really isnt about ;-)
Not sure this is the place to go bragging about your extracurricular activities...;-) each to their own i guess but im happy for you ;-)
