Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ ,l l.!") 00 O"l C'J l-. V .D 0 .....- u 0 BMW's new three-cylinder K75 comes in two versions. t he standard K75C (Above) w ith a handlebar-mounted fairing, and t he f rame- m ou nt edfa iring-equipped K755 (below ). The 740cc K75 engine is basically a K1 00 w ith one cylinder lopped off, But the K75 has a 120 0 c rankshaf t and balance weights on the c ounterrot at ing output shaft. D enounc ing h o rseRower : BMW goes its o~n~ay By John Ulrich Two years after the introduction of the 987cc four- cylinder KIOO series, BM W has launched the K75, a new 740cc three-cyl in der. T he new ma chine has the same layout as the KIOO, the cylin ders running flat across t~e fram ~ with the DOHC,two-valves-per-cylinder head on the left an d the plazn-bean~g cran k. shaft on the right. In fact, the ~75 sh.ares bo~e and strok.e~ and tran smIssIon and runn in g gear with the KIOO, in cluding a slightly-modiiied fram e. Th e K75 makes more horsepower per un it of displacement, and is rated at.74 bhp at 8500 rpm , compared to the KIOO's 90 at 8000. The ex~ra po urer-per-liter co m es from new co m bus tio n chambers and pistons (f t?r a higher .com p ress l ~ n ratio), and different cam timing. BMW hopes the K75 WIll broaden ItSurorlduiide market share and boost its annual product ion of motorcycles. In tru e BM W trad it ion, th e K75 is unique, and BM W 's ~a les. strategy f!nd view.of the ma~h !ne is eq ually unique. What follo ws are th e [irst zn th e series of arti cles exam Ini ng th e latest mach ine from Europe's largest motorcycle manufacturer; th e com p.a ny th at produces it;and the theory beh ind BMW's motorcycle znvolvem en t...Editor. BMW has always gone its own way wi th its motorcycles, and the new K75 emphasizes that fact. When other manufacturers are pushing the edges of production-machine technology and in trod u ci n g faster a n d more- demandi ng . hi BMW single-purpose mac m es, h as denounced th e horsepower 10 wars and advocated ea sy-to -ride, techni call y-sirnple motorcycles for normal street use. Maybe BMW h as the right idea . Desp ite the fac t th a t worldwide rnotorcycle sales declined by 14%in 1984 ( p red i cti~ns for I985point t~a further 12% dec line), BM\' sales Increased 17.3% in 1984, to 32,000 motorcycles. BMW ex pects to sell 34,000 rnotorcycles in 1985, a n inc rease o f 9% over 1984. On th e other hand. 34,000 motorcycles aren 't many compared to worldwide motorcycle producti on of 8.3 _ mill ion (in 1983, th e m ost recen t year fig u res are a va ila ble for ) J apanese mo torcycl e prod un ion o f '1,026.000 mororcvc les i n 198·1. o r even the :> 70, 006 street a n d d ua l- p u rpos e mo torcycl es (710.000 including o ffroad bikes) so ld in th e V .S. in 1984. s BMW North Am eri ca so ld 2844 KlOO a nd 2744 flat-twins between September 1984 and September 1985, for 1.8% of th e V .S. market. In co nt ras t, Su zuki h as so ld 18,000 h igh -h orsepower , racer-rep lica GSXR750s worldwide since February. According to BMW Motorrad Sal es and Marketing Director Karl H. Gerlinger, problems faci ng the motorcycle market include cut-throat p riced competition, proliferation of models, a nd rapid loss of resa le ' a l ue. And, as Gerlinger tells it, " . . . the 1985 seaso n has hailed th e advent of a new tre nd in th e motorcycl e market. Manufacturers have been co ncentra ting on the new generatio n of 750cc machi nes with a standard of power an d pe rfor mance p reviously o nly avai lable fro m 100Occ. These new models in the 750cc range are characterized by extreme sporti ness and performance. With their aggressive raci ng styl ing. they loo k as if the y had come straight from the race track. But is this the right approach for the future or a grave mistake? Perhaps the motorcycle manufacturers who introduced these models have made a m ista ke. " T o answer this question, please allow me to quote Mr. Nowak (H o rst Nowak. a psychologist and motorcycle market researcher. whose speech opened the 100 Years of the Motorcycle exh ibi tion in Munich on August I ). ' Lookin g at new motorcycle models we sometimes get the rather grotesque idea that the manufacturers of th ese machines are reall y craving for destruct ion in some kind of mad state of mind. After all , the motorcycle is cu rrently running the risk a nyway of bei ng this substantial risk, manufacturers are la unch i n g new m od els which. through their power and performa nce - not to ment ion th eir styl ing and appeara nce - give the rider no ot her cho ice but to behave in a socially u n accep table manner .' " I th ink th a t statement speaks for itself a nd there 's no th in g I h ave to add . Such a policy on the part of certain manufacturers is nothing but a doomsday approach - as if this were th e end of mankind with no to morrow. " Feeling our responsibility as a rnotorcvcl e manufacturer , we have not participat ed in thi s power ra ce in the I OOOcc range. And for exactly th e sa me reasons , we will not join in th e esca la tion o f p ow er in th e 750cc market. ei ther. By drawing a di stin ct line between our model policy and th e philos ophy pursu ed by our co mpe titors. we th erefore endea vor to sta nd o u t clearl y from th e co m pe titio n with thei r exa ggera ted em phasis on power a nd perf ormance. In developing th e K75, we have thus co nceived a product for a market niche cu rre n tly clearly neglected by our competitors. Beca u se not a ll riders are Freddi e Spencer. And th e people we're appealing to are people who want motorcycles which offer sheer riding pleasure instead of stre ss and the o bl iga tion to perform . Motorcycles wit h a harmonious concept and superior all-arou nd features like our K75." Ger linger 's co mments are echoed by Dr. Eberhardt C. Sarfert, Gen era l Manager of BMW Mo torrad, who tol d the press at the K75 introduction that " In conceiving th e K Series, we have deliberately refrained from using exaggerated technologies and engines design ed entirely for maximum performance. Beca use in our o pinion there are a lready too many musclepacked racing replicas. In a day and age in which more and more people are calling for power and performance limits to be applied to the motorcycle , a responsible and co nscientious manufacturer should not add further fuel to the fire. Like th e Kl oo. the K75 is an exp ression of our product philosophy derived from the underlying strategy of our co m pa ny : To build driver (and rid er j-oriented passenger vehicles with a high standard of sportiness, technical sophistication, exclusivity, carefree handling and comforta ble motoring." Gerlinger says that BMW will con tinue to manufacturer flat twins as we ll as th e K75 and the la rger KIOO. As he sees it , 30%of K75 buyers will be owners of other BMW models, 45% wi ll be owners o f othe r brands, and 25% wi ll be people retu rn in g to or fir st enteri ng the motorcycle market. BMW p lans to sell about 10,000 K75s in 1986, and to increase total BMW motorcycle sal es worldwide 10%ove r 1985. In Germany, the K75C sells for 12.890 DM (S4781): the K75S for 13,990 DM (S5189). •

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