Remember when BMW showed the R nineT concept to the public and turned it into a modern classic perfectly suited for the company’s seemingly immortal Boxer twin? Well, it looks like BMW may be doing that again. At the recent Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance on Lake Como (not far from George Clooney’s place), BMW unveiled a stunning new bike called the Roadster Concept.
The BMW Roadster Concept—shown amidst a host of BMW 328 Roadsters and other pre-WWII classics—is built around the latest air- and liquid-cooled boxer twin, an 1,170cc engine officially rated 125 horsepower and 92.2 pound-feet of torque. The bike is very compact and looks like it should be light, although BMW Motorrad hasn’t released any official figures. The BMW Roadster Concept also looks rather extreme, and would likely have trouble getting homologated for road use, especially in bureaucracy-choked Europe. On the other hand, the Roadster Concept may be the seed from which a new generation of great BMW R series models germinates.
BMW treated the Villa d’Este unveiling purely as a styling event, so mechanical details are scant. The type of frame structure hidden under the tank is not known, although we can presume BMW drew from its experience with the likes of the R nineT and the HP2 Megamoto, two boxer-powered bikes that use a classic telescopic fork instead of BMW’s Telelever unit.
In this case, the fork is an Öhlins racing unit in black, to go along with the black engine and front section of the radiator cowls, which are nicely integrated into the general design of the bike. The engine, it’s worth noting, has received valve covers with special “knee-slider” pads that prevent grinding under the lean angles that the bike promises. A spoiler under the engine is really a smart styling solution that hides the huge resonator/muffler at the core of the Roadster Concept’s exhaust system. The manifolds from the two cylinders enter the muffler from the side. Presumably, the pressure waves take a trip through a labyrinthine path where they collide into each other and cancel most of their sonic energy before exiting out the single-megaphone side exhaust.
In back, a single-sided swingarm actuates an Öhlins racing shock via a standard BMW link. The upper mount of the shock bolts to the only visible frame structure, a well triangulated steel-tubing trellis painted metallic blue, as on the HP2 Megamoto. This trellis structure also supports the Roadster Concept’s beautifully styled seat, which is fabricated in aluminum. In front, LED headlights are shaped to look a bit like a number plate. Other details include forged aluminum wheels and massive 340mm front brake rotors with radial-mount Brembo Monobloc racing calipers.
Will a bike like the BMW Roadster Concept reach production? Hard to say, but one this is for sure: It proves that BMW Motorrad has a great future based on its boxer-twin past.
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