2014 INTERMOT motorcycle show in Cologne - road trip

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 16

OK, this is a fair warning. I really like BMWs and have owned quite a few. So I was already predisposed to like what I saw at the BMW stand at INTERMOT. But I wasn’t expecting to see three new models that moved the bar in their respective genres. BMW has been on a roll in the last few years with new models and entry into motorcycling areas they previously hadn’t competed in.This weekend I got to see that Beemer is not only not slowing down but is gathering speed.



The stand was a huge one, noticeably larger than other manufacturers,





The first bike we saw literally stopped Rose and me in our tracks. BMW has a new RS…theR1200RS! That’s Rose taking its photo in this shot.



And here I am looking it over in the photo she took.




Stay tuned for part 17

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 17

Now, you may be wondering why this model means so much to Rose and I. Simple, the first big and expensive bike I owned was a 1976 BMW R100RS. I bought it in 1977, the year after Rose and I were married. I was stationed at RamsteinAB in the Rhein-Pfalz. It was a really big deal to buy that top of the line bike as a young E-4 and we saved up for months to make that happen.



We loved that bike and travelled all over Europe on it. Eventually, just before I left Germany, it was stolen in Amsterdam. Over the years I’ve owned two other R100RS’s and wouldn’t mind finding another ’76 to add to the garage now. So I have a real soft sport for Beemer sport-tourers and BMW arguably invented the genre with that original R-RS. But, in recent years BMW hasn’t really built any bike quite like the original R100RS since it left production in the mid 80s. And it wasn’t just me that missed it. A lot of folks had found that the original was a genuine do-anything bike that could equally be used to go for a six-pack or groceries(gotta love hard bags!), commute to work, go touring on, or have fun on a twisty country road. So a lot of riders in the US mourned the passing of the RSa nd figured BMW wasn’t going to build another.

Till now.

It uses the new liquid cooled boxer twin first used in theR1200GS adventure bike and putting out 125 hp and 92ft-lbs of torque. Notice that the front suspension is telescopics rather than the trademark Telelever front end that was on most Beemers a few years ago.The riding position is very neutral and spacious thanks to the 60 inch wheelbase.Seat height is BMW normal…slightly tall at 32 inches but not bad. I tried it and it fits just fine.



I don’t know what the weight will be but it looks like it should be somewhere around 500 pounds or slightly more. It’s good looking bike in person and I’ll borrow a couple of BMW press shots to show the colour schemes available.





And yes, hard bags are offered:



Problems? I only see one so far. The front fender needs to be a lot longer or the water and road debris being thrown off the front tire will scour the front of the boxer timing cover. I bet it doesn’t take the aftermarket long to come up with a fix for that.

Stay tuned for part 18

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 18

The second new model is really just a different version of the RS I was just writing about but without the fairing. The mechanicals and the bodywork except for thefairing seem identical. Here it is.

The R1200R

So why build this bike since BMW just released the s1000r as their super naked bike and the RnineT as their retro naked café racer? I think this one fits another niche entirely.This bikes competition isn’t the Aprilia Tuano or the Triumph Bonneville but the Triumph Speed Triple. And, looking at the styling, perhaps the Kawasaki z1000 and z800 too.



Sorry, the shot I took of the R1200R front view is no good so I’m going to have to borrow another BMW press shot.



I like it. But not as much as the faired RS.

The third new model was, of course, the new S1000RR. For 2015 the double r gets a some frame mods, new cylinder head, slightly tweeked body work, better electonics and cruise control. The automatically adjustable suspension from the HP4, which has been discontinued, is an option.




Those changes get the bike more power, up to 199 ps, and lighter weight, now about 450 lbs wet, and better handling. And, perhaps, no speeding tickets for the rider thanks to the cruise control.



Stay tuned for part 19

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 19

At this point I have to point out that the new RR is putting out as much power as Kawasaki is claiming for their not yet released street version of the supercharged H2. And unlike the Kawi the S1000RR is eligible to race and has been raced with considerable success. BMW made that point by decorating the bridge at their stand with racing S1000RRs.

As a matter of fact, one won the Senior TT at the Isle of Man this year.





The last time a BMW won the Senior TT was in 1939. And that bike was at the Show on at the BMW stand too.



I also spotted this one on the bridge containing the otherS1000RR racebikes.






I guess you can tell I was pretty impressed by the BMW stand.



Across the hall was the Metzler stand.



Stay tuned for part 20

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 20

Triumph didn’t have very much new but it was a nice stand to visit.





They did show a new version of the Street Triple which has the Daytona tail. Looked good I thought.



We wandered into the accessories section of the stand to see if there was anything a young Triumph owner like my son Ian (IanC on this forum) would want. I didn’t see anything too desirable. My wife kept looking for goodies so I told her I could try to buy the nice shirt the blonde out front was wearing and even offered to help the blonde out of it. For some reason the frau didn’t see the humor in that. Her comment? "BEHAVE!"



Nice stand at KTM but when Rose tried the smaller road bikes she didn’t care for them.



Stay tuned for part 21

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 21

I like the looks of the old style Royal Enfields but sittingon them they feel pretty small and I would guess that the novelty of havingabout 30 hp would get old after awhile. They sure look good though.







I was surprised at the H-D stand. Some nice bikes but they didn’t seem to havethat electric bike on show.I would haveguessed they would have put that up there as proof that H-D is atechnologically advanced company.Maybethey weren’t sure how the usual HD customers would react to it.



Stay tuned for part 22

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 22

Now this is an advanced technology company!



Honda was introducing the very interesting V-4 powered VFR800X adventure bike. It uses the engine out of the VFR800 Interceptor and knowing Honda, probably works like a charm. I’m not sure if I really like its looks yet but they’ll probably grow on me.



They also had the CB650F which I don’t believe is sold in the US. I think it’s US equivalent is the CBR650 which I think is mechanically identical but has a fairing. Too bad. I think the CB650F is a nicely updated version of the great Honda bikes from the mid 70s like the CB400F and the CB550F. Looks like fun to me.





They had another successful Honda tucked away by the back wall. Looks like a World Champion's ride.



While Rose and I were leaving the hall we passed these folks. I stopped to look.



Despite the name they’re made in China and so far specialize in pretty modest scooters and motorbikes. All pretty basic transportation. But after talking with them watch out for the future. They plainly have big plans for bigger and better bikes.



Stay tuned for part 23

[Chris]

INTERMOT trip

Part 23



If you liked the photos of the new naked Suzuki roadster that were crowding the internet a few months back you’re in for a treat. It looks much better in person and the blue paint job that was featured in the leaked internet postings isn’t nearly as good looking as the black and red paint scheme. This bike is also dripping with the cool features needed to make it a real alternative for the likes of BMW’s S1000R and Kawi’s z1000. Brembro brakes and ABS up front handle the braking and propulsion is furnished by a version of the long stroke GSXR-1000 engine from the mid 2000’s. One thing I really like about the way Suzuki is handling this is that the same bike is available with, or without a fairing. So, whether the buyer wants the wind protection or not Suzuki makes sure the lack of plastic isn’t a deal breaker.







They had a cool engine cut away showing the internals of the revamped long stroke engine from the older GSXR-1000. Looks like good stuff doesn’t it? I love engine cut aways.



I do think it’s clever that they have it available either with a fairing or not. The GSX-1000S is the naked bike. The GSX-1000F is faired. BMW is also following the exact same plan with their R1200R and R1200RS models also introduced at INTERMOT. I had to borrow a couple of internet shots of the faired bike as I didn't have a good one I took.

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 24

There were other things to see at the Suzuki stand. There was a new and bigger V-Strom that I failed to get a photo of. And there were a couple of what I would assume are concept bikes to show us they’re still dreaming up stuff.







There was also a glimpse of the new Suzy MotoGP racer. I’m sure there are still plenty of blank spots to be finished under that fairing. But reports of development so far seem promising with lap times about equal to mid-pack.




No fears for Suzuki’s future though. I spotted at least one enthusiastic future customer trying things out.



There was a German online shop that specializes in video cameras with a stand at the show. I spotted a very miniature video cam and stopped to talk about it with a very friendly and enthusiastic salesman. He sold me on the little thing, called the MycroCam, They aren’t sold in the US yet, which is too bad for you guys.I’m thinking about getting a couple of them since they are cheap enough that you can think in multiples.

The Mycro Cam is pretty amazing. For starters, it really is pretty microscopic.It’s smaller than a car key fob and only weighs 17 grams. Because it’s so small and light you can mount it places that would be impossible for a GoPro. And, it’s a lot cheaper than a GoPro, only 99 euro which is $128.62 at the bank on base today. It’s so small you can mount it on RC aircraft, the tail light of your bike, or on your dog. Pretty cool! Here’s the link to the shop that was selling them at the bike show.

http://www.cam-shop-online.com/Mycrocam/Mycrocam-720-HD.html





Stay tuned for part 25

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 25


Our next stop, and the last at this INTERMOT show, was the combined Moto Guzzi / Aprilia stand. Let’s look at the Moto Gooses first.

Here’s their half of the stand.




I really wanted to see the new V7 Moto Guzzis. The bike is a very niche item in the sense that it’s fairly old fashioned and not a real performance powerhouse.But, on the plus side, it’s good looking, oozes character, has an easy to live with shaft drive, and the engine is fairly robust if not particularly powerful. Any of the V7 series should be an easy bike to live with and it’d be something different. I think it compares most directly with the Triumph Bonneville and the boys from Hinckley manage to sell a lot of those. This version of the V7 is an exact counterpart to the Triumph Bonneville Thruxton model. It looks pretty good I think, but my wife, ever the practical realist, took one look and said it looked like a lot of polishing waiting to happen. She’s probably right but I still think it looks good.






It’s also available in other colour schemes and trim.





Stay tuned for part 26

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 26

Moto Guzzi also had their monster California cruiser at the show. The more I looked at it the better I liked it. I’ll confess, I’m not really a cruiser guy but the California looked pretty good to me. I particularly like the way to fuel tank wraps around the cylinder heads. It’s just a good looking bike.(I have to steal another press release phototo show you since the only photo I had of it had a display stand in the way.)



The view from the saddle emphasizes those two great big jugs sticking out to either side so you can admire your engine even while riding it. Like this:



I think this would be a great alternative to the run of the mill cruiser. And hey, it’s even still a big 1400cc V-Twin.

The other half of the stand was the Aprilia side.



Their big news was the 1200 Caponord adventure bike. And it really was BIG news because that thing seemed huge!






It has some clever features and some things that left me scratching my head in bewilderment. Things I liked were the big liquid cooled twin cylinder engine and clever wheel rims that had the spokes joining the rim outside of the tire mounting area so you have the strength of straight pull spokes and tubeless tires. I liked having things like cruise control and an adaptive shock as available options.What made me wonder was having the center stand as an option.That’s plainly nuts on an adventure bike which needs a center stand as an essential item.

Still, the Caponord is a serious attempt by Aprilia in perhaps the fastest growing market segment.

Stay tuned for part 27

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 27


That’s it for the photos from the motorcycle show. We left it late Saturday afternoon and were just about worn out. We checked into our hotel on the Rhine River near the old city and were just too pooped to even go out to eat. Fortunately, it turned out the hotel restaurant was pretty good and surprisingly featured Japanese food. Well! That worked just fine for us as we spent most of the last decade living in Japan. So, comforted by gyoza and tonkatsu and enjoying the really excellent beer we had a stay in night. I collapsed early as our day had started pretty early. But it was a really good day.

The next morning we made it to hotel restaurant for breakfast and then checked out to go explore Cologne. We parked right at the Cologne Cathedral, the Dom, in an underground parking garage under the Dom platz. Here’s a couple of shots showing the Domplatz and the Dom.





The Dom is magnificent and deeply impressive. It took over600 years to build and was only finished in 1880. The two spires are over 500 feet tall, just a little shorter than the Washington monument. In a pinch it can hold 6000 people for a service but normally seats 3000.

And, it’s nothing short of a miracle that it’s still standing. The city of Cologne was bombed many times during WW2 and was the first city subjected to a 1000 plane raid. The inner city was more than 90% destroyed and rebuilding their city took the citizens of Cologne the next 50 years, only finishing at the end of the 1980s. Here’s a shot fromthe end of the war to show you what I mean.





We wandered down towards the river as I wanted to check out the riverside park that had been installed since I was last in Cologne. On the way I encountered an angel.



That's Rose walking on by but I had to stop and look. The angel even spoke and suggested I take a photo…so I did. Then, smiling broadly,the angel stuck out her hand and asked for a tip. Somehow, that’s not how I thought these heavenly matters worked…

Stay tuned for part 28

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 28

Continuing to the park we saw a young fella making bubbles much to the delight of everyone in sight, young and old. He was really good at it.






You know, it must be very cool to make a little money doing something that is intrinsically quite fun, makes people smile, and make you the hero of every kid in sight. It even makes pretty girls smile at you. Sounds like a perfect job to me.



Stay tuned for part 29

[Chris]

INTERMOT Show

Part 29

Last Part

I walked on down the rivers edge to watch the traffic. Those huge river barges can carry about 150 40’containers and move up the rivers at a pretty good clip. We call them barges but anything 400 feet long and displacing five or six thousand tons is a ship really. Can you see the crews cars parked on the after deck?



Not all the river traffic is that big.




Leaving the river we walked towards St. Martin's passing some colorful houses.



St. Martin's is a parish church in the Romanesque style run by the Benidictine's. It too was almost completely destroyed in 1940s and was only reopened in the mid-1980s, over 40 years after its destruction. You can see the ruin in the 1945 photo I posted earlier. Look for the tower sticking up in front of the only bridge arch still above water. That's St. Martins...or what's left of it.



By early afternoon we needed to start thinking about heading home. First thing we needed to do wasgas up the Volvo.We found an Esso to get the cheaper BX gas rates. Filling up off base always makes me intensely grateful to not be paying German taxes which make up most of the difference between US and European gas prices. I pay $3.67 per gallon for E10 Regular gas. The German price is 7.37 per US gallon. As you can see, the 14.4 gallon fill up which cost me $52.88 would have cost a civilian $106.13. Whew! But as soon as I leave Germany I pay whatever the pump says so we don’t get out of it all the time.





I bet this guy at the next pump isn’t worried about what the gas prices are.



The ride home was a pain as we were tired and the trafficwas heavy with plenty of traffic snarls around the many constructions zones. Even with that we managed to makeit home in five and a half hours. This sign was at the end of yet another construction zone near Frankfurt but I’ll use it to close out this trip report. Loosely translated it reads “Bye and have a good drive.” Works for me.

[glib]

Thank you!!! Loved the trip. Great pictures. Makes me want to visit.