[LiftdT4R]

Hey guys, I've had a couple posts before when I got my bike around 2018 but I've mostly been riding and not modding....... until now. So, I figured I'd start a new one about my build. Any feedback and suggestions are much appreciated because there isn't much info out there about guys that off-road these. (Probably for a good reason, lol) It's been a long time coming. I bought this R Nine T GS Urban Enduro from Max BMW in CT in 2018 after riding mostly dirt bikes my whole life. I loved it but unfortunately didn't get out much because I love riding dirt. I finally threw TKC 80s on it and hit a ton of fire roads and it was awesome but the suspension was sorely lacking.

Fast forward to 2023. I'm bored, have a couple bucks lying around but not enough for an HP2 Enduro so I figured what the heck?! I stripped her down because she needs a new battery, filter, rear tire and I figured I might as well do suspension while I'm at it.

Right now I'm between the Unit Garage Cartridge Kit or Unit Garage Ohlins. The cartridge kits certainly look more budget friendly but I'm hoping they'll still perform well off-road. The Ohlins are obviously likely a better choice but I don't like that the Ohlins don't have fork guards and it doesn't look like the lower front fender will work with them. I'm also stuck between having them setup for Mixed Use or Off-road. I'm leaning towards Mixed Use but I would love to hear feedback on some of the off-road suspension setups before plunking down $3 to $4k. I also saw the F800GS forks from R9T ADV but they don't look like they have most of the parts in stock and I'd have to source used forks, have them revalved, etc. It obviously looks like a much much better option but probably too difficult and time consuming of a build for me. Wilbers are out for me because they're more expensive but don't add much travel over stock.

I also have to figure out my turn signal situation. I wired up LEDs in the rear but they keep breaking off. I'd like something a little more tidy and I have to do the front too that I never got around to. I was thinking some of the wrap around fork signals if I can find them. I have them on my KTM and I love them.

Here's a couple pics on some recent excursions:

And the bike's current state:

Stay tuned!

 

[Louis Urban GS]

Hey guys, I've had a couple posts before when I got my bike around 2018 but I've mostly been riding and not modding....... until now. So, I figured I'd start a new one about my build. Any feedback and suggestions are much appreciated because there isn't much info out there about guys that off-road these. (Probably for a good reason, lol) It's been a long time coming. I bought this R Nine T GS Urban Enduro from Max BMW in CT in 2018 after riding mostly dirt bikes my whole life. I loved it but unfortunately didn't get out much because I love riding dirt. I finally threw TKC 80s on it and hit a ton of fire roads and it was awesome but the suspension was sorely lacking.

Fast forward to 2023. I'm bored, have a couple bucks lying around but not enough for an HP2 Enduro so I figured what the heck?! I stripped her down because she needs a new battery, filter, rear tire and I figured I might as well do suspension while I'm at it.

Right now I'm between the Unit Garage Cartridge Kit or Unit Garage Ohlins. The cartridge kits certainly look more budget friendly but I'm hoping they'll still perform well off-road. The Ohlins are obviously likely a better choice but I don't like that the Ohlins don't have fork guards and it doesn't look like the lower front fender will work with them. I'm also stuck between having them setup for Mixed Use or Off-road. I'm leaning towards mixed use but I would love to hear feedback on some of the off-road suspension setups before plunking down $3 to $4k. I also saw the F800GS forks from R9T ADV but they don't look like they have most of the parts in stock and I'd have to source used forks, have them revalved, etc. It obviously looks like a much much better option but probably too difficult and time consuming of a build for me. Wilbers are out for me because they're more expensive but don't add any travel over stock.

I also have to figure out my turn signal situation. I wired up LEDs in the rear but they keep breaking off. I'd like something a little more tidy and I have to do the front too that I never got around to. I was thinking some of the wrap around fork signals if I can find them. I have them on my KTM and I love them.

Here's a couple pics on some recent excursions:

And the bike's current state:

Stay tuned!

I'm in the same boat looking at upgrading the suspension on my ugs. I want it to sit 20mm higher with less sag (I'm 108kg) + take pillion and luggage often

 

[Chris.]

Gone be a great build i am sure of it.. Looking at the indicators; Maybe these Denali's are an option?

Denali Flush Mount Micro Indicators

Unique Denali Flush Mount Amber Turn Signal Indicators that can be mounted on virtually any flat surface on your bike

www.denalishop.co.uk

 

[LiftdT4R]

Thanks! I like those. By the looks of it I'm guessing they mount up in the stock locations? Do you know if they work on the front mounts on the forks too?

 

[Chris.]

Thanks! I like those. By the looks of it I'm guessing they mount up in the stock locations? Do you know if they work on the front mounts on the forks too?

Check the site.. I think they fit no problems on the fork indicator mounts instead of the original ones. They mount the same way right?
or perhaps you could go for a mounting on the position of the pure's indicators. For that you need 2 plastic brackets from the pure range of bikes and they can mount left and right of the radiator.

 

[GapRunr]

If you are giving any thought at all to going off road, give some serious thought to increasing the ride height if you have the inseam for it. I raised mine 40mm front and 50mm rear, and increased travel 30mm front and 48mm rear. HUGE difference. I went with Andreani Tall cartridges in the front and a custom TFX shock in the rear, with three way adjustability. With new forks seals and fresh fork oil I did it for just under $2K.

 

[gene_apodaca]

I highly recommend talking to Ted at Beemershop.com in California. He's really passionate about BMW and suspensions and will talk as long as you need him to explaining your options and letting you know what's out there based on your particular wants. He spent 45 minutes on the phone with me when all I was looking to do was set preload and rebound on my stock Scrambler before trying to sell me any upgrades. He's sold me some upgrades to previous bikes and I really trust the guy.

 

[Arugola]

Bike EXIF posted this build recently. Worth checking out for some inspiration:

Roots Revival: A custom R nineT Urban G/S from Spain

The BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a tough pill to swallow. From a styling standpoint, we totally get it; the original BMW R80G/S was iconic, and one of the few motorcycles to ever truly pull off a red seat. Many riders give it credit for kickstarting the entire adventure riding genre—and while...

www.bikeexif.com

 

[Dauphinais]

Bike EXIF posted this build recently. Worth checking out for some inspiration:

Roots Revival: A custom R nineT Urban G/S from Spain

The BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a tough pill to swallow. From a styling standpoint, we totally get it; the original BMW R80G/S was iconic, and one of the few motorcycles to ever truly pull off a red seat. Many riders give it credit for kickstarting the entire adventure riding genre—and while...

www.bikeexif.com

Thanks for posting this article, it shows that with a little work the Urban GS can be more of a real GS.

 

[LiftdT4R]

Bike EXIF posted this build recently. Worth checking out for some inspiration:

Roots Revival: A custom R nineT Urban G/S from Spain

The BMW R nineT Urban G/S is a tough pill to swallow. From a styling standpoint, we totally get it; the original BMW R80G/S was iconic, and one of the few motorcycles to ever truly pull off a red seat. Many riders give it credit for kickstarting the entire adventure riding genre—and while...

www.bikeexif.com

Wow what an awesome build!! I wish the fork setup and 21" front wheel were a little more accessible. I don't really see anyone that sells a kit for these except for R9T ADV kinda. You still have to source a lot of the parts yourself and then find someone to rebuild the donor forks, etc. I'm also curious what Bike EXIF did with the air box and scoop on the bike. I plan to leave mine in place and run a pre-filter like some of the other builds but that isn't great for some of the dusty offroad riding I do.

 

[LiftdT4R]

If you are giving any thought at all to going off road, give some serious thought to increasing the ride height if you have the inseam for it. I raised mine 40mm front and 50mm rear, and increased travel 30mm front and 48mm rear. HUGE difference. I went with Andreani Tall cartridges in the front and a custom TFX shock in the rear, with three way adjustability. With new forks seals and fresh fork oil I did it for just under $2K.

I love it!! I think I bought the exact cartridges kits last week. They should be here this week and I think I'm going to send my stock forks and the cartridges to Andreani in North Carolina for the install because I couldn't find anyone locally that was willing to machine down the fork. I went with the Unit Garage Ohlins rear shock.

How do you like the kit compared to stock? And did you go with Mixed Route of Offroad? I couldn't find a lot of reviews on them online but I liked the increased travel the best. It's more than the Wilbers kit with a lower ride height. The price was also super good too but I couldn't find many ride reviews. I normally offroad a Husky TE300 and I know it's not going to be that bike but I'm hoping to at least ride fire roads with some XR650Ls, KLRs and DRs and be able to keep up ok.

 

[Chris.]

Wunderlich sells a 21 inch front wheel kit .. even side stand extensions and 70mm highering kits. With their gear you can turn any scrambler/urban into a real offroad Hp2 killer.

21 inch front wheel R nineT

Guess what belongs to an Enduro just like the white-and-blue propeller does to BMW? It’s the 21 inch front wheel! A true brand of any real Enduro or Offroad motorcycle! Anyone who sometimes uses an Enduro off the »beaten« tarmac track will definitely appreciate the advantages of a 21 inch front...

www.wunderlich.de

 

[BaldyDave]

I just love that build! Thanks for posting @Arugola

 

[GapRunr]

I love it!! I think I bought the exact cartridges kits last week. They should be here this week and I think I'm going to send my stock forks and the cartridges to Andreani in North Carolina for the install because I couldn't find anyone locally that was willing to machine down the fork. I went with the Unit Garage Ohlins rear shock.

How do you like the kit compared to stock? And did you go with Mixed Route of Offroad?

I went with Mixed Road for the cartridges. Any machine shop in town can easily remove the lip on a lathe. The shop I went to only wanted $20 when I picked them up because it was so easy. It's a huge difference over stock. I used to bottom out on the mildest off road riding but it's pretty rare now.

 

[LiftdT4R]

I went with Mixed Road for the cartridges. Any machine shop in town can easily remove the lip on a lathe. The shop I went to only wanted $20 when I picked them up because it was so easy. It's a huge difference over stock. I used to bottom out on the mildest off road riding but it's pretty rare now.

Awesome! That's what I was hoping to hear. Andreani is NC only wanted $220 to do the whole install which seemed reasonable to me so I know the shipping might be heavy but hopefully it gets done right. I know if I tried to have a local shop do it something would go wrong. It's just my luck.

Was curious what you're running for an exhaust and kickstand? I read some old threads and I picked up a 2018 R1200GS kickstand. It looks like it's the prefect length and fits up ok except it hits my stock low exhaust. I was thinking about changing the slip on for an Akropovic anyway but didn't know if that affects the passenger foot pegs as I'd really like to keep them.

 

[GapRunr]

I lengthened my kickstand. I can't post anything more here as the site Admins will delete it if I do. They really don't tolerate any duplication of information on this forum, even if it does pertain to this thread. I doubt I can even post a link to it without getting this post deleted, but if you do a search by date on my username it was in the last week.

Exhaust wise I'm running the stock exhaust. I have yet to see an aftermarket exhaust that gives me anymore power without also giving me more noise, and as far as weight savings of an aftermarket pipe is related I could stand to lose 50 pounds myself, so the pipe isn't the issue.

 

[Baloo]

I love it!! I think I bought the exact cartridges kits last week. They should be here this week and I think I'm going to send my stock forks and the cartridges to Andreani in North Carolina for the install because I couldn't find anyone locally that was willing to machine down the fork. I went with the Unit Garage Ohlins rear shock.

How do you like the kit compared to stock? And did you go with Mixed Route of Offroad? I couldn't find a lot of reviews on them online but I liked the increased travel the best. It's more than the Wilbers kit with a lower ride height. The price was also super good too but I couldn't find many ride reviews. I normally offroad a Husky TE300 and I know it's not going to be that bike but I'm hoping to at least ride fire roads with some XR650Ls, KLRs and DRs and be able to keep up ok.

Dave down there in Carolina is good people. It used to be fast bikes. He has done all my suspension for several bikes.

 

[LiftdT4R]

I lengthened my kickstand. I can't post anything more here as the site Admins will delete it if I do. They really don't tolerate any duplication of information on this forum, even if it does pertain to this thread. I doubt I can even post a link to it without getting this post deleted, but if you do a search by date on my username it was in the last week.

Exhaust wise I'm running the stock exhaust. I have yet to see an aftermarket exhaust that gives me anymore power without also giving me more noise, and as far as weight savings of an aftermarket pipe is related I could stand to lose 50 pounds myself, so the pipe isn't the issue.

Thanks, I saw your post. 2Shoes did the 2014 to 2018 R1200GS kickstand swap and it looks like it works and it's easy so I went that route. I have yet to try it because the bike doesn't have suspension on it currently but I'll post the results and details. Here's a pic of the 2 kickstands side by side.

The one thing I will say is that it doesn't have the bump stop like the stock one does so if you kick it up really hard it slightly taps the exhaust but then rests again where it's not touching it. All it needs it 1/8" not to do that so temporarily I used electrical tape and some plastic wiring shield to make up a little bumper on the kickstand. Honestly it's probably fine the way it is stock but I'm really anal. I'll probably drop a couple spots off weld in that area if I keep it and mount a new exhaust.

Agree with you 100% on the slip ons. That's probably true for most of the bikes I own. I just really really don't like the look of the stock exhaust because of how long and out of place it looks. I really like the Akrapovic slip on. I'm hoping it's not much louder and the low mount works with the passenger pegs because I ride my kid around every now and again. Really I'm just doing it for looks.

Dave down there in Carolina is good people. It used to be fast bikes. He has done all my suspension for several bikes.

Awesome, good to know, thanks!! I filled out his service form on Friday and my cartridges should be here Wednesday from Unit Garage. My stock forks are all boxed up so I'm going to shoot them to him Thursday. This si coming together quicker than I thought!

 

[LiftdT4R]

Wow Unit Garage came through fast! I got my cartridges and rear Ohlins shock today. I'm going to mount the rear shock one weeknight and the forks and cartridges are going to Andreani in NC tomorrow morning. The Kreft box is for shipping only, they sent me an awesome box when they re-did the suspension on my KTM. I hope Andreani isn't offended. I dropped my rear wheel off at Quaker City BMW last weekend to get a new TKC 80. I had no clue they were discontinued but they still had them in stock which was awesome.

 

[LiftdT4R]

Wunderlich sells a 21 inch front wheel kit .. even side stand extensions and 70mm highering kits. With their gear you can turn any scrambler/urban into a real offroad Hp2 killer.

21 inch front wheel R nineT

Guess what belongs to an Enduro just like the white-and-blue propeller does to BMW? It’s the 21 inch front wheel! A true brand of any real Enduro or Offroad motorcycle! Anyone who sometimes uses an Enduro off the »beaten« tarmac track will definitely appreciate the advantages of a 21 inch front...

www.wunderlich.de

Thanks!! Those 21" wheels make the R Nine T look like a proper enduro. Those with the F800 forks seem to be the ticket. I may end up dropping in one later when I need a new front tire but for now I'm going to stick with the stockers and TKC 80s see how she performs. I have too many bikes and I'm curious to see how much use my R Nine T will get so I'm trying to keep it as an off-roader that's light and budget friendly, well as budget friendly as a BMW can be.