Remember that R NineT-based concept we saw at this spring’s Wheels and Waves festival? Rumour has it, it’s headed for production.
The scramblerized concept took the R NineT platform and spliced in a healthy dose of GS DNA, and added some Dakar nostalgia for good measure. Now, Asphalt & Rubber says the bike, or some version of it, will be sold in 2017.
It’s unsurprising news. The Wheels and Waves event has been used to preview concepts that made it into BMW’s lineup before — the manufacturer introduced the R NineT Scrambler there. And considering BMW’s prototype looked very finished in the press photos, down to matching jacket and helmet, it was only considered to be a matter of time until we saw it hit the streets.
It’s an interesting machine, as it combines two elements that happen to be popular: Adventure motorcycling and throwback styling. The scrambler trend started to exploit this market, but BMW has a bike that could potentially appeal to a very wide range of customers — as long as they could afford to buy one.
