TILL WE MEET AGAIN
The last time I rode to Germany was around 15 years ago, when I was headed to the massive 'NitrOlympx' dragracing event held at the Grand Prix circuit at Hockenheim, and I was astride the unfaired four cylinder BMW K1200R. This time, I was headed to a more mountainous region of Germany, aboard another big Beemer, and in the direction of an event that was potentially more staid and laid back than a nitro-methane-fuelled adrenaline rush.
The long-held view of BMW riders has been of staid riding, Sam Brown belts, sensible boots and a strict adherence to the police riders' manual, 'Roadcraft'. However, while the sensible image that came into prominence in the Seventies (ironically after the advent of the R90S, which was considered to be very sports focussed at the time), isn't really accurate for the modern BMW rider. This is, presumably, due in part to the ever-expanding variety of bikes in the BMW range, covering everything from Ewan and Charlie adventurists to head-the-ball sports bikes, none of which are particularly pedestrian or staid in styling. After all, a bike that can lap the Isle of Man's Mountain Circuit at an average speed of over 135mph isn't the sort of machine that is a steady away commuter or touring machine
