BMW F 900 R in the driving report

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BMW F 900 R in the driving report

F for progress

With the F 900 R, BMW has fundamentally revised its mid-range series. We were able to ride the new mid-range naked bike in Spain.

D.he F-series from BMW in the past did not exactly stand for exciting motorcycles or even highlights in the model range. Rather, they were a door opener into the BMW world for everyone for whom the GS or an S 1000 R was too expensive, too big, too powerful or all three at once. The F 800 R wasn’t a bad motorcycle in the end, but at best it was solid, balanced and tailored to riders who wanted a loyal companion on their trips who should carry the label from Munich. Trees could hardly be uprooted with it.

Strong optics, powerful twin

But now BMW has rolled the F 900 R to the start and even when it is standing still it signals that a completely different motorcycle is here. The muscle-packed front and the slim rear, which also got a really handsome exhaust, make the F 900 R optically a real bike. But no one is happy just by looking, and so we were able to convince ourselves during the presentation that the visual promise is followed by an experience. This is mainly determined by the new engine. The two-cylinder in-line engine with now 895 cubic meters hangs very nicely on the gas, turns willingly and also has punch. The twin delivers 105 hp at its peak, but over the entire rev range it impresses with great smoothness and linear power delivery. You can even let the F slide lazily.

But the transmission enhances the sporting capabilities of the two-cylinder, it is well tuned and can be shifted perfectly – even without the automatic gearshift with blipper function, which is available as an accessory. In addition, you sit actively on the mid-range naked bike and benefit from the successful tuning of the engine. One turn of the throttle and the twin starts. The brakes have also been improved. The Brembo calipers grip firmly, if not aggressively. Overall, the front stopper is very easy to dose.

Bmw

Thwarted by the cold

However, we weren’t too determined to get to grips with the test machine because the winter hit Spain just for the presentation and didn’t want to treat us to more than five degrees Celsius on the finely winding mountain roads in Andalusia. Hence the only point that caused some frowns at the F comes from. The new naked bike was not completely neutral when it was wagging, it wanted to be maneuvered through the corners with a little counter pressure on the inside of the handlebars. However, it is quite possible that this is due to the sporty tires with the Bridgestone S 21, because the very sporty tire simply needs enough temperature for the best performance. And he just couldn’t get it on cold and mostly very damp asphalt. So let’s leave this chapter open until we can seriously check it again. The same applies to the chassis, from the tester’s point of view it is also essential to take it easy. We will probably have to postpone that until the first comparison test in one of the next issues of MOTORRAD.

Nevertheless, we see a huge step that the F series has made. And that is not only due to the lavish equipment from the traction control to the new large TFT display to the heated grips, which can of course be expanded in the BMW accessories catalog. The heart is the drive, we already have an F for "formidable".

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