DGS49
Diamond Member
BMW has come out with a BEAUTIFUL new bike that they hope will capture some of Harley's market. Harley's customer base is - sorry to say - aging out and literally dying off, but they have one thing that the other manufacturers covet: MONEY. They can afford to buy whatever fucking bike strikes their fancy, cost be damned.
From all indications, this new Beemer is powerful, efficient, handles (relatively) well, and will draw a crowd wherever it comes to rest.
But is it a credible CRUISER?
I don't think so. A cruiser must have forward pegs and be capable of having floorboards and highway bars or highway pegs. The seat-back, feet-forward riding position is a sine qua non* of a cruiser. This is why NOBODY accepted the old Honda Valkyrie as a "cruiser," or even its much-hyped but never-loved offspring, the Rune. The "boxer" design of the R1800 BMW prevents the essential riding position of a cruiser. Feet must be below the butt, thus mandating a regular, street-bike riding position. It is a lot of things, but it ain't no cruiser.
Anybody else care to weigh in?
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* Sorry. "sine qua non" is a latin expression meaning approximately, "without which nothing," and it means in this context absolutely mandatory.