August 8, 2005 @ 9:07 am
Where motorcycles, motorcycle riding, favorite motorcycling events, or moto-clothing are concerned my attitude has always been to let a thousand flowers bloom in the garden of our sport. Freedom Hall, baby. Do your thing, whatever that may be.
That doesn’t mean I don’t have my own wacky preferences. For instance I prefer small bikes pushed to their edge to huge ones that are simply loping along on half power. You like something else? More power to you. (Some sort of joke there.)
At this year’s national rally of the BMWMOA there was a lot of street talk, and an actual seminar, about the problems of short people. BMW was criticized for "unresponsiveness" on the issues of height and weight. Not the height and weight of the riders, mind you, but of the new bikes. Too tall, too heavy, sometimes top-heavy etc. etc. und so weiter.
MOA Ambassadors (these are men and women who are the unofficial ombudsmen for the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America national club) explained that they had tried to interest the company in bikes that were big, but not so big that you had to be built like a Prussian Grenadier Guard. They failed.
Of course they did, the company has a different marketing plan. What was odd about all this whining is that, as a matter of fact, BMW makes some nifty small bikes, the F650cs, F650GS and the F650 Dakar.
Oh, but those bikes are "ladies’ bikes" or "too small" or "entry level." Wait a minute, didn’t we once ride 500 cc Beemers from coast to coast? The F650cs is more powerful, faster, and more sophisticated than any of my early /2s. It cruises all day at 80 miles an hour, gives me the best part of 60 miles to the gallon, and has the finest soft luggage I’ve ever owned. I give the carpers only this: It’s not a long distance bike for two-up.
Hey, guys, the size of your bike is not correlated to the size of anything else. Get over it.
August 8, 2005 @ 10:35 am
BMW riders are hooked on the marque. It’s too bad, because it makes them unhappy. Don’t like the current crop of BMW motorcycles? Then ride something else, there are plenty of fine motorcycles out there. You can ride them flat-footed and they are a lot cheaper. The day when Beemers were the only reliable bikes is long gone.
The September issue of Rider features an article by Clement Salvadori extolling the virtues`of the fundamental…fundamental bikes, fundamental wines. It’s must reading if your life is being desolated because you don’t have a 20 grand motorcycle with an engine larger than that of some mid-sized cars.
On the other hand, if you win the lottery, or tap your retirement funds, you can buy a BMW K1200 LT. Price before taxes, license, insurance, and options: $18,660. Too hard to jack up on the center stand? Too tall for you, bunky? Before dismounting let the electronic center stand lift you and the bike into position.
Then throw out the (optional) boarding ladder and climb down.
