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The New Bagger BMW

I like this motorcycle...every time it shows up here, it reminds me of the early days, when motorcycles were motorcycles , when vanity mirrors were not an option :dance I have three modern rides, but considering going back....to lighter, less complicated , no computer, etc.

I do not need 150 HP & a mini TV to tell where to turn. If I get lost ? I enjoy being lost, till I find myself again :dunno

Add to this one, tubeless tires, upgraded charging system....and , I'm good to go.

You have just, admirably, described the K75, circa 1986 - 1995. We have three right now.
 
Actually, Voni and I plan on riding cross country, or at least touring, on G310s. Why not. I can't say cross-country for sure because I almost never wander east of the Mississippi for aversion to congestion reasons. But, the top speed works, the carrying capacity works, and the fuel mileage is marvelous. We have been hosting a couple of riders from Maine - one who is 9,000 miles into her trip on a KLX250. We know a guy who spent a month or so touring from New York to California, by way of the Texas Big Bend, on his 250 Kawasaki Super Sherpa.
I'm with you guys. Smaller is better and now that I'm comfortable with my 700 GS this becomes a viable replacement alternative
 
I like baggers..... I like bobbers, cafe racers, scramblers, tourers, muscle bikes, dragsters, small, large, fast, not as fast, solo, two up, Cheap, expensive The poplar and the obscure. Whatever it takes to go for a ride. :love

Yep, what he said. I've never seen a bike I didn't want to ride, but I really do like the look of the K-B. And when I get too old to hold up my 530 lb RS then a 350 lb G310 might be the perfect bike before the eventual trike or scooter or whatever it is I'll be riding 30 yrs from now.

Don't worry, guys, BMW can sell a few baggers and small bikes and still remember how to build a damn fine sport tourer.
 
I've been an MOA member since 1977. And I have to say that almost every time BMW came out with a new model line there were naysayers aplenty to deride the new bikes. It happened with the K100, the K1200LT, the K1200R (upright motor), and the F650 Funduro, and later the X (cross) series of 650s and the 450. It was especially true with the R1200C, but less so with the other Oilheads. The polite folks would criticize BMW and the bikes and then append some trite statement about how others can choose what they like.

And so it is, once again with the G310 bikes and now this Bagger. Oh, how history repeats itself.


I'm gonna go on record as saying this has happened any time any body came out with a new ANYthing.
Cars
CDs
Digital cameras, digital everything
And yes, K bIkes.
Among other things.

Whether or not I "like" the new BMW bagger is almost beside the point; I'm not in the market for a new bike. However, I must weigh in on the seat- which looks plenty comfy for the operator but leaves the pillion with, well.... not much.
 
If BMW is trying to compete with H-D on the cruiser market with this one, I think they are going to be sorely disappointed. The cruiser crowd is not one that cross shops between H-D and BMW. If I want a cruiser, I go to a H-D or even an Indian dealership. The opposite is true when it comes to performance motorcycle; H-D tries to compete in the performance segment with its V Rod and it is been looked upon like a red haired step child. Here I think BMW Motorrad is making the same mistake as its automobile counterpart, by trying to be all things to all people in every market segment. In the process of doing so the company dilutes its brand image.
 
I am just a newbie more or less here and to the motorcycle world in general. From the way the new baggers look to me, they seem to be more directed at the Honda Goldwing baggers on the market. The look and styling are still BMW but look a lot like the GW more than the HD or Indian. As I stated in a previous post on this topic, these do nothing for me. It has nothing to do with not liking change, new and or radical designs etc. A bike for me is take it or leave it more or less. I can look at a machine, HD, Indian, Ducati and so forth and appreciate the beauty each has and what they bring to the table. In the end though I would not part with my cash for any of them because they do not speak to me. I hope BMW does well with this and they hit the demographics they are aiming for.
Mike
 
I think motorcycle companies run into issues when they try to repurpose an existing bike into a new bike. The John Q motorcycle public is very skeptical of these 'new bikes'. For the manufacturer's part- it seems to make good business sense since they have all the existing tooling and assembly, and just need to, essentially, slap on some new plastics and seat. But these sort of bikes never make a lot in sales. :hungover
 
Meh.

But, I hope it sells well so as to subsidize BMW's sport-touring and adventure-touring offerings. I'm betting buyers will be surprised at the cost of their first 18k service.
Best
DG

Surprised is an understatement
 
I'm getting old and creaky and I wouldn't mind lower- but that thing looks like they sawed the back off someone elses bagger and just welded it to the front of a K6- which is already too heavy and too complex for my tastes. I'll take a more basic motor driving a lighter bike any day. Despite the 6 BMWs in the fleet there is also a much loved 89 Transalp.

Be very interested to hear how Paul and Voni do touring on the baby..Seems a lot to ask of a motor that small but back in the day when speeds were lower I know a lot us went everywhere on J brands 400 cc and less...as little as 80-175cc in my case.
 
when speeds were lower I know a lot us went everywhere on J brands 400 cc and less


It was a very buzzy world :)

I recall crossing Kansas on I-70 in 1981 55-mph America.........That was a long 400-miles. In fact, all miles, anywhere, were long...
 

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Meh.

But, I hope it sells well so as to subsidize BMW's sport-touring and adventure-touring offerings. I'm betting buyers will be surprised at the cost of their first 18k service.
Best
DG

Well, considering the average cost to service a Harley is $400 plus parts every 5,000 miles, it shouldn't be a shock to anyone coming over from that marque.
 
If BMW is trying to compete with H-D on the cruiser market with this one, I think they are going to be sorely disappointed. The cruiser crowd is not one that cross shops between H-D and BMW. If I want a cruiser, I go to a H-D or even an Indian dealership. The opposite is true when it comes to performance motorcycle; H-D tries to compete in the performance segment with its V Rod and it is been looked upon like a red haired step child. Here I think BMW Motorrad is making the same mistake as its automobile counterpart, by trying to be all things to all people in every market segment. In the process of doing so the company dilutes its brand image.

True Dat!

i live in Milwaukee and am surrounded by HD drivers. While they seem respectful of the BMW brand, none ever seem interested in moving away from a V-twin.

Ski
 
BMW is no doubt very happy with the reaction on the forum to the Bagger. :clap

Their 2020 goal for the US is to double their market share. They won't do that by selling just to their traditional customer base, which now includes three models of S 1000 series bikes. They aren't the traditional BMW MOA type of bike but have done much to expand BMW's US and world market share.

At launch they describe it as the first of a series of bikes designed for the US market. Instead of cannibalizing their existing base this is their first take on how to expand their base. It has been reasonably received in the cruiser press. Time will tell if it sells or is a bust.

They will continue to build bikes we are accustomed to and ...

If they really want to win much US bagger market share they need to load it up with a HUUUGE stereo, chrome all available surfaces, and add some of those long leather tassels that hang down from the hand-grips to the ground (what ARE those for anyway?)

Ski
 
We had BMW motorcycles from 1988 to 2013 and about 800,000 miles between the two of us. In July of 2013 we traded our BMWs on a pair of Harleys as we have a local dealer and they have been good to us through the years, mounting tires on our BMWs etc. The Harley was too heavy for my wife and the following March she got rid of the Harley and got a Honda CBR250R and I kept my Harley but later bought a CBR250R also. We rode the 250s to the BMW Rally in Montana from Illinois and have been out to Colorado a couple times and down to the Gulf etc. My wife has 36,000 miles on hers. In Oct. 2015 I sold the CBR250 and the Harley and bought a Honda CTX700 and put 20,000 miles on it in a year but really don't like the seating position, feet too far forward and bars at a weird angle. I am thinking about going to a 300 and would like to enter the BMW fold again but don't know if we or I can wait on the BMW310s as the delivery date keeps getting farther in the future. We may end up with Honda 300s. The 250s do fine on the Interstate and top speed on the flat is 85 or so; we have done many 500 mile days on them. Nothing happens, we plan to go to the BMW rally in Salt Lake City and it will most likely be on Hondas. We admire people that travel on small bikes and think it is more of a challenge and in the end more fun. We are both in our 60s, if that matters.
 
I think motorcycle companies run into issues when they try to repurpose an existing bike into a new bike. The John Q motorcycle public is very skeptical of these 'new bikes'. For the manufacturer's part- it seems to make good business sense since they have all the existing tooling and assembly, and just need to, essentially, slap on some new plastics and seat. But these sort of bikes never make a lot in sales. :hungover

Road King, Road Glide, Street Glide Electra Glide, Ultra versions, CVO Versions

You were saying?


Rod
 
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