BMW has released its LoRider concept today at the EICMA show in Milan. Billing it as the expression of freedom, independence, and a move away from the everyday routine, BMW is hoping to capitalize on the emotion of standing out from the crowd by owning a motorcycle…and then owning a motorcycle unlike those around you.
Purism – that’s the key to this bike. Naked – with just engine, wheels, fuel tank and seat. In a composition which is Dave Robb’s design team’s hymn of praise to the love of two-wheel travel. It is the distillation of just what a motorcycle has to do, namely to inspire fascination. And there we have it: an ultra-muscular power machine, sitting on the road and just waiting to be released. A chassis of the very finest quality, a flat twin “Boxer” engine with over 100 bhp, weighing under 200 kg, with space frame, 17-inch wheels, 6-piston brakes and upside down fork.
In this concept, BMW is exploring the possibility of adding customization options previously only seen from the likes of Harley-Davidson (and to some budding extent Ducati). The purpose of this optioning is to further build on the concept that each bike is unique, and a work that reflects the persona of the owner. Pretty good brand management if you ask this former marketing director.
The LoRider echos various stylistic elements which have already been featured in previous BMW motorcycles, where the combination of classical and modern style to produce a machine which has simply never existed before, certainly not in the mind of any Bavarian. Time will tell if the LoRider is purely an artistic train of thought being pursued in form, or if there is an actual shift occurring deep in the woods of Germania right now, and BMW may rethink the way it touches its already loyal fan base.
Source: BMW Motorrad International
They tried this on television with the Beverly Hill Billies. I just hope Grandma left her rocking-chair at home.
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