[cycleworld.com] - 2024 BMW M 1000 XR Prototype Teased

[Ninjette Newsbot]

BMW teases its latest addition to the M lineup with a few details about the upcoming M 1000 XR. It will offer upgraded performance and exclusive features.

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BMW has teased us with this single image of the M 1000 XR prototype. (BMW Motorrad/)For more than 50 years BMW has created special M-badged vehicles on the automotive side. But it wasn’t until 2020 that the Motorrad division released its first motorcycle to carry this exclusive motorsport branding on the M 1000 RR superbike. The naked M 1000 R was introduced two years later and promised maximum performance in the naked-bike category. Now, BMW is ready to add a third model to this exclusive club of inline-four-powered sportbikes with the M 1000 XR prototype teased here.

“With the M 1000 XR prototype, we are providing a first preview of the third BMW Motorrad M model, in our anniversary year,” said Dominik Blass, product manager. “We have developed the M 1000 XR, based on the current S 1000 XR, S 1000 RR, and M 1000 RR, as a long-distance sportbike with supersports riding dynamics for the road as well as for the track.”

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of BMW Motorrad and the year its first production motorcycle—the R 32—was launched. The company has been competing in two-wheeled motorsport almost from that inception.

Similar to the the S 1000 XR that it’s based on, the M 1000 XR is a jack-of-all-trades motorcycle that takes the best attributes of a sportbike and mashes them together with a sport-tourer to create a hybrid capable of tackling twisty roads with amazing performance but with long-distance-riding comfort thrown into the mix.

BMW’s 999cc inline-four engine with ShiftCam variable valve timing will once again be the star of the show. If we speculate here, we can predict it’s in roughly the same spec as the M 1000 R’s powerplant, which like the M 1000 RR, has a 13.3:1 compression ratio and an increased redline compared to the base models (S 1000 RR, S 1000 R). Bore and stroke for the M 1000 R are 80.0 x 49.7mm, and you can expect to see the same numbers on the M XR.

Claimed horsepower is teased as being more than 200, while we know that the claimed output of the M 1000 R is 205. Using history as a template, we can expect the S 1000 XR’s engine to be in a very similar state of tune. BMW claims the M 1000 XR’s top speed will hover around the 174 mph mark, which sounds pretty spicy for an all-arounder like the XR.

As was the case with the M 1000 R, adding aerodynamic winglets to the M XR gives BMW engineers the freedom to unleash the bike a bit and maximize the capability of the engine. The winglets help keep the front tire in contact with the tarmac under hard acceleration, reduce the level of intervention from the traction-control system, and increase high-speed stability.

The press release gives very little away in terms of the electronics package, but seeing as how the M 1000 R comes standard with almost all of the electronic rider aids and extras available on the M 1000 RR homologation-special superbike, we can speculate that the M XR will come with a very similar package and include four ride modes: Rain, Road, Dynamic, and Race. We also predict that it will come with Race Pro as standard, which provides three customizable modes as found on the M 1000 R.

The DTC system will surely be the latest six-axis system as found on the M 1000 R and M 1000 RR. This system provides the computer with info on lean angle to further refine the intervention for traction control, ABS, wheelie control, and Dynamic Engine Brake Control. The M XR will likely also come equipped with the new Brake Slide Control, allowing the rider to hang out the rear end under hard braking, supermoto style. The M 1000 R is equipped with Shift Assistant Pro, Launch Control, a Pit Lane Limiter, Hill Start Control Pro, heated grips, and cruise control, so we expect those on the M 1000 XR as well.

There is very little information on M 1000 XR’s chassis, other than the fact that it will get the same M brakes as fitted to the M 1000 R. That includes radial-mount, four-piston Nissin calipers and 320mm discs up front, and a Brembo caliper and 220mm disc out back.

Although there is no mention of it, we can assume that the XR will get the same Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) electronic suspension that is standard on the R. In that application there is a Marzocchi 45mm inverted fork up front and a linked monoshock out back. Damping settings are tied to the aforementioned four ride modes. In those standard modes there are preset damping settings, while the Race Pro settings allow the rider to individually tailor the settings to preference. Claimed fully fueled weight is 492 pounds, which is down from 498 on the standard XR, but quite a bit heavier than the 439-pound M 1000 R.

BMW’s press release states that further information on the M 1000 XR will be available in the second half of 2023, so stay tuned and we’ll provide more details as they become available.