BMW R nine T Urban G/S review and test drive

BMW R nine T Urban G/S review and test drive

At the end of spring 2022, John Urie, one of the co-owners of the online magazine MCN, owner of the original Ducati 916 and Yamaha R1, presented a report on the test drive of an extremely interesting motorcycle - the BMW R nine T Urban G / S.

In line with the current trend towards retro bikes with off-road performance, it was only a matter of time before the BMW R nine T was born. Such a large corporation could not ignore the widely publicized modern trend and presented its vision of a retro bike. Question: Is the modern R nine T really similar to the legendary BMW R80 G/S from the distant 80s? Yes! If your choice is a retro bike with cutting-edge features, a spunky air-cooled engine, a rich exhaust note and extremely easy handling, you won’t be able to deny yourself the pleasure of becoming the owner of the new BMW R nine T Urban G / S.

In the photo: the BMW R nine T Urban G/S is really good from all angles

To a large extent, the updated motorcycle is based on the already existing R nine T Scrambler, but there are a number of differences, and not only in the color scheme. A new, high-mounted wing has been installed, the seat is an unobtrusive red color, and the stylized retro coloring is eye-catching. Another important nuance is the single-barrel exhaust of the off-road bike, in contrast to the dual exhaust of its urban counterpart.

Suspiciously similar to the R nine T Scrambler, the off-road bike is distinguished by its character and behavior. The bike barks angrily when the throttle is opened, and its distinctive sound is in no way to be confused with the quieter rumble of a city Scrambler. And on the highway, the growl of a two-cylinder engine turns into a furious howl of an alarmed predator, warning potential prey of its approach. In dense city traffic, you can feel the vibration of the “heart” of the motorcycle at low speeds; coupled with excellent handling, the bike brings no less joy than riding outside the city.

In the photo: a trip along a country road in a BMW R nine T Urban G / S

Despite its old-fashioned looks, the Urban G/S makes a good impression when it comes to handling handling tests. Equipped with a chassis and suspension similar to those of the Scrambler, the bike allows you to dash into turns and quickly shifts into turns, allowing the most unexpected angles of attack for its appearance.

Modern brakes, equipped with ABS as standard, allow you to confidently and powerfully stop the bike in the right situation, adding comfort and safety to the rider.

In the photo: cornering a BMW R nine T Urban G / S

The small fairing of the motorcycle does not allow the rider to somehow hide from the headwind. A fairly hard seat will not allow you to feel as relaxed as in modern G / S touring models. You should accept the fact that the created bike model is more intended for short-distance trips.

To improve the appearance, it would not hurt to add “toothy” footpegs and mudguards from a real enduro bike, but even without these additions it is magnificent. Paying attention to the fine detailing and preservation of the style of the original GS from the bygone era of the 80s, I would like to say that the motorcycle created by BMW gives great pleasure from riding and a lot of positive emotions that flare up at just a quick glance at its graceful body lines and details body kit

Review of the BMW R NineT 2014 motorcycle

How to say "hipster" in German with a Swedish accent?

Herr hipster, your motorcycle is ready! The BMW R NineT truly impresses with its premium finish and bold, stripped-down appearance. Seeing this bike in photographs is one thing, but seeing it in the flesh is something else entirely. It is then that you can appreciate the original design of this model.

NineT is the result of influences from both the expected and the unexpected. As the name suggests, the R nineT in some ways pays homage to the 90th anniversary of the BMW R 32 , launched in 1923. The nineT uses a modern version of that bike's horizontally opposed, air-oil-cooled Boxer engine from the R1200R and last year's RT .

The R1200R is an incredibly practical machine that can do anything. Everything except the cool appearance. To make the bike cooler, BMW turned to Ola Stenegard, a Swedish native who is now head of vehicle design at BMW Motorrad. Stenegard has previously worked on custom motorcycles (mostly Harleys and Triumphs), so his design style differs from typical BMW style, and this is reflected in the nineT. It was Stenegard who took part in the creation of the BMW Lo Rider concept demonstrated in 2008, which is the obvious predecessor of the nineT.

Ola Stenegård is responsible for the bold and stripped-down design of the nineT, of which he says: “This bike is so close to my heart, to my personal life.”

While BMW has a huge number of people working on new models, Stenegard says ,

Most of the work on the nineT was done outside the system, and the design team working on the bike was the smallest of any BMW model in at least the last ten years. “It was difficult to predict sales figures. I can’t believe that we decided to do this at BMW,” said Stenegard.

But the sales level of the nineT turned out to be more than worthy: the motorcycle has already taken fourth place in sales in the BMW model range. What's also interesting is that the average age of nineT buyers is the youngest of all BMW buyers. Moreover, the motorcycle attracts the attention of many people who cannot be called typical buyers of models of this brand.

“The BMW is no longer ‘the motorcycle my father rides,’” said Sergio Carvajal, brand manager for BMW Motorrad USA, wryly.

Customization

The ability to customize the nineT was a key aspect of the bike's design and creating what Stenegard called a "blank canvas." For example, the engine wiring harness is separate from the motorcycle wiring harness, making it much easier to install additional electrical accessories like headlights, turn signals, and even new dash gauges.

The tubular steel frame, specially developed for the nineT, is also designed for customization. It consists of four modular elements: the main frame (the Boxer engine is used as a structural element), the rear main frame, the end frame and the rear seat frame. The last two elements can be easily removed; you just need to unlock eight fasteners.

This is racer Nate Kern's custom nineT with BST carbon fiber wheels, Ohlins suspension and an Akrapovic titanium exhaust.

In addition, the Paralever drive system housing includes three mounting points that can be used to install a bracket to position the license plate and brake/tail light on one side.

Quality finish

The R nineT looks extremely attractive. In life he is more beautiful and smaller than in the photographs.

The finish quality of the nineT is amazing, and the finish of the bike can only be fully appreciated by seeing it in the flesh. The gas tank is made of aluminum, a fairly expensive metal to form and weld. The tank is decorated with unpainted and hand-sanded sides, which are also covered with a transparent layer of a special coating to preserve their beauty.

Beautiful aluminum elements can be found in many parts of the bike. Please note that the front fender brackets, seat post and cross bars are made from high quality forged aluminum parts with a shot peened anodized finish. Even the steering damper mount, which is barely visible, is a beautiful piece of forged aluminum and Stenegard's favorite unsung component of the bike. Light metal is also used in the conical design of the steering wheel. The valve cover is made from even lighter magnesium.

The black anodized alloy wheels, stainless steel spokes and black aluminum hubs add a bit of retro flair to the bike. The stainless steel mufflers from Akrapovic look very cool for stock components, although they do obscure the rear wheel, which is otherwise exposed by the single-sided Paralever swingarm. BMW's options also include a titanium Akrapovic muffler ($957 in the US), which can be mounted high or low depending on the mid-pipe option you order.

It's hard to take your eyes off the nineT. Note the hand-brushed surface of the engine intake with the raised nineT logo.

Test Drive

In fact, the NineT is even smaller and neater than in the photographs, and sitting behind the wheel, it seems that the seat is lower than the height declared by the manufacturer - 785 millimeters. The bike feels very narrow between the knees. BMW representatives say the bike weighs 222 kilograms, of which approximately 12 kilograms is gasoline in the tank.

The footrests are located comfortably, and the driver’s legs themselves are unobtrusively bent; You need to reach forward a little towards the steering wheel. Both handles are adjustable in width to accommodate fingers of all sizes. The instrument panel is a mixture of classic and modern: an analogue speedometer and tachometer are located on either side of the liquid crystal panel, where, in addition to traditional elements such as a clock, trip meters and a gear indicator, fuel consumption and its reserve are shown.

Sitting behind the wheel of the nineT, the driver leans forward more than we expected, but the overall riding position is comfortable and functional at the same time.

Once you fire it up, the nineT sounds and feels like any pre-Wasserboxer engine, which rumbles unevenly at idle in a way that's either annoying or unique, depending on how you look at it. Specifications: The 1,170 cc air-oil-cooled engine remains unchanged: 119 Newton meters (88 ft-lb) of torque at 6,000 rpm and 110 horsepower at 7,550 rpm. The rev limiter is activated at 8500 rpm.

These figures may not seem very impressive, but that is until you sit behind the wheel and squeeze the gas. For the extra power, BMW borrowed gears from the RT-P police car, lowering the final drive ratio from 2.75:1 to 2.91:1. The result is low-end performance that's excellent, and the bike surges forward with arm-stretching agility at almost any speed. According to the manufacturer, the bike takes only 3.6 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 96 kilometers per hour (0-60 mph).

Notice how the fork is fully extended even after slightly twisting the throttle. The motorcycle easily accelerates even at decent speeds on the highway, potentially outperforming any of its competitors in this regard.

Shifting the transmission speeds doesn't require much effort, but it does take a little getting used to in order to do it smoothly. Significant engine braking can cause the rear tire to scrape the pavement during a sloppy downshift. This can be mitigated by competently tugging the throttle, to which the motorcycle will respond with a pleasant engine rumble during deceleration.

Low-speed agility is limited slightly by the non-adjustable steering damper, but the wide handlebars provide good leverage and allow for quick maneuvers when required. But the nineT still likes to turn into corners gracefully rather than being thrown into them harshly. Rake and trail (25.5 degrees, 103 millimeters) are standard for a bike of this type, and the wheelbase (1476 mm) is even quite short for a bike with a driveshaft.

As on all modern BMW motorcycles, anti-lock braking system (ABS) is standard. But there are no other electronic aids on this bike, so don't expect switchable riding modes or the aforementioned traction control system. When Ola Stenegård was asked if he would consider using linked brakes on the nineT, he shook his head and replied: “What about smoking tires?”

In terms of power and handling, the nineT will give any Triumph Bonneville or Thuxton a run for its money. But the motorcycle costs noticeably more.

The nineT also lacks the Telelever found on all other BMW R-series models. In its place is an inverted fork borrowed from the S1000RR , but without the RR adjustability. A traditional fork was chosen to facilitate customization. But there's an added benefit: the nineT handles and responds more naturally than bikes with Telelever suspension.

On the move, the fork does not respond as smoothly as on the RR - it would be interesting to install the “stuffing” from the RR into the nineT fork. Additionally, the gold anodized fork tubes look a little out of place on a black and silver bike. According to Stenegard, his team had some debate over the use of black tubes, but in the end it was decided to use gold ones.

Attached to the fork are strong monobloc radial calipers that provide powerful grip on the 320mm discs. The sharpness of the brakes takes a little getting used to, but they deserve an excellent rating.

But the least impressive part of the nineT is at the back. While BMW's signature Paralever design makes maintenance much easier, the use of a driveshaft system had an impact on the bike's ride. The unsprung weight of the spoked wheel and inner tubes required for the tire and wheel combination certainly had a negative impact on ride quality. On the other hand, the hydraulic preload adjuster makes it easy to adjust the ride height depending on the load, and the infinitely variable rebound damping is just a screwdriver away.

The nineT's seat was surprisingly comfortable, despite its ironing board-like shape. The upholstery is not very soft, but there is enough space to change your driving position and feel comfortable for at least a couple of hours. The driving position makes driving at speeds of around 130 kilometers per hour (at 4,200 rpm) quite pleasant, despite the lack of wind protection.

The nineT's seat is not only comfortable, but also attractive, especially with the hand-finished white stitching and forged aluminum brackets that support the midsection of the seat.

The beautiful gas tank holds 18 liters of premium gasoline. Measurements during the test drive showed that fuel consumption averages 5.8 liters per 100 kilometers, so with a full gas tank, the motorcycle can travel a little more than 300 kilometers without refueling.

But practicality and efficiency are not the highest priority qualities for the owner of the 2014 BMW R NineT. The existing R1200R is much more versatile and practical, and is also significantly cheaper than the nineT, which costs $14,900 in the US. But when it comes to panache and unique design, the R1200R is no match for this bike.

Buy the 1200R if you want to cruise around the country with side bags and a windshield. Opt for the brand new nineT if you want to ride the coolest BMW motorcycle in years. And perhaps within a decade. And perhaps even in the entire history of BMW.

The BMW R nineT has captivated many enthusiasts with its coolness. In the photo: famous motorcycle designer and customizer Roland Sands, American television legend and big fan of wheeled vehicles Jay Leno and the custom version of nineT specially created for him by Sands.