I reached with my left arm, adjusting the
shield. It was ergonomically orgasmic. “Nice!” I exclaimed. Realizing the unique opportunity, I
racked my brain for more questions. The men stood politely, answering a flurry of queries. Fifteen minutes passed, then twenty. Every answer they gave me inspired more questions, with no end in sight. Watching their body language, I noted increased fidgeting and watch- checking. Whatever these guys had planned for the afternoon, I was in the way of it. But I was still hungry for knowledge, and didn’t want our Q&A to stop. “Listen guys, I am really grateful to you for answering my ques- tions.” I looked around, spotting an oppor- tunity. “There’s a bar around the corner. As a thank you for your help, I’d like to buy you each a beer. Is that okay?” Eyebrows raised, lips parted. I smiled.
Beer, the universal ice breaker. “I have more questions, if you’ll indulge me. In exchange, I will open a tab and keep the beer coming. Fair?” For the next two hours I sat, surrounded
with my very own panel of GS Experts. We covered every inch of the bike, discussing the logic of development and design that had been seven years in the making. As they talked, an epiphany began to surface within me. Since my first exposure to BMW Motorcycles, I somehow held a belief that new bikes were developed based on little more than fulfilling a marketing demand. Charts and graphs were used to justify development. Data from focus groups and market trends were fed into a
supercomputer, which produced a design and sent it to production. The cold effi- ciency of German Engineering. But in speaking with these men, I real-
ized how wrong my beliefs had been. These were passionate enthusiasts, proud and dedicated. They spoke of the hardships they had faced during production, proto- types reworked and ideas that came and went. “We knew we were making a flagship machine, and we had to make it right. Every single nut and bolt was scrutinized, every feature worked and reworked.
If
there was not harmony, we started over.” It was well into the evening when we
parted ways. Handshakes and loud procla- mations of friendship filled the air as we went, with promises to reconnect the fol- lowing evening. Exhaustion gripped me as I walked toward my hotel room. I passed the stage, looking once again at the bike I had traveled all this way to experience. I looked upon it, the moonlight revealing years of passion and dedication that had been applied to every ounce of the machine. My appreciation for the GS swelled to a new level. Years have passed since my time in South
Africa, and I have been graced to ride countless motorcycles since. Some machines touch me more than others, as is the way of it in motorcycling. But my love for two wheels has only increased, sea- soned by the knowledge that there are pas- sionate people at every level making the ride possible. Celebrate the ride, my friends!
September 2015 BMW OWNERS NEWS
59
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