A Feel-Good Throwback - BMW R nineT 2021

What we like:

A mid-life update makes the R nineT even more desirable; if you wanted to look and feel retro while enjoying thoroughly modern engineering

the bike does it brilliantly.

What we dislike:

It’s nice if there’s a fuel gauge. The most interesting derivative - the Racer - has been discontinued.

In 2015, I rode my first roadster and it was the R nineT. I had fond memories of the ride, loving the boxer twin burble, the retro styling and perhaps most of all, the ease of riding a compact compared to the heavy tourers I was previously accustomed to.

It’s great to be acquainted again with the nineT after six years, now in an updated form that has significantly expanded the visual range as well as the technical capabilities of the nineT.

I rode the ‘option 719’ in Mineral White metallic and Aurum contrast, which can be added to any one of the four current derivatives of the nineT - R nineT, R nineT Pure, R nineT Scrambler and R nineT Urban G/S. My favourite has to be the discontinued Racer - apparently stopped due to poor sales (with those looks, it’s hard to believe it).

You can literally build the most ideal nineT you want and that’s how far you can take your customisation with it these days. But as a base, the nineT is already beautifully packaged with great proportions. It has all the makings of a great blank canvas on which you can paint your style.

The nineT has always been an approachable bike and this hasn’t changed. It’s a cinch to mount and get going. Forward visibility is excellent, although as there is no wind deflector it can get blustery at speed. The riding position is spot on, with no need to strain for the handlebars or to reach the gear pegs. What dominates the view is the boxer twin cylinders protruding out, which is a visual feast and is also less intrusive than one imagines.

New instrument dials are a welcome change with added functionality compared to earlier nineTs, although I wish there was a fuel gauge. All controls feel solidly weighted and damped, as you would expect from BMW. There’s even a USB port that comes as standard.

There are now riding modes you can choose from - “Rain” and “Road” come as standard. The former was useful for the wet days on this particular test ride; throttle response is pared down and calmer, so there is less chance of traction breaking away. You’d also notice the hand wheel for adjusting spring preload on the shock absorbers, a carryover from the S1000 RR, and they now feature travel-dependent damping too.

The nineT’s air-cooled boxer twin has always carried the flag for the bike’s character, its sound and slightly left-right tug on throttle giving it an old-school, charming personality. It has now been updated with new cylinder heads for better mid-range torque, although the 116 Nm torque figure stays the same. Power is down by 1 hp from previously but peaks at 7,250 rpm instead of 7,750 rpm previously, allowing more accessible grunt.

Even after all the years since I rode the early nineT, I could palpably feel the stronger power delivery of the updated engine, and it feels smoother too. Yet, the engagement to the senses remains intact with a lovely boxer burble and an engine that revs up beautifully as the engine is inherently balanced. In fact the higher it revved, the smoother it got, but its sweet spot is in the mid-range.

The bike is reasonably weighted and so feels very agile and light on its feet. Its brakes are progressive and cuts back on speed with conviction. All this is very confidence-inspiring and encourages you to bring it to its limits, such is the agreeable nature of the nineT. It’s a lot of fun tackling the back roads and rather than chasing for lap times, the bike is eager to bring smiles to your face - and it works.

Firm but well-judged damping, coupled with the huge amount of torque available, makes the nineT a very relaxing bike to ride and is well-suited to the low to medium speeds of our roads. You only feel the bike is slightly out of its element on the highway as you get a lot of wind buffeting.

The R nineT is a clever move by BMW Motorrad to ride on the retro wave, and even seven years after its launch, it remains more relevant than ever, now made even more desirable with a carefully refined engine as well as a huge amount of customisation and derivatives available.

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Credits: Text by James Wong; Photos by Clifford Chow