Concurrence

I remember the first time I saw one of these. I was probably 12, and just couldn’t quite understand what I was seeing. At the time I was steeped in the Midwestern biker culture of my parents. I was used to all variations of Harleys, from sportsters to dressers. And I knew japanese dirtbikes very well, along with the local hatred for “rice burners”.

But seeing a BMW just didn’t compute. Its design principles were unlike anything I’d seen. It wasn’t a big touring bike, it wasn’t a race bike like the “new” Ninjas. And when asking the adults about it, it got nothing but a shrug. It was rare enough to avoid the wrath of the local Buy-American zeitgeist. The most anyone would say about it was that it must be expensive since it was a BMW, therefore it must be a rich man’s motorcycle.

It kind of stuck with me though. And ever since I’ve found BMW’s unique designs facinating. Mind you I think many of them are butt ugly. Still this 1980 R100RT is one of my absolute favorites. As soon as I get the garage space I might consider one of these. Turns out they are quite affordable these days.