My final thoughts on the BMW RnineT, and Comparing it to my Triumph Bonneville. 

I know this video is a couple of years old now, but if you're watching this because you're interested in buying one of these, this is by far the best and most accurate review of the bike. I've had my R nineT for three years now and every talking point mentioned here is spot on. I stop and look at the bike every time I get off of it, and I appreciate the build quality every time I get on it. It feels like it was machined out of a solid block of aluminum or something. Great video.

The R Nine T is an achingly pretty motorcycle.. I'd buy it for its looks alone.. I want one!

Hi Freddie, your enthusiasm is infectious thanks mate

Spectacular review / thoughts. I was completely hung up on a tiumph street scrambler, but after watching a few videos about this machine and its simply beautiful aspect I couldn't resist. I am desperately waiting for the arrival of my r nine t 2021 scrambler. ... now just say that it is phenomenally pleasant to see the enthusiasm of your speech. congratulations and greetings from Portugal.

Freddie, your review was the final nail in the coffin as i am picking up a 2018 r nine t vintage. Your passionate review relieved all doubts i had.

Hi Freddie. Just wanted to let you know that this is the best bike review I’ve seen since a long time! Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for that and … keep on rocking! Chris

I may have a new favourite Brit Bike Blogger 👏🏻 Engaging commentary, bike passion and the scenic filming is top notch!

Great insight, much appreciated mate. After being taken out by a blue VW Van and loosing my 2020 BMW R1250 R and was pretty busted up myself, as soon as I could I specked out my replacement ride. I ordered and have received my 2021 BMW R 1250 GS TRIPLE BLACK fully loaded with every option. After putting on 1,400k I’ve realized I specked the bike out with a defiant attitude in order to allow myself to calibrate the attitude and commitment I would require to fully throw myself into the Rehab process in order to achieve as high recovery as possible. It worked perfectly as I am at about 80% recovered. The only areas to focus on now are strength and endurance. I feel this new ride in its sheer size, weight and due to its capabilities is zapping the Joy out of the ride for me. It has served its purpose and I fully appreciate it for all that it offers but I no longer have the need to concur the world. 😂 To put it bluntly, although I am a quiet man, I was pissed. In that I wasn’t going to allow someone who wasn’t paying attention while entering an roundabout Rob me of my Passion. This new bike validated exactly what I felt and knew in my heart. Which is, that I had no anxiety, fear or concerns of riding. So, my question is this. Between a 2023 R 1250 R and a 2023 R nineT Scrambler have you any insight on the comparison between these two? How I’ve ended up narrowing it down to these two is that I love the Boxer, I have need for the capability for both Urban and fire route roads in to North cottages and country roads but as well I would like to have a the capability of saddle bags. A passenger is not a high requirement but hey you never know. I am having a tough time deciding as they each offer a different limited mix of my requirements but neither offer them all. Much appreciated Cheers 👍🏍🇨🇦

Have to agree with you on some of your criticisms and certainly all of your comments particularly after owning the RnineT for 2years now. It has a uniqueness unsurpassed by none. This is and always will be "The bike" for me. I love it and it brings joy to my life the moment I hop on. I have up graded by adding a comfort seat, raised handle bar spacer (20mm) and about to add Ohlins rear shock. No bike is perfect in it's originality and parts aren't cheep but I now ride with Gods when I ride my RnineT. From Australia, ride like there's no 2moro. 😎👍

hi Freddie, thank you for your review. I have been watching reviews of this monster for almost 1.5 yrs now waiting to be able to buy it, and your vlogs about it are the best, most complete, most honest, clearest and useful I've watched. Thnks for making everything clear, every detail and every information that could me needed. keep it up.

Your videos are very relaxing and cheerful. I've never really been into retro bikes before but since watching your videos I now really want one.

Great review. Had a Bonnie T100 back in 2012, then saw the RNineT at a test day and fell in love. Sold the Bonnie and have had my R9T since August 2014. Don’t plan to sell it ever! Exhaust note is wonderful because it’s still a Euro 4. Those Akrapovic pipes are stock by the way. Rode it down to Sardinia in 2015 and found it comfortable, but I’m only short (170cm). I think every penny extra over the Bonnie is worth it personally. It’s so well engineered and the 1200cc boxer engine is magnificent.

The Bonneville was a legend and still is. Almost a mythical bike, from a time when British bikes such as Norton, BSA were a major player on the motorbike market. Yet, three or four years ago l bought a 9T. No regrets whatsoever. An excellent review in any case. Well done.

Nice review, and you make a very valid point between the aggressive and the relaxed spectrum of these retro bikes. I have a 2016 RNinet, the latest in a long line of bikes and I love the thing. I did make one mod to the original and that was add 2 inch risers (OEM from BMW) to sit a bit more upright, much easier on the wrists. I live in country Western Australia and all my rides are mostly long distance highway speed stuff. The Beemer is perfect for this style of ride, plenty of power, handles the bumps beautifully and has a useful range from the 18 litre tank (about 4 gallons). My only gripe is the lack of a fuel gauge (no biggy), everything else suits me down to the ground. This one is a keeper.

Your review is so spot on & honest. I own the R9T and i know all the pros & cons you referred to in this video. i now wish to rider a triumph just to see if i can consider one for my next bike.

What an outstanding and passionate review. You spoke about your love for the Triumph and you explained how this one is equally as special. Probably my next bike. 🥰

Just came across this video and I'm a r9t pure owner. Regular forks and not as good suspention but fell in live with the Teal (light blue) color and was also a lower price. I call it my hooligan bike because at 70 I still love it's power band, the super brakes and style. BMW class it as a retro bike. I have toured on it and have done hours at 70-83 mph and throughly enjoy every part of it. 👍👍5🏍🙋‍♂️

Love your reviews!! BMW should just give you this bike as a way of thanking you for the excellent unbiased marketing you are doing! You’ve convinced me and this could definitely be my next bike (and I’m a Triumph guy too)!!

I really enjoyed this series. Well spoken and amazing footage. Thanks Freddie.

There is good reason why first gear doesn't clunk. The triumph has a multi plate wet clutch which has drag, so first gear on any bike with a wet clutch will go with a clunk. The R Nine T has a single plate dry clutch, just like what's in a car, these have no inertial drag and hence first gear just pops in quite silently. as an R nine T owner its something you soon get used to

Love my 2020 R Nine T Pure. The riding experience is addictive!

I think the Bonneville and RNineT are being compared a lot for good reasons but they are very different machines, especially if you look at all the different iterations. I sold my RnineT Scrambler for a Triumph Bobber Black and there's just something about the bobber that the RNineT couldn't provide. Granted, they are very different in terms of riding style, position, exhaust note, but I couldn't be happier about the switch!

I love my R NineT. That engine, USD forks - adjustable, rear shock - adjustable, far longer warranty, roadside assist and it’s simply gorgeous and great fun to ride. I ride my one every day, as I don’t own a car.

Really enjoyed both videos. I own a 2016 R9T sport, such a cool bike, everyone stops and talks to you and so much fun to ride, looks and sounds great as well. Look forward some more videos.

I own a T120 Black from Triumph and did two test drives on this BMW bike yesterday and I agree 100% with everything you said. Very unbiased! Thanks

I test rode a 2015 R9T and loved it and so I'm purchasing it. A nice step up from my fabulous interceptor.

Motorcycle, a universal language of unity. New subscriber from America.

You are exceptional man. I'm so glad I found this channel.

Thank you for your reviews on R9T. I went to a BMW dealer last week and am actually thinking of ordering a PURE version. After your video, I kind of knowing what I really need at this point. Thank you.

Enjoyed your work & style of presentation.

The Triumph Speed Twin and Kawasaki z900RS are the competitors for the R9T. Oh, SW Motech make model specific pannier racks and suitably retro panniers.

This is an excellent review. Informative, beautiful scenery, and some really nice music kicking right now.

Just came across your channel as keep looking for RnineT content. No joke... yours has been the best so far. I’ve subscribed and smashed the bell. Look forward to more content 👍🏽🤟🏽🏍

I'm at the relaxed end of riding, so it's the Triumph for me! Great idea doing the comparison. Looking forward to the next episode!!

Great content. The side by side comparo you did was tops

great review side by side, you brought up many points that others don't and it would make me lean to the more comfortable Triumph.

Awesome review, really appreciated. Like someone else typed, your enthusiasm is infectious. Was thinking about this gorgeous bike, but your final thoughts won me over not to buy one. Surprising I know but your comment about the pressure on the wrists brought me to actually plan a ride at a dealer. And sure enough, after half a day of (motorway) touring my wrists hurt. Bummer... Perhaps you can do a review of a BMW R1250R? Curious what you would make of that bike and how it stacks up against the R NineT.

Yes... it is an older post but i reply anyway. Good review. Thank you. The BMW is something special and i agree with the modern yet retro description. I have owned many bikes over the years imcluding the modern Triumph. While the Triumph does nothing wrong BMW is in another class. Looks superb.

I like Freddie's enthusiasm

142,000 viewer's... 3,100 thumbs 👍🏻..🤔😐😐 This is Not fair at all... as long as you see this Episode...at least show some appreciation for the Efforts of it... Thank you for all the thumbs 👍🏻...Freddie Deserve it

Great video. I'd love the R Nine T as a second one

I see big things for you mate, your channel is exceedingly good, early days, but I can’t wait to watch your journey and see your followers explode in numbers.

I had a Bonneville Bobber and now ride an r nine t. I love both of the bikes for different reasons and would be happy to have either/both in my garage. For me, being a shorter rider, the Bobber was more comfortable, but both are a blast to ride

When the weight is centralised it is easier to handle. I noticed that when moving bricks in a wheel barrow. If the bricks were spread out left to right the wheel barrow felt a lot heavier leaned over compared to having the bricks more in the centre.

I had a Bonneville 900 on Kauai and it was a perfect motorcycle for that island. There is only a few miles of the island where you can get the speed up to 60mph and the balance was nice for the mostly flat riding on the island. It was particularly fun on the twisty canyon road up to the Waimea canyon overlooks. I never got to ride one here on the Big Island but I imagine it to be underpowered for the steep hills of the Big Island and getting up to highway speed up the Haleakala Highway on Maui would have also been a stretch. Probably because I didn’t try that either. The other thing is the brakes on the Triumph were crap for quick stops on Kauai. Another thing is that it is a bit too light for the high wind conditions that you encounter on Maui and the Big Island. My current 2000 BMW r1100r is a great bike for the Big Island that gets me over saddle road at 80 to 100mph and on the twisty roads that are all over the upper road on the leeward side. I like the bike a lot but drawbacks of the old BMW, like sure-footedness on fast tight corners, no ABS brakes and a heavy feel to the bike in a few of the 180 degree corners in Kona make me thirst for the R9T more than any other bike as potentially the best bike for my home island. One bike to rule them all. I know that there is no such thing. I also had a 2018 KTM 790 and that was fantastic for the beat up roads and was even better at cornering than my BMW r1100r but a big drawback was that riding slowly along the ocean side road was unpleasant because the engine runs hot and gets too warm on the seat. I liked that bike but it was incorrectly put together at the dealership so I just turned the bike back in. I also didn’t like the chain after having ridden mostly BMW for the past 10 years. I also had a GS Adventure on this island but that was too much for many of the riding conditions of this island and too tall to park because there is never flat surface to park on here. I also liked the handling in corners better on my old r1100r than on the GS.

Excellent and honest review, I have been looking at the scrambler version of this line and appreciate your take on the BMW's rnineT bikes. Good stuff Mr. Dobbs, and Cheers to you.

The shots of you on the bike were great. Love hearing from an actual pillion about how the seating is. Get a Ducati scrambler! It’s a direct competitor to the 1200xc and R nine T. It would really answer the question of which modern classic is the best!

Just pulled the trigger on a 2021 R9T 719 Pollux, can't wait to have it,

Great video as always. Looking forward to seeing the livewire !!!

I love the looks of this bike. My favorite classic looking bike... Great review btw!

Great video man, all true! I came from Aprilia Tuono (2009) to R9T and I is a great built bike with less power but amazing handling. For over a year I am amazed by bmw and if I am not riding it, I am just staring at it in my garage. 😀

Excellent video, well spoken and precise ! You’ve earned a sub here my friend !

You come across like a pro on camera! Are you an actor? Great video 👍

Nice review. You’re right. I’ve got a 2017 pure as a daily commuter, 25k miles, and I still very occasionally miss a gear. Need to be a tiny bit deliberate when shifting. Other than that, absolutely love the bike.

Absolutely love your reviews. Thank you!

Excellent unbiased review thank you. I want one !!!

That was great - authentic, informative and you took us to some nice parts of the UK (some of which I recognised). Thanks - new subscriber

Great video. I traded my Speed Twin in on a R1250R. I found my speed twin too small for me at 195 pounds and 6ft. The R9T is too small too. You should give the R1250R a ride. Its sublime..

Just a small note. Hepco & Becker make the C-Bow pannier carrier for the R Nine T. Also, the pillion isn't an issue for me. Having been rear-ended, I quit carrying a passenger 15 years ago.

On one hand, Bonneville is more comfortable, has more space for luggage. On the other hand, R9T has a shaft drive, so you don't have to hassle with chain. Tough call

Great review! Happy with my R9T and you're 100% right on the more aggressive ride.

Very well articulated and informative review mate! Thanks for putting the time in. Subbed!

Good to see you in RU-vid! Here is South Korea. I saw your pics in Instagram before. I love the photos because I have a motorcycle Triumph Thruxton R. Thank you for great videos and pics.

Really good review and balanced summary. I have R9T Urban and agree with comments re seat and gearbox but having tried other bikes, including Triumphs I think the BMW is in another league Look forward to your review of Harley

Hallo Freddie, just few considerations about the T Nine version but before saying anything I want to say that I drove Bmw’s for over 30 years and the latest was a T nine Urban Gs a great bike easy to handle and the sound was the best among the other Nine T’s but then after so many years i decided to buy a Thruxton rs a completely different bike in all aspects thou the weight is similar the rest is simply a symphony of beauty excellent handling even the weight seemed lighter on the Triumph and the pillion is much more comfortable. But don’t get me wrong The R nine t remain one of the best bikes Greetings from Italy

Another great video dude, loving you’re style. Keep them coming. 👍 Looking forward to the HD review!

For long multi day trips our ride group is full of the R1200GS or R1250GS, for weekend morning meets the Bonneville.

Love that u put an invisible kickstand down.

So refreshing to see your review. I am getting tired of the meaningless mass-reviews by so-called pros. You know what matters to a bike rider. The scenery was great too. (You really liked that bridge, eh?). Keep your style; I’m sure it will be appreciated more and more.

Simple but effective review!

2:39 freddie setting up the transparent side stand 😁

Great review. Love my RnineT and used to have a 2009 Bonney a few years back which I also loved. Good luck planning some "Big" trips on the Livewire. Since seems you will get well under 100miles range when cruising the highway! Be interesting to see how you go.

You sir are brilliant. Lovely videos! Keep them coming.

The physical nature of the R9T is what is appealing to me. It is a riders bike and part of the joy of riding is having to put in some work...with much reward. Cheers!

Great Freddie!! Awesome footage and reveiw 🤜🤛

Fantastic video. Went to bmw after watching... Came away with a scrambler, gold spoked wheels and billet kit.. More then welcome to borrow for a week or so, if your ever back in the uk👍🍻

I bought the r nine t and i also found the gearbox a little cluncky but after a day or two im used to it i think its a shaft drive thing , you just need to adjyst your riding. I love the bike and test rode many others before getting it and every time i get on it i feel i made the right choice

Perfect comparison, thanks for the much information, I'm looking forward to the next video ✌🏼

BMW R Nine T 👍👍

Another fantastic review Freddie... I am on my third 2021 R9T red frame edition and love it. I do agree about the shift points with you. I am hoping to change it up with some mod's. ;-) Keep it up...

Really good info and perspective. A big thumbs up.

First time here! There is something refreshing about the simplicity and content delivery, thanks for sharing, sub'd 🍻I think the R1250 R is supposed to be similar-ish but more on the naked / futuristic look side. Have you ridden an ADV bike before? They're very comfy! It would be great if you reviewed the riding gear as well 👌🏻

I had one almost identical to that for about three years. Agree with you on the level of engineering and looks, but even at 5’9” I found it uncomfortable after a relatively short while. Also the suspension was very harsh and so I never did very many miles on it - even less so after developing a dodgy back. I don’t think the tubed tyres helped, which were always a bugbear on such an expensive bike. At the time I bought it, in 2015, the BMW dealer was telling me it was a short run special! Incidentally the KTMs I was running at the same time, with WP suspension, were like a magic carpet ride.

Have you seen the BMW R nineT 100 Years ? what a stunning looking bike that is !

Hi Freddie, thanks for the video. if I may, and please only take this as a constructive observation and in no way consider this a negative critique : You should try to improve the management of your audio tracks and their respective volumes. The brutal music track cut out at 13:46 and the significant difference in volume with your voice is quite surprising when using headphones. Was this maybe done by mistake ? Improving the overall audio management of your videos would significantly improve their global quality. Just a thought.

You tilted two 200kg+ bikes, handled all that weight and still were able to give a speech at the same time. I am new to big motorcycles but still find that impressive.

Well done! New subscriber, and current Triumph guy in New Hampshire (US). This bike is on my list as a potential upgrade of my STR. Cheers!

Perhaps consider the big brother of the RnineT, the R1250R. It has a proper pillion seat and as an extra a BMW topbox and panniers. The topbox also acts as a back-rest. It is a bigger bike, but not that much more expensive.

Fantastic review! Very informative!

Almost identical to my 9T that one. Had it about 9 months / 2500 miles. Thoughts? Agree with you on the gearbox - it's not the smoothest; bit agricultural. Agree with you on pillion comfort - it's not the best. Luggage wise there's plenty of options and I'm not worried when it comes time to tour again (damn you Covid). Position wise - I'm about the same size as you and can do a 250 mile day on it, which isn't bad for a naked retro roadster. I disagree with you a bit around weight and how it carries it, the boxer allows the weight to be lower and, I find, that's easier to handle than having it higher up like my adventure bike this replaced. It's pretty efficient for a 1200 air cooled, so 150 miles between fill ups decent enough for the bike style - no fuel gauge though which is bloody cheeky on an expensive bike. Don't understand why they fitted it with innertubes rather than tubeless tyres - especially as the scrambler is tubeless. That's annoying but I thought hey, I hardly ever get punctures....then got one 3 days into ownership. My other concern is oil usage - the sight glass is ~500ml from top to bottom and these boxers do like a drink. That means if you're anal like me and want to go out with the oil at the correct level every time - you're filling up with oil quite regularly and there's a really annoying 'special tool' to undo the filler cap, which is kept under the seat which is secured with.....a special tool! What did you say about over-engineering again? I do really like it and time will tell whether we get on longer term. Thanks for the video Freddie. All the best

Now this is a proper review!

I do not buy a bike to take a pillion with me. She either makes the license and tour with her own bike, or stays at home ;) Taking a pillion with you, takes away all what makes riding fun.

Exactly the comparison I needed. Thanks 👍

I'm convinced he spends more time looking at the bike while drinking coffee than riding it

Just stumbled on this video, Eynsford- not been for years but the plough is where I took my long term girlfriend on a blind date over 20 years ago. Follow the road past the plough and visit Lulungston Roman Villa Must get back there one day

12:21 That was pretty neat having a free car wash at the side of the bridge.... :-P

Great vid mate! 👍🏼

Nice follow-up review and final thoughts. Well done 😀

Am thinking of buying a moto again after many years, and the R nine T WAS a consideration until I watched your videos.

Just bought a 2015 R nineT!!😍☺️