There was a time when BMW flat twins were ridden and owned almost exclusively by what we’d now call ‘beardy blokes’ who, when not riding, wore their anoraks with pride.
The bikes were often high mileage, heavily used, and absolutely loaded in patina. Those owners with their detached, vaguely superior-than-thou, attitudes often did Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH’s cause little good. The Beemer twins’ general reputation was one of ruthless Teutonic efficiency yet somehow blighted by apparent low performance and ‘old fogey’ looks. That said, there
