BMW, THE OTHER GENUINE ARTICLE

"That's a nice Beemer," said a rider on a beautiful black Harley Road King as he pointed to my also black K1200RS. This friendly exchange took place at the famous Crossroads of Time gas station, in Deal's Gap, NC; the "ground zero" for serious motorcycle riders in the entire Eastern coast of our fine continent. Deal's Gap is the home of the infamous Tail of the Dragon; perhaps the twistiest 11 miles you'll find anywhere. My new friend went on to say, "my buddy back in Ohio has a BMW R1150RT, we swap sometimes and you know I truly enjoy riding that bike." Then he said the magic phrase: "BMW, now that's another genuine article." It wasn't the first time that I had heard that, but for some reason it really sunk in. Maybe it was the location, the two-wheel heaven, the Mecca of all things motorcycling, whatever the reason I have never forgotten that encounter. Creating memories and making new connections are some of the main reasons that I enjoy traveling on my bike:

I've often pondered what makes for a "genuine article?" Like a scene from a favorite movie I have run that scenario back in Deal's Gap many times in my mind. I think the answer is more than just brand longevity. It is instead a combination of heritage, national pride, prestige, history and the community. BMW, similar to Harley-Davidson, has been in continuous production for over 80 years. Both marques have an illustrious history of racing, endurance travels and groundbreaking events. Both are the national motorcycle of their respective countries and served their military very well in past wars. Both use twins. In essence both are genuine in their focus and commitment to the two-wheel community at large.

BMW motorcycles stand for German ingenuity, long distance comfort, all-weather riding, durability, understated but elegant designs the same way that Harley-Davidson stands for the independent spirit of America, liberty and freedom. It's no secret that I have a soft spot for Road Kings, and in my many years of riding I have met quite a few Harley riders who have a soft spot for Beemers and wouldn't consider riding any other machines. This may come as a surprise but current and former Harley riders constitute the largest group of new BMW owners. They like to jump from one "genuine article" to another and sometimes keep both. I think the ultimate would be to have both in your garage. Enjoy 186 years of continuous combined history in two wildly different machines that are surprisingly similar in their heritage. Here's to the craftsmen, visionaries and two-wheel geniuses of the world.

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Controlled Madness: K1200S Review
with K1200RS, K1100RS and Suzuki GSXR-1000 References


click image for video

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The New Catch Phrase: Civility

Discussion boards were the topic of my first Ride the Web column, back in June 2002. Now, almost 3 years later, I thought it was time to revisit this ever-growing concept. It is amazing how indispensable the Internet has become. Exchanging e-mails after meeting someone is now more common than phone numbers. Dialup has become a thing of the past, as many people choose to connect via broadband. Actually one of the hottest online formats is Blogs (web logs). Blog stars are showing up on talk shows, and actually had an affect on the outcome of last year's election. Think of them as radio talk show hosts of the past.

Compare to 3 years ago, there are now hundreds of international BMW discussion forums on the web. Europe specially is growing very fast. But if you want to know the fastest growing segment in the world, look no further than China. China seems to be breaking speed records in many segment, including Internet usage, new homes built, new cars sold, and of course it is no wonder that 7 of the top 10 polluted cities happen to be in China as well. China is also beginning to compete for the universal two and four-wheel market share. Within the next 5 years, US buyers may have the option of buying Chinese cars as cheap as $8,000 and bikes as low as $4000. There are already a few discussion boards in China covering European motorcycles. I know, because my new forum, BMWK1200S.com is mentioned there. And that brings us back to the discussion forums.

Initially when I started this column, I was rather burnt out with BMW forums. After being very active for 3 years on one, the constant banter, negative vibe and back stabbings finally turned me off. I realize that I am not alone in being precautious of boards. Many people in the industry do not go on forums for the fear of backlash, insults, negative and aggressive behavior of some posters. We call these posters keyboard heroes. They are civilized in person, but turn vicious in the relative anonymity of the web. So, in the past three years, I didn't log on to any BMW forums, but instead found myself on photography boards. You can never know enough about shooting professionally. I discovered something very interesting, the behavior of some members on a few of these photography forums, were practically identical to two-wheel ones. With one exception, the exception is an extremely successful board, with strict guidelines for civility set by the founder. Viola, a great discovery, if I may toot my own Fiamm. I was surprised to discover that the most successful and active photography forum on the web, dpreview.com, with thousands of daily posts, also happens to enforce strict civility codes. Forum admins take note: It may be counter-productive to let these keyboard heroes loose on your boards. I understand that some of you like the shock factor of flames and rants; anything to draw the people in day after day. But at the end of the day, you'll end up with lesser quality members. You'll have a forum with bunch of guys, banging each other over the head. The aim should be to provide a useful, informative tool, mixed with entertainment and not catering to the lowest common denominator at all times.

So, I took some time off from BMW forums and learned a few lessons here and there in the process. With the initial buzz on BMW's new K1200S Supersport-Tourer, I along with many others got the bug. As some of you know, I love my K12RS, now 5 years old with 50K miles on the odo--there is no other bike I'd rather ride. I realize it may not be perfect, but suits my riding style well. However, with the introduction of the KS, finally the choice for my next ride became delightfully obvious. The fact that it is the successor to K12RS, certainly helps too. I felt that it was time to get back into BMW forums. So on June 5, '04, I launched BMWK1200S.com, exclusively dedicated to the K1200S and K1200R machines. Within 3 weeks of setting up shop, Cycle World magazine endorsed the site, and by the first month, the site was receiving 10,000 unique visitors, that number, within two months reached 15,000. The site currently holds close to 200 members, with a growth rate of about 10% per month. However, similar to the photography site mentioned above, I decided to set strict guidelines from day one. These guidelines include, no insults, no rants and complete respect for the fellow members, with a firm 3 strike you're out policy. Old school, board admins may assume that these tight policies would turn people off, but instead I am happy to report the forum has become a wonderful working example of civility combined with functionality and fun. Where anyone, especially people in the industry can comfortably visit and discuss all topics related to these new bikes and the world of motorcycling in general in relative peace of mind. Ah, civility, who knew? ;)

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K1200R CONCEPT
Open Letter to BMW Motorrad Design Team

Dear BMW Motorrad Design Team: Congratulations to this capable team on designing the all new k1200S. It certainly is the right bike from BMW for the new Century and it is the type of motorcycle that many of us were hoping BMW would design.

July 2004 -- The automotive industry (2 & 4 wheels) in its 120 plus years of history counts among its members a very large group of extremely creative industrial designers. Many visionaries, artists, mavericks and pure geniuses have helped create some of the most memorable rolling sculptors in the world. Many of their creations are now considered to be either priceless, or they fetch bids in the millions of dollars in the premium auction circuits.

In the past, an automotive designer became a star, because of many years, often decades, of proven success. Now it seems a designer becomes a star before they have penned any successful line of vehicles. Who to blame: Hollywood, MTV, the neo celebrity culture or boy band groups?

I attended the 2004 New York Auto Show, on it's first press day. This is two days before the show is open to the public. It's a fun time to be at the Show this early. The cars are still being rolled in and out; there are brand marketing people and senior executives everywhere; formal presentations at every corner and the press is at the ready to catch any and all things unusual, including a video interview with the legendary Carroll Shelby at Ford's 3 Acres+ floor space.

The second most interesting showcase for me was Mercedes. They were presenting two new cars: the 2005 SLK and the debut of the new CLS class (a coupe styled, 4 door sedan). I spent a while at the MB section, looking very intently at most of their offerings. The new SLR (US$400K+) makes your mouth water, just sitting there. The CLS is a real cool concept. If you find the E or the S class too formal and conservative for your very hip life style, but can't give into the limited seating capacity of a two-door coupe, why not blend the two and get a coupe that is actually a sedan? Too clever and a beautiful execution as well. The Japanese where all over the CLS, taking pictures of every nut, bulb and stitch. I stayed at the MB section for a while and chatted with a few of their representatives. All of whom where extremely well informed, gracious and articulate, which was a surprise actually, as I had held not so informed conversations with representatives of other brands for most of the morning. I tried the new offerings by MB, as I was invited to do so by the said gracious reps and found myself in a fuzzy over the new SLK. An absolute beautiful and near flawless execution for the US$40K roadster market. Where am I going with this story? It will be revealed in just moment. I asked the MB rep: So who designs these beautiful machines? MB rep: Oh, we don't have a star designer; this is purely teamwork. I said: No wonder the new MBs look so amazing.

In my opinion, only automotive designers who have proven themselves with years of successful track record, can demand and receive star treatment. All others should do what a genuine artist must do in the first place: pay their dues. Otherwise they share the fate of boy band groups and body piercings. The pressure of star treatment will mentally force the new designer to go above his/her ability to make immature styling statements that in his/her mind would justify the privilege treatment. Teenage idols last a season or two, true legends a lifetime or more.

Shahram Shiva
PS: Incase you wonder what was the first most interesting showcase. It was Ferrari, as I spent a good hour talking to one of their reps and sat inside every one of the offerings from both Ferrari and Maserati, including the ultra exclusive new Maserati LeMans.