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I don't like they are abandoning the vintage style of the line. All of them are doing it. I have a Ducati scrambler and the new scramblers are more modern looking. The xsr did a good job of blending old and newer and now it's just another yammy triple with a striped paint scheme. And the Indian FTR just got more chunky and modern too.

The bikes were huge hits BECAUSE they were basically reliable but older looking.
 
I don't like they are abandoning the vintage style of the line. All of them are doing it. I have a Ducati scrambler and the new scramblers are more modern looking. The xsr did a good job of blending old and newer and now it's just another yammy triple with a striped paint scheme. And the Indian FTR just got more chunky and modern too.

The bikes were huge hits BECAUSE they were basically reliable but older looking.
I do agree I liked the whole concept bikes like the Thruxton were about history of the machines and there was room for them. Now they are trying to make the motorbikes look ultra-modern but still vintage. For me an unattainable goal.
 
I don't like they are abandoning the vintage style of the line. All of them are doing it. I have a Ducati scrambler and the new scramblers are more modern looking. The xsr did a good job of blending old and newer and now it's just another yammy triple with a striped paint scheme. And the Indian FTR just got more chunky and modern too.

The bikes were huge hits BECAUSE they were basically reliable but older looking.
Good point. Triumph has stayed very dedicated to the heritage looks for their Bonnies, and it's don't quite well for them.
 
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Dislike
1. New head pipe shape is too pointy. The old shape better mimicked the nice radius of the airheads.
2. Rear subframe looks plastic or stylized. Much prefer the tube/trellis subframe.
3. Tank shape isn't quit as aesthetic. Hard to put my finger on why. New one has sharper angles in both the rear of the tank and the knee cut-outs.
4. Side covers under the seat are too big and cover too much. Personally liked the exposed vertically oriented rear shock of the original.
5. Front brake lines frame mounted instead of bottom yoke mounted. Now they just sort of hover in the breeze
6. There was a nice linear continuity from the head pipe as it enters the exhaust port, through the cylinder head cover, up the frame rail, in to the rear sub frame on the old...no such continuity on the new.
7. The air intake covered up some of the messy bits below the tank but above the cylinders previously. The could have made a better panel to cover up the modern garbage under the tank? Im not sure what would look good there.


Like
1. Rear fender and light looks better
2. Cruise control (but none of the other electronic stuff). The R Nine T makes a great elemental sport-touring bike


What's clear to me is just how difficult it is to get the Aesthetics bang on. So much so, that is is difficult to explain what elements just don't work. The original designer is gone, and the new team didn't quite do as well.
 
I think the R12NineT just looks super clunky, especially the tank and tail. Even the name is a lot clunkier. I'm sure it will be fun to ride in spite of what I see as steps backward in geometry (rake and trail went in the wrong direction), but I find it a lot less enjoyable to look at than the original. I think BMW nailed it with the original and the R12NineT is going to suffer from the impossibly high bar set by the R NineT.
 
I think the R12NineT just looks super clunky, especially the tank and tail. Even the name is a lot clunkier. I'm sure it will be fun to ride in spite of what I see as steps backward in geometry (rake and trail went in the wrong direction), but I find it a lot less enjoyable to look at than the original. I think BMW nailed it with the original and the R12NineT is going to suffer from the impossibly high bar set by the R NineT.
Man, they relaxed the steering geometry too? That sucks. Ignoring the retro part of the bike, it is the lightest and sportiest boxer naked they have. It makes an excellent high torque naked bike for sport riding with some good suspension and wheels. At least my 2014 does....
 
I'm pretty interested in this thread and have been since my first post. I find it interesting that a few think the model is going away from the retro theme and moving towards a more modern design. If you're familiar with old BMWs the R nine T doesn't really look like anything that they've produced in the past, where as the new R12 nine T is very similar to the late model 247 airheads from '87 to the end of the run in '95. This leads me to feel like BMW is actually going more retro by mimicking previous models more closely. I find myself appreciating this more and more, even if the execution isn't what i appreciate yet as i never cared for the Mystic at all, I do love the old tombstone GS' though and that's why I'm excited to see a new urban GS model.
As a side note I even love the R18 and all it's throwback design elements to the R5 iirc, but riding the bike for me was atrocious comfort wise.
At this point I assume that a 'retro design' as previously mentioned is it's own design genre, and doesn't actually incorporate any elements from the past. Kind of like when they came out with 'reality tv'. Just a few thoughts that crossed my mind.

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What you have convinced of is beauty us truly in the eye of the beholder. I have always liked the minimalist look of the flat twins where you can see right through the bloody thing. It's true that, that has been replaced by a lot of extra emission and electronics (hell I even once owned a 750 brick ) but I still felt the minimalist tickle. Maybe I'll get used to a wee bit more junk stuck to the 12. I guess I can go out to my shop and hug my Thruxton if I need to feel the Ace Café vibe :rolleyes:
 
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Dislike
1. New head pipe shape is too pointy. The old shape better mimicked the nice radius of the airheads.
2. Rear subframe looks plastic or stylized. Much prefer the tube/trellis subframe.
3. Tank shape isn't quit as aesthetic. Hard to put my finger on why. New one has sharper angles in both the rear of the tank and the knee cut-outs.
4. Side covers under the seat are too big and cover too much. Personally liked the exposed vertically oriented rear shock of the original.
5. Front brake lines frame mounted instead of bottom yoke mounted. Now they just sort of hover in the breeze
6. There was a nice linear continuity from the head pipe as it enters the exhaust port, through the cylinder head cover, up the frame rail, in to the rear sub frame on the old...no such continuity on the new.
7. The air intake covered up some of the messy bits below the tank but above the cylinders previously. The could have made a better panel to cover up the modern garbage under the tank? Im not sure what would look good there.


Like
1. Rear fender and light looks better
2. Cruise control (but none of the other electronic stuff). The R Nine T makes a great elemental sport-touring bike


What's clear to me is just how difficult it is to get the Aesthetics bang on. So much so, that is is difficult to explain what elements just don't work. The original designer is gone, and the new team didn't quite do as well.
Thanks for the detailed run-through. I really had wondered if there were substantive differences.

Incidentally, cruise control is not new to the new model. My '21 has it -- great for killing motorway miles while getting to the proper roads. So you actually have just one like!
 
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They're definitely related. I think I prefer the longer tank on the original. I also prefer the steeper drop of the initial part of the headers. Have they done away with the spoked wheels?
I know it won't happen, but it would be interesting if the Racer was reintroduced with the new generation. With the current bike's very long tank, the reach to the clipon bars of the Racer was too long and too uncomfortable for some people. With a shorter tank, and a shorter reach, maybe a new Racer would fare better than the original did.
 
I agree that for some of us (ME !) the Racer needed "some" adjustments to be comfortable. This is the one bike I own that I was drawn towards because of the look. I first saw one at the motorcycle show in Los Angeles in 2016 and was hooked. It filled the gap between my Thruxton and my Honda ST1300. So I can't say if BMW built a R12 Racer how I'd feel about it. I did and still do like the look. As a street bike it is no where close to being as quick as my sport bikes. After making some changes I can say it is plenty fast enough for most street riding and keeps up with most of the guys I ride with on early morning jaunts. So for me it was all about the "Look" I went so far as to stay with RSU forks rather than change to USD ones when I went with the Olhins kit. All in the name of the "Look". For good or ill I love how the thing looks and how it's performance sunrises my mates. One fellow said that it was in no way a "sheep in wolf's clothing" like some of the more sporty motorbike have turned out to be.
If I was able to figure out how to make the 12 look more ........................Cafe' well then maybe as it does have some very nice advantages.......................naw I'll just keep her and save the rupees.
Don't hate the new just love the old. Cheers :unsure:
 
Why do we hate the new edition RnineT 2024 -
1.
2.
3.
etc?
Honestly because if I hate the new stuff then I am happy with my old bike and I don’t make a dumb decision to sell mine, take a bath and buy a new bike that I’ll want to trade up again and repeat the cycle in 4 years.
 
I reserve my final opinion after I see the roadster in the metal, I do like the new green color on that model, I have no interest in the cruiser. What I do know without actually seeing it in the metal is there are certain details that I really don’t like that I would immediately throw away specifically the hideous muffler every thing about it from the chrome to its proportions are just awful!
 
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