Naturally, the R nineT uses a boxer engine – like BMW’s first-ever motorcycle, the 1923 BMW R 32. This one is a 110-horsepower, 1170cc twin designed to produce a lot of torque – 88 foot pounds at 6000 rpm – and it sits in a package that has been built to allow for “maximum customization.”
“During each stage of the roadster’s development, focus was placed on enabling riders to tailor it to their personal preferences in a variety of ways,” BMW’s release on the new model states. “The choice of modifications ranges from BMW Motorrad genuine accessories to custom-made add-on or accessory parts from specialist customizers.”
The nineT gets a tubular steel spaceframe that uses the Boxer engine as a stressed member of the chassis. The chassis also features a removable pillon frame to further aid in the customization of the bike.
The exhaust system runs down the left-hand side of the bike with the two silencers stacked on top of each other for the look of a “classic sporty roadster.” BMW has built the exhaust system with customization in mind and the BMW accessory catalog includes a titanium Akrapovic unit.
“By installing a short or long connecting pipe, the silencer can be mounted in either a lowered or a raised position, radically altering the appearance and character of the nineT,” BMW says.
Breaking from tradition, the nineT gets the same upside down fork used on the S 1000 RR sportbike – and not a telever front suspension system. The rear suspension uses a paralever single-sided swingarm in conjunction with a central spring strut.
Of course, the newest Boxer features a shaftdrive with its housing including three mounting points that can be used to attach a bracket for positioning the license plate and brake/tail light unit on one side. The swingarm also has room for a six-inch rear wheel, though it comes with a 5.5-inch wheel.
In a blast from the past, the nineT uses wire-spoke wheels with black anodized alloy, non-flanged rims, black aluminum hubs and stainless steel spokes. Radial four-piston monoblock brake calipers will grab 320mm discs and the bike gets ABS.
BMW designed the nineT to be rather minimalist, though with attention to detail. The aluminum 4.8-gallon fuel tank has been hand-painted and coated; the aluminum plate with embossed nineT lettering above the air intake duct is another example of the bike’s hand-built character; and the circular headlamp with the BMW emblem in the center of the bulb cover pays homage to previous role models from 90 years of BMW.
The bike was finished off with a Black Storm Metallic paint finish with contrasting silver and metallic highlights.
The following are the highlights of the BMW R nineT, according to BMW
- Purist design.
- Hand-built feel to the workmanship.
- Air/oil-cooled twin-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of 1,170 cc. Output 81 kW (110 hp) at 7,550 rpm, maximum torque 119 Nm (88 lb-ft) at 6,000 rpm.
- Ideally suited to customization.
- Modular frame concept with removable pillion frame and frame end-piece.
- Classic wheel suspension concept using high-quality upside-down telescopic fork at the front and paralever at the rear.
- Exhaust system with two silencers (mufflers) on the left-hand side, with variation options.
- Traditional wire-spoke wheels with black rims and hubs.
- Radial 4-piston monoblock brake callipers, steel-braided brake lines and floating 320 mm (12.6 inch) brake discs.
- Model plate riveted onto steering head in classic BMW Motorrad style.
- Personalized range of special accessories made to BMW Motorrad’s customary high standards of quality.
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