On May 11, 2023, BMW Motorrad officially announced the successor to the beloved R nineT called the R 12 nineT. While the look is very much in keeping with the styling you’ve come to know and love on the R nineT over the past decade, the 12 is indeed indicative of a new 1200cc boxer engine with redesigned intake and exhaust that will power the next generation of the family.
BMW timed the introduction of the R 12 nineT to celebrate its 100 Years of BMW Motorrad—as well as the ten-year anniversary of the introduction of the original BMW R nineT. Since BMW is only teasing this upcoming model at the moment, full details aren’t yet available, but here’s what we know so far.
The suspension will consist of an upside-down telescopic fork in the front, along with a paralever setup in the rear. The front brakes will have radially mounted four piston calipers, and the R 12 nineT’s design will use stainless steel braided brake lines as standard. The exhaust system will exit on the left-hand side, with what BMW describes as a “double muffler and conical end pieces.” The LED taillight unit is integrated into the seat for an abbreviated tail look.
"The R nineT and its customizing concept established the new Heritage experience for BMW Motorrad's 90th birthday and has become an indispensable cornerstone of our model range. The new R 12 nineT continues the successful heritage story surrounding the legendary BMW boxer engines with an even more classic, reduced design language, even greater degrees of freedom when it comes to customizing and, last but not least, new and innovative technology,” BMW Motorrad head Dr. Markus Schramm said in a statement.
"The purist design language is dominated by the clear tank/seat/rear line, in the style of the traditional /5 or the legendary R 90 S of the 70s. At first glance, the tank itself is a classic BMW boxer tank, with a typical bend in the lower edge and classic knee contact. The new R 12 NineT also features side covers in the area of the frame triangle in the authentic Roadster look - another reminiscence of BMW motorcycles of the 1970s,” added BMW Motorrad’s head of design, Edgar Heinrich.
When can we expect to learn more about the upcoming BMW R 12 nineT? According to the OEM, both the full specifications and pricing for this new model should come sometime in the second half of 2023. That’s only a few months away, so stay tuned.
