VOL. 54 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 P93
If the R nineT Urban G/S is the last to use the moni-
ker, BMW has ended on a pretty good note. Dressed
up to look like the machine that saved BMW Motorrad
from the executor's axe—the 1980 R 80 G/S—the Urban
(as it will be known for the rest of this article) does an
admirable job of giving the rider some of the modern
creature comforts we've come to expect from the Ger-
man powerhouse while still allowing the hipster illusion of
G/S-inspired freedom and back-road glory that comes
with owning the world's most respected big-bore ADV.
But the Urban is not as good as the original 1980
G/S when it comes to going off-road, but it wasn't really
indented to be, either.
The original G/S had more ground clearance and
about 70 pounds less lard, meaning it was easier to get
far away without grounding out the cases or crushing the
gorgeous aluminum tank.
Its payload (at a claimed 485 pounds wet, eight
pounds more than BMW's F 800 GS), isn't so much a
detractor in heading off-road as the same nonadjustable,
43mm fork that graces the R nineT Scrambler—suspen-
sion that is truly awful when used for the kind of riding
(Above) Anyone
reckon Rennie
looks like a
fat, bearded
Malcolm Smith
in this photo?
(Left) The
Urban's styling—
not so much its
performance
off-road—is
inspired by
BMW's first G/S
that made its
debut in 1980.
