The times are changing !

It is not so far, the time when talking about BMW came back to a long speech on "the indestructible flat with simplified and conventional architecture" … The German brand is still carrying around a lot of cliches, but times are changing! Special file.

It is not so far the time when talking about BMW came back to a long speech on "the indestructible-flat-to-simplified-and-conventional-architecture" or to a chat with a man with a whistle , a white regulatory bowl whose belt was adorned with a revolver in a bag…

But times are changing. First, the security forces deserted the famous Bavarian logo to exchange it for a Japanese tuning fork (read). Then, the flat, although steeped in qualities, gave way to all kinds of engine architectures.

Times change, of course, but the Bavarian firm is still the hallmark of the "arrived" biker. A qualifier to be heard as much in the economic dimension of the term as in the confirmation of a proven piloting tending towards wisdom: the Defense executives are not mistaken, buying with their comfortable salaries of big RTs to cover the few kilometers. who separate their home from their office nestled in the tall towers.

SPECIAL FILE Bmw

How not to understand them, so pleasant it is, sitting upright and protected behind an enveloping fairing, to go to work in the dry and almost warm, even in the middle of winter? As for wisdom, in these times of excessive "radarization", is it not a virtue more and more valued? ?

New territories…

But what is happening in Berlin today is of a completely different caliber: even if the boss of BMW Motorrad France denies wanting to become a "generalist" (read our), it must be admitted that the For several years now, the firm has been investing in new territories: K 1200 R roadster, K 1200 S or R 1200 S sports cars, and renews its approach to enduro with the new HP2. The colors are more shimmering and the lines, more geared towards high-tech, take on a good-quality aggressiveness..

There is also, it seems, the desire to lower the price range a bit by simplifying the concepts. Thus, the twin cylinder of the F 800 has something to surprise and … lighten the bill. In the end, the motorcycle division of the Bavarian manufacturer tries to reproduce what it has achieved on four wheels: "democratize" its range by stripping a little of its basic models to better attract the young customer, commercial trend or head of business, while waiting that, helping age and his wallet filling, he buys "serious".

And once passed "on the other side of the forties", this philosophy of the motorcycle seems really tailor-made: "to get out of the jam" for several hundred kilometers tires a little more than before, whereas the idea to stop for a good lunch, strapped in a well-cut and comfortable equipment, without dirtying the rims with a chain to maintain, to finish with Madame in a cozy hotel room, is becoming more and more attractive !

Passion too !

But BMW can also take on the idea of ​​passion. That of quasi-horological mechanics and legendary models such as the R 90 S in two shades of brown or the K 75 red with its protruding sides. We can also remember that a certain Auriol, before being the boss, lined up a few Dakar in his hunting table on the handlebars of a flat. Who says Bavarians don’t like competition? Of course, Agostini, Doohan or the great "Vale" have never won a Grand Prix on a teutonne. But the motorcycle, it is on the road that it happens most often !

CONTINUED FROM OUR SPECIAL BMW FILE

File produced by Pierre SYLVESTRE

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