Gotta love new streetbike season! It’s that tike of year when our partners in the motorcycle industry drop off new motorcycles for the CRM team to test ride, the first of which has been this amazing, 2025 BMW R129t. The retro roadster combines the best of classic, neo-cafe styling with the fastest, fiercest version of the eight valve air and oil-cooled boxer twin engine yet. First weekend jaunt went to contributor Blair Powell who spent most of a sunny Sunday ripping and roaring through the leafy, Western Pennsylvania backroads in preparation for his upcoming First Ride road test feature.
To date, we’ve had the pleasure of testing each and every one of the top-selling R9T variants since their introduction back in 2014. The Bavarian firm has moved over 100,000 of these versatile, adaptable machines over the past decade, offering up scrambler, cafe racer and urban GS editions, each powered by the same, 1,170cc air and oil-cooled motor. The Bee Em doesn’t smack riders over the head with crazy, off-the-curb acceleration: instead, its beloved for spreading its copious torque and power over a broad, flat plane, surging near the redline and offering steady, reliable handling. The latest R12 version has been subject to dozens of subtle changes from new traction control and cornering electronics, restyled retro bodywork and a shapelier, smaller fuel tank with BMW’s special, 719 Edition metalflake paint. Up close, it had people stopping us at a local brewpub and gas station asking for photos and generally admiring the R12’s spot-on looks.
It certainly helps that the R12 has heated grips, ample Brembo radial front brakes and two riding modes: the faster mode, labeled Rock (the other being Roll) upped the performance ante enough to give Blair a bit of a scare. Still, he’s digging every mile, which we fully expected. Read more in an upcoming issue of Cafe Racer magazine.