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Why Ugly BMW's?

My opinion of current BMW style (Specifically the GS model line)

  • Ugly to the point I would not buy one

    Votes: 27 16.0%
  • The style doesn't appeal to me but I would buy one anyway

    Votes: 18 10.7%
  • Neutral - The current style doesn't matter to me

    Votes: 38 22.5%
  • Attractive - I like the current style

    Votes: 86 50.9%

  • Total voters
    169
We fondly remember the old cars and motorcycles because we could work on them ourselves. We forget that we worked on them all the time. Spark plugs now last longer than the typical vehicle of the 60s or 70s. A compact car of the 60s was doing good if it got 18-20 MPG and we now complain if our 5,000 SUV doesn't do better. We had to replace the battery on our motorcycles every year (or more often) and we now complain if they don't last more than 5 years.

We now complain that it takes fancy equipment to diagnose a problem but we forget all of the stuff we worked on and replaced trying to resolve a problem in the "good old days".
 
We fondly remember the old cars and motorcycles because we could work on them ourselves. We forget that we worked on them all the time. Spark plugs now last longer than the typical vehicle of the 60s or 70s. A compact car of the 60s was doing good if it got 18-20 MPG and we now complain if our 5,000 SUV doesn't do better. We had to replace the battery on our motorcycles every year (or more often) and we now complain if they don't last more than 5 years.

We now complain that it takes fancy equipment to diagnose a problem but we forget all of the stuff we worked on and replaced trying to resolve a problem in the "good old days".

My comments may not be EXACTLY relevant to your point...but. The last engine rebuild I did was on a '65 VW bug when I was a college student in Reno. Re-installation in the car was finished at 2AM in the morning, in an open carport with 6 inches of snow on the ground in January. I clearly recall that night as if it was a couple of weeks ago. That car HAD to run the next day!

Me...? I'm VERY happy with the technical advances and frankly quite satisfied to not spend so much time "maintaining" my current vehicles! ;)

Cheers! :drink
 
Count me

among the disenchanted. I do find the new bikes incredibly ugly and wouldn't buy one regardless of any improvement in performance or reliability.

Instead, I'm make my way over to the triumph or moto guzzi dealership where some of the offerings still resemble motorcycles.

I'm just amazed that they can make all kinds of niche bikes, but somehow can't/won't do a retro /2 or /5.

I'm also not the least bit enamored by obession with size /displacement/performance-maybe out West it's great fun to bury the speedo, but here, east of the big river, all your going to do is get youself in trouble.

I'd be more impressed if they focused on making their bikes as maintenance free and as reliable as Victory which I'd buy except I don't want to be in the V-twin demographic group.
 
Let's vote on this!

Just for kicks, I added a poll to this thread. Never done this before, but this topic seems to be drawing a lot of comments, so it could be interesting! :D
 
I think they look fine. They don't all look alike. There is no mistaking a GS for an S1000RR, or a K1600 for and R1200. They all have an odd touch or too, but this is an "eye of the beholder" issue.

They are certainly not traditional in the true American or metric cruiser tradition - thank goodness - nor are they particularly squidly in the Asian tradition. Much ado is made of headlight design, but with new bulbs and HID setups that is as much function over form as vice versa. Certainly better than earlier H4 cousins.

Form & function are key to these bikes. Triumph, Yamaha, Honda, etc are copying the design of GS/GSA bikes closely enough that the old adage "copying is the sincerest form of flattery" rings very true. I do not own one of these bikes as I prefer a bike with a fairing for my touring but enjoyed the handling of the GS when a friend let me take his for a spin.
 
The R bike styling has appealed to me since 1956. Back then, it's beauty was function over form. To me, nothing has changed and it's still function over form.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, the R bike is a beautifully crafted, perfectly functioning motorcycle.

I can appreciate the styling of most motorcycles but the BMW R bike looks best to me.
 
I have found over the years that the bikes and cars that look best and most fashionable when they are new, look dated sooner than the less stylish ones. I prefer plain and functional.
 
I have found over the years that the bikes and cars that look best and most fashionable when they are new, look dated sooner than the less stylish ones. I prefer plain and functional.

I heard it said that the 'flashy' good-lookin'-type motorcycles..are for those that need / want the attention?:bolt

I can't explain [why] I prefer the looks of most BMWs...But I do?:dunno
 
I heard it said that the 'flashy' good-lookin'-type motorcycles..are for those that need / want the attention?:bolt

I can't explain [why] I prefer the looks of most BMWs...But I do?:dunno
I don't think most BMW riders are posers. Harley riders, yes. I rode a Harley for a couple years, and the attention you get is embarrassing! People who know nothing about motorcycles drool over you when you stop. That's the main reason I sold the bike. Didn't want to be a member of a club I didn't join.

BMW riders generally ride for reasons other than appearance.

That said, however, I can't explain why I would not be seen dead on a current GS, as much as I love the bike. Perhaps it's because I consider the design gaudy and trendy and that means I would FEEL like a poser if I rode one? Maybe. But in the end, it appears from the poll that most agree with the current design, so I will just shut up, continue to ride my old bikes and leave it at that.

BMW obviously doesn't care about my demographic, but it's a shame, really. For the first time in my life I'm well enough off financially that I could walk in to the BMW dealer and buy a new one.

Maybe that's what really pisses me off. After 40 years of buying used motorcycles, I could finally buy a new GS and all they offer is a two wheeled Pontiac Aztec. Just my luck!! :laugh
 
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To me, a bike first has to work really well overall as a bike, not as some piece of ass-bling jewelry. So to that, I have excluded myself from every form of chopper and most cruisers simply because they cannot do everything as well as can my BMWs. I guess if I had a large stable of bikes I might have a cruiser in it. But yet, I would find myself moe drawn to the bikes I know always work for me.

In some cases, the looks are simply simple, effective, and so classic, like my 76 R100RS. I fell for that bike way back when I was 19, and finally owned one in 89.

When the 94 R1100RS first came out, I like the bike, but not all of the styling. The front fender, I thought, looked like an upside down shovel. The fuel tank kind of humped up. But it grew on me. When I bought my teal green in October of 94, I quickly formed a bond with it, that is still holding me now, 17 years later. The functionality of the bike certainly preceded the form, but in time the form became more appealling. That bike still turns my head now and I feel it is another BMW classic.
 
birds have beaks, so do bmw's

R90s and /6 models are the only two models I really think are great looking,

I kind of like the beak on my GS since my assumption is it may stop a rock from crashing in to my headlight. The GS is purpose built for unpaved road riding and that can explain the looks.

The RT on the other hand (since my ex 2004) is just wierd looking to me.

Others like the looks of the RT and it certainly performs its mission well except for the seat!

BTW I really love the look of the early oilhead RS models too.
 
In school I heard that design was the harmonious integration
of the working parts. It was not maximising the clashes or
covering everything with a piece of plastoid. The classic BMW
was harmonious and the only 'extra' was the pin-stripping.
Maybe that's why they are classics.
mXa
 
In school I heard that design was the harmonious integration
of the working parts. It was not maximising the clashes or
covering everything with a piece of plastoid. The classic BMW
was harmonious and the only 'extra' was the pin-stripping.
Maybe that's why they are classics.
mXa

I've tried to explain why BMW's have the look and style they have using your type of reasoning to my my biker buddies down at the local bar. :drink They never really buy into that sort of reasoning.
 

I'd like to see hultmans' tats...:laugh
Maybe this whole design thing is like tats,e.g., in the past many were drunk when they got one, whereas now you do it sober & on purpose, I suppose? In that line of thought, I'd have to not be sober to like the appearance of many new bikes & cars. The e.g., of older women vs. the younger models-now I really don't get that one at all? The Guzzi shown earlier & the retro Ducati models & some airheads have my vote for the "right look". My beakster 1150R, well I really don't like the looks, but as OsbornK says, I don't have to see it on the road.
This whole style thing is very discussable. I had lots of art training at one time and I still don't like modern art for the most part or modern bike styles. Same for many clothing styles.Who hasn't made fun of the runway models and the weird clothes? I saw someone the other day(definitely not from where I live) that had pants with the strap between the pockets like when I was in H.S.. I thought they were dumb then & still do. Collar button in back center, sameo. As to newer looks = better looks in bikes, I understand they spend mega$$$ on adv. & that some of you are drinking todays koolaid. Hultman & I , we just drank the earlier recipe koolaid.
On a more serious note I can remember when cars were switching to electronics(long time ago) and we had tech teachers( where I worked) that were really dated in their knowledge and more importantly, some were simply unwilling to update their skills. Folks, that's not the same thing as "do I like the looks" of whatever modern/latest machine. Styling is different than technology to a certain extent(use of plastic/alloys/electronics, etc.) even though they intertwine as a natural result of using what works best.

FWIW, bubbazaneta's thread on Advrider "whats the best looking road bike ever" has over 1/2 million views & 2,700+ replies-quite a range of opinion too.
 
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