BMW has an aura of a company, which attends to a completely different class when it comes to cars and bikes, right? When you look at BMW motorcycles, for example, you think of the commuters with grey hair or bold riders who live for the sole purpose of adventure. That sure is okay, but BMW has of late decided to target young buyers and has created the R nineT to attract this particular market.
The bike has been created with the input of BMW Motorcycle Design Head Ola Stenegard, who himself is a Swedish chopper enthusiast. Stenegard and his team came up with this bike as an attempt to grow their business further. The motorcycle’s design compliments BMW’s characteristic designs with additional ultra-modern styling that targets youth. R nineT really stands out because of the fact that its customization potential is quite high.
The rear pillion can be removed if wanted, the exhaust’s position can be adjusted as per your taste, and the rear sub-frame is affixed via only 8 bolts allowing to transform the bike from a compact version to the highway cruiser within minutes. Despite being aimed at younger target audience, the bike costs $14,900. However, it definitely managed to grab the attention of a lot of cruisers and bike-custom owners and has paid off BMW by expanding the brand’s base.
BMW handed four R nineTs to different bike builders in Japan and each one of them was given a time period of 6 months to come up with something unique. In the words of Stenegard, “That we were gonna reach out to Japan was always clear. The Japanese scene was always an inspiration to us and the nineT. The guys over there somehow do not seem to buy anything, they just make it themselves. And the level of craftmanship is astonishing!”
Finally, a dream list was drafted followed by BMW sending out an offer to them and much to Stenegard’s surprise, every one of them accepted the offer. When he saw their unique products, Stenegard’s reaction in his own words was, “Overwhelmed. Beyond overwhelmed! I could only drop to my knees in awe!”
