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New boxer engine


Slowlycatchymonkey
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Before I bought the 9T I was told the boxer engine was done and would be finishing its time with the r ninet, I was glad I wouldn’t be missing out on it.

Looks like that’s not so. [mention]Hoggs[/mention] you’ll be pleased to see there’s a pic on here of it from behind looking so wide it makes you breath in!


https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2018/december/bmw-engine-custom-motorcycle/

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It was almost certain to happen. The American cruiser market is huge. BMW tried to get into it with the very first 1200 engine. Long before the 1200GS and the rest of them. That 1200 engine was one of a kind and specifically for a cruiser aimed directly at the Ameicans.


It flopped... They sold a fair few but it didn't hit the right nerve. Reason? It was almost laughably small (CC) for American tastes. The same capacity as the 1200 sportster... Which itself isn't considered a proper Harley.. Just a starter bike to get you into the Marque.


So... Another try. 1800 should do better. Maybe. The Americans do hold BMW in very high esteem.

 

Before I bought the 9T I was told the boxer engine was done and would be finishing its time with the r ninet.

 

You mean the Air/Oil cooled.. The Boxer lives on with water cooling, in current bikes and has only recently been increased to a 1250cc

Edited by Gerontious
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Seen it.... This is the one (don't know if you could call it a prototype if it might never see the light of day again) that they sent to Japan to use in a custom (down SCM!) - but would it ever see production? Wonder if the engine came with its subframe and transmission gear (swing arm & bevel box)? We shall see......

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Why is a 1200 not enough? Is it a p*ssing contest type of thing or are the Americans so damn heavy they need it?


@Speedy23 what Japanese custom? I might really need one :lol:

 

Fixed that for you :mrgreen:

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[mention]Gerontious[/mention] yes sorry meant air cooled. I didn’t know sportsters weren’t considered real Harley’s, thought they were real ugly though!


BMW have had a taste of success offering another range that’s a step away from their traditional designs so why not. Ola Stenegärd who was behind the r ninet has gone back to Indian now so I suspect they’ll have their work cut out.

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Why is a 1200 not enough? Is it a p*ssing contest type of thing or are the Americans so damn heavy they need it?


@Speedy23 what Japanese custom? I might really need one :lol:

 

Fixed that for you :mrgreen:

 

Lol. Unfortunately it looks like this country is following suit on the weight front.

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Lol. Unfortunately it looks like this country is following suit on the weight front.

 

Can't be a bad thing! more people die early more money in pension pot bring pension age back down :lol:


Anyway :offtopic: :oops:

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Lol. Unfortunately it looks like this country is following suit on the weight front.

 

Can't be a bad thing! more people die early more money in pension pot bring pension age back down :lol:


Anyway :offtopic: :oops:

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of off topic me thinks. Sadly they’ll cost the NHS a fortune in diabetic healthcare and cardiac diesease before they pop their clogs.


I’d like to try an 1800 boxer engine just to see.

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Lol. Unfortunately it looks like this country is following suit on the weight front.

 

Can't be a bad thing! more people die early more money in pension pot bring pension age back down :lol:


Anyway :offtopic: :oops:

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of off topic me thinks. Sadly they’ll cost the NHS a fortune in diabetic healthcare and cardiac diesease before they pop their clogs.


I’d like to try an 1800 boxer engine just to see.

 

It will have been sold down the river by then and we will all need private health care :shock:

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Can't be a bad thing! more people die early more money in pension pot bring pension age back down :lol:


Anyway :offtopic: :oops:

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of off topic me thinks. Sadly they’ll cost the NHS a fortune in diabetic healthcare and cardiac diesease before they pop their clogs.


I’d like to try an 1800 boxer engine just to see.

 

It will have been sold down the river by then and we will all need private health care :shock:

 

Will be a very sad day.

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Nothing wrong with a bit of off topic me thinks. Sadly they’ll cost the NHS a fortune in diabetic healthcare and cardiac diesease before they pop their clogs.


I’d like to try an 1800 boxer engine just to see.

 

It will have been sold down the river by then and we will all need private health care :shock:

 

Will be a very sad day.

 

No NHS, no pensions... Let's all raise a glass to our good friend Nigel Farage.

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It will have been sold down the river by then and we will all need private health care :shock:

 

Will be a very sad day.

 

No NHS, no pensions... Let's all raise a glass to our good friend Nigel Farage.

It's all they ever wanted......

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Why is a 1200 not enough? Is it a p*ssing contest type of thing or are the bikes so damn heavy they need it?


@Speedy23 what Japanese custom? I might really need one :lol:

Here you go SCM, try this for size

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.motorcyclenews.com/amp/news/2018/december/bmw-engine-custom-motorcycle/&ved=2ahUKEwiYk5_TzqDfAhWtRxUIHcPxDGEQFjAKegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw3n1J2m-SvSIvfGFjwsE95o&ampcf=1


OK?

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Why is a 1200 not enough? Is it a p*ssing contest type of thing or are the bikes so damn heavy they need it?


@Speedy23 what Japanese custom? I might really need one :lol:

And years ago, H-D used to have this advertising slogan "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand...." It should probably have read "If you don't have to ask, you probably shouldn't be allowed to use the toilet on your own..."

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It doesn't seem all that long ago.. But it's probably getting on for 10 years that what is now the R Nine T series of bikes was just a group of 10 or so illustrations/paintings. Put "out there" for discussion and opinions. Some said it would never happen, some said nobody wants an impractical retro single seater. Modern pastiches of classic bikes. And here we are.


That BMW have produced a working 1800cc engine now in an actual bike. In the hands of a 3rd party. Well... That kinda reminds me of something, back in the day. Handing over a couple of their bikes to a couple of Brits and allowing them to be filmed on a round the world trip. And we all know what happened next.


Doing it this way... Allowing it to leak out in a very public way. But without any fanfare. That's clever. BMW have a lot of presence in the USA but not even a toehold in the cruiser market. If they can produce an engine that piques interest over there. One that is the right size and offers a very good alternative to the usual V twin. Even a small bite of the market share will be huge for them, that toehold they need. Maybe even take that next obvious step. Open a production facility in the States. "made in america" that's a big deal too.


Reminds me a little of Triumph in the early 90s. The very first bikes off the production line went straight to Germany. They knew well enough that if they could impress the Germans.. Sell the bikes fast and gain a shed load of publicity there and across Europe, they would be off to a flying start. Of course it worked.


Similar strategy. Giving the engine to a Japanese custom builder? That's just a wacky. But incredibly clever idea. Aimed squarely at American eyes.

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It doesn't seem all that long ago.. But it's probably getting on for 10 years that what is now the R Nine T series of bikes was just a group of 10 or so illustrations/paintings. Put "out there" for discussion and opinions. Some said it would never happen, some said nobody wants an impractical retro single seater. Modern pastiches of classic bikes. And here we are.


That BMW have produced a working 1800cc engine now in an actual bike. In the hands of a 3rd party. Well... That kinda reminds me of something, back in the day. Handing over a couple of their bikes to a couple of Brits and allowing them to be filmed on a round the world trip. And we all know what happened next.


Doing it this way... Allowing it to leak out in a very public way. But without any fanfare. That's clever. BMW have a lot of presence in the USA but not even a toehold in the cruiser market. If they can produce an engine that piques interest over there. One that is the right size and offers a very good alternative to the usual V twin. Even a small bite of the market share will be huge for them, that toehold they need. Maybe even take that next obvious step. Open a production facility in the States. "made in america" that's a big deal too.


Reminds me a little of Triumph in the early 90s. The very first bikes off the production line went straight to Germany. They knew well enough that if they could impress the Germans.. Sell the bikes fast and gain a shed load of publicity there and across Europe, they would be off to a flying start. Of course it worked.


Similar strategy. Giving the engine to a Japanese custom builder? That's just a wacky. But incredibly clever idea. Aimed squarely at American eyes.

 

A fascinating bit of history and a very interesting take on things. Thankyou.

If they produced a cruiser and released the finished item it could easily miss its mark. As you say this they dip their toes in gauge people’s responses and get some fine custom builder with their finger on the eclectic pulse and build up from there something that is desired.

What you’re saying is most savvy and now I can’t imagine that’s not what they’re doing.

The 9T pure has been a relative success with custom builders (not something you associate with traditional BMW bikes) and I imagine if they produce a cruiser they’d use the same lego bolt on approach making it easily personalised/customised.


If BMW were in that market I think they could give Harley a fright on being a custom base bike just because they’re products are so well thought out, if they want it to be easy to work on it will be but being BMW it’ll also work straight from the box without any modifications.

A cruiser that goes, now that’d be something.

I hope if it appears that rather than looking like a bag of parts put together (that’s how a lot of cruisers look to me) that it has the overall ‘whole’ feeling that BMW do well.

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They didn't sell all that well in the states, but have since developed almost a cult like status as possibly the best handling cruiser ever produced. Almost zero dive under hard braking. A more normal footpegs lever position and just beautifully made. A lot of polished stainless steel instead of chrome, for instance. And paint a proverbial inch thick. I've never seen one in bad condition... They still look great all these years later and some have clocked up big miles without any issues. A surprising number of them were converted to trikes or outfits.


But,, in the states they just weren't competitive. Costing "too much" more than the base model 1340cc HD. And "only" a 1200. All this was before BMW became cool... Still a fairly small player. Before the transformation after the LWR.

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