The futuristic two-wheeler glides through the auditorium, the jet-black triangular frame illuminates the blue and white BMW logo. The female driver only wears a visor, which looks like a pair of glasses from the next century instead of a helmet. She stops and stands up from the seat, without taking either foot off the pegs. The vision bike presented at the “iconic impulses” exhibition. “The BMW Group Future Experience” that is celebrating its world premiere in Los Angeles, transports the viewer to the year 2130.
A time when mobility is yet more diverse and interconnected; a time when digitalisation takes on a shape which we today perceive to be surreal; a time when motorcycling becomes an analogue and at the same time extraordinarily emotional experience. “The motorcycle provides my escape from everyday life. From the moment I climb on board, I experience nothing but absolute freedom – The Great Escape,” says Edgar Heinrich, head of design at BMW Motorrad.
Absolute freedom.
Together with his design team, Edgar Heinrich drafted this future scenario and designed the BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT vision vehicle based on that. “When we develop a motorcycle, we are usually thinking around five to ten years in the future. So taking a look further into the future was especially exciting for us and highly appealing,” Edgar Heinrich paints the picture. Designers are assuming that in 30 years, most vehicles will be driving around autonomously. Life is crammed up in cities and organized by means of digital services. More and more digitalised, more and more interconnected, more and more automated. During this presentation, the importance of analogue ‘oases’ becomes apparent, which give people the feeling of freedom back.
Freedom means experiencing the environment with all your senses, and feeling centrifugal forces, acceleration and the wind. Ideally without a helmet or protective clothing. The BMW motorcycle VISION NEXT 100 doesn’t need that either. Because the “digital companion” – a functional unit consisting of motorcycle and our own version of rider’s equipment – ensures a high degree of safety. The digital companion acts imperceptibly in the background and always intervenes when required or desired. “It was important to us that the analogue riding experience would remain undisturbed. The display and operating concept acts so discreetly that it creates a natural and familiar movement,” explains Holger Hampf, head of design, customer experience, at the BMW Group.
It’s still a roadster.
All new – and yet the BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100 still captures elements from the BMW Motorrad timeline: black triangular frame, white lines, classical opposed-twin engine type. In the side-on view, the vision vehicle looks naked. Accordingly, ergonomics and seat position are set up like on a roadster. The design of the front is minimalistic and refined with high-quality detailing. Above the front wheel, a large metallic reflector is integrated in the frame. It serves as a wind guide and together with the integrated windscreen, ensures aerodynamically optimised airflow.
Body elements like the seat, the upper frame cover and the front-wheel cover are made of carbon. Two delicate red lights under the body serve as tail light and turn signal. The tyres have a damping function and actively adapt to the terrain. The red rocker arm on the right handlebar stands out. Designed as a consciously mechanical element, it blocks the throttle grip or releases it.
The frame follows the wheel.
The black triangular frame is visually reminiscent of the R 32 from 1923 – the first BMW motorcycle. However, the frame has functionally little to do with the original. The Flexframe is flexible and allows steering manoeuvres without the joints we are familiar with today. If the handlebars are moved, the entire frame changes shape and facilitates the change in direction. Depending on the traffic situation, the forces required for this vary: steering manoeuvres are especially easy at a standstill, while the frame firms up at high speeds. The surfaces are attached so that they offer the wind and weather protection of a fully enclosed motorcycle. The surface of the frame is made of matt black textile.
Post time: Jun-20-2017