BMW loosing its way

[PizzaMan]

...like a hairdryer? Too smooth? Sanitized? Jap bike like? Quiet with wrong sound?
Man...when you get around to test riding an ST...let me know. Then we can chat about it.

[yjleesvrr]

I don't necessarily mind that the new boxers don't vibrate as much as the old. Heck, my Harley Dyna Super Glide's v-twin is smoother at highway speeds, believe it or not! That buzz can become somewhat tiresome in the 7th hour of an 8 hour ride.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I would give BMW's technical improvements an A-. Longer maintenance intervals would have made me grade them an A. The aesthetic grade in my mind however is a B-, as per my tastes.

[peterbulgar]

I'm with iowabeakster - pretty is as pretty does. I've never considered my R attractive in the way that a late 60's Bonneville, mid 70's Ducati or an R90S is attractive. However, I regularly receive compliments from riders and non-riders on the looks of the bike. The first time it happened I thought the speaker was being polite - after all you never tell someone that their baby is ugly. However, it happens often enough that I decided that the bike must really look good to some people. It still looks awkward and a bit homely to me, but it works very well.

My only remaining complaints about the bike have to do with those few areas where form does not follow function, such as the too-small luggage rack and the lack of places to attach bungee cords.
peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

[new2BMW]

Function is pretty in my book.

When a moto guy looks at a GS, he doesn't see asthetic beauty, but he does see the potential fun and performance. He sees the things he can do and experience while riding it.

For me, the ST has the same quality. It isn't the prettiest bike available, but a sport touring rider such as Dean can see right away that the bike possesses the right tools for the task of carrying the camping gear at eye watering speed without compramising the ride.

I found the smoothnes of the ST and GS to be a little wierd at first, but a quick glance at the speedo told me that the smoothness translated into fast.

As I posted earlier this week, I'm trading my beloved roadster for a Yamaha MT-01 in 29 days (2 hours, 49 seconds, 48, 47....)

You won't catch me saying that the MT-01 is prettier than my Roadster, it certainly isn't, but my vision allows me to see what my arse will feel when 111 ft/lbs of torque yanks my arms from their sockets.

The point is that beauty is more than just in the eye of the beholder, it is in the translation of the sight data between the eyes and the brain.

Is a supermotard bike pretty? HELL YES! all you have to do is look with your adrenaline glands.

Ask DJ if he thinks the K1200R is prettier than his roadster. Next ask him what he sees when he looks at the beast.

[scottybooj]

what's this thread about?

[BlueBlurr]

Homogenized, bland, mundane! Those are the words that come to mind when I look at the ‘new’ R-bikes (except the GS its cool). I can only pray that they stay away form this trend when it’s the new R1200R’s turn to go into the styling blender! Good thing mines only a year old cuz if they keep this up I’ll be looking to trade back instead of up in a few years! Oh well old bikes need love too…
I guess I would be remiss not to mention that the first time I saw a new oil head in about 97’, and I don’t remember the model, I thought it was the most “butt-ugly” bike I’d ever seen! So what happened? Did I get older? Do I need new glasses? I guess things are just destined to change & I don’t like it because I’m not ready yet!
So all you guys with your new R’s out there, ROCK ON!!! If your havin’ half as much fun on your bike as I am, (and I’m sure you are!) who cares what they look like. “Dare to be different” I always say.
Anyway what do I know about style I like to wear socks with my sandals! (I guess that’s not cool) and maybe in a few years I’ll be lining up on your side of the fence……or not Ride On…