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/754035
IN THE WIND P40 2017 BMW R nineT AND R nineT URBAN GS UNCOVERED B MW certainly has gotten some miles out of the R nineT. Released in 2013, the R nineT has spawned a whole range of new bikes that include the Pure (road- ster) and Racer (café/endurance-style), as well as the Scrambler and now this, the R nineT Urban GS. This new, retro machine still uses the same base chassis and engine as the rest of the R nineT range but this one takes nostalgia a step further, channeling the lines and look of the original R 80 GS of 1980 that went on to spawn an entirely new segment of large capacity adventure riding. The Urban GS is therefore as much a design exer- cise as it is a riding one—with the incredible popularity of air-cooled BMW boxer engines in the custom world, BMW is getting as much traction as they can on this wave before it dies out. The Urban GS gets the 1170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin from the 2013 R 1200 GS and is fitted at the factory with a cast aluminum 19-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear. The suspension on the Urban is the same as the Scrambler/Racer/Pure in that it's not adjustable—con- ventional forks up front with BMW's Paralever rear suspension/monoshock out the back. You also get ABS, four-piston brakes and BMW's Automatic Stability Control (ASC) as an ex-works extra. For the standard R nineT, the main difference between this and the 2016 model is the addition of the fully adjustable inverted front fork and two color schemes (the bike was previously only available in black) in Blackstorm Metallic/Vintage and Blueplanet metallic/Aluminum. CN Welcome the new BMW R nineT and Urban GS DUCATI DEBUTS 2017 SCRAMBLER CAFE RACER A s far as the hard specs go, Ducati's Café Racer is powered by the 803cc air/oil-cooled L-twin found in the Scrambler Icon, which is Euro 4 compliant with Termignoni mufflers and with black-trimmed covers and machined cooling fins. The Café Racer is another design exercise evolved from the original Scrambler of 2014, with the segment- inspired teardrop tank and interchangeable side panels that are emblazoned with the number 54—a special number for Ducati. That number 54 belongs to company hero Bruno Spaggiari, a legendary Italian racer inexorably linked to Ducati for his racing exploits in the 1960s. The story goes that in 1968, Spaggiari raced in the Mototem- porada Romagnola, a classic Italian street race held between 1945 and 1971, using a 350cc single-cylinder engine from the original Ducati Scrambler. It was a race Ducati says invoked the free spirit of design. Back to the bike. The chassis is derived from the Scrambler Icon, with obvious changes including the wheels and bodywork, which includes a passenger seat cover to give a single-seat race style look. There will also be a large range of accessories aimed at the Café Racer, including a new headlight, flat seat, spoked wheels and exhaust cover. CN The Ducati Scrambler spawns another—the Café Racer.