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My dual purpose R Nine T build

8K views 42 replies 10 participants last post by  GTMartin 
#1 ·
After 6 months my new R Nine T has finally been delivered. I have never waited so long for a motorbike. The wait was not too bad as it was over winter and it gave me time to research and assemble the parts I wanted for the bike.

My bikes are to be ridden, on a daily basis going 10 miles or so to and from work and for touring in the UK and Europe.

I want to retain the style and looks of the R Nine T without turning it into an oil cooled GS adventure bike.

Opted to have the rear seat fitted, the bike was also suppled with the hump with matching paintwork.
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Spec - R Nine T

Mineral White metallic/Aurum

Option 719 Alloy wheels

Comfort Pack
 
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#2 ·
Looks really nice! I gave up my my order for a 2022 Urban GS after four months because the dealer couldn't tell me when he would be able to give me a delivery estimate, and meanwhile I had found a slightly used 2018 for sale nearby. I would have preferred a new 2022 over a used 2018, but more than that I want one NOW not at some unknown date in the future. Anyway, you've bot a nice looking ride there and I'm sure you will love it.
 
#7 ·
Not quite Robert. Surprisingly enough a newly registered R18 waiting for the owner to collect. I do not know the variant but a rare machine in the wild. I have seen quite a few in dealerships though. :) Maybe they are starting to get a bit of a following.
 
#9 ·
Next on the list was a good skid plate. On both the GS 1200 and GS750 the skid plate got a battering from road grit, stones etc. The paint on the BMW engines have had issues over the years.

I like the look of Hepco & Becker as the front does not have any slots or holes drilled in it. Only available in silver, so I got it powder coated locally. I found a place near York, scruffy as hell I was warned. They did a first class job. They even reattached the H&B badge.

Fitting was easy, but I put in spacers at the rear just to give a little more clearance for the cat. I don’t know if it is a little larger on the Euro5. There is not a hole in the skid plate to drain the engine oil though, the oil filter is also enclosed. The ski plate will have to be removed at oil change time.
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#13 ·
A necessary evil was the fitment of a fender extender. Rains too much here and the mudguard (misnomer) is pretty but not effective. Some of the prices asked for these bits of plastic are outrageous. I ordered one from China £9.11 postage paid. Ok it will do the job, but it is not exactly heavy gauge plastic. It did come with some screws to attach it to the front mudguard. No way am I going to drill holes in my nice metallic white mudguard. Double sided Gorilla tape seems to have attached it quite firmly. The gap between the fender extender and the top of the skid plate is reasonably small, we will see how much protection they give the engine.
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#14 ·
The snorkel end looks unfinished to me and to lots of other owners judging by the number of aftermarket options. None of which appealed to me. In fact the Wunderlich one sticks out too much to look good. Thought I would make my own from an offcut of aluminium grill from another project.
I would not have thought it would restrict air flow much.
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#16 ·
A top box was always on the shopping list as in summer I use the bike daily to go the 9 miles to work. As Holan was so unresponsive to my questions, I went for a Unit Garage Atlas 36ltrs top box. Ordered it from a company in Poole in England and they quoted 1 to 2 weeks. After everything going wrong that could, nearly 5 weeks later it arrived.
Fitting was easy enough without any modifications and it looks well designed. I ordered it with a lock adapter so I can use a BMW barrel and key to my ignition key. I have not ordered it yet but Unit Garage advised the BMW part number is 51257696170.
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#17 ·
I have found that ordering direct from Unitgarage iss better, they also respond to issues better when ordered directly from them!

Make sure you get that part number for the lock, the lock is black! If it is chrome it is the wrong one (repair kit is wrong and won't fit). There are some youtube videos on how to do the lock matching to your key, it is a very simple process but a little fidely (you need good eyes!!) but with small plieers and a steady hand it is relatively simple job, and very satisfying!

Easiest is to take the flap where the key goes in of the bike, takes two nuts to take off.
 
#18 ·
I would have ordered from Unit Garage direct, but now that we are not in the EU things are not as easy as they were. I have not experienced it myself but there seems to be a grey area whether duty, taxes and other costs are going to be added. I was quoted a price, at least it did not change and it was similar to that posted on UG website.Thanks for your advice installing the lock.
 
#21 ·
The Italian UG site has them on at 704€, add UK vat at 20% gives 845€. Converting this to GBP it is just a little bit more than I paid for the items plus I got the lock adapter kit and paid UK postage.

The 'middleman' must have got part of their profit from UG.
 
#22 ·
If you mean ordering from UG Italy without knowing what might be charged duty and other costs, yes it could be expensive. The UK company quoted me a delivered price to my house and that is exactly what I paid.

Ok I could have gambled and got the items from Italy, but it could have gone wrong.
 
#24 ·
I have always thought my Hepco and Becker skid plate made my bike noisier engine wise by deflecting the sounds upward. The plate is quite heavy and does not have much in the way of slats cut into it. When you tap it hard it almost rings.
Down to my local auto accessory shop and I bought a couple of pieces of sound deadening pads. Stuck them on, rollered them down and covered as much as I could. I did not like the silver look, so sprayed with some black paint.
The skid plate now has a dead thud when you hit it.
On the road it is quieter even the gear shift thuds are more muted. So I think a result.

Before
 

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#29 ·
I was inspired by the matching of the Wunderlich Wunderbob rear hugger to the tank colour on the R 9T . I was searching for ages to find someone who could make me a hugger similar to the Wunderlich one but longer. This was to give me better wet weather protection. I quite liked the design of the Ex-motorcycle oil cooler cover I thought painting it white would pick out the design. The parts went to my painter two weeks ago and they have just come back. They are a perfect match to the BMW colour.
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