BMW 1200 R NineT Scrambler ''Masters'' 2018 — Specifications

Imagine a flat twin 1170 cc engine, 110 horsepower under the seat, parked between two golfers in pastel polo shirts on an immaculate green at the Italian Open. That’s exactly the kind of gentle provocation BMW favors with its NineT, this neo-retro platform that has become the favorite playground of customizers worldwide. For the 75th edition of the tournament, of which Munich is a partner, the Unit Garage workshop was given carte blanche to transform the Scrambler into a collector's piece named "Masters."

The result is a machine that fully embraces its status as a show bike. The central accessory, a genuine leather golf bag attached to the right side via a dedicated bracket, sets the tone: we’re not here to tear down dirt paths, even if the flat twin developing 115.7 Nm of torque at 6000 rpm could easily handle it. Unit Garage has dressed the machine with canvas and leather saddlebags, a mousse and leather crossbar, a silk-screened seat, a double line of titanium exhaust and a front luggage rack. A small leather tobacco pouch screwed onto the tank completes the picture. Each part comes from the house catalog, except for the golf bag, available in a limited series on order.

What deserves attention are the spoked wheels and block-pattern tires fitted in 120/70-19 at the front and 170/60-17 at the rear. On a Scrambler, this choice is consistent with the machine's DNA, but on a carefully maintained fairway, the effect would be disastrous. BMW embraces this with humor. The NineT has already played this game of a vast divide between incompatible universes with the Path 22 and its surfboard, or the Echappée Belle and its bicycle basket. The "Masters" fits into this logic of a thematic capsule, more a desirable object than a proposition of real mobility.

The steel trellis frame, the 43 mm fork with 125 mm of travel, the Paralever monoshock at the rear and the shaft drive make this NineT a serious machine beneath the ornamentation. At 220 kg fully fueled and with a seat height of 820 mm, it addresses an informed audience, rather passionate about motorcycle aesthetics than a track rider in search of lap times. At 17,000 euros in standard configuration, excluding Unit Garage preparations, we are clearly in the territory of the connoisseur who collects as much as he rides.

BMW needed a strong gesture at a high-end golf event, Unit Garage had the parts and the know-how. The marriage produces something that embraces its kitsch-chic side, honest in its purely visual intentions. For an ordinary motorcyclist, the exercise remains enticing to look at, even if it doesn't frankly inspire you to write a check.