New Bike

[keebz91]

Another boring thread from someone showing off their new toy...



Having placed a refundable deposit on this bike 3 months ago and testing all the alternatives, I eventually got a test ride 3 weeks ago and loved it. For me it's perfect as it does everything I want it to and more. It's comfortable/practical enough for 2 up touring, and its definitely fast/fun enough for a short weekend blast.

It does lack the refinement of a second/third generation bike. The Multistrada (which is it's only real competition IMO) benefits from a few things I would have liked on the bike such as full LED lights, integrated luggage mounts and keyless operation, but it's still not quite as good as the XR once on the move. Although the claimed power is the same and the twin delivers more torque, the XR engine wins hands down for me. If you look at MCN's comparison tests you can see why. And the quick shifter on the XR...

I chose white because I wanted to distance it from being a Multistrada, and also I hate the colour matched luggage. I've gone for full panniers and topbox and also went for the BMW Nav V which integrates into the bike really well. I plan on fitting the GS mount so I can lock it onto the bike all the time rather than keep taking it off. Unfortunately the batch of rear luggage racks failed the quality inspection after production so I'm still waiting for that to be fitted and the topbox attached.

Only 96 miles covered so far and 60 of those were in pouring rain yesterday so it's filthy already but I'm off to Wales at the weekend for the final 500 miles of the running in period before the restrictor comes off and I can fully explore it's capabilities.

[CaptainSlow]

Looks good. The latest Baron von Grumble video has his review of it.

[J B L]

Very, very nice.

[keebz91]

CaptainSlow said:

Looks good. The latest Baron von Grumble video has his review of it.

I love watching his stuff and I was a little scared to watch his review the day before I picked mine up knowing how much he loves his sports bikes but fortunately he seemed to enjoy it nearly as much as I did!!

[JDuck]

I test rode one of those yesterday and loved it. Is that the SE sport you have?

Did you manage to get any form of deal?

[Tall_Paul]

keebz91 said:

I love watching his stuff and I was a little scared to watch his review the day before I picked mine up knowing how much he loves his sports bikes but fortunately he seemed to enjoy it nearly as much as I did!!

Although he is a sportsbike nut, he bought a GS after riding one for the "as many countries in 24 hours" challenge they did.

I think we'll see lots more of these "do-it-all" bikes like the Tracer, multistrada, 1000XR, they're perfect as a single bike - fast enough for Sunday morning blasts, comfy enough to do hours of motorway down to the alps and good enough handling to enjoy the roads when you get there.

With the state of UK roads, I'd imagine they're probably faster point to point than a sportksbike too, especially on bumpy B roads

I so want a Multistrada, the 2010/2011 models are just coming down to decent prices now too.

[keebz91]

JDuck said:

I test rode one of those yesterday and loved it. Is that the SE sport you have?

Did you manage to get any form of deal?

Yes I went for the SE Sport, I would have spec'd all of the options anyway so it made financial sense to get the top model.

My bike is obviously missing the rear rack which comes as standard with the Sport SE but that will be coming in the near future. I was offered a pre-production Sport SE 3 weeks ago without the LED running light for a £500 discount but chose not to go for it.

BMW aren't often keen to do a deal because they sell the bikes anyway, but I did get 10% off all accessories etc. and a good price for my part-ex.

[JDuck]

keebz91 said:

Yes I went for the SE Sport, I would have spec'd all of the options anyway so it made financial sense to get the top model.

My bike is obviously missing the rear rack which comes as standard with the Sport SE but that will be coming in the near future. I was offered a pre-production Sport SE 3 weeks ago without the LED running light for a £500 discount but chose not to go for it.

BMW aren't often keen to do a deal because they sell the bikes anyway, but I did get 10% off all accessories etc. and a good price for my part-ex.

Cheers for the answers and the tip on accessories, will keep it in mind when negotiating. Apologies for the load of questions but:

I am looking at the luggage set as well, any idea how much they are?

I am looking at the bike in red, does the colour of the panniers match the bike?

For options I was going to go for the alarm. Do you recommend anything else like crash bungs?

The one I test rode had quite a few scratches on the tank and only 150 miles on the clock, how is yours holding up?

[keebz91]

Tall_Paul said:

Although he is a sportsbike nut, he bought a GS after riding one for the "as many countries in 24 hours" challenge they did.

I think we'll see lots more of these "do-it-all" bikes like the Tracer, multistrada, 1000XR, they're perfect as a single bike - fast enough for Sunday morning blasts, comfy enough to do hours of motorway down to the alps and good enough handling to enjoy the roads when you get there.

With the state of UK roads, I'd imagine they're probably faster point to point than a sportksbike too, especially on bumpy B roads

I so want a Multistrada, the 2010/2011 models are just coming down to decent prices now too.

If I had 2 bikes I would probably have a sports bike for the weekend and an adventure bike for touring holidays. This bike is the best of the bunch IMO for doing both although I don't have extensive experience of riding sports bikes on the UK roads.

I was in the market for a Multi last year but never got around to buying one. Owners say the 2012 onwards bikes are the ones to get as they've sorted out the early problems. I would have to take out a warranty for piece of mind which is roughly £600 per year, man maths then made me look at new ones. I did test ride a 13 and a 15 back to back last month though and they were near identical to ride, the only noticeable changes being cosmetic.

[keebz91]

JDuck said:

Cheers for the answers and the tip on accessories, will keep it in mind when negotiating. Apologies for the load of questions but:

I am looking at the luggage set as well, any idea how much they are?
Roughly: Top Box £330 Back Rest £70 Panniers £550 Inner Bags for all 3 £230. The racking is standard on the SE.
I am looking at the bike in red, does the colour of the panniers match the bike?
Yes, red bike would come with red panniers and red top box AFAIK
For options I was going to go for the alarm. Do you recommend anything else like crash bungs?
I wanted the bike to look clean and less bulky so I haven't gone for crash bungs or bars etc.
The one I test rode had quite a few scratches on the tank and only 150 miles on the clock, how is yours holding up?
No problems so far although I will keep an eye on it. Not sure how people manage to contact the tank tbh

No problem. Happy to help, I've answered your questions above. It's also worth noting that all accessories can be purchased separately from the bike from an external provider, often at cheaper prices than BMW too. If you went down this route, you could pick either red or grey luggage

[Andybow]

Lovely bike that!!!
I brought a new multi GT in 2013, I had a speed triple before, but wanted something with similar go, but comfy and luggage for going away on, The multi was a joy to ride, but it was a never ending game with the dealer, the bike spent more time in there garage than mine!!!! As such I will never have another duke again. I brought a new k1300s last September and the service from BMW has been excellent, I've just done 7k on the bike since then and it hasn't missed a beat, I'm not saying BMW are any better than other manufacturers but they have in my mind been fantastic with the service of the bike, I've just got back from France, Spain and Portugal on the bike, so I going to test the xr as its the bike I originally wanted, but I couldn't wait to get shot of the multistrada!
Just hope they do a black one!!
😜

[keebz91]

Andybow said:

Lovely bike that!!!
I brought a new multi GT in 2013, I had a speed triple before, but wanted something with similar go, but comfy and luggage for going away on, The multi was a joy to ride, but it was a never ending game with the dealer, the bike spent more time in there garage than mine!!!! As such I will never have another duke again. I brought a new k1300s last September and the service from BMW has been excellent, I've just done 7k on the bike since then and it hasn't missed a beat, I'm not saying BMW are any better than other manufacturers but they have in my mind been fantastic with the service of the bike, I've just got back from France, Spain and Portugal on the bike, so I going to test the xr as its the bike I originally wanted, but I couldn't wait to get shot of the multistrada!
Just hope they do a black one!!
??

Thanks very much!

The GT was high on my list last year but it was very expensive and reliability etc worries me as I planned on going abroad quite a bit and getting stuck out there is my worst nightmare. When my local dealer closed it made things even worse.
Not sure on BMW's plans for new colours but it's only white and red at the moment unfortunately. Definitely have a test ride though, I'm sure you'll love it!!

[Andybow]

Q

keebz91 said:

Thanks very much!

The GT was high on my list last year but it was very expensive and reliability etc worries me as I planned on going abroad quite a bit and getting stuck out there is my worst nightmare. When my local dealer closed it made things even worse.
Not sure on BMW's plans for new colours but it's only white and red at the moment unfortunately. Definitely have a test ride though, I'm sure you'll love it!!

I'm going to test ride one in a few weeks, don't really want to change this year as my bike is going well, so hopefully they may bring black out for next year, just out of interest, how much in total was the bike as BMW site is pants and I can't seem to price luggage etc. this is mine, we've just got back on Sunday night from being away around Europe, there's actually 2 of us that want the xr.

[3DP]

Congrats! Looks great - Looking forward to trying an XR myself.

[keebz91]

Andybow said:

out of interest, how much in total was the bike. this is mine, we've just got back on Sunday night from being away around Europe, there's actually 2 of us that want the xr.

Looks like a nice trip, your bike looks lovely, especially amongst the other sports tourers. I'm heading to Spain for 3 weeks in September and can't wait.

My bike was just less than £16500 for the Sport SE version including full luggage, complete set of inner bags, back rest for the topbox and Nav V.

[keebz91]

3DP said:

Congrats! Looks great - Looking forward to trying an XR myself.

Thanks very much, I'm pretty pleased with it
Definitely take one out, I'm sure you'll like it, I can't imagine anyone will test it and not enjoy it.

[Rosscow]

keebz91 said:

Looks like a nice trip, your bike looks lovely, especially amongst the other sports tourers. I'm heading to Spain for 3 weeks in September and can't wait.

My bike was just less than £16500 for the Sport SE version including full luggage, complete set of inner bags, back rest for the topbox and Nav V.

fk. A. Duck.

That's a lot of moolah for a motorbike! Fair play.

[keebz91]

Rosscow said:

fk. A. Duck.

That's a lot of moolah for a motorbike! Fair play.

It is indeed but it's not as much as the alternatives once you spec them. The Multi is £15750 plus £2000 in extras for the same spec and the KTM 1290 Adv. is a little more again.
I think you can get the base XR for £12400 so if you don't plan on touring and aren't worried about fancy suspension etc. then that's not too bad.

[Rosscow]

keebz91 said:

Rosscow said:

fk. A. Duck.

That's a lot of moolah for a motorbike! Fair play.

It is indeed but it's not as much as the alternatives once you spec them. The Multi is £15750 plus £2000 in extras for the same spec and the KTM 1290 Adv. is a little more again.
I think you can get the base XR for £12400 so if you don't plan on touring and aren't worried about fancy suspension etc. then that's not too bad.

I'm too tight - I'd just buy a 2012 2k mile K1300S with luggage for £9k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[terry tibbs]

that is where BMW shaft you , the basic bike is well priced add anything price goes up astronomically

in a few years all the options will be standard, as with their cars, it will take a while