Custom BMW R45 Airhead vs. BMW R nineT

Here's Rowan's R65 video on the Bike Shed channel:
• HAWKEYE MOTO BMW R65
And his Ducati:
• Rowan's Ducati Monster...
Here's the video we shot together of the Speed Twin:
• Best Triumph Speed Twi...
And one of my recent videos about the R nineT:
• Is The BMW R nineT Bet...
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[@deniseroberts6908]

Awesome vid again. Love boxers, had so many in my life that every time I try to pull away from them I always end up buying another. The last Rnine T I had I put risers and foot peg lowering kit, super comfortable. Traded it in then 6mths later regretted it. Regards John (wife’s iPad)

[@Slowshift]

That B-roll beginning is just fantastic

[@motobob]

Thanks mate!

[@peppino1435]

Great video and comparison....I love both of them and agree with you. R9T as a daily/regular ride and the custom bike as a weekend blast.

[@sefton1972]

Awesome bikes. BMW’s make the best café racers. BMW have nailed it with the R nine T pure with the grey tank. I was mumbling all kinds of nonsense when I first set eyes on one at my local bike shop. Pure class.

[@motobob]

Haha I know the feeling...

[@gutplucker]

5 years ago I set out to find an old rebuild like this, heard about the R9t, and bought it. Wow, 15000 miles later, what a bike, love every minute of it.

[@hgm8337]

I have done 500 miles on mine also. I like to look at it and buy custom parts for it too

[@MrAndrew1953]

Owned 2, can't beat em for fuss free low down, midrange power. Brilliant. Shaft drive is a big plus for clean living.

[@motobob]

I have to admit I love a shaft drive too. So much more convenient especially in winter

[@nbb4109]

First off, love the intro! Beautiful cinematic work. Now that R45 is just drop dead gorgeous!

[@motobob]

Thanks Nick much appreciated

[@kalogirouax]

Love how the R Nine T looks and probably if I had enough money I would buy it, but I would never replace my 1979 R100 RS custom brat bike!! Simply just too cool!!

[@mikep2099]

Just ordered myself a 2021 R NineT with all the option 719 add ons. Cant wait to take delivery. I’ve got my eye on an old air head project to compliment the R9T in the garage. Great old bikes.

[@PartsandParcels]

So good! There doesn't seem to be many actual ride reviews of custom bikes on KZbin so this is super cool to see!

[@DavidBlack101]

Love them both... the customised original airheads and the r9t that was inspired by them. Awesome! Check out the one they had built on 44 Teeth.

[@FFVoyager]

I remember the test of the first R45 in Bike magazine back in the late 70's. It was titled 'A Very Flat Twin' - because it was so dull.

[@kevskibiz]

Great vid, nice to see a review of a custom bike and a real labour of love, what great looking bike!, I have an r9t pure and love the addictive sound on the gas , but seeing this new r9t I may take a trip to the dealership and have test ride, keep up the good work 👊🏻

[@stevebiron3036]

Brilliant! It’s got me scratching around for an old R65 to modify.

[@robbikebob]

Love it. I couldn't ride it, those bars and rearsets scream agony to my old bones. There's plenty I'd change though. But it's not my bike so I won't even mention them. Love the sound too.

[@AndrewHeisey]

Excellent motorcycle content. Much appreciated.

[@motobob]

Cheers Andrew!

[@guywolff]

I know I sound like a broken record .... Bob if you ever get the chance to ride an older R69s with the Earls forks it will blow your mind.. Understated and smooth under all conditions .. Lower horse power and a motor that will take you a few hundred thousand miles before you've noticed how good it is .. The older BMWs are considered old man bikes and thats OK ..They need to be emulated for the roads of the 21 century .. :) Understated longevity ..

[@FOOLSGOLD7875]

Great custom build! Hats off 👏

[@HONMONSTER]

Well, I really liked Both of them! I had an R nine T and really enjoyed the bike. Yes, the older one for a Sunday ride. what a cool looking bike and sounded awesome. This channel keeps on getting better. Cheers

[@chrishill8770]

Great looking bike. Think it could be my next one... hard to find one with the tubeless rims unless I order a new one.

[@roverroko306]

I love those old airhead's they are so special and great for weekend rides. I have been planning for ever to buy an old R75, R90, R100 and just rebuild it with my own 2 hands. Waiting now a couple more years for my son to grow up enough so we can do it together. I am a proud owner of R9T Roadster original 2014 machine and I love my bike. Had it for a year and some months, month by month I'll be building it up to my specific dream machine. I know I will keep it for life. 😁😁☻ Cheers Riders.

[@stewy62]

I’m a big fan of the R9T but that airhead looks great and sounds superb !

[@LuisGGomezPhoto]

Great work on Rowans R45/65. But the R nine T is gorgeous.

[@hgm8337]

its great that BMW allow regular folk to customise their bikes with Option 719 accessories.

[@pw1979]

Absolutely stunning great video

[@karlosh9286]

Rowan's BMW cafe racer looks like a quality job. I'd probably pick silver for a BMW, but that's just personal taste.

[@robertstimmel1100]

Very cool video! I'm way less talented in the garage than him, but it's a dream to work on bikes like that

[@Stuart3844]

Hi Great vid, but i stopped it in it's tracks when i saw your side stand. I know it is a weird thing to comment on, but i have been puzzling over mine. I currently have a sure foot welded to the standard front foot peg mount, but i want to fit rear sets and trying to find a solution that wont foul them. So the current surefoot and pegs will go and, like yours am thinking of fitting a later version with the engine stud connection plus the frame " C loop". It looks like you have yours on the front stud. I was thinking that too. Did you have to modify the position of the loop to suit the curve of the front of the frame tube. Hopefully this query will get to the builder and if so would be very grateful for any advice. Mine is a R100, but i think the same frame configuration.

[@user-sw2lv3zp6o]

Lovely wheels on the airhead.

[@daviscawston2935]

The R45/65 is a culmination of great form & function , Rowans capacity to create is to be admired , a classic artist . Can you please post his KZbin link

[@motobob]

Sorry! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJuraKqufNFmj7c

[@donaldelder5834]

That air head is stunning

[@alessandrofietta1363]

Salve a tutti, siamo nel 2020 e si vedono moto del genere, senza parole.....

[@johndavidwolf4239]

Here in America I call a the firing order of a boxer twin 360º as the distance apart, measured in rotation of the crankshaft of the ignition cycles, is it different in 'British English'?

[@casefarley5744]

For a basically off the shelf bike the R nineT looks pretty damn good. It's not the bike for me, but I can see the appeal. The custom bike looks great but riding it would be tough on the body.

[@marsipio1733]

I'd love to have an R nine T!!

[@thenakedtriple1077]

💪🏼👌🏼🤘🏼 lovely bikes!

[@panpieklo]

want more video with this bmw r45 is beautiful! I watch this movie several times a day 😂😂😂

[@michaelkork3197]

Would be a bit more fair to compare an R100 to the r9t but still, we get the idea. Cool custom, the front end is awesome. Why don't you ride some bikes from AutoFabrica as well? That would be great.

[@motobob]

That would be cool but I'm not sure if they'd let me haha!

[@mark222b]

Motobob, after owning a Street Twin, and after riding all these other bikes, what do you think would be your next motorcycle purchase? I've owned a Street Twin for... 8 months now and am starting to yearn for something else but not sure what.

[@motobob]

Honestly probably a tiger 900 because I’m doing longer stints on the motorway now and carrying a lot of camera stuff, so I need wind protection and luggage. And that’s my favourite adv bike so far

[@BenjaminKurschner-hn2gh]

Hi! I like the sound. I also are a owner of an old r100rt from 1980. Could you please give me the name of your exhaust? Thanks a lot

[@carlemerich9804]

oh, be still my heart. the real deal.

[@SoulofMachine]

Love the RnineT

[@berislavpavisic3121]

Nice garage.

[@jorgemartin4933]

what’s the top speed

[@brianmcmanus4286]

Sweet.

[@petroljunkie2k820]

Awesome

[@mulevans]

You want to come have a look at some of our builds bob 🤟

[@tompage8674]

Interesting video, but that zooming in and out, combined with the shaking made it very hard to watch this time around. Highly recommend investing in a cheap gimball if you don't already use one.

[@motobob]

Appreciate the constructive feedback Tom! I wanted to try a vlog style video out for this one but I agree that locked off on a tripod and using cutaways works much better for talking about a bike. I have a gimbal but I think it would still have been too much movement and they're additional hassle on the day when you're shooting.

[@robertopernisco5673]

What do I think? That bike is fucking amazing! My father in law has the same BMW R45 (in blue) and I will take some inspiration from this video

[@smiley50ish]

nice

[@dangreenwood1657]

Man that's a nice r45. There's one at my local bike dealer.. just not sure if my wallet could deal with the project aha

[@karlosh9286]

at 12:40 Rowan has suffered from "test ride syndrome". Don't test ride something that you are likely to really want. It can end up very expensive !

[@motobob]

Haha it's a dangerous game!

[@karlosh9286]

@@motobob I know from personal experience !

[@raycollington4310]

If only the current stuff had some of the component and metal quality of the airhead, instead of the accountant driven race to the bottom plastic that we see on BMWs now!

[@ballerblocks]

Plastic =less weight, only if you like 300kg bikes.

[@roverroko306]

R9T Roadster model especially but in reality all the lineup haven't got one plastic part on them. It's all about how wisely one chooses a bike today, getting more and more difficult due to a broader choice. And not only in the wide modern range of models but also in Neo/retro specific bikes that are available these days. ☻

[@raycollington4310]

@@roverroko306 Thank you, I was referring to BMW generally. The fuel injector and cylinder head inlet arrangement on this bike looks very cheap and cheerful. Amazing that you can pay for billet metal parts but nothing as I can see to hide this aspect of the bike.

[@roverroko306]

Ray, I can understand if you are talking about very important frame components, parts which if plastic influence the rigidity of the machine. But modern fuel injectors and various technology which makes this old school bike a modern rocket. If they where all metal like the old boxer twins, the bike would no longer be 220 kg. And believe me it's lighter than any other cool neo/retro out there. But it's also using a brushed aluminium tank and other high quality bits and bobs to make it what it is. German's don't make mistakes so even the plastic parts on this machine will live for a long, long time. Trust me. ☻

[@raycollington4310]

@@roverroko306 I'm happy to trust the Germans but cannot agree that they don't make mistakes. I love German kit but not Chinese kit (Loncin) at German prices.

[@BigMoeFo]

i love ur show you know that...but when you go out in the field get yourself a couple of good neck mics. You invest so much in your visual give some respect to your sound. All said with love. Mitch

[@motobob]

Always appreciate constructive feedback! I normally mic up and lock the camera off on a tripod but I thought I'd try more vlog style on this one as it obviously has some benefits in terms of speed. But I agree with you - I wasn't as happy with the results so will revert style in future vids 👍

[@nickwildsmith6537]

Airhead 4 me

[@stooltayartyrebangku9418]

I want your bike please

[@Cicadawee]

I don't see a beautiful motor bike, What id like to ask is, is that Honda on the table of not use?.........

[@Aliencreep369]

Im guessing the 1 disslike its a pro mask sheep.