BMW have stepped off their high tech high horse and thrown a bone towards the section of motorcycle buyers looking for a more retro, trendy people might say pure, machine.
Drawing on 90 years of engineering experience, and a considerable parts bin, the R 90 R nineT takes its inspiration and styling cues from various R-Bikes of old, as well as recent retro attempts from other manufacturesrs like Guzzi or Ducati.
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| 2017 BMW R nineT Pure |
Though to say that this bike is only about retro looks and fashion would be doing it a disservice. The bullet proof oil cooled 1170cc 8-valve engine coupled to a 6 speed transmission and Paralever swingarm makes for a practical, great handling machine with reasonable build quality and attention to detail.
The T nineT model range is a bit of a "spot the difference" competition, with all bikes in the range running identical drivetrain and chassis with only the accessories and bodywork paying service to the latest hipster motorcycle fashions.
Both the base model and the Pure edition pick up where the earlier BMW R100R and Rockster models left off; the Scrambler and G/S pretend to be off-road machines, yet would be lost without a paddle on anything worse than an agricultural track; whereas the S and Racer models are built to evoke a Grand Prix spirit yet are left far behind by even the most basic Japanese 600cc machine.
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| 2017 BMW R nineT Racer |
These bikes are neither cheap nor overly practical - BMW themselves make far better or economical machines - but they perfectly capture the spirit of the current day and suit themselves fantastically to fashion conscious urban types attempting to re-live their lost youth.
This leaves just one question, why is this thing called R nineT with a capital T at the end....?
images courtesy of BMW Motorrad
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