BMW R9T Scrambler

By: Kase van Rees

With my lunch in hand, I swiftly walked along rows of cars waiting anxiously to peer around the side of a car and see Elton’s BMW. Every possible scenario had run through my brain. Someone could knock it over, back into it, breathe on it wrong. What would I say if that happened to my boss’s bike. I needed to see that it was as I left it. As I turned the corner I was stunned. I had been so wrapped up in the potential for disaster, I had forgotten just how great looking it was. Relief, adoration, and excitement washed over me as I unlocked the handlebars.

With a hardy, clockwise snap of the key, the R9T greets you by clicking and buzzing preparations for startup like an airplane running pre-flight checks. The whole machine rotates to one side as the engine fires up and begins ticking a Porsche-like, mechanical engine sound. The transmission slides into first so smoothly you can’t feel it, and the clutch grabs exactly how you expect it should. Once moving, the bike is perfectly stable and balanced. It's as hard to use as a Macbook, and similarly refined. Unlike most of the loud, angry vehicles I spend time with the R9T is subtle. The motor runs quietly but smooth like an elaborate clock mechanism. All the engineering lulls you into a calm. But with a twist of your wrist, that calm can be shattered at a moments notice. 110 horsepower and 90 torques can match the performance of most street bikes. And despite the big 1200cc twin, it weighs in at less than 500lbs.

The first BMW that really caught my attention was a bright blue R65. Before that I had mostly dismissed them for being so expensive. But this old Beamer was bought by Elton’s shop to sell, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. It was still out of my price range, but I was able to talk my way into using it for shop errands. What I hadn’t before understood about BMW bikes became immediately clear. Of all the vintage bikes I had been on, this one was exponentially better. Exceptionally quick, quiet, and most of all, pleasant. It's just an attractive, inoffensive machine unlike all the other bikes I ride. So I was hardly surprised to find a lot of the same on Elton’s BMW. The R9T is above the obnoxiousness of the bikes I’m used to. BMW guarantees status, luxury, and performance, that's why the blue and white badge catches respect.

I am a big believer in simple, old-school bikes. They’re generally cheaper to buy, easier to work on, and motorcycles aren’t meant to be all that comfortable anyways. But the big bad Beamer checks a lot of boxes, and quality is where it shines the brightest. Every surface you touch is built to a German standard of design. The seat is soft, your knees fit perfectly against the curve of the tank, and the riding position feels very natural. If it weren’t such a likeable machine, I would poke fun at its countless features like heated hand grips. I never thought I would enjoy an easy going, rider friendly bike, but this one does all that without compromising its looks.

The R9T is mighty impressive to look at too. Though I wouldn’t describe it as beautiful in the classic, Italian sense of vehicle styling, it is handsome. The design is largely functional, but you get the feeling that BMW made everything complicated just to flaunt how well they can build a machine. There's no rough edges, and nothing to apologize for. It looks more clean and professional than any other bike I know of. It's the ideal motorcycle to take on a trip to meet your girlfriend’s dad. I almost felt underdressed on it in my tattered, green bomber jacket.

No other bike I’ve experienced feels like it has so much going on behind the scenes. But the complicated engineering creates an uncomplicated experience. The R9T feels capable of anything, and it asks very little of you as a rider to do it. Granted, all its perks come with a price tag to match. And while its advanced design makes it great to ride, I wouldn’t want to be the guy who has to work on it, and I really wouldn’t want to pay for someone else to. But if I did have the time and money to take care of one, I wouldn’t hesitate.