Scramblers?scramblers everywhere. That’s the zeitgeist of the current scene…and BMW have just entered the fray in spectacular fashion.
The new BMW R nineT Scrambler is a bike we saw coming a mile off. The first clue was the Concept Path22: a customized R nineT revealed at last year’s Wheels & Waves fest, with a 19? front wheel, a surfboard rack and artwork by Ornamental Conifer.

When the official R nineT Scrambler finally broke cover, our suspicions were confirmed: we’d been looking at it all along, hidden under a thin veil of fancy bits and eye-catching graphics.
That BMW would eventually expand the R nineT range (officially filed under ‘Heritage’) was a no-brainer. The R nineT is a highly capable bike, that’ll give any other modern classic a serious run for its money in both performance and aesthetics. But it’s priced at a premium. So the Bavarian marque’s mission was twofold: scramble the R nineT, and make it cheaper.

Under the hood The R nineT Scrambler packs the same DNA as the R nineT?starting with its air-and-oil-cooled, 1170cc boxer engine. BMW have the newer, liquid-cooled boxer motor at their disposal, but ultimately decided that it’s too modern for their ‘Heritage’ bikes.

The old airhead is now Euro4 compliant, thanks to a team of engineers slaving away in white lab coats. Somehow, it still makes the same 110hp as its predecessor, and only 3Nm less torque at 116Nm. (For the geeks ...