Which is the better BMW Sport Tourer - S1000XR vs R1250RS

[Grumpy Goat]

That video was weird, I was quite distracted by watching how he was trying to keep the non-speaking him looking natural whilst the other one was talking!!

Great to hear someone chime in from the UK on this (or any other topic ... contrary to some popular misconception, this was not intended to be a "US site" )

As a YouTube content creator I too found myself looking at the very same thing and wondering how he managed to get the expressions on the listening version to coincide meaningfully / naturally with what the speaking version was saying. Cool concept for a vid though.

Anyway, I owned a Gen 1 XR for 5 years, which must mean I liked it. Which I did, it was a great bike. But eventually got tired of the screaming engine egging me on to go faster all the time, plus I think I naturally ride lower in the rev range than required to make the most of the S1000 engine.

Exactly the same reason I got rid of my otherwise great S1000R.

I did love that bike for the year that I had it. No issues whatsoever and it was a joy to own, but its attitude (?) was such that everytime I got on it it was raring to go, even if I was just going to work. And while rides were "relaxing in a way" they were never really relaxing, and when I pulled into my garage afterwards I was always "alive" and not mellow. But that is exactly what the S1000 engine is all about, I guess. I traded it for the Tracer 900GT, which suited my use case much better. It has the get-up-and-go when I needed it, and is probably the all 'round most relaxing bike I have owned so far. Funnily enough, after having both the RS and the Tracer, the RS connotes "sport bike" to the Tracer's "transportation machine".

The XR is like a way more powerful Tracer, and maybe it was no coincidence that I leaned in that direction when I was looking for my second bike. I have no issue with the adventure-style sport tourer, but for me when doing long distance riding, the revs have to be lower and that is where the boxer comes into its own. The Tracer's triple is smooth and quiet enough and the transmission is geared low enough that it is equal to the RS as a long-distance machine, and from that standpoint is a better fit for me than the XR.