The BMW R nineT (“ninety”) was launched in 2013 to have a good time BMW Motorrad’s ninetieth anniversary. That’s the identical 12 months the “water boxer” R 1200 GS debuted, marking a shift from air/oil cooling to air/liquid cooling. The identical engine in varied states of tune made its strategy to different R-series fashions, however as the primary mannequin in BMW’s new Heritage line, the R nineT retained the air/oil-cooled model of the boxer.
Designed as a modular platform that will not solely enable a number of mannequin variants but additionally customization by homeowners, the R nineT’s chassis consisted of BMW’s Paralever single-sided swingarm with shaft drive and a traditional inverted telescopic fork as an alternative of the Telelever setup used on different R-series fashions. The R nineT was fashionable in a basic sense, with gloss black paint that honored BMW’s lengthy historical past of constructing black bikes, brushed aluminum tank sides and tail cowl, and spoked wheels.
The primary BMW R nineT was adopted by a succession of cool retro-inspired fashions: the stripped-down Pure, the cafe-styled Racer, the high-piped Scrambler, and the ’80s throwback City G/S. Each was a candy piece of German eye sweet, enjoyable to ogle and enjoyable to trip, although the stretched-out using place of the Racer delivered to thoughts a medieval torture rack (Ja, you vill inform us vhat ve vant to know!).
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Rider obtained an R nineT Pure take a look at bike in 2017, and its simplicity appealed to me. I threw a bag on the tank and one other on the passenger seat, bungee-corded a tent on high, and hit the street for a few days. As I wrote in my assessment, “From the primary time I began it till the final mile I rode it, the R nineT Pure jogged my memory of why I fell in love with motorcycling. It’s not about what model you trip or a motorbike’s horsepower or specs. It’s in regards to the freedom to get away, to be out on the planet.”
Associated: 2017 BMW R nineT Pure | Street Check Evaluate
In 2019, BMW unveiled the R nineT /5, with its tank and entrance fender completed in Lupine Blue with white double pinstripes, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the “slash 5” collection. Two years later, to have a good time 40 years of the GS line, BMW revealed a shocking yellow-and-black model of the City G/S that was impressed by the R 100 GS.
GEAR UP
It’s becoming, then, that for its centennial this 12 months, BMW Motorrad created a 100 Years Version of the R nineT, together with an analogous commemorative version of the R 18 cruiser. Manufacturing of each fashions is restricted to 1,923 items worldwide to honor the 12 months BMW began manufacturing bikes.
Associated: 2023 BMW R nineT and R 18 100 Years Heritage Editions
As with different R nineT fashions, the 100 Years Version is powered by the basic air/oil-cooled 1,170cc opposed flat-Twin with a longitudinal crankshaft, a 6-speed transmission with a hydraulically actuated single-plate dry clutch, and shaft last drive. Claimed output for the engine is 109 hp and 85.5 lb-ft of torque – sufficient to push the 487-lb bike down the street with gusto.
To appropriately honor such a signficant milestone, the R nineT 100 Years Version is dripping with factory-custom particulars. Since BMW Motorrad’s earliest days, code quantity 719 has represented particular buyer requests that have been fulfilled on the manufacturing facility utilizing high craftsmanship. Immediately, Possibility 719 components are upgrades over inventory gadgets and are fabricated from high-end supplies or created utilizing small-batch processes. The 100 Years Version options the Possibility 719 Shadow and Shadow II Billet packs, a set of black anodized components with milled surfaces, together with the cylinder head covers, entrance engine cowl, oil filler plug, seat holders, hand levers, rider and passenger footpegs, bar-end mirrors, and hydraulic reservoir covers.
There was little question {that a} bike commemorating BMW Motorrad’s a hundredth anniversary could be painted black with white double pinstripes, and the entrance fender, tank, and rear seat cowl are completed in a particular Avus Black. BMW bikes aren’t identified for many chrome, however one of many firm’s most iconic fashions – the R 75/5 with the “Toaster” tank – had chrome-plated tank panels and facet covers.
The R nineT’s tank and rear seat cowl function Basic Chrome, a “paint on chrome” course of that makes use of Chromium III, which is REACH compliant (an EU well being customary). The components are polished to a excessive gloss, immersed in a collection of electoplating baths (copper, nickel, and chromium), painted in a number of layers, and completed in a transparent coat. The result’s a shocking mirror end that fades into the black paint that surrounds it. The exhaust manifolds are additionally chrome plated, whereas the dual silencers have a brushed aluminum end.
Persevering with the black aesthetic are Possibility 719 Basic spoked tubeless wheels with black anodized rims that pair properly with the black on the tank knee pads, tubular metal body, swingarm, fork tubes, and air consumption snorkels. There’s a splash of coloration, albeit a darkish one, on the two-tone black/oxblood pink seat.
All these particulars add as much as a head-turner of a motorbike whose magnificence is greater than the sum of its components. Frankly, the R nineT 100 Years Version made me slightly nervous. I used to be afraid of scratching it or, heaven forbid, tipping it over. However this bike isn’t a showpiece – it’s meant to be ridden, and I’m glad to report that I obtained my jollies scraping down the peg feelers and narrowing the hen strips with out incident.
These acquainted – or in some circumstances obsessed – with the R-series air/oil-cooled boxer Twin already know its sound and really feel are unmistakable: the raspy burble upon start-up, the deep bass chug-a-lug at idle, the crankshaft twist when revving it at a cease, the regular lope at cruising speeds, and the authoritative bark below acceleration. The one-two, one-two cadence of the boxer, with each pistons pushing outward and pulling inward concurrently, every 360 levels from the opposite on the suck-squeeze-bang-blow cycle, is sort of a heartbeat: lup-dup, lup-dup, lup-dup. No surprise rolling on the throttle feels so invigorating!
As a roadster, the R nineT has an agreeable seating place, with a modest attain to a large, upright handlebar, an inexpensive quantity of bend within the knee, and a flat saddle. The thinly padded seat will encourage most riders to take a break properly earlier than the 4.5-gallon tank’s low-fuel gentle comes on. In customary trim, the 100 Years lacks a passenger seat, although it does have passenger footpegs, and a pillion seat is accessible as an adjunct.
With a moist weight properly beneath 500 lb and roughly 100 hp reaching the rear wheel, the R nineT scoots alongside briskly when requested to take action. Its compact dimensions, taut suspension, and robust brakes are good for a sporting tempo, permitting it to bend into corners eagerly and rewarding the rider with a satisfying rush upon exit.
Regardless of its basic styling, the R nineT 100 Years Version is totally fashionable. It doesn’t have BMW’s newest air/liquid-cooled 1,254cc boxer with ShiftCam variable-valve know-how as a result of the radiator and attendant plumbing would detract from the styling, but it surely’s geared up with Experience Modes Professional (Dynamic, Street, and Rain), ABS Professional, Automated Stability Management, Dynamic Brake Management, Dynamic Traction Management, Dynamic Engine Brake Management, and LED lighting with an Adaptive turning headlight. As with most modern bikes, these digital aids function behind the scenes and don’t intrude with the using expertise.
Instrumentation is appropriately subdued, with a pair of spherical analog gauges – speedometer on the left, tachometer on the precise – with white kind on a black background. Inset on the backside of every gauge is a digital show for varied settings and knowledge. The bike can be geared up with cruise management, heated grips, and a USB charging port.
Atop the R nineT 100 Years Version’s tank is a chrome badge engraved with “1 of 1,923” and the “100 Years BMW Motorrad / Make Life a Experience” emblem. The badge marks this as a particular bike, not simply because it’s in-built restricted numbers and adorned with {custom} components and finishes but additionally due to what it stands for. It represents a century of arduous work and innovation, highs and lows, successes and failures. It connects the previous to the current, and it’s a image of BMW’s values, capabilities, and ambitions. And for that, it’s worthy of respect and admiration.
2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years Version Specs
ENGINE
- Kind: Air/oil‑cooled, longitudinal opposed flat‑Twin, DOHC w/ 4 valves per cyl.
- Displacement: 1,170cc
- Bore x Stroke: 101.0 x 73.0mm
- Compression Ratio: 12.0:1
- Valve Insp. Interval: 6,000 miles
- Gas Supply: Absolutely sequential EFI, 50mm throttle our bodies x 2
- Lubrication System: Moist sump, 4.2 qt. cap.
- Transmission: 6‑pace, hydraulically actuated dry clutch
- Remaining Drive: Shaft
CHASSIS
- Body: Tubular‑metal bridge body w/ engine as harassed member, Paralever single‑sided cast-aluminum swingarm
- Wheelbase: 58.5 in.
- Rake/Path: 26.8 levels/4.3 in.
- Seat Top: 31.7 in.
- Suspension, Entrance: 43mm inverted fork, absolutely adj., 4.7 in. journey
- Rear: Single shock, adj. for spring preload (distant) & rebound damping, 4.7 in. journey
- Brakes, Entrance: Twin 320mm floating discs w/ radial‑mount opposed 4‑piston calipers & ABS
- Rear: Single 265mm disc w/ floating 2‑piston caliper & ABS
- Wheels, Entrance: Spoked, 3.50 x 17 in.
- Rear: Spoked, 5.50 x 17 in.
- Tires, Entrance: Tubeless, 120/70‑ZR17
- Rear: Tubeless, 180/55‑ZR17
- Moist Weight: 487 lb
- Load Capability: 461 lb
- GVWR: 948 lb
PERFORMANCE
- Horsepower: 109 @ 7,250 rpm (manufacturing facility declare, on the crank)
- Torque: 85.5 lb‑ft @ 6,000 rpm (manufacturing facility declare, on the crank)
- Gas Capability: 4.5 gal.
- Gas Consumption: 38 mpg
- Estimated Vary: 171 miles
