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Motorcycles from Berlin

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Mike Fishwick View Drop Down
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    Posted: 15 Oct 2013 at 3:59pm


MOTORCYCLES FROM BERLIN                         Book Review by Mike Fishwick

As the sequel to ‘Motorcycles From Munich,’ this book covers the period from 1969 to 1998.  This was perhaps the most dramatic phase in the story of BMW motorcycles, starting at a time when sales had fallen to an all-time low, and ending at an all-time high.

During 1969 Technical Director Helmut Werner Bönsch, although a motorcycle enthusiast, summed up the position: ‘From a purely economic point of view, we have no need to build motorcycles.’  During this period, when the Neu Klasse cars were still establishing BMW’s reputation as a manufacturer with wide appeal, sound economics dictated that the ailing motorcycle division be closed down.

Bönsch, however, convinced his fellow board members to convert the old ex-BRAMO factory in Berlin to a modern motorcycle factory, producing the ‘Five’ Series; the rest is history.

The production of air-cooled twins, from the /5 Series to the last Monolever models, is well covered in this book, with a chapter on BMW’s successful involvement in the Paris-Dakar Rally.  Other sections cover the F650, the K-Series and the current oil-cooled twins, R1200C, K1200RS, and the introduction of the C1.  Specification tables cover each major model, production and sales statistics, and a historical overview.

As usual, BMW Mobile Tradition has produced a beautifully presented book, which as the latest (number 4) in their ‘Profiles’ series, sets a standard which others will fail to equal.  The text is not only informative and accurate, but is also brutally honest, as a book which will become a historical document must be.  The R80ST is described as ‘A flop’ while the R65GS is described as having ‘The smallest (production) run since the ill-fated R50S.’

The quality of the photographs is excellent, as is the vast change in the attitude towards motorcycling which they show, ranging from ‘Motor Cycle’ tester Vic Willoughby riding an R75/5 in 1969 to the more casual style of today’s business-suited C1 rider.  I must confess to preferring the tidy riding style and correct dress favoured by ‘real’ riders such as Willoughby!

In one or two places the translation leaves a little to be desired, with ‘capacity’ used in place of ‘power’ and one or two other easily-identifiable errors, but in general this is a pleasant book to read, although I finished it with a vague feeling of disappointment.  Perhaps it is inevitable that this book, as a product dealing with the current age, carries a flavour of the marketing-led ethos of the present, rather than the more engineering-led attitude of the past which is reflected in its companion volume ‘Motorcycles from Munich’.  Perhaps this is as it should be, for the story of BMW motorcycles is more than a simple list of machinery – it reflects the political, social, economic and business attitudes which combined to shape the products.

Whatever your views on such matters, this book is one which all students of BMW’s often-turbulent history will want to buy. 

(Motorcycles From Berlin, 1969 to 1998, by BMW Mobile Tradition.  BMW Part no: 01 09  0 035281.  £30  (VAT exempt) from your dealer


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