During a terrific recent trip to Virginia to ride the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, I celebrated my 5-year anniversary with my R9T Pure and also hit the 30,000-mile mark during the trip. I've already written a few long reviews of this bike, so this will be a slightly shorter one.
First of all, I love this motorcycle. I have sometimes second-guessed myself, wondering if this was the right bike to buy. The short answer is yes, it was the right machine for me. In the years between my purchase and now, I have looked at countless new and used bikes, mostly for fun, but also thinking what might work better for me and/or what bike is next. Most of the time, I haven't seen a bike I thought would be a better fit for me and all my riding needs than this Beemer.
That being said, there are times I wish I'd waited and bought a 2021, which would have had LED lights and cruise control as an option. Also, I love the frosted teal paint that was offered on the 2021 Pure. Still, I love the black and white Option 719 paint scheme on my 2020, which is one reason I chose this specific bike. I have considered buying a newer R9T with the upgrades, but a few of the mods on my bike will not fit the Euro 5 bikes, and I really don't want to start over on another R9T anyway. So for now, a basic throttle lock works as a cruise control, and I have a knockoff Motodemic headlight sitting in a box if and when I ever decide to install it.
My ownership experience has been great overall. I did have two warranty claims. First was for a bad bearing in the front wheel. The other was for warped front brake rotors. There haven't been any other mechanical nor electrical issues with the bike. I replaced the battery this summer, and it was a miserable job to do. Next time I'll probably let the dealer shop handle it.
Speaking of which...The local BMW dealership is pleasant to work with, and it's fun to visit there just to look around, plus they have demo days and open houses a few times each year, something I don't see other dealers doing often, if at all.
I also want to mention that this forum has added to my ownership experience. Long before I became a moderator, I had already enjoyed being a member of this fine forum. I love this community, and have made a few friends along the way. Seeing other owners' posts, mods, photos, and interacting with folks here makes owning this bike even better.
My riding ranges from my 6-mile work commute to 1,000+ mile trips. I'm a musician on the side, which sometimes keeps me from riding as much as I'd like, but I do ride almost as much as I can, including running errands on the bike when possible instead of taking the car. There are frequent morning or afternoon rides, plus occasional SE Ohio rides to hit the sweet twisty roads in that region. The R9T handles it all very well.
Below is a list of mods on my bike. I have several more yet uninstalled, but nothing major. Maybe I'll get to those mods over this coming winter. I'm planning to finally add a set of saddlebags before my first trip next year, as just using a large roll-top drybag for my motorcycle luggage (which I've been doing since I bought the bike) isn't cutting it anymore.
Current mods (in alphabetical order):
What's next? Well, I don't know. I'm not planning to sell or trade this bike anytime soon, but I really like the BMW F800GS and the Triumph Scrambler 1200X, plus the Triumph Street Twins (both the 900 and 1200) and a couple of the Triumph Tigers. I also like the R12 nineT very much. (I need to ride one during the next demo day!) There are a few other bikes out there I could see myself on, but the F800GS (or older F750GS) and Scrambler 1200X stand out for me. Frankly, I don't have room in my budget for a motorcycle payment, and won't for another couple years, so I'll keep window shopping for now.
As for my beloved R nineT Pure, I'm close to the 5,000-mile mark for 2025. I'd been hoping to to 5-6k miles this year, so I'll at least reach the lower end of that range. But there is still at least a month of half-decent riding weather left this season, so maybe I'll get to 6k after all.
Below are some photos to accompany this review. Thanks for reading!
Day 1 - August 29, 2020:
![Image]()
30k mile odometer, taken August 31, 2025:
![Image]()
The bike today, September 10, 2025:
![Image]()
First of all, I love this motorcycle. I have sometimes second-guessed myself, wondering if this was the right bike to buy. The short answer is yes, it was the right machine for me. In the years between my purchase and now, I have looked at countless new and used bikes, mostly for fun, but also thinking what might work better for me and/or what bike is next. Most of the time, I haven't seen a bike I thought would be a better fit for me and all my riding needs than this Beemer.
That being said, there are times I wish I'd waited and bought a 2021, which would have had LED lights and cruise control as an option. Also, I love the frosted teal paint that was offered on the 2021 Pure. Still, I love the black and white Option 719 paint scheme on my 2020, which is one reason I chose this specific bike. I have considered buying a newer R9T with the upgrades, but a few of the mods on my bike will not fit the Euro 5 bikes, and I really don't want to start over on another R9T anyway. So for now, a basic throttle lock works as a cruise control, and I have a knockoff Motodemic headlight sitting in a box if and when I ever decide to install it.
My ownership experience has been great overall. I did have two warranty claims. First was for a bad bearing in the front wheel. The other was for warped front brake rotors. There haven't been any other mechanical nor electrical issues with the bike. I replaced the battery this summer, and it was a miserable job to do. Next time I'll probably let the dealer shop handle it.
Speaking of which...The local BMW dealership is pleasant to work with, and it's fun to visit there just to look around, plus they have demo days and open houses a few times each year, something I don't see other dealers doing often, if at all.
I also want to mention that this forum has added to my ownership experience. Long before I became a moderator, I had already enjoyed being a member of this fine forum. I love this community, and have made a few friends along the way. Seeing other owners' posts, mods, photos, and interacting with folks here makes owning this bike even better.
My riding ranges from my 6-mile work commute to 1,000+ mile trips. I'm a musician on the side, which sometimes keeps me from riding as much as I'd like, but I do ride almost as much as I can, including running errands on the bike when possible instead of taking the car. There are frequent morning or afternoon rides, plus occasional SE Ohio rides to hit the sweet twisty roads in that region. The R9T handles it all very well.
Below is a list of mods on my bike. I have several more yet uninstalled, but nothing major. Maybe I'll get to those mods over this coming winter. I'm planning to finally add a set of saddlebags before my first trip next year, as just using a large roll-top drybag for my motorcycle luggage (which I've been doing since I bought the bike) isn't cutting it anymore.
Current mods (in alphabetical order):
- BMW cylinder head guards
- BMW decorative headstock plate
- BMW tachometer & bracket
- Evotech mirror extenders
- Evotech oil cooler guard
- Evotech skid plate
- Hepco & Becker rear luggage rack
- MachineartMoto MudSling
- Pillion knurled seat bolt
- Puig 2.0 brake & clutch levers
- Puig Classic Flyscreen windshield
- Quadlock cellphone holder
- Racetech fork springs
- Rhino Moto heavy bar ends
- Sargent seat
- SC-Project Conic titanium exhaust
- TFX 140 rear shock
- Wunderlich air intake cover
- Wunderlich Paralever pivot cover (silver)
- Wunderlich front axle sliders
- Wunderlich Paralever slider
What's next? Well, I don't know. I'm not planning to sell or trade this bike anytime soon, but I really like the BMW F800GS and the Triumph Scrambler 1200X, plus the Triumph Street Twins (both the 900 and 1200) and a couple of the Triumph Tigers. I also like the R12 nineT very much. (I need to ride one during the next demo day!) There are a few other bikes out there I could see myself on, but the F800GS (or older F750GS) and Scrambler 1200X stand out for me. Frankly, I don't have room in my budget for a motorcycle payment, and won't for another couple years, so I'll keep window shopping for now.
As for my beloved R nineT Pure, I'm close to the 5,000-mile mark for 2025. I'd been hoping to to 5-6k miles this year, so I'll at least reach the lower end of that range. But there is still at least a month of half-decent riding weather left this season, so maybe I'll get to 6k after all.
Below are some photos to accompany this review. Thanks for reading!
Day 1 - August 29, 2020:
30k mile odometer, taken August 31, 2025:
The bike today, September 10, 2025:
