Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/196545
P28 IN THE WIND number 20 on my bike. It's been a lot of years with Alan and Melissa Randt, and then later going on my own and it's been a long but good career. It's a good time and it's a good ending to all of this, and I guess it couldn't happen at a better time for me. I'd love to go for more, but I'd rather announce it and then have a good solid run in my last year than for some to tell me at the end of the season that I've lost my ride and that was my last year and not know it. Now I know next year is mine and I can look forward to going out with it." Shan Moore The BMW R nineT! A s part of its 90th year celebration in Berlin, BMW released its BMW R nineT last week - the classic-looking roadster built to celebrate "90 Years of BMW Motorrad." Naturally, the R nineT uses a boxer engine – like BMW's firstever motorcycle, the 1923 BMW R 32. This one is a 110-horsepower, 1170cc twin designed to produce a lot of torque – 88 foot pounds at 6000 rpm – and it sits in a package that has been built to allow for "maximum customization." "During each stage of the roadster's development, focus was placed on enabling riders to tailor it to their personal preferences in a variety of ways," BMW's release on the new model states. "The choice of modifications ranges from BMW Motorrad genuine accessories to custom-made addon or accessory parts from specialist customizers." The nineT gets a tubular steel spaceframe that uses the Boxer engine as a stressed member of the chassis. The chassis also features a removable pillon frame to further aid in the customization of the bike. The BMW R nineT – a celebration of 90 years of BMW. The exhaust system runs down the left-hand side of the bike with the two silencers stacked on top of each other for the look of a "classic sporty roadster." BMW has built the exhaust system with customization in mind and the BMW accessory catalog includes a titanium Akrapovic unit. "By installing a short or long connecting pipe, the silencer can be mounted in either a lowered or a raised position, radically altering the appearance and character of the nineT," BMW says. Breaking from tradition, the nineT gets the same upside down fork used on the S 1000 RR sportbike – and not a telever front suspension system. The rear suspension uses a paralever single-sided swingarm in conjunction with a central spring strut. Of course, the newest Boxer features a shaftdrive with its housing including three mounting points that can be used to attach a bracket for positioning the license plate and brake/tail light unit on one side. The swingarm also has room for a six-inch rear wheel, though it comes with a continued on page 30