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/870143
2017 BMW R NINET URBAN G/S FIRST TEST P96 If it were mine… …I'd get the front suspension worked on, stat. I'd also fit it with the wheels and tires we tested the bike with, because if I was only staying on- road I'd buy the much more substantial, original R nineT of 2014. For the Urban, I'd also invest in some small luggage I could strap on the back, as the seat is perfect for that. Overnighters with an Urban? Why not? ing to the café/bar which, let's be honest, is where most of these bikes will end up. Maybe I'm missing the point. Often the tribute band is never as good as the real thing, and this really is the case with the Urban. It's certainly prettier than the original G/S and the R nineT Scrambler. The Urban is a delightful motorcycle upon which to cast your gaze, with the massive 1170cc flat-twin poking out from all angles and the retro red, white and blue accents taking up various streaks in your sight. BMW does retro and new very well, indeed. Modern touches like the slash-cut exhaust and single-sided swingarm mix beautifully with the 1980's headlight and stumpy front mudguard. One thing I will grant the Urban is, like the R nineT Racer, it's cer- tainly a complete motorcycle. It's a custom bike done right so you don't have to learn how to weld or design your own subframe. That's what you get from a manufacturer with the power of BMW who wants to put on the rose-colored glasses—most of the cred and none of the crud. The Urban is devel- oped from a street bike so it should come as no surprise to learn it's actually pretty fun on the blacktop. The riding position is comfortable, the suspension tolerable, and the engine as good now as it was when it was released in the last air/oil-cooled GS seven years ago. This, despite the dirt-oriented rubber, was a bit of a saving grace for me and the Urban. It was rather enjoy- able to strap on the open-face helmet, click fourth gear on the Urban and cruise Califor- nia's Pacific Coast High- way, taking in the sights and salt air of one of the world's finest coastlines. The ride would be better with the Metzeler Tour- ance street rubber the Urban comes with as standard, but that will have to wait for another time. The Urban uses the same twin disc, four-piston caliper front brakes as the Scrambler, Racer and Pure, which provide good power at the front but double piston, 265mm disc This kind of rock hopping really isn't in the Urban's playbook. But we did it anyway.