Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127983
1999 BMW K1200LT By Scott Rousseau Photos by Kinney Jones and BMW North America n a nutshell, luxury can be defirled as that which we do not need ·bU( which is conducive to our comfort and pleasure. That definition just about sums up the entire thought prace behind the design and creati n .... BMW's latest two-wheeled tour' platform, the K1200LT. "No one rides because t y have to," says David Robb, c 'ef of design for BMW motorcycles. "So our challenge then becomes, 'What can we offer to entice people?' In this case, it is luxury, communicated by ele- I II iii! III ~. ~ lii Q M - J: U '" ~ 14 ,Expect the 1999 BMW K1200LT to write a new chapter In BMw motorcycling history. Ba~d on the K1200RS, BMW's la~t touring bike is likely to recfe1ine the rules of the class. t' ~ ~~i~::::~~~§;~-~ gance, clarity, - anything that sets ..... use of materialsshape, porportion, the mood. But people have different translations of what luxury can be, such as chrome or no chrome, etc. We at BMW are fortunate to be the only manufacturer in the world that produces both automobiles and motorcycles, so we were able to look at our own vehicles and use our 7 series automobiJe as our guide. And we set out on our goal to produce the 7 series of motorcycles. "We feel that the BMW K12DDLT meets that goal," Robb continued. "It isn't nece$sarily meant for the city, although it is quite capable (in city rid- ing conditions). This motorcycle is for experienced, mature riders who want the best." According to BMW, "the best" began with the use of the new-genera tion BMW K12DDRS chassis as the platform from which the LT would spring. As per company policy, a number of design teams - including those in BMW's Munich, Germany, and Los Angeles offices. - were involved in the LT's stylj.pg15 roces s, /' each heading in differen't directions from the original guideline. Styling components such as shape, volume, wind protection and aerodynamics were blended until two incarnations of the LT were submitted for approval. In the end, BMW felt that the LT would succeed witlt a form that presented the look and feeling of space rather than one that would give the impression of a motorcycle that was trying to travel at outer-space speed. It would flow, portraying the image of comfort, such as in the soft areas of contact found in the scallops behind the main fairing - right about where the rider's legs hug the bodywork - and anywhere else that man came into contact with machine. That ideology was also captured via the harmonious bodywork, which includes a full 'front fairing and integrated luggage trunks, which boast' more capacity and better aerodynamics while being 6 inches narrower than the bike's predecessor, the KlIODLT. It would also have to be a BMW, embodying the same core values of performance, safety and compatibilty with its intended environment as does every motorcycle that leaves the company's Berlin assembly plant. So, starting with the same aluminum mainframe as the RS, a massive tubularsteel subframe was engineered to accommodate the increased length of