Test: BMW R nineT Racer

Motorcycle slang is specific in some things, phrases are understandable only to “insiders”. In Podalpie, the phrase “he is low like a dog, flies like an ax” was once considered a motorcycle rocket, a heavy engine. Well, that definition matches the latest model in the BMW R nineT Racer family.

Sasha Kapetanovich

At first, it is not complete without mentioning the name Ask Stenegärda, a brazenly controversial Swede with his hand on the design of BMW's new two-wheeler fleet. With his fresh, hey and slightly more rocky approach, he convinced executives that BMW had bitten the retro car segment, the Heritage family, of the R nineT a few years ago. On its platform, the Scrambler and the new Pure, Urban G / S, and now the Racer have grown. Olu succeeded, the family is selling well, the bosses are happy.

Idea

Someone else may remember the Concept 90, designed by Ronald Sands, who sought inspiration from the legendary R90S that Reg Pridmore and Steve McLaughlin competed against. “When developing the Racer, we modeled the Concept 90 using parts from the R nineT,” Stanegard says. The most outstanding pieces that give the racer a reputation are the teardrop-shaped front windshield, reminiscent of sports bikes of the seventies, and the paintwork in BMW colors. “We used these color combinations and patterns that reflect our sporting genes,” added the Swede. Hidden under the front dome are dual gauges that harmonize perfectly with the rest of the bike and enhance its retro look. The finish is superb, details such as the BMW logo in the headlight or the stitching on the seat express nobility. The technique has been tested, his mechanical heart is family. 1170-cc a two-cylinder boxer version with just over a hundred horses. Sufficient for a bike that is not designed to set speed records, but still remains agile in a sporty style.

Take turns out of town

I get on it and start the car. Wow, well, this one has a soul, it's loud enough, and it's tuned right too: BMW. He just says we always write this "A motorcycle has no real soul without the proper sound.". The Racer already has it with a factory exhaust, but I'm not entirely clear how the Bavarians approved this case. I switch to first, and the box does not "knock"! It is soft and smooth like a clutch. Somewhere I bend my legs back, resting my hands on the sports steering wheel, reminiscent of the clamps of the sixties and seventies. He's heavier than I expected. Raija on the winding wide roads of Gorenjska is a real pleasure, and suffering is a slow city ride through the streets of Ljubljana, although I catch curious views and the open enthusiasm of passers-by. The racer just doesn't like to drive around the city, his arms and neck suffer from it, so this is not a car that you can drive after daily activities, to work and back. This is a bike that, after a week of "polishing", retro bike lovers will take a dynamic ride on rural roads on Saturday afternoon and present the past of Škofja Loka as world motorsport names raced on the roads in the XNUMXs. The Racer takes them back to those golden days in a new, refined BMW style.      

Primoж манrman

photo: Sasha Kapetanovich

• Basic data

  Sales: BMW Group Slovenia

  Base model price: 13.700 €

• Technical information

  engine: Air / oil cooled horizontal twin-cylinder (boxer) 1.170-stroke engine, twin camshafts, four radially mounted valves per cylinder, central anti-vibration shaft, 3 cc

  Power: 81 kW (110 km) at 7.750 rpm

  Torque: 116 Nm at 6.000 rpm

  Energy transfer: six-speed gearbox with constant clutch, propeller shaft.

  Frame: three-part, consisting of one front and two back parts

  brakes: front two discs with a diameter of 320 mm, four-rod calipers, rear single discs with a diameter of 265 mm, two-piston caliper

  Suspension: 43mm telescopic fork at the front, single aluminum swingarm at the rear, BMW Motorrad Paralever; central single damper, adjustable preload and reverse damping

  Tires: 120/70 ZR 17, 180/55 ZR 1

  Growth: 805

  Fuel tank: 17

  Wheelbase: 1.491

We praise and reproach

character

cumulative

design and decoration

specific sound

feeling of heaviness in the hands

driver's seat on short city trips