Kiwi Rider July Vol.1 2023 | Page 58

STILL A MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIAST “ I have 14 motorbikes of my own , my favourite machine is a modified BMW HP2 . When working on older motorbikes , you often discover off-putting things . My experience is that old US bikes lose their bolts , old English ones lose oil and the electrics on the Italian classics are often faulty , while older Japanese bikes are rather boring for me ( with exceptions , of course ), as are the old BMWs , but the last two are very reliable . “ I love everything that has to do with Offroad , not so much Sport bikes on the racetrack , they are too uncomfortable for me .
friendly , a jokester . “ Semantics teaches us that you don ’ t understand the function of the part because you have studied design , but because it is stored in your cerebellum . “ You have to learn how to use these tools . I like to deal with the psychology of perception : what do children perceive first ? Colours , outlines ? No , it ’ s proportions ! That ’ s why the basic proportions have to be right . Gold-plated footrests are often a convulsive attempt to conceal flaws in the big picture . But there is also the freedom of art .
WHAT ’ S LEFT ? “ I ’ ve made a lot of cool bikes and had the chance to do things differently . The next generations of sports and mid-range bikes might already feature the last combustion engines , but I see electric mobility as extremely exciting . We are at a point like in the 1920s with a lot of possibilities . You only have to go to a motorbike museum to see what they tried 100 years ago . Electric is opening up a huge field that is still without guard rails , there are many different concepts for solutions . In 2025 , we will present the first fully electric production motorbike from BMW Motorrad .”
58 KIWI RIDER