In terms of clever engineering, BMW is at the forefront. Whether it was ABS in the 80s, telelever suspension in the 90s or electronic suspension in the early 2000s, there’s no denying BMW has both the motivation and the means to push technological boundaries.
And even though it’s worked very hard in the last couple of decades to attract a younger customer base via a range of high-tech and class-leading offerings as well as WorldSBK success, there’s also no denying the target market for BMW’s laid-back cruiser family are at the older end of the spectrum. Which is why I reckon BMW has been clever in its restraint when creating the R 12 platform.
It was probably Roothy’s column a couple of issues ago that cemented it for me. He’s been riding with the same group of blokes for 45 years. He, and plenty of his mates, are all but done with the size and weight that often goes with the high-tech highfalutin large-capacity machinery.
“Smaller, lighter, does everything and just plain fun to ride,” he wrote, because a bloke “doesn’t want to heft a fully loaded Indian Chief back on its wheels after a missed-stand tumble. Not on his own.”
Settle into the R 12’s 754mm seat, plant both feet firmly on the ground, lift it off its stand, and you find yourself on a bike that’s truly accessible
