Germany - April 2001 - BMW's Munich Headquarters
Travel has many pleasures. One of which is seeing things that are 'uncommon' or unique. Germany in particular for people interested in cars and motorcycles holds many surprises. This is never more true than when one is cruising the home towns of Germany's famous companies. Munich for BMW, Ingolstadt for Audi, Stuttgart for Porsche and so on.
You always can tell in Munich when you're getting close to the famous BMW headquarter building because you can see the OlympiaPark tower. At least this is how I navigate. The famous landmark building is the headquarters for BMWAG with the Motorcycle division offices located not too far away.
Video - BMW AG HQ and OlympiaPark tower Real MPEG
On my April trip to meet with BMW, I was not disappointed with the street scene outside of BMW's headquarters. There were a good selection of unique bikes including many C1s and this R1150GS rig with sidecar. I also took some cool pictures of the C1 (including a test) and snapped the photo of the Dakar Solo Seat (as well as brought one back to the US).
I don't yet own a sidecar rig but have found them fascinating since seeing them in countless WWII movies (BMW's R75). Someday soon, I'll undoubtedly become a sidecar owner but until then I only watch in amazement (and smile with anticipation).
This photo seems pretty plain but if you look closely you will
see that both riders are on F650GS Dakars with what was then the new and
unavailable (even in Europe) color scheme (red, white, blue). What I love about
hanging around BMW is that people are really into what they design and most
everybody rides. If you look closely as well you can see two BMW cars in the
background one being a fire/safety car and the other being a police (highway)
car - not bad rides for civil service.
This was taken in the parking lot across from BMW's executive offices. The parking situation around the factory and offices is nothing short of terrible. Typical European parking lot where people park 'orderly' but also try to fit in every last centimeter. The lot is not paved and if it rains you sometimes face huge puddles limiting your choices unless you brought a pair of fishing boots.
I found this KTM bicycle in the parking lot and had to smile at the irony of it all. Funny to think that somebody who works at BMW rides a KTM bicycle to work - and this being in the main lot right across from the headquarters. Perhaps this is because I always make sure to get a BMW rental car when visiting BMW - but anyways here is the KTM 'bike' in it's place.