New Bike - RNineT
Discussion
Thought I'd post to see what folks think.
I bought a new bike to do the Malle Rally on with a mate (he's on here as ~chappj) this year. Its a second bike to sit alongside my Tiger 800. For those that haven't heard of the Malle - the jist of the rally is more 'characterful' and less practical bikes - my tiger would probably be the perfect bike to do the trip on, but that's not really the spirit of it
its a 2018 - RnineT urban G/S. I've done a few trips on it now, and on Good Friday, I did 220 miles to see what it was like on a longer run. Really happy with the bike overall, and something very different to my Triumph.
Good points:
- Love the engine; its a really nice contrast to the silky smoothness of the triumph. If you blip the throttle when the bike is stationary, you get this wonderful little side lurch.
- Surprisingly comfy; nice wide bars and pretty neutral riding position. Also has heated grips
- Great noise - and that's all stock exhaust etc.
- Oddly (and I have no idea why) not a lot of windblast. Its actually quite comfy on the motorway.
- Sufficient grunt - I test rode a Royal Enfield and while I actually enjoyed riding the bike, it just felt a little underpowered, the Beemer is just right.
bad points:
- Luggage options a bit limited. Found some SW Motech stuff that will probably work.
- No fuel gauge is a bit annoying. The bike has a reserve warning icon on the LCD and then starts counting up miles on a separate trip meter (and that resets when you refill). I had to do a bit of research to find the range of the reserve tank
- Clutch a bit heavy - a bit of the Friday ride was stop start traffic through towns where you were slipping the clutch and my hand was a bit achy after that - I only remark on it as it's a problem I've never had on the triumph
Back in the day, I had a Van Van 125 that I loved and rode around for about 4 years. Despite being slow, it was really comfortable to ride and I often thought "what I'd really like is a van van with a bigger engine" - and I think that's sort of what I've bought.
I bought a new bike to do the Malle Rally on with a mate (he's on here as ~chappj) this year. Its a second bike to sit alongside my Tiger 800. For those that haven't heard of the Malle - the jist of the rally is more 'characterful' and less practical bikes - my tiger would probably be the perfect bike to do the trip on, but that's not really the spirit of it
its a 2018 - RnineT urban G/S. I've done a few trips on it now, and on Good Friday, I did 220 miles to see what it was like on a longer run. Really happy with the bike overall, and something very different to my Triumph.
Good points:
- Love the engine; its a really nice contrast to the silky smoothness of the triumph. If you blip the throttle when the bike is stationary, you get this wonderful little side lurch.
- Surprisingly comfy; nice wide bars and pretty neutral riding position. Also has heated grips
- Great noise - and that's all stock exhaust etc.
- Oddly (and I have no idea why) not a lot of windblast. Its actually quite comfy on the motorway.
- Sufficient grunt - I test rode a Royal Enfield and while I actually enjoyed riding the bike, it just felt a little underpowered, the Beemer is just right.
bad points:
- Luggage options a bit limited. Found some SW Motech stuff that will probably work.
- No fuel gauge is a bit annoying. The bike has a reserve warning icon on the LCD and then starts counting up miles on a separate trip meter (and that resets when you refill). I had to do a bit of research to find the range of the reserve tank
- Clutch a bit heavy - a bit of the Friday ride was stop start traffic through towns where you were slipping the clutch and my hand was a bit achy after that - I only remark on it as it's a problem I've never had on the triumph
Back in the day, I had a Van Van 125 that I loved and rode around for about 4 years. Despite being slow, it was really comfortable to ride and I often thought "what I'd really like is a van van with a bigger engine" - and I think that's sort of what I've bought.
Caddyshack said:
Looks great, I wonder what it would look like on road based sports tyres and if the knobblies are much lower in performance? If it doesn’t ever go off road are the knobblies a draw back? They certainly look cool.
I was worried about the knobblies too, but so far, they seem fine (note: I've only ridden in the dry this far)phatmanace said:
Caddyshack said:
Looks great, I wonder what it would look like on road based sports tyres and if the knobblies are much lower in performance? If it doesn’t ever go off road are the knobblies a draw back? They certainly look cool.
I was worried about the knobblies too, but so far, they seem fine (note: I've only ridden in the dry this far)phatmanace said:
- Luggage options a bit limited. Found some SW Motech stuff that will probably work.
Depends on how hipster you want to go. I found a set of Unit Garage panniers - double sided - on ebay for a decent bargain. They are lovely, but not very "rugged". But the rack is really good - and that will allow a giant loop bag to be wrapped over and kept away from the wheel.What is VERY useful is the tail rack.
I've got one of these: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bmw-r-ninet-ta...
The base is a strong plastic with an indentation the same shape as the rear of the seat, so it sits quite firmly on the seat and is tied down with four straps. Used it to go to Spain and again France and I think Italy, plenty of space for a couple of weeks away.
BMW sell a matching tank bag, and the best feature of them both is that they are waterproof without needing to add a cover.
The base is a strong plastic with an indentation the same shape as the rear of the seat, so it sits quite firmly on the seat and is tied down with four straps. Used it to go to Spain and again France and I think Italy, plenty of space for a couple of weeks away.
BMW sell a matching tank bag, and the best feature of them both is that they are waterproof without needing to add a cover.
Killboy said:
Depends on how hipster you want to go. I found a set of Unit Garage panniers - double sided - on ebay for a decent bargain. They are lovely, but not very "rugged". But the rack is really good - and that will allow a giant loop bag to be wrapped over and kept away from the wheel.
What is VERY useful is the tail rack.
… a subject close to my heart after this weekend’s whoopsie… but that’s worthy of its own thread, which I’ll start now.What is VERY useful is the tail rack.
Caddyshack said:
Looks great, I wonder what it would look like on road based sports tyres and if the knobblies are much lower in performance? If it doesn’t ever go off road are the knobblies a draw back? They certainly look cool.
A bit like this one of mine
OP - good choice - the luggage options are a bit limited. The rack options are expensive and more show than functional according to the forums (prone to breaking if overloaded, unlike Rentec). I have the Unit Garage one. Probably best to mount everything off the rear seat with soft luggage.
Also - you don't get a fuel gauge still, but a bunch more info including a gear position sensor if you fit the parts and bracket for the rev counter found on the other models. It's plug and play as the connector for the rev counter binnacle is taped to frame behind headstock with a weather protector on it - identical loom to rev counter models. Mine's a 2020, so same as 2018, but I have the high level Arrow fitted. Make sure you dump the flapper valve and motor even if you keep standard pipe - sounds great all the time, rather than just under load and revving a bit.
3DP said:
A bit like this one of mine
OP - good choice - the luggage options are a bit limited. The rack options are expensive and more show than functional according to the forums (prone to breaking if overloaded, unlike Rentec). I have the Unit Garage one. Probably best to mount everything off the rear seat with soft luggage.
Also - you don't get a fuel gauge still, but a bunch more info including a gear position sensor if you fit the parts and bracket for the rev counter found on the other models. It's plug and play as the connector for the rev counter binnacle is taped to frame behind headstock with a weather protector on it - identical loom to rev counter models. Mine's a 2020, so same as 2018, but I have the high level Arrow fitted. Make sure you dump the flapper valve and motor even if you keep standard pipe - sounds great all the time, rather than just under load and revving a bit.
I quite like the twin exhaust that you get on the other r nine t bikes, but I don't know if I care that much to swap it
Killboy said:
All in all about £400
I think I got mine from Germany for about £330 all in, but worth every penny I think. I like the rev counter and gear position readout is very useful given the way the gearbox works (easy to look for a gear below 1st as the selector still move even when in 1st and also easy to look for a 7th gear).phatmanace said:
Great info...I'm in two minds on getting the other binnacle, especially if I don't get a fuel gauge !! I went down a bit of a rabbit hole investigating what you can get off the canbus. A chap on the RnineT forums had a phone app that was half sat nav and half rev counter that I think works with the bluetooth canbus reader - I got quite excited for a bit and then realized I actually don't care *that* much
I quite like the twin exhaust that you get on the other r nine t bikes, but I don't know if I care that much to swap it
You don't really need any of it like you say - it's funny you mention them being like a big VanVan. I equate mine to a big Grom as I sold my Grom and smoking about on this on the same sort of roads and towns I enjoyed the Grom on in an open face helmet is fun too - just with 105bhp and mountains of torque!I quite like the twin exhaust that you get on the other r nine t bikes, but I don't know if I care that much to swap it
The servo plug (to stop error being thrown up) and removing the flapper for a section of tube is a £65 mod and well worth it as the flap closes when you blip the throttle on down shifts, so the whole thing just feels a bit more soulful with no sound flapper giving inconsistant noice and ruining down shift blips fun. The exhaust I have adds nothing over standard but does look good as exposes the rear wheel more which was main motivation. They sound ace as standard, especially once you remove the flapper and its motor assembly.
3DP said:
Killboy said:
All in all about £400
I think I got mine from Germany for about £330 all in, but worth every penny I think. I like the rev counter and gear position readout is very useful given the way the gearbox works (easy to look for a gear below 1st as the selector still move even when in 1st and also easy to look for a 7th gear).Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff