I've had this bike for three weeks now and have already done 1500 miles on it. Having collected it from Scotland and ridden it back from London I quickly decided that Xcountry is an apt name. I have covered all sorts of terrain from motorways, central London streets, country roads and muddy forest trails; the bike handled them all admirably.
My previous bike was a GSX-R 600 and despite this I find the BMW far from boring. It's quick off the mark and the performance is good for this type of bike. The handling is very responsive and it corners excellently. Once the ABS is switched off it becomes a great green laner capable of handling fairly demanding terrain, made easier by its relatively low weight.
The only thing I would change is the size of the fuel tank; a paltry 9.5 litres. It does give good MPG though and will do around 120 miles on a full tank.
Overall this is a great bike which should keep its value well and offers riders access to the full spectrum of terrains.
Posted: 09/05/2011 at 22:40
