F900XR

[bdimon]

I rode the new F900XR and really liked it. The riding position is like a GS, totally upright with a tall seat so that I don't have to bend my knees too much. It's narrow and light, only about 482 pounds. The twin-cylinder engine makes almost 100 horsepower and revs fast but also has enough torque at low RPM to smoothly pull from a stop. It felt quicker than my R1200RT which makes sense because it makes almost as much power but is 130 or 140 pounds lighter. That light weight also made it quick to flick into turns.

The little windshield kept the main blast off my torso between 45-55 but with a lot less coverage than I am used to. It was easy to flip the windscreen from low to high and back while riding. In the low position, my helmet is in the wind stream but raising it to the high position stopped most of the head buffeting. It remains to be seen how much the wind would shake me up at 75 MPH.

The bike I rode cost $12,540 but had no option packages. The Select package costs about $1,000 and includes the cruise control, heated grips, and Tire Pressure Monitors that I want. The adaptive lighting would be great if it works well but I need to see that for myself. I would want the panniers that would add another grand or more to the total. With my RiderCoach discount, that should total about $14,000.

Performance, light weight, comfortable, and affordable - I'm sold. Probably not this year but maybe next year.

[eap]

Sounds nice - wonder this will end up

Take care!