This is one of very few examples of the BMW R nineT Nostalgia that were made, each was built by hand by the team at Nmoto using 96 bespoke parts, including 74 parts made in-house by Nmoto.
The R nineT Nostalgia was directly inspired by the 1934 BMW R7, a revolutionary motorcycle prototype that never made it into production. It was stored for decades by BMW, then rediscovered, restored, and shown to the world at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2012. Here it would be seen by Alex Niznik, who resolved to create a modern version of the bike and put it into limited production.
Fast Facts – The BMW R nineT Nostalgia
- This is one of the very few examples of the BMW R nineT Nostalgia that were produced by Nmoto, with each bike being hand-built using 96 bespoke parts, including 74 parts manufactured in-house by Nmoto.
- The R nineT Nostalgia was directly inspired by the 1934 BMW R7 prototype motorcycle, a revolutionary design that never reached production but was rediscovered, restored, and displayed at Pebble Beach in 2012, where it inspired Nmoto founder Alex Niznik to create a modern version.
- Similar to the original R7, the R nineT Nostalgia features a monocoque frame, telescopic hydraulic forks, and an advanced horizontally-opposed twin engine, incorporating similar technologies from the 1934 prototype into a limited production motorcycle based on the BMW R nineT platform.
- This specific 2019 BMW R nineT Nostalgia example has aluminum bodywork in off-white with gray accents, a polished fuel tank, blue pinstripes, a diamond-stitched leather seat and pillion storage compartment, and a single gauge in the headlight cowling, with only 54 miles on the odometer.
The BMW R7 Prototype
The BMW R7 has been called the most beautiful motorcycle ever made, and even those who think other motorcycles deserve the accolade more, no one ever seems to argue that the R7 is an elegant tour de force of art deco styling.
This is the BMW R7 prototype from 1934. Sadly it would never reach production, just a single example was made, and it lay on a crate in a BMW factory for decades before being restored in 2005. Image courtesy of BMW AG.
The project to build the R7 began in 1933, it was led by engineer Alfred Böning, and the initial goal was to create a replacement for the outgoing BMW R16 model which had been in production since 1928.
Böning appears to have thrown caution to the wind, designing one of the most captivating motorcycles of the age and incorporating a series of cutting edge technologies that were years, even decades, ahead of their time.
The R7 was given an all-new pressed steel monocoque perimeter frame that created a direct link between the headstock and rear axle. Telescopic hydraulic forks were fitted up front, a major innovation and possibly the first use of such on a motorcycle in history, and a brand new engine was developed by Leonhard Ischinger.
This new engine had a completely new sandcast crankcase and gearbox casting, with cam positioned over the crankshaft, and the barrels and heads cast as a single piece. The gearbox featured a primary shaft that was separate from the gear cluster, this reduced that distinctive “clunk” during shifting. It was an innovation that wouldn’t begin to appear on BMW’s production motorcycles until the 1950s – 20 years later.
Sadly, the BMW R7 project never got past prototype stage, possibly due to the political upheaval in Germany in the mid-1930s, with Adolf Hitler coming to power in 1933 and becoming sole “Führer” in 1934 then shifting Germany into a period of rapidly increasing military build up.
This all meant that luxury motorcycles like the R7 would have very little appeal. During the lead up to the outbreak of WWII in 1939, BMW went from being a manufacturer of cars and motorcycles for civilian use, to being a major producer of engines, equipment, and vehicles for the German war machine.
As you can see, the styling of the BMW R nineT Nostalgia is very much a modern reinterpretation of the BMW R7, and it’s no surprise the order book filled quickly.
As a result of all this, the BMW R7 would never be shown publicly. Despite the fact that it was built to completion and was said to be capable of 90 mph from its advanced 793cc 35 bhp engine. The bike was reportedly only ever shown in a single photograph in a magazine article in 1935.
After this time it was disassembled and left on a crate in a BMW factory, where it survived WWII and remained in storage for decades, not being restored until 2005 by Armin Frey and Hans Keckeisen. The first public showing of the restored R7 would be at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2012, where it would win over an entirely new generation of fans.
The BMW R nineT Nostalgia
One of the people who saw the freshly restored BMW R7 on the lawns of Pebble Beach in 2012 was Alex Niznik, a lifelong motorcycle lover who just happened to be planning his retirement, and the projects he would undertake once he stopped officially working.
The R7 made such an impact on him that he decided to bring it back, or to bring to market a modern version of the motorcycle:
“I was lucky enough to be present for unveiling on the restored 1934 R7 at Pebble Beach in 2012. Being so close to a piece of history which never reached its full potential gave me direction. There and then, I fell in love with the motorcycle, and made a promise to myself that when I retire in 2015 at the age of 55, I will look into building a motorcycle like that. Finally, I founded Nmoto and began developing the Nostalgia Project to capture that same innovation and breathe new life into a vintage design.” – Alex Niznik
Nmoto would develop 96 new parts, 74 of which they made in house, and they began offering their bespoke new build in 2019 for $49,500 USD.
He stayed true to his word, developing a modern version of the R7 based on the highly-regarded BMW R nineT model and bringing it to market as a limited production motorcycle.
The project was far from simple, it required Niznik to assemble a team of fabricators and engineers under the Nmoto brand, then develop an extensive series of new parts to convert the R nineT into a contemporary R7.
Ultimately they would develop 96 new parts, 74 of which they made in house, and they began offering their bespoke new build in 2019 for $49,500 USD. Unsurprisingly demand was strong, and they sold out the entire production run, then developed three other motorcycles.
At the time of writing, Nmoto is now said to be working with one of the world’s most renowned motorcycle and scooter manufacturers on a series of new models, with an announcement expected later in 2014.
The 2019 BMW R nineT Nostalgia Shown Here
The motorcycle you see here is a BMW R nineT Nostalgia built by Nmoto in 2019, and if you want to buy one, this is one of very few chances to get your hands on one – as production of the model has now ceased and they seem to only rarely come up for sale.
Production of the BMW R nineT Nostalgia has no ceased as Nmoto has moved into another project with a major motorcycle manufacturer.
This bike has aluminum bodywork finished in off-white with gray accents, a polished fuel tank, and blue pinstripes. It has a leather seat and passenger pillion-style storage compartment finished in a diamond stitched pattern, and a single gauge embedded into the headlight cowling.
This R nineT Nostalgia is now being offered for sale out of Pompano Beach, Florida with just 54 miles on the odometer, and it comes with a clean Florida title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing on Bring a Trailer here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
