All-New Bmw Twin: Tradition Takes A Turn

All-new BMW Twin: Tradition takes a turn

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Tradition can be rested against or it can be built upon, and BMW, a company with a deep reservoir of tradition, wisely has chosen the latter course.

BMW built an enviable reputation using its Boxer Twin as a foundation, and the company has developed a wide and loyal following for its twocylindered machines. But tightening noise and pollution regulations, and

lukewarm acceptance of its multicylindered K-bikes, finally has led the Munich-based company to rethink its Twins.

What you see here is the result-an all-new lOOOcc, dohc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine hung in a chassis that uses what appears to be a parallelogram front suspension and the company’s Paralever swingarm.

These photos, shot by German photographer Bernd Rauh at the Nurburgring, that storied 14-mile-long race-

track in west-central Germany’s Eifel Mountains, were taken during a tiretest session. What they show is a bike that appears to be a comfortable sport-touring machine whose styling is a complete departure from anything yet seen from BMW.

Sources within BMW say the company’s original plan to debut the bike at the 1992 IFMA Show in Cologne has been abandoned, but other sources claim the bike will indeed be shown at IFMA, and that production will commence at the company’s Berlin motorcycle plant in June or July of 1992. Whenever the new Boxers debut, they promise a mixture of handling, performance and tradition that clearly makes them machines to look forward to.

Jon F. Thompson