The BMW R nineT family gains another sibling in the form of the Urban G/S that will hit U.S. showrooms in June of this year with a suggested base price of $12,995. Mechanically similar to the Scrambler model we have already tested, the new Urban G/S receives longer suspension travel and more upright ergos, among other changes. Here is the announcement from BMW:
Woodcliff Lake, NJ (May 3, 2017) – BMW Motorrad USA is pleased to announce that the 2018 Model Year R nineT Urban G/S – due to arrive in dealer showrooms by -June – will have a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Base Price of $12,995.00 (plus a $495.00 destination fee).
Inspired by BMW’s 1980 R 80 G/S, the BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a contemporary rendition of a legendary classic enduro, right down to its red, white and blue colors and classic styling. Like BMW’s flagship Heritage model – the R nineT – the Urban G/S features a potent, air/oil-cooled boxer engine with a capacity of 1,170 cc and an output of 81 kW (110 hp).
Standard Features (vs. the BMW R nineT) include:
- 19” front wheel (optional off-road tires)
- Headlight fairing + high front fender
- Higher handlebars, more upright
- Extended spring travel (4.9”/5.5” vs. 4.7”/4.7”)
- Enduro footrests
- One-piece seat
- Painted steel tank, traditional forks/gaiters, cast wheels, single tailpipe, Single speedometer
Factory Options:
- Hand-brushed Aluminum Fuel Tankwith sanded weld: $950 MSRP
- Hand-brushed Aluminum Fuel Tank with visible weld: $850 MSRP
- Chrome Exhaust: $150 MSRP
- Heated Grips: $250 MSRP
- Anti-Theft Alarm: $395 MSRP
- Off-Road Tires: $0
- Automatic Stability Control: $400 MSRP
- Cross Spoke Wheels: $500 MSRP
- Low Seat: $0
Color
- Light White (w/ motorsport-blue accents and red seat): $0
See more of MD’s great photography:
21″ front wheel, smaller tank, 2+ inches more travel front and rear. Then, you’ll have a winner.
Jeez. They had me at the red seat! A really beautiful motorcycle. Nice job BMW.
I like it but off road riding is a bit of a stretch, gravel road riding wouldn’t bother me though. I find myself on a gravel road or two every time I go for a long day ride either on my R1200RT or Tiger 800. Not sure how long I would last on that seat though.
Very nice but a little pricey to make a style statement, but then again some cruisers go for double that money for a similar effect and are not as functional, so in that light its a bargain.
I guess our urban roads have gotten so bad that you need an “enduro” bike to navigate them.
Yes, in California we just got slapped with a giant tax to “fix” them. Maybe the pols should buy us these instead.
Yeah, that’s what I used to say in the late 90’s when all of a sudden every suburban mom needed a 4WD truck to get their kids to soccer practice.
Thankfully dual-sport, scrambler, enduro, and bikes in between don’t proportionally use extra fuel or impact the environment like those sport-utilities did so I’m fine with them if that’s what makes some people happy.
Glad to see the industry doing well with the current retro/ scrambler trend.
There seems to be a ride for almost every taste.
Never been a boxer fan though.
The new Ducati Cafe is one of the best looking of the bunch.
The Desert Sled is the best “Urban Assault” bike of the bunch IMO.
Shootout anyone ?
Love it. Perfect as is. Just need to save up some $
Pointless poser bike, as far as I’m concerned. Spoked wheels and dual-purpose tires on a bike that’s far too pretty and too fragile to actually use off road. What’s the point? It looks pretty cool, but that’s not enough reason to buy one for me. I’d sooner buy an “ugly” FZ10 that would be a lot more useful to me. Looks and posing are not a major priority for me – which isn’t to say that I wouldn’t prefer a good looking bike, all things being equal, but I did ride an ’02 V-Strom for 11 years because it worked so well for me, despite its looks.
You may be the only one to characterize the FZ10 as useful…
You make it sound like posing is a BAD thing.
re: “Pointless poser bike, as far as I’m concerned.”
gotta pose on somethin’.
Cast wheels and road tires are standard, the spoked wheels and knobbies are optional extras.
” A real head turner ”
Not a good enough reason to buy anything IMO.
Although a large part of the US economy is based on impressing total strangers.
I passed that baton off years ago.
As for “bang for the buck” the GS 1000R gets my vote.
what I don’t get with the 9T family is where is the back end of the bike? When I’ve sat on one I was pretty far back, within a few inches of rear of the seat, and then you fall off. ‘Pretty bikes and good on BMW for bringing them out but I sort of remember when BMW’s were a better fit for tall folk.
And the short folk whined and complained.
There are PLENTY of BMW’s still around for tall folk. What, a R1200GS is not tall enough for you??!
Try a KTM Adventure R, it’s 35-inch seat will probably be your cup of tea.
I know, it must be HORRIBLE that not every bike is made to fit the 6-foot+ crowd. How dare they!
The only bikes built for short people ( I can speak for them as I am one at 5’6″) are cruisers, but then it’s a stretch to the pegs. If you don’t like cruisers and actually prefer stds, ADV’s or sport tourers, you are uncomfortable at lights, or trying to back up because if you are lucky you can get a toe down on both sides, or in my case a toe down on one side. Being on either side of the spectrum, tall or short, carries it’s own burdens. Would love to be 5’10…. Oh the selection of bikes I could comfortably ride then.
almost looks like the real thing…
What does the real thing look like?
From the Scrambler review, what does “Steering geometry is substantially relaxed in comparison to the standard R nineT, leading to superb straight-line stability coupled with lazier steering through corners” mean?
I wish Triumph would offer a sanded tank seam on their classics.
It is going to be expensive if you drop it while navigating anything off-road, even a gravel road will do harm to those exposed cylinders. There are not even any factory crash guards offered so it is obvious that BMW didn’t really intend to have this bike used off pavement.
It is funny how Continental TKC80 tires have become the latest styling requirement.
there are engine guards or valve cover guards for this bike and the covers are lot stronger than you think. wouldn’t be any more expensive then crushing a radiator on an off road bike. I would think this bike would be very fun off road.
Well, even with the crash bars this BMW 1200 GS suffered a punctured valve cover and became unusable at that point. See video, the punctured valve cover and subsequent oil leak can be seen after the 4 minute mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs4eJURvM8U
This, and the cafe racer version, shows that BMW is finally getting into the retro spirit. Now bring out the R9T RS and please take my money!
re: “shows that BMW is finally getting into the retro spirit”
some like myself could maybe argue “bey oom veh” has ALWAYS been into the retro spirit…? been “retro” for the better of 90 years. this, before all the long-beards and Hipsters made it cool.
15 grand, out the door. A $8,000 R80GS doesn’t sound so bad any more.
I like it too. I bet it’s a blast to ride. Couldn’t care less about the seat.
Where is the center stand?
Where is the center stand?
I guess since H-D can get away with painting the same bike 10 different colors and calling them new models bmw is following suite, it looks more scrambler than the scrambler does.
It will look great with my urban sombrero
LOL
We need a “like” button.
USAAF Captain Virgil “Cooler King” Hilts would have absolutely made it over the barb wire fence on this beast!
I.L.O.V.E.T.H.I.S.B.I.K.E.
“URBAN G/S” The Ultimate Niche Machine
(I admit this seems to be working well for them, but DAMN. Well, that and the sort of contradiction in the name itself….)
Am I reading the copy correctly? You can get it optioned with or without a tank seam?
I really like forks on boxers. It completes them. We lost something when the R1100RS came out, oh so long ago.
Q: “You can get it optioned with or without a tank seam?”
A: yes.
you can save a ton of money by switching to Geico OR you can save a $100 bucks by checking the box for MAX SEAMAGE.
Q: ” You can get it optioned with or without a tank seam?”
A: Not really. By “seam” I am assuming that you mean the seam that on the bottom of steel tanks that are quite common and whined about ad nauseum. This is two variations of an ALUMINIUM tank. With a sanded WELD or not. Some people like the look of a nice weld on their aluminium tank. It sort of brands the tank as a genuine aluminium tank. Other’s like to polish their aluminium tanks and want the weld sanded down.
While I really like the other models in the RnineT line this bike is dorky, in particular the headlight cowling and the fluorescent pink seat
At least it SORTA has a rear fender.
what exactly does “mechanically similar” mean? lol
Love the BMW r nine t series. Wish I could afford one. What’s surprising is the after market engine gaurds and skid plates aren’t priced like you would expect. Even less than some stuff you find on KLR’s.
Beautiful bike. Nice and simple. Mono shock instead of the far less efficient duals on other brands. Single sided swingarm. Tidy tail already. These guys know how to make a nice machine.
Ugh, off-road, low exhaust, and NO SKID PLATE!?!? EVEN AS AN ACCESSORY?!?!
You would have to be insane to actually take this thing off road. Unless it’s a 0.25 mile gravel road leading to a cafe.
AHA that would be the “gelande” part of “Urban G/S” I see it now
It looks old, is ugly and expensive. I like the ducati scrambler better.
+1
How are those tires on the street? A bunch of years ago I tried supermoto with a KLX300 and stock tires on the pavement. No bueno.
Now drop the 700 motor in that config, keeping the weight under 400, you might have a buyer. I just think these are too heavy at 485 pounds.
Helpful hint: instead of trying to bench-press it, just ride it.
Ride it off-road enough, and I’ll assure you that you will be trying to bench press it one day.
Then instead of trying to ride it, just bench press it.
I bench press my 600 pounder now, not sure what’s wrong, but sure feels like it’s getting heavier. Lighter is righter.
Seems like the perfect bike for Seattle or Portland, or any of the southeastern states: rainy, woodsy, but still urban.
I kinda like it. Not really sure what the purpose is in offering both this model and the new Scrambler, though. Lot of overlap there.
I love this bike. Probably my favorite of the new wave of machines. I don’t think I would change anything about it.
Even the pink seat?
It’s a manly pink!
re: “It’s a manly pink!”
SALMON.
The most manly of the fishes!
That great manly effort to swim great distances upstream to spawn is most macho. Too bad about the dying afterwards part though. :^(
That ain’t pink. You either need to calibrate your monitor or get that cataract surgery you’ve been putting off.
It’s pink, bro. PINK.
I like it, PR4s, a comfort seat and I’m away.
At 6’3″ I’ll look almost normal.
the guy in the last pic must be about 7′ tall, he makes the bike look tiny. Look how is leg is folded up.
Yeah, there is that.
Nice looking bike but I’m confused by the name with the “optional off-road tires”. Suburban maybe?
BMW must be selling a $hitload of retros. They are building every conceivable variation.
ironic innit…? just 8 years ago you couldn’t get ARRESTED on a boxer.
The big gs has been their biggest seller for a long long time.
re: “The big gs”
correct the GS…
however (comma) the R, the RT, the RS, the S, etc a dealer’s obligated to include in their costly flooring plan…?
not so much.
I read somewhere that the 1000RR was their top seller in the US last year, though the R1200GS is still their top seller worldwide.
I like it. Well executed.