Ladies and gentlemen, the world's most powerful adventure tourer has made it to Indian shores! Say hello to the BMW M 1000 XR which has been launched at an exorbitant-for-a-bike price of ₹45 lakh (ex-showroom). This is the third bike in BMW Motorrad’s performance-focussed ‘M’ line-up of motorcycles, so as a result it gets more power and a whole host of exclusive goodies over its standard, S 1000 XR, sibling.
The BMW S 1000 XR is one of the quirkiest looking motorcycles because it cleverly incorporates BMW’s eye-catching styling with the basics of an adventure-tourer, and the M 1000 XR is no different. It sports BMW’s signature split-LED headlight plus DRLs setup upfront and a small windscreen. In profile it gets 17-inch wheels both at the front and back shod with 120- and 200-section rubber respectively. On the suspension front, it boasts an upside-down front fork with ten-step adjustment for rebound, compression and preload. At the rear, it gets an adjustable monoshock. Exclusive to the M 1000 XR, which is only available in the ‘Competition’ spec in India are the plenty of carbonfibre bits everywhere. It gets carbonfibre alloys, winglets, fairing, and front wheel guard. As a result, at 223kg kerb weight, the M 1000 XR is 3kg lighter than the S 1000 XR. Moreover, it also wears a special black shade with BMW M’s blue and red colours.
Powering the M 1000 XR is the same 999cc in-line four engine that's found in the S 1000 RR superbike. It churns out 198bhp and 113Nm, which is 30bhp more than the standard S 1000 XR. And that's courtesy of BMW’s ShiftCam variable valve timing/lift technology and titanium valves. The bike also gets a larger rear sprocket and shorter 4th, 5th and 6th gear ratios for improved acceleration. It can sprint from 0 to 100kmph in just 3.2 seconds and top out at 278kmph.
On the features front, the Bimmer gets adaptive suspension, M brakes, seven ride modes, launch control, pit lane speed limiter, race ABS, cruise control, heated grips and TPMS. And being an adv-tourer it gets a massive 20-litre fuel tank and a 850mm seat height.
The BMW M 1000 XR demands ₹45 lakh of your hard earned money and at that price it sits between its other two M-massaged bike siblings. The M 1000 R (priced between ₹33-38 lakh) and the M 1000 RR (priced between ₹49-55 lakh). Yes, it's mind numbingly expensive, but it offers the best of both worlds with oodles of carbonfibre and a long list of features. It rivals the likes of the Ducati Multistrada V4 RS and the BMW R 1300 GS