{"id":33805,"date":"2014-11-01T16:14:45","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T20:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=33805"},"modified":"2020-04-07T12:46:21","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:46:21","slug":"rninet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2014\/11\/rninet\/","title":{"rendered":"BMW R nineT"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Character with an Old Soul
\nA back-to-basics machine that oozes personality, and has Costa looking for some extra cash<\/p>\n
In 35 years of riding, I\u2019ve bought and sold my fair share of bikes. I\u2019ve owned about as many bikes as the years I\u2019ve been riding, and I have tested way more than that. However, among them are but a few I\u2019d consider favourites \u2013 bikes I wish I\u2019d kept, would buy again, or would consider buying. This doesn\u2019t mean I didn\u2019t like the other bikes I\u2019ve owned or tested, and it has nothing to do with performance; I love riding my current KLR650, it does everything I ask of it exceptionally well and has proven itself bulletproof. But as with other bikes I like, a connection just hasn\u2019t formed with it. We haven\u2019t bonded.<\/p>\n
Bikes I have bonded with include the BMW R80G\/S, the Harley-Davidson Sportster (with rigid engine mounting), the Honda FT500 Ascot (my first streetbike), and the air-cooled Ducati Super Sport, though there are others. Hopping aboard any of these bikes immediately takes me back to my early riding days, when motorcycles exhibited a certain mechanical simplicity, free of frills or gadgets. I used to be a motorcycle technician, after all, and a big part of what attracted me to motorcycles was their naked mechanicals, their exposed engines, and lots of steel and aluminum.<\/p>\n
<\/a>There\u2019s a modern motorcycle I\u2019ve recently added to my list of favourites: the BMW R nineT. When it was first announced late last year to commemorate 90 years of BMW motorcycle production, it didn\u2019t strike me as particularly special. I initially wrote it off as just another factory retro: cute and probably quite efficient, but just another machine aiming to woo the hipster crowd, without pedigree or substance. One look at the bike in the metal, and my opinion began to swing; one ride, and I began contemplating growing a beard and rolling up my jean bottoms into cuffs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to pinpoint what exactly it is about the nineT that grabbed me by the soul. The frame is comprised of tubular steel and up front is a telescopic fork, a rarity among modern BMW boxers even if it is of the inverted variety. Aside from the gold-toned fork uppers, the styling is refreshingly understated. The bike is mostly black with a few silver highlights, and the only chrome you\u2019ll find is on the header pipes, which lead to a stylish, bifurcated muffler made of titanium. The fuel tank is made from aluminum. And the high-performance HP2 Enduro notwithstanding, when was the last time you saw tubed tires on a BMW boxer?<\/p>\n The simplicity extends to the gauges, which feature no bells and whistles, no colour displays, just analog dials and a central LCD display. Some BMW purists will lament the absence of heated grips (they are optional), but I remember a time when lined gloves were a biker\u2019s only defence against cold morning rides. There are no ride modes, no traction control, minimal suspension adjustability (none up front, rebound damping and preload in the rear), and the only modern technology you\u2019ll find is the fuel-injection system and ABS, the one a necessity to meet emissions standards, the other standard on all BMW motorcycles.<\/p>\n In fact, I had other plans for the R nineT, which included scouring the BMW accessory catalogue and ordering up whatever I thought I\u2019d need to personalize the bike (I was serious about that cash deposit, you know), all approved by BMW Canada\u2019s Rob Dexter, of course.<\/p>\n