BMW F 900 R, F 900 XR launched from Rs 9.90 lakh

• The F 900 R is priced at Rs 9.90 lakh (standard)

• The F 900 XR sports tourer is priced at Rs 10.50 lakh (standard) and Rs 11.50 lakh (Pro)

• Bookings for both bikes open today

BMW Motorrad India has launched its F 900 twins in India. While the F 900 R is available in only the Standard variant, at Rs 9.90 lakh, the F 900 XR sports tourer is available in two variants – Standard (Rs 10.50 lakh) and Pro (Rs 11.50 lakh). These two motorcycles were unveiled at the 2019 EICMA in Milan and have been launched in the middle of 2020, as planned. The bikes are imported as CBUs and bookings for both bikes open today.

BMW had quite a few motorcycles on display at EICMA 2019, but the new F 900 R and F 900 XR had the most relevance to India. These middleweight offerings share the same chassis and engine, but differ in terms of styling, riding position, suspension travel and other bits. 

Specifications

Powering the bikes is a new 895cc, inline-twin engine that is based on the 2018 BMW F 850 GS' motor, albeit with a slightly larger bore (by 2mm) and higher compression ratio. It produces 105hp at 8,750rpm and 92Nm of torque at 6,500rpm, with as much as 87Nm available from 4,500rpm onwards on both bikes. The engine is paired to a 6-speed transmission. 

The F 900 XR has a 15.5-litre fuel tank, while the R gets a smaller, 13-litre unit. The XR also gets greater suspension travel – 170mm (front) and 172mm (rear) – in comparison to the 135mm (front) and 142mm (rear) on the F 900 R.

F 900 R, F 900 XR features

The standard variants of the bikes get two riding modes (Road and Rain), traction control, 6.5-inch TFT screen with Bluetooth, and LED headlights as standard. The XR Pro gets cruise control, a bi-directional quick-shifter and Dynamic ESA. Features like cornering lights, keyless ignition and Pro iding modes are all optional extras. All these features can be optioned on the F 900 R at an extra cost.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that without Dynamic and Dynamic Pro modes, you cannot manually stiffen the suspension and it will respond to road conditions automatically. There will also be no ABS Pro, which is BMW speak for Cornering ABS. It’ll also miss out on Dynamic Traction Control and Motor Slip Regulation.

In India, the BMW F 900 R is available in Black Storm Metallic and in Style Sport Hockenheim Silver metallic/Racing Red paintwork. The F 900 XR, meanwhile is available in Light White and Style Sport Racing Red paintwork.

We got a chance to ride the F 900 R and F900 XR a few months ago and you can read all about them here.

Competition in India

In terms of competition, the F 900 R goes up against the KTM 790 Duke, Kawasaki Z900, Ducati Monster 821 and the soon-to-be-launched Triumph Street Triple R. The BMW F 900 XR doesn’t have a direct rival, but its price put it against more powerful machines like the Kawasaki Versys 1000.

All prices, ex-showroom Delhi