After installing the carbon fiber headlight fairing and the engine cover, I’m now adding the belly pan to my BMW R Nine T! This would go perfect on the scrambler and of course on the roadster like mine. Not only does it protect the engine and helps with air dynamics, it also looks great! Installing the belly pan is easy and only took me about 10 minutes without any special tools. You will only need a 4 and 5 Hex sockets to complete this job.
Tag: r nine t
BMW R Nine T Oil Change DIY
Whether you are changing your own oil to same money or because you want to make sure it will be done right, it’s important to follow all the steps and use quality products! Your BMW R NineT will thank you at the end! In this video, I will be draining the old oil on my Motorrad, replacing the oil filter and the oil plug gasket and of course adding 4 liters of Liqui Moly 15w-50. I will also show you how to measure and make sure that you have added the correct amount of oil to your bike and talk about all the specs and torque specs as we go! You will need some tools such as the torque wrench, 8 mm hex socket and the oil filter tool (76 mm x 12 flutes). I wouldn’t start this job without these!
BMW R NineT Tail Tidy Install
Ever since I got my BMW R NineT, I have been dreaming about cleaning up the rear of the bike and getting rid of the stock fender, brake light and turn signals. With the NewRageCycles’ fender eliminator kit, I was able to do that in about and hour and it looks 100% better! I’m very impressed with the kit and love how it turned out. The kit also hides the license plate under the seat cleaning up the look even more. This tail tidy kit works on all BMW R NineT bikes and there is no need to remove the passenger foot pegs or make any permanent changes to the bike. This is completely reversible.
BMW R Nine T Hidden Features
Hey guys and welcome back to the SimpleCarGuy channel. Today we are taking a look at some hidden features, tips and tricks and thing you may not know about the BMW R Nine T, also known as the best modern retro styled roadster.
If you have been riding bikes for longer than I have been alive or have had BMW bikes for a while, I’m sure you already know all of the ones below but hey.. maybe there is one that you don’t! If you are a pro, I’d love to hear some tips and tricks below in the comments so we can all learn something cool or new. For everyone else, stick around and I hope you enjoy the video. Let’s get to it!
So, what are some things you may not know about this bike?
- If you have owned a modern bike, you probably think that you can just turn off ABS or other safety features with a button, but on the BMW R Nine T you cannot turn off ABS unless you have the new version with throttle by wire. In this case your bike will have traction control as well and you can turn off both using the ASC button.
- You may not be able to turn of ABS, but did you know that this bike has an OBD2 port? With a $15 dollar adapter, you can scan the bike, see live data and if you have BMW software or buy a fancy motorcycle scanner, you can do so much more! Very cool.
- So, we can read this bike’s computer, but we can also plug in a dedicated GPS or phone charger by using the onboard power socket that’s hidden on the left side of the bike here. This socket is protected just like BMW cars where if the battery voltage falls below the level required to start the bike, it will be deactivated.
- If your battery does go below required voltage at some point, you are in luck, because this bike has a built-in trickle charger port. Since the BMW R Nine T uses AGM batteries which can be a little finicky when it comes to charging, you have to follow some steps. You must leave your motorcycle on the trickle charger over winter if not riding or the battery will be trash by spring. IN fact, this bike has had a new battery installed after only 800 miles because the previous owner left it over winter and the fact that it took 2 years to do that many miles. In fact, I have already done about that many miles in the few weeks I’ve owned it. BMW Recommends to plug the bike in if not redden for more than 4 weeks.
- Some additional notes on this, you cannot jump start the bike from this socket. The wires are not thick enough and rated for high current and can cause a fire.
- It’s also recommended to only use this socket to charge as onboard electronics monitor this socket and know when the battery is fully charged and switch off the onboard socket to make sure if you get a cheap battery tender, you won’t fry your bike or battery. If you’d like to charge you battery directly, it must be disconnected from the bike first.
- The next item on my list is the TPMS or the lack of TPMS sensors on this bike. This is, again, old school so kind of expected, so check your tire pressure. When I picked up my bike and rode it home, I was wondering where was this great handling that everyone has been talking about. The bike kept trying to stand up and was slow through turn. The 15 pounds of pressure made a huge difference and how the bike is very confident on the road and the difference is huge. This is a bit motorcycles 101, but no dumby light here, so check manually.
- Speaking of dumby lights, that’s all you get for fuel level as well. There is no fuel gauge on this bike, but you will be informed with a simple light once it’s on reserve.
- Number 7 is a parking light. This is pretty common in Europe as far as I understand, but pretty rare on bike in the states. To turn it on, switch off the ignition and then immediately hold the indicator switch to the left until the lights turn on. Cycle the ignition to turn it off.
- A feature that surprised me on this bike was actually the auto-cancel indicator switch. If you forget to turn it off, it will actually turn itself off after 10 seconds or 300 meters (almost 1000ft) of driving.
- Going back to the battery, if you even need to jump-start the bike, you have to use the connection point on the positive battery terminal under the seat and the negative terminal on the right-side cylinder. Now, of course, the seat cannot just be opened, so it has to be removed. Luckily, you only have to remove 1 screw to remove both seats. Your bike should come with a key for this screw, but I got mine used so I use an actual socket. My replacement Is on the way.
- The last thing you may not have know is that you can removed the baffle in the exhaust known as the DB killer to improve the depth of the exhaust sound. It only takes 5 minutes and very easy to do. I have a video on how to do that exactly if you’d like to check it out. It’s also easily reversable if you don’t like it.
A few things you should know about the bike is how to check your fluids! I feel like it’s even more important on a motorcycle than it is on the car. As an example, to check your oil, you have to make sure the bike is warmed up and on leveled surface and hold the motorcycle vertical. Then you have to wait 5 minutes and check the little window. The oil should be between top and button. This and much, much more is in the manual for the bike. People complain that manuals now-a-days only have stuff like don’t drink battery contents, but this manual is actually very useful. You can even learn how to remove and reinstall front and rear wheel. Speaking of wheels and tires, this motorcycle has quick release front axle. Who knew such thing even existed!? I was also surprised that on a modern, although retro looking bike, you would still have tube tires, just like on my 1976 Honda CB360!
Well, that’s all I have or you guys today, I hope you learned something new or at least found it interesting. I’d love to hear your opinion or features I don’t know about in the comments down below, like the video and subscribe to the channel for more content and I’ll see you in the next one!
BMW R NineT Review – Perfectly Unrefined
Intro:
I BOUGHT A BMW R Nine T! Hi guys and welcome back to the channel! Today we are taking a look at pretty much my dream bike. In this video I will go over why I think this is the best modern retro bike and why I wanted it so much. I will also talk about the riding experience and future plans. So, stick around and enjoy this beauty with me!
History:
We’ll start with a little bit of history; I’ll keep this very brief. To celebrate the 90-year anniversary, BMW decided to release a ‘limited run’ bike that would celebrate their heritage and the end of an era using up the remaining engines. That was supposed to be it, but what they didn’t realize is that people absolutely fell in love with these bikes and they have, maybe, un-intentionally, re-ignited the retro styling and the passion for BMW bikes in a lot of riders. Since then, they have released many different versions of the R Nine T, but I went for the original black and silver BMW R Nine T which I would consider to be the top of the range. I love the color schemes on the other versions, but I wanted all of the best this model offers to get the full experience.
If you love the look of this bike as much as I do, hit that like button! Not only does it help the channel out, but it also encourages me to make more videos!
First Impressions
Why I got it:
So, why did I go for the BMW R Nine T? You might think that I bought this bike purely because it is a BMW and while that would be a reasonable assumption judging by my car history, there are a few good reasons other than the brand to get this motorcycle. The first and most important for me was the way it looks. This bike is absolutely beautiful in my eyes and I have loved the design ever since I saw one for the first time. I adore the boxer stance and how it makes the bike look old school and muscular and classic. The heritage can be seen all the way back and I think that’s really cool.
Of course, you can’t buy a bike on design alone, so I test drove one and I found out that there is something very enjoyable about this bike, it has a very sincere mechanical heart and soul. It has all those things that you’d want in a retro bike. As I put in the title, it’s perfectly unrefined and I fell in love with THAT. I’m sure a lot of this has been actually engineered into it, but it feels just so right, especially when you are sitting at a stop light and you can feel the rumble between your legs and the twisting torque from the engine when you give it some revs. It’s glorious.
Other than the superb design and the amazing engineering, this bike has a great value retention. I have been monitoring prices over the last 2 years and they have remained pretty much the same. That fills me with confidence that in a few years, I can trade it for something different without a huge lose.
Now, why did I get this specific one? Well, I wanted the original R Nine T, not the Pure or the Scrambler and it also had ONLY 1200 miles on it. The bike was for sale by owner only 15 minutes from my house with full-service history from BMW where it got a new battery and oil change as well as all of the recalls done by the dealer.
Specs:
So, what are the specs? If you’re not familiar with the bike, you basically got half a Porsche or Subaru motor between your legs as it’s an old school air-cooled horizontally opposing twin cylinder 1170CC, 110 horsepower and 75lb ft of torque engine. A version of this engine used to be in most BMW R bikes for quite a long time and has always been popular and recently, very reliable. The power delivery is very linear and smooth, so the bike pulls with confidence at almost any rev range. As most modern bikes, this comes standard with ABS, but it also comes with huge double floating discs and 4 piston calipers on the front and a 2-piston caliper set up in the back. It also features a fully adjustable upside-down telescopic fork that’s only available on the original R Nine T. My bike has no options as far as I can tell and that isn’t really a problem for me, I only wish the previous owner checked the heated grips options when buying it new.
Riding experience
You can of course read all of the specs online, but what does it translate to when you ride? Well, I want to start this by saying that I have only been riding for a year and I have very limited experience with other bikes. The bike I have spent the most amount of time riding was my old-school Honda CB360 that has been converted to a café racer/brat bike. So, that means my experience and opinions aren’t really based on other bikes, it’s more of a feeling I get from this as my first modern motorcycle.
Weighting in at almost 500 pounds with all of the fluids, my fear was that this thick and heavy girl will be hard to handle for a novice like me, but all the weight is down low, so the center of gravity is low also. It’s kind to the newer riders despite the girth. It actually feels somewhat lightweight and handling has never been a problem for me all.
I also really enjoy this relaxing, but engaging upright riding position with the shoulders wide and plenty of visibility and comfort on longer rides. The grips are large and wide apart, creating a large area for the wind to catch you, but somehow the wind has not been an issue for me, at least at normal/legal speeds. I’ve learned to sit slightly back at higher speeds and lean down to make my shoulders not as wide. So, I do not wish for a windshield or a wind deflector like some people have noted on forums. I was worried about this quite a bit when buying this bike, but it just adds to the experience.
One of my favorites while riding the BMW R Nine T is how confident it is on the road and how it makes me feel like a good rider, the brakes are simply incredible and feel like a super bike with lots of stopping power and adjustability based on your liking. I love the torque-y engine and how you can feel the vibration when you rev it up from idle. That torque and power doesn’t seem to stop and it just keeps pulling and pulling very confidently through the rev range and when you let off the throttle, the pop and bangs make me smile like a kid every single time!
There are a few things that I don’t love as much on the bike and the first one has to be the comfort of the saddle. I think it looks great and I wouldn’t want it to be thick, but after riding for a couple of hours it gets slightly uncomfortable and my butt and thigh area was starting to go a little numb.
What I also didn’t expect was the driveshaft and transmission clunk when shifting, but I’ve learned that this is normal on all BMW boxer, dry clutch and drive shaft motorcycles and have gotten used to it by now. It’s very mechanical feeling so it adds to the experience. I also had to get used to the limited steering lock that pulls you further into a corner at low speeds that made me uncomfortable at first. It also seems to have a wider turning circle than I would expect.
Future Mods:
A lot of people rush to modify cars and bikes shortly after getting them, but I actually prefer to drive or ride my vehicles for a while before doing so. I’m still learning about the suspension preload and different adjustments you can make on this bike as far as the suspension. Not to mention you can change how the clutch and brakes feel and how aggressive they are. There are still many knobs to explore and get ‘just right’. (show small clips of these as b-roll). I will be looking for alternative mirrors as they are large and pretty ugly, but I think that should be an easy swap. I also would like to put a brighter and whiter LED in the headlight and tuck in the back light and license plate cluster. It sticks out too much in my opinion and can look much better. The last item on my to do list so far is to do the exhaust mod to make it a little bit louder. What are your thoughts? What would you modify or change on this bike or would you leave it as is and just ride? Let me know down in the comments.
In conclusion, this is a modern classic blend that’s comfortable enough to be a daily driver with amazing craftsmanship. It’s all the things that are good about the old bikes, without any of the bad. Well, that’s all I have for you guys today, like, comment subscribe and I’ll see you in the next one.