SuperBike Magazine September 2020

31
BMW Motorrad expands its product
range for the popular mid-range
Roadster and Adventure Sport model
being the XR 900.
Despite the 2 models being built
on the same platform, they differ significantly
in character and positioning. Let’s start with
the Roadster being the F900R.
It’s been marketed as a purist motorcycle
and I think that’s because it’s a 2 wheeled
machine simplified. It’s a just a basic bike that
has all the attributes of motorcycling that we
love. But’s its design is funky and will appeal to
a younger buyer as well as the traditionalists.
I’ve never been a fan of naked bikes just
because of their lack of wind protection. The
route BMW took us on was twisty and interesting
with lots of urban twists thrown in, for this
application the bike is perfect. I loved the TFT
dash, the functions within the dash with max
lean angles and other niceties you’d want on a
new modern motorcycle. The dash is fitted with
BMW Connectivity as standard.
The engine architecture remains the same
as on the GS850 being a parallel twin though
the F 900 sees an increase in cylinder bore by
2mm, bumping displacement to 895cc in comparison
to 853cc. Likewise, the new powerplant
sees additional tweaks, including a redesigned
cylinder head for better flow, forged pistons,