2024 BMW R12 nineT Review: Preserving Tradition with a Modern Twist

Pros:

• Attractive design with classic café racer aesthetics.
• High build quality with attention to detail.
• Powerful and smooth 1,170 cc boxer engine.

Cons:

• High starting price, over $18,000.
• Heavier than true sport bikes.
• Optional rectangular screen may not suit traditional styling.

Things in life are constantly changing, and for the most part, I’d like to believe I embrace it. But when BMW set out to update its R nineT for 2024, there was some trepidation that they might just ruin a good thing. 

Until a decade ago, BMW’s Motorrad division was known for building robust and cleverly engineered motorcycles, but not necessarily attractive ones. Even to this day, many of the bikes look to be styled with function-first designs, not that there’s anything wrong with that. But when the R nineT was launched for the 2014 model year, it seemed the designers were finally granted free rein, and they took full advantage. 

The R12 nineT is a premium offering, priced higher than the competition, but it delivers a unique ownership experience that other bikes don’t, with a combination of stunning style, meticulous build quality and a one-of-a-kind ride sensation.

The net result was arguably BMW’s most visually-appealing motorcycle in ages; one that looked more like it had been crafted in some California custom café racer shop than something those pragmatic Germans built on an assembly line. Better still, the steel frame was built in two sections, enabling easy and elaborate customization, should a buyer so desire. 

Related Read – BMW Celebrates its Centenary with the R nineT 100 Years & R 18 100 Years Editions

Iconic BMW Design Elements, From Tank Shape to Twin Pipes

The bike you see here, the “new” R12 nineT, isn’t really all that new. It looks – mercifully – very similar to last year’s nineT, because it is very similar to last year’s nineT. 

Unlike many other parts of the world, motorcycling in North America is generally done for reasons of passion rather than necessity. To that end, the bikes we choose should excite us. They should make us puff up our chests with pride when we straddle them. They should make us look back over our shoulder every time we leave them, just to get another glimpse.

This bike does that. The R12 nineT oozes character, especially this one finished in the gorgeous, optional San Remo Green paint that’s utterly radiant in the sunlight. The materials and build quality speak to this machine’s rather steep cost (more than 18-grand to start, and over 20 with a few key options like this one).

Every bolt and every bit of the steel framework is both purposeful and pretty. The tank shape, twin chrome pipes and available wire-spoke wheels all harken back to bikes from earlier days like the 1954 BMW R25/3, but the massive brake rotors and those fork struts, thick enough to support a bridge, suggest there’s as much go as there is show.

Related Read – The BMW R NineT Aurora Concept: A Salt Flat-Inspired Masterpiece

The Ride: Adaptive Suspension and Unmatched Torque

• Engine Power: 109 hp at 7,000 rpm
• Torque: 85 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm
• Top Speed: 134 mph
• Engine Type: Air/oil-cooled two-cylinder, four-stroke boxer engine
• Fuel Type: Super unleaded (max. 15% ethanol, E15), 95 ROZ/RON, 90 AKI
• Gearbox: 6-speed constant-mesh

There is. Much of it is thanks to the adaptive suspension that can be dialled in front and rear for preload and rebound, but bone-stock suited me just fine. A century of building motorcycles has taught those engineers more than a thing or two about suspension tuning, and the R12 nineT makes it very confidence-inspiring in short order.

Cruise around town and the Beamer is happy enough, but press it hard into corners, and it’s happier to go carve up the countryside, riding a tidal wave of torque toward the next turn. The ease with which this bike that looks so classic can earn a rider’s trust as competent dance partner surprised me. It’s not light and flickable like a true sport bike, but there’s enough performance here to thrill without needing a race track to achieve it.

The Distinct Charm of the BMW Boxer Engine

Other companies build retro-inspired naked bikes, too. Some of them – like the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 – are tremendous fun, but none of them have the Beamer’s iconic boxer engine, pounding its cylinders out each side the way this one does. Admittedly, the flat-twin has a distinctive sound that’s more industrial than melodic, where the Triumph has a lumpier, more traditional twin soundtrack, and the Japanese alternatives offer their inline-4 wail. 

Still, what this 1,170 cc boxer lacks in music, it makes up for in feel. Blip the throttle and the bike rocks slightly side-to-side, and when idling at a stoplight, it makes the two round gauges jiggle independently like… well, that’s not important.

As it is, a small, rectangular screen is available to replace the twin analog-style gauges, but I can’t imagine something more out of place on this bike.

ull away from that stoplight and the 85 lb-ft of torque feels like it’s available throughout almost the entire rev range. There’s delicious thrust available whenever it’s called on, and it’s enough keep the nineT ahead of traffic with relative ease. 

The shifter operates with a healthy thunk into each gear, reminding the rider that everything on this bike feels over-built, and yes, a bit heavy, but that it’s built to last as BMW’s boxers are known to do. The brakes, too, have tremendous power and great bite. 

Takeaway

There was always a risk that BMW was going to abandon the nineT or turn it into something entirely different. As it is, a small, rectangular screen is available to replace the twin analog-style gauges, but I can’t imagine something more out of place on this bike.

The R12 nineT is a premium offering, priced higher than the competition, but it delivers a unique ownership experience that other bikes don’t, with a combination of stunning style, meticulous build quality and a one-of-a-kind ride sensation. Add to that the BMW cachet, and it’s a bike affluent riders will want to add to their collection, while the rest of us will scrimp and save to make it our one and only ride. 

The R12 nineT is everything that was great about the last R nineT, but incrementally improved in a number of subtle ways. Sometimes change can be difficult, but this time, it’s not.  

Here’s the full set of performance specs for the 2024 BMW R12 nineT: