2017 Bmw R Ninet And R Ninet Urban G/S First Look

The 2017 BMW R nineT Pure. Photos by Kevin Wing.

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You don’t need a touring bike to travel. Robert M. Pirsig did his legendary 17-day, Minnesota-to-California journey, carrying his son & an inordinate amount of cargo, on a 28-horsepower Honda CB77, which is credited as the company’s first sportbike. When I threw a leg over the BMW R nineT Pure và fired it up, my first thought was, “Let’s go!” Something about it made me just want khổng lồ hit the road, so I loaded some soft luggage with essentials, strapped on a lightweight tent and off I went. Nothing grand or epic, just a solo escape for a couple days.

Read about our two-day ride on the BMW R nineT Scrambler.

For my overnight campout, I packed light, and everything fit in a Cortech tank bag, a Tour Master tail bag and an REI stuff sack Rok-strapped lớn the back.

Many of us believe a motorcycle ride is more about the journey than the destination—in part because the notion applies more generally to lớn a life well lived—but how often bởi we set out without knowing where we’re going? As a compulsive planner, I always have a destination in mind, và this trip was no exception. I headed north, toward a secret camping spot high on a ridge overlooking the Pacific. But several hours into my ride I found out that, due khổng lồ landslides, California’s Highway 1 was closed south of my planned turn off, forcing me lớn reevaluate my priorities. First I backtracked, then I just ambled, poking my front wheel down roads that had always piqued my curiosity when I was too busy going other places to explore them.

The R nineT Pure also travels light, with stripped-down styling, an iconic air/oil-cooled boxer twin and a solid chassis.

Turning the R nineT’s driveshaft is the air/oil-cooled version of BMW’s iconic boxer twin, not the newer, fancier water-cooled one, và its styling is unabashedly retro. The mã sản phẩm you see here, a stripped-down variant called the Pure, is less flashy—and $3,400 less expensive—than the original. It swaps the aluminum tank for a steel one (better for magnetic bags, though capacity is down 0.3-gallon), comes with cast wheels (my preference over the optional spoked ones on our demo bike, which cost $500 and require tubes), và rides on a conventional telescopic fork (rather than the upside-down unit on the standard model). Lớn achieve a base price of $11,995—making the Pure the least expensive boxer in BMW’s lineup—other cost-saving measures include a single gauge atop the triple clamp, a 2-into-1 exhaust, a less modular frame, ring-and-locknut preload adjustment for the rear shock & just one màu sắc option: non-metallic Catalano-Grey on the tank và front fender.

Read our Road Test reviews of the BMW R nineT Urban G/S.

On demand, the R nineT Pure leaps into kích hoạt as an agile, feisty thể thao standard.

Press the starter và the Pure’s perfectly tuned exhaust emits an edgy bark before settling into a rumbling burble, a resonant sound that soothes me like a mother’s heartbeat soothes a baby. The thrum of the opposed twin was a constant companion, a mechanical vibration connecting me lớn the 90-plus years of BMW Motorrad history the R nineT was designed lớn honor. I’m not a vintage xe đạp enthusiast—the fewer carburetors in my life, the better—but I love today’s “neo retro” machines that blend classic styling with modern engineering. The Pure has throttle-by-wire, switchable ABS & optional traction control, but none of those features interfere with the ride, which feels solid và direct. There’s hardly any plastic on the bike và its single dial, an analog speedo with an inset LCD that provides only basic info, is the very definition of elegant simplicity. There’s nothing to figure out; just get on & ride.

With its distinctive air intake & seat gusset, the Pure retains the R nineT’s signature kiến thiết elements. Lớn reduce costs, the Pure has a conventional fork and a less modular, three-piece frame. A special Torx key is required khổng lồ remove the two-piece seat.

And that’s what I did. I explored. I fell into a rhythm. I went down dead-end roads just khổng lồ see where they went. Having put thousands of miles on BMW boxers, the Pure’s loping cadence felt familiar và reassuring. My relaxed pace meant that I rarely taxed the Brembo brakes, & windblast never bothered me. With no fairing or windscreen, the Pure puts you in the elements. Chilly coastal air worked its way up the sleeves of my jacket & around my neck; occasionally I’d turn on the optional heated grips to lớn take the edge off. The low seat and high pegs kept my knees sharply bent, and toward the over of each day I grew tired of the small, firm seat. But, as Pirsig wrote, “If the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn’t mean much.”

A 100-horsepower engine, taut suspension, strong brakes and light weight make the R nineT Pure a real delight on a curvy road.

Mr. Pirsig passed away a few weeks before my ride, inspiring me to lớn reread “Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” The book was in my tank bag and its ideas drifted in và out of my thoughts during my ride. Pirsig was a dyed-in-the-wool touring rider, someone who appreciated the virtues of traveling down lonely roads, the kind that follow the natural contours of the land, hemmed in by old trees và even older hills và rocks, & that invite contemplation. As he wrote: “You spend your time being aware of things và meditating on them…thinking about things at great leisure và length without being hurried and without feeling you’re losing time.”

The Pure’s analog speedo, round headlight & single muffler have a brushed finish. As a taller rider, the seating position is fairly upright for me, but the high pegs put a lot of bend in my knees.

I wasn’t hurried, but even on relaxed rides I enjoy blood-pumping bouts of throttle twisting, và the Pure is more than happy to lớn oblige. It putts along amiably at cruising revs, & then, with a quick snap of the wrist, the exhaust erupts with a throaty roar & the bike lunges forward, its Metzeler Roadtec Z8 sport-touring radials digging in. The Pure weighs a modest 488 pounds and, based on our last demo of the standard R nineT, it sends 99.5 horsepower khổng lồ the rear wheel at 7,800 rpm & delivers ample torque—more than 60 lb-ft between 3,200 và 8,300 rpm, peaking at 73 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm. Cranking up the revs, a fair amount of vibration can be felt through the grips and pegs, which seemed lớn match my adrenaline-quickened pulse. With a wide handlebar, sturdy chassis & firm suspension, the Pure bends into curves obediently & changes direction easily.

When your destination is out of reach, focus on the journey instead. Record rainfall led lớn landslides that have forced the closure of California Highway 1 at multiple points between Carmel và San Simeon. A week after my ride, another enormous slide buried a 1/3-mile stretch of highway.

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After spending the night at a quiet campground, where I got to watch an orange moon rise in the east while sipping whiskey by the fire, I broke camp & wandered south again. It was a bluebird day, perfect for exploring off-the-beaten-path roads. Eventually I ended up back on Highway 1, on the unglamorous stretch between Pismo and Lompoc, which lacks the postcard views California’s coastal highway is known for. It curves gently between RV parks and agricultural fields, & where there are working farms, tacos can’t be far away. Riding into the dusty town of Guadalupe, I was greeted by the meaty aroma of carnitas wafting from several restaurants along the main drag. Like BBQ joints, the best tacos are found in the most low-key places. I put the BMW’s kickstand down in front of El Tapatio, where I was served juicy pork piled high on thick, hand-pressed tortillas by a friendly guy who asked about my ride. Those tacos made it a little better to arrive than to travel.

OK, where’s the coffee? For an overnight ride-to-camp, all I need are the basics: tent, sleeping pad & bag, collapsible chair, stove, freeze-dried food và coffee, water, whiskey & warm layers.

From the first time I started it until the last mile I rode it, the R nineT Pure reminded me of why I fell in love with motorcycling. It’s not about what brand you ride or a bike’s horsepower or specs. It’s about the freedom to lớn get away, khổng lồ be out in the world. Pirsig understood that: “You’re in the scene…the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness.” When you’re thinking about the ride—the journey, the destination, it doesn’t matter—then you’re not thinking about all of the other stuff that can weigh on us. “Pure” is the perfect name for this bike, a motorcycle in its purest form: a robust engine you can see, feel and hear, a chassis that gets the job done and little else. Where you go và how you get there is up lớn you.

BMW says the Pure is the ideal platform for customization, but khổng lồ my eye it doesn’t need it.

2017 BMW R nineT Pure Specs

Engine

Type: Air/oil-cooled, longitudinal opposed flat twinDisplacement: 1,170ccBore x Stroke: 101.0 x 73.0mmCompression Ratio: 12.0:1Valve Train: DOHC, 4 valves per cyl.Valve Insp. Interval: 6,000 milesFuel Delivery: Fully sequential EFI, 50mm throttle bodies x 2Lubrication System: Wet sump, 4.2-qt. Cap.Transmission: 6-speed, hydraulically actuated dry clutchFinal Drive: Shaft, 2.9:1

Electrical

Ignition: Electronic (BMS-MP)Charging Output: 720 watts max.Battery: 12V 14AH

Chassis

Frame: Tubular-steel bridge frame w/ engine as stressed member, Paralever single-sided cast aluminum swingarmWheelbase: 58.8 in.Rake/Trail: 27 degrees/4.1 in.Seat Height: 31.7 in.Suspension, Front: 43mm stanchions, no adj., 4.9-in. TravelRear: Single shock, adj. For spring preload và rebound damping, 4.7-in. TravelBrakes, Front: Dual 320mm floating discs w/ radial-mount opposed 4-piston calipers& ABSRear: Single 265mm disc w/ floating 2-piston caliper & ABSWheels, Front: Spoked, 3.50 x 17 in. (as tested)Rear: Spoked, 5.50 x 17 in. (as tested)Tires, Front: Tube-type, 120/70-ZR17 (as tested)Rear: Tube-type, 180/55-ZR17 (as tested)Wet Weight: 488 lbs. (as tested)Load Capacity: 460 lbs. (as tested)GVWR: 948 lbs.

Performance

Fuel Capacity: 4.5 gals., last 0.8 gal. Warning light onMPG: 91 PON min. (low/avg/high) 31.2/36.8/40.4Estimated Range: 165 milesIndicated RPM at 60 MPH: 3,400 (2016 R nineT)

Greg’s gear:Helmet: Nolan N87Jacket: Joe Rocket Classic ’92Pants: Scorpion Covert ProBoots: Joe Rocket Meteor FX

Cast wheels with tubeless tires are standard on the Pure. Optional spoked wheels cost $500 và require tubes.
The elegant analog speedo has an inset LCD with a clock, an odometer, tripmeters and engine temp. No fuel gauge, no gear indicator, no ambient temp—old school!
Unscrewing eight bolts will remove the passenger subframe và footpeg hangers for a cleaner, solo-rider look. A wide range of stylish & functional accessories are available.

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The air/oil-cooled boxer exudes character, churns out plenty of torque và sits low for good handling. Below: BMW says the Pure is the ideal platform for customization, but khổng lồ my eye it doesn’t need it.