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Does BMW Make the Ugliest Line of Motorcycles?

rockbottom

rockbottom

Steve
Now, I realize that beauty is--to an extent--subjective. But I was just looking at my R1200R and I noticed that other than the chrome on the exhaust, there is nothing done purely for aesthetics. Nothing. Everything is purposeful. It's engineering as art. That's typical BMW: they have a disregard for the looks of their bikes bordering on disdain.

The polar opposite is Harley where everything is about the look. If you read the descriptions of their bikes on their web page, it's all about what they look like. It's almost an afterthought that they can be ridden.

Keep in mind that I've only owned BMWs. And that's all that I probably ever will own. So I like the purposefulness and disregard for frivolity. But, from the top to the bottom of the line, I suspect that BMW comes in last in motorcycle beauty contests.
 
As you describe it, it sounds beautiful to me. No chrome to polish, just get on it and ride. I can't see most of that stuff when I'm riding, anyway.
 
rockbottom said:
Now, I realize that beauty is--to an extent--subjective. But I was just looking at my R1200R and I noticed that other than the chrome on the exhaust, there is nothing done purely for aesthetics. Nothing. Everything is purposeful. It's engineering as art. That's typical BMW: they have a disregard for the looks of their bikes bordering on disdain.

The polar opposite is Harley where everything is about the look. If you read the descriptions of their bikes on their web page, it's all about what they look like. It's almost an afterthought that they can be ridden.

Keep in mind that I've only owned BMWs. And that's all that I probably ever will own. So I like the purposefulness and disregard for frivolity. But, from the top to the bottom of the line, I suspect that BMW comes in last in motorcycle beauty contests.
Click to expand...
Couldn't disagree with you more.

As an artist and designer, sure I've seen lovelier things than a K1200LT, but I find Ultra Classic Electra Glides and Street Glides (IMO) to be about the homeliest, most out-of-date looking things I can possibly imagine. Followed closely by the Victory Vision, Kawi Concours, the new Multistrada. (Maybe I just have a problem with touring bikes... :whistle).

Just my opinion, but as a consumer, I not only value the function behind what BMW designers offer the public, but their aesthetic decisions as well. Of course beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. :D
 
Not so bad!

My opinion is that Beemer 'looks' peaked during the airhead era. Nevertheless, there are certainly more recent good looking bikes. The R1100/1150RS,
R1100/1150RT, K1200R, and R1150R are some of my favorites. The R1200RT and R1200R will take some getting used to.

Chrome has never appealed to me. Has nothing to do with the additional polishing work that might be required. The brushed aluminum look works for me. I also don't think that jammin' a huge V-twin into a bike looks all that appealing. Back in the day when V-twins were much smaller it made more sense. Now it looks oversized and the rear cylinder head is competimg for space with your zipper.

Now if BMW could just come up with a new roadster that had the visual appeal of the old airheads, I would be tempted to update my /7.

my 2 cents, JO
 
Form follows function.
With that in mind, I think all BMW's are beautiful.
I can appreciate Harleys but I wouldn't own one.
Personal taste is what makes the world turn.
Otherwise it's all vanilla.
Not that I don't like vanilla! :yum
 
While, perhaps, not the most aesthetically conscious bikes around, I like most of the BMW models, and loved the looks of my 05 RT. You want ugly? Try the Victory Vision. Looks like they designed a motorcycle while having dreams about Bozo the Clown!:dunno:scratch:whistle
 
The last good looking bike they made was the R 1100 RT.


large_picture.php


Everything else is just plain butt ugly. ................... :dance:wave
 
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BMWs are designed by engineers. Cruisers are designed by marketing.

Beautiful to me is a bike that extends my riding season by being able to handle really nasty New England weather.
 
BMW does cutting edge styling while everybody else is a follower.

Lots of times a new model looks odd, but eventually it becomes the styling leader others hasten to copy.

Tell me how much Honda Accords look like E60 BMWs.
 
The most important appearance is the one from behind the handlebars.

That said I get complements and thumbs up all the time from riders and non riders.
 

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But isn't this like the fact that no one thinks their own kids are ugly?

I used to get compliments on my F800ST, but I'd also get people asking what's up with the hump.
 
Sure, "styling" and the looks it creates are perceived different and judgement is subjective.
Now consider that there is a significant generation gap between those who work in styling departments and those who are the majority of BMW buyers.
 
German aesthetics are highly influenced by the Bauhaus school of design that existed in Germany between the World Wars. If you're not familiar with the Bauhaus, its designers, artists and architects pretty much set the stage for all modern design that we take for granted today ÔÇö everything from steel and glass skyscrapers to typography to freeway overpasses.

It's a highly industrial, minimalist and practical aesthetic founded upon the notion that form should follow function. In other words, decoration is discouraged in favor of the object's beauty being the result of its functional and structural elements.

Chrome plating, for example, is not part of this aesthetic unless the chrome plating serves a functional purpose. This aesthetic view, however, most definitely does not neglect "looks" in favor of engineering. Instead, the premise is that an object's beauty should be derived from and should not be separated from its function, and that doing so actually lessens the beauty of the object and risks compromising its function.

Viewed from this Bauhaus aesthetic, Harley Davidsons, for example, might be regarded as aesthetically inferior. Instead of HDs obtaining their beauty through the skillful synthesis of form and function, the traditional HD look is merely a non-functional, decorative veneer of chrome, fancy paint, styled noise and cartoonish affectations applied to a functionally compromised motorcycle.
 
SIBUD said:
The last good looking bike they made was the R 1100 RT.

Everything else is just plain butt ugly. ................... :dance:wave
Click to expand...

The total model lineup is by far and away the ugliest IMO. The K1200R is the ugliest motorcycle I've ever seen, except the Suzuki B-King.

Who designed the GS's head lights? Jack Elam.
 

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Maylett said:
German aesthetics are highly influenced by the Bauhaus school of design that existed in Germany between the World Wars. If you're not familiar with the Bauhaus, its designers, artists and architects pretty much set the stage for all modern design that we take for granted today ÔÇö everything from steel and glass skyscrapers to typography to freeway overpasses.

It's a highly industrial, minimalist and practical aesthetic founded upon the notion that form should follow function. In other words, decoration is discouraged in favor of the object's beauty being the result of its functional and structural elements.

Chrome plating, for example, is not part of this aesthetic unless the chrome plating serves a functional purpose. This aesthetic view, however, most definitely does not neglect "looks" in favor of engineering. Instead, the premise is that an object's beauty should be derived from and should not be separated from its function, and that doing so actually lessens the beauty of the object and risks compromising its function.

Viewed from this Bauhaus aesthetic, Harley Davidsons, for example, might be regarded as aesthetically inferior. Instead of HDs obtaining their beauty through the skillful synthesis of form and function, the traditional HD look is merely a non-functional, decorative veneer of chrome, fancy paint, styled noise and cartoonish affectations applied to a functionally compromised motorcycle.
Click to expand...

Doesn't that depend on your definition of what the function should be?
 
Being an Army vet, when I left Ft. Dix in 1973 with the nice new DD214 in hand, I made myself two promises:

1: I would NEVER run anywhere ever again unless somebody was shooting at me. So far, so good :thumb

2: I would NEVER, EVER polish anything metal again. Ever. My R1200R is quite graceful and beautiful in its Granite Gray metallic paint, and no chrome at all. Most all things HD would cause a violation of promise 2. :usa


I happen to like utility of function rather than useless bling any day. So long as it is any color but green, OD especially !
 
hlothery said:
Doesn't that depend on your definition of what the function should be?
Click to expand...

Yes. If the function is to sell motorcycles, for example, HD has certainly designed a functional brand, image and motorcycle styling that is consistent with achieving that function.

The aesthetic introduced by the German Bauhaus, however, was something of a revolt against the excessive nature of German decorative styles that existed before World War I. The school also existed during a time of great social upheaval in German society that corresponded to Germany's war defeat, the Great Depression and the socialist, anti-bourgeois mindsets that were gaining traction.

The Bauhaus positioned itself as taking the best of German culture, building upon it, and rejecting the decorative, class- and region-based aesthetics that had typified German design and crafts before that time. They built a new aesthetic around efficiency, engineering, precision and technology. Their idea was that beauty (or form) should stem directly from these qualities and should not be grafted on as a decorative afterthought.

BMW motorcycles, like most modern German industrial design, are a reflection of this 20th Century German design movement.
 
1.) All that chrome wont get you home.
2.) Except for the R-1200-ST, I think BMW makes some of the best looking bikes on the planet.
3.) My 04 (Black of course) R-1150-RT is one of the best looking bikes ever, right
after my old 94 (Pearl White/Teal Seat) R-1100-RS and the R-90-S
 
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