you first saw it – for me it was the 1989 Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island . BMW called it a “ sports oriented tourer ” ( which translates as : “.. when we finished building it , it was too heavy and slow to be called a sports bike ”). The signs were there early on that I just wasn ’ t ready to commit to the strangeness . Sometimes I wasn ’ t quite sure – from some angles it was fabulous , but every so often I got a glance at it unexpectedly and instinctively made a noise in the back of my throat like “.. gaak ..’. It didn ’ t help that I bottled out and bought the plain black one and not one the garishly coloured models ( snazzy primary colour combinations , like yellow / blue , or yellow / red ). The K1 was built as an attempt to shed BMW ’ s “ touring bike ” image with something sporty . It was also a response to a threatened EU power restriction on motorcycles . So , BMW was committed to the manufacturer agreed 100bhp ( 75kW ) limit . It was also built as an exercise in aerodynamic design to enhance the performance of BMW ’ s new four cylinder 1000cc engine fitted to the K100 .
The main problem was that the design was spectacularly good at diverting air over and around the bike , but less successful at allowing the hot air within the subsequent bubble to escape . But I ’ m getting ahead of myself ... The test ride was OK as I loved the look , the whole funky Mickey Mouse joins the Wehrmacht styling , and I was a BUYER . But as test rides go it was waaaay too short for reasons which will become obvious . The cheque book came out at a speed that would upset the EU , and it was the first long ride which ended in pain and ( self ) recriminations . You see , I had no idea that there were so many short people in Germany . Short people with asbestos pants . Or that BMW would build a bike for them . So , as it turned out , if you were of average height or more , and / or prone to heat stroke , the K1 was not the bike for you . I was twenty minutes into the ride when my bad knee started shouting at me through the pain centre of my brain . Stop and get off this fucking thing , it said . Shortly thereafter the other knee ,
58 KIWI RIDER