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Does BMW Make the Ugliest Line of Motorcycles?

what about the Chromeheads in da club? their chrome does!:wave

The only thing shiny on my first 2 BMWs was on the ignition switch. The K100RT and K75RT blended in and I only got comments when someone noticed it was a BMW. I got a black R80RT with shiny mufflers and the only people who were attracted to it were other "mature" men like me who liked simple and balanced (muffler on each side). I got a big mojave brown CLC with a lot of chrome and women as well as men (normally attracted to Harleys) notice it and compliment it frequently. I personally thought it was ugly when I bought (stole) it but it has grown on me (and I have the only one on this end of the state).

Ken
 
How could Mr. Feldman have missed it with that kind of depth perception?

He is though, well equipped to balance both TB's at the same time using a mercury stick on each side of the bike.
 
So they were just copying F L Wrights work/ideas? :laugh
As he put it, Style is not what you start out with, its what you end up with; it comes about as a result of the form and function of the design. It was that view from which his "Modern" architecture developed.
Well, this will take the conversation way off topic....

Frank Lloyd Wright's influence largely ended at America's shores. It's only been recently that his work has gained the professional respect and recognition that it really deserves. In the past, it was often dismissed as provincially middle American. I'm a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, by the way.

Wright's style is most closely identified with his Prairie Style of residential houses that stressed the visual integration of form into the surrounding landscape. In this sense, it was very organic and reflected more of the arts and crafts movement of the times.

The International Style of architecture is what really dominated the second half of the 20th Century. This style is so ubiquitous that most people don't even recognize it as a distinct style. The International Style stresses efficiency, sleek lines, functionality and industrial mass production that uses using technology and inexpensive, modern building materials. We can thank the International Style for nearly every steel, glass and concrete skyscraper built since World War II, in addition to all those flat-roofed, brick ramblers built in every suburb in the country during the '50s and the '60s.

So where did the the International Style originate? Germany, between the wars at the Bauhaus. When the Nazi's took control in Germany, they started clamping down on experimental design schools, among many other things. Many of the Bauhaus faculty members emigrated to the U.S. The primary architect among these emigrants was a man named Mies Van Der Rohe.

Mies settled in Chicago and was treated as a design god by the American architects who were looking for a new aesthetic that would be suitable for large, modern buildings. He was appointed as the head of the architecture school at what became known as the Illinois Institute of Technology. In that position, he was able to implement a radical new design aesthetic that rejected traditionalism and decoration, while embracing technology and efficiency. Corporations loved this new style because it was less expensive and it marked them as being modern and progressive. In just a few short years, this style spread across the entire world and became the dominant architectural style of the 20th Century.

It's only been over the past 25 years that that the International Style has waned a bit in favor of an eclectic bunch of more friendly and approachable styles sometimes known as postmodernism. Even so, postmodernism is really a modification of the International Style with some ornamentation and playfulness thrown in.

The whole field of modern design was what my master's degree program was about so I'm sort of passionate about it. If anyone wants to know more about why modern buildings look they way they do, I'd suggest Tom Wolfe's short book from a few years back, From Bauhaus to Our House.
 
The last good looking bike they made was the R 1100 RT.

Everything else is just plain butt ugly. ................... :dance:wave

Exactly. :thumb And I'm not just saying that because I own one. Well.... actually, yes, I am just saying that because I own one, but it's still true.

You gotta admit though, that's one purty bike.
460.jpg
 
I have a graphite 2000 R1100RT that draws favorable comments everywhere I go with it. I also have a 2005 K1200LT but that doesn't get the comments that the R1100RT gets. Now if only the R1100RT was more comfortable for the pillian rider.......

I had a black R1100rt and got compliments ALL the time. I would be in a gas station with several other riders and people would walk up to me and ask about the bike and compliment it and walk right past the other bikes. Franky, it got embarrassing, and I felt bad for the other guys. The other guys did not want to ride with me anymore, so I bought a R1200rt.
The beauty of the 1200 is more power, and cruise control and better lights and people don't bother me at gas stations anymore. Thanks BMW.
 
You want ugly? Try the Victory Vision. Looks like they designed a motorcycle while having dreams about Bozo the Clown!:dunno:scratch:whistle

Much to my amazement/amusement,on our trip to Glacier Park in June, my brothers Vision was a crowd generator...the Asians with the cameras and the Europeans with lot's of questions walked right by the BMW's and surrounded the Alien bike at many of our stops :scratch ...except maybe when they noticed Helen was one of the pilots and snapped a pic:thumb
 
Always bet on black.:bow
 

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Now see, there ya go, Ying for Yang, this for that.. order out of chaos. This thread starts off with questions about the lack of beauty of the BMW model line, then, in a counterpoint I find most apropos, we end with a bevy of beautiful 1100's, surely a fitting and aesthetically pleasing response to the question on BMW beauty. Don't hate us because we're beautiful. :thumb
 
Hey all: First of all, I'd have to say that my 1100RT IS one of the neatest looking bikes around. Not neat as in cool, but neat as in well packaged. Everything is there for a reason, and it's right where it should be to fulfill it's mission. The GS series (oh boy, here comes the brickbats!!) are just ugly!!! The rear subframe looks like it was designed to be covered but someone stole the covering. The tank is shaped like a plastic ball that's been left in the sun for days, and the front end (fairing, forks, lights, "beak" and all) are just strange to look at. I realize that this bike is a prime example of form following function, but come on, you can be functional without scaring the neighbors children!! Functional designs don't have to be ugly, just look at the aircraft industry for tons of examples. Vaya con Dios,Dutch
 
You know, I had one of the first 05 RT's sold in this area. I took one look at it and thought it was one of the most beautiful bikes I had ever seen. I was so surprized and shocked by members of this forum who thought it was ugly. :cry It is truly in the eyes of the beholder. And if you're happy, nothing else matters. :D
 
Enchanting . . . .

I could admire an airhead endlessly! They are so simple and easy to study. This is my fourth airhead and each one has been great. After a long day I love to roll it outside and admire it while enjoying an adult beverage. My wife, a non rider, makes fun of me. Poor girl!
Campbell Tellman II
'93 R100RT
'11 S1000RR
:thumb
 
Hey all: I'm with you Campbell, I haven't ridden my R90 in a couple of months now, (too busy working or riding the RT to get the carbs back on) but even with the Vetter fairing,it's still one fine looking bike. Clean lines, everything where it belongs, and easy to reach. (For the most part. anyway.) Nothing fancy, just good old fashion German engineering. Why does BMW think they have to build bikes that are "sexier" or flashier then everyone else? What happened to selling a product based on how it performs? Vaya con Dios,Dutch
 
kinda reminds me of how folks describe their signifigant others...mine is the prettiest/ most handsome ... do you really want the truth?
:brow

:laugh:laugh:laugh

It's all in the eyes of the judger isn't it?


"brickbat" owner:D
 
1st- My twins were born uuugly...our family and friends would always say they were cute.Luckily they grew into their good looks.:p
2nd-I love the smooth lines of the 2002-04 RTs
3rd-Eye of the Beholder...Thank God 4 diff.tastes or this would B a Very boring world!
 
I have a pair of R1200GSes and have to agree that they are pure ugly. The beauty of the design is that there is absolutely nothing you can do to the bike to enhance its ugliness. Big square boxes blend right in. A fat Russell tractor seat? Perfect match! Mud and grime all over the bike? Seems appropriate! Big scrapes from laying it down in loose gravel? Manly battle scars!

But it lets me ride and ride and ride some more, while my buddies with their chrome or Tupperware-clad works of art are cleaning or waxing their bikes.

To me, that's pure beauty!
 
I rode a GS/PD for close to 20yrs. I actually had little girls go out of their way to tell my bike was ugly. I liked to tell people, it's attractive in a 'utilitarian' way. Like a hamer, it is designed to fulfill a purpose. The purpose is not looking good.

'If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!'
Red Green
 
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