MOBILITY/MOTORCYCLE: BMW Concept Path 22 – The expression of freedom.
Munich/BiarritzFrom 11-14 June 2015, the Wheels & Waves Festival celebrated the unique meeting of custom bikes, surfing and art on the beach of Biarritz for the fourth time. The festival stands for joy and the uncomplicated togetherness of people who come together in a unique atmosphere to express a lifestyle of freedom and individuality. In this special setting, BMW Motorrad presented the BMW interpretation of a scrambler to the world public for the first time: the BMW Concept Path 22.
Expression of an attitude to life.
The first scramblers from the 1950s were modified street machines that were made suitable for off-road riding with chunky tyres, slightly more suspension travel and a high-mounted exhaust. This led to the characteristic appearance that became the symbol of an attitude. „Nothing suits Wheels & Waves better than a scrambler. A scrambler is the epitome of a motorbike beyond established standards and conventions. Performance data are uninteresting, style and originality are all the more important. The Scrambler stands for passion and is as diverse as its owners. The Concept Path 22 is our interpretation based on the R nineT. It offers the ideal basis for a scrambler conversion,“ explains Edgar Heinrich, Head of BMW Motorrad Design.
Cooperation with Southsiders MC, Ornamental Conifer and Dyer Brand.
The BMW Concept Path 22 is the result of a collaboration that extends far beyond the motorbike. On the initiative of the organisers of Wheels & Waves, the motorbike club Southsiders MC, led by their member Vincent Prat, BMW Motorrad invited the artist Ornamental Conifer and the surfboard manufacturer Dyer Brand to jointly design the BMW Concept Path 22. „Based on our Scrambler interpretation, we wanted to give the special mix of people and cultures at Wheels & Waves a canvas of sorts. We found exactly the right partners for this. The BMW Concept Path 22 embodies everything that makes up the people, the festival and the attitude to life behind Wheels & Waves,“ Edgar Heinrich continues. That’s why the BMW Scrambler interpretation appears in front of the visitors of the Wheels & Waves Festival in a customised paint job and with specially designed leather jackets by Ornamental Conifer as well as two exclusively manufactured surfboards by Dyer Brand. Together, they reflect all facets of the creative and ever-growing scene that gathers annually for Wheels & Waves.
The name „Path 22“ refers to one of the insider tips among the surf spots in Europe. This special stretch of beach is inaccessible to cars on the Atlantic coast of southern France, a half-hour walk through one of the largest pine forests in Europe. The path leading to this spot is number 22.
The motorbike – The Expression of Freedom.
„The BMW Concept Path 22 stands for freedom – for freedom in thought, as well as in the expression of this thought. Whatever you like is allowed, just like at the Wheels & Waves Festival. The Concept Path 22 is based on the BMW R nineT, which for us is the epitome of a custom bike. You want to and should modify it and individualise it according to your own ideas. Therefore, the idea of a BMW Scrambler is not new to us. Now seemed like the right time to present our interpretation of this legendary vehicle concept,“ says Ola Stenegard, Head of BMW Motorrad Vehicle Design. At the heart of the BMW Concept Path is a powerful two-cylinder boxer engine with cardan drive, typical of BMW. As is customary for BMW, the single-sided swingarm provides a view of the five-spoke rear wheel. The rest of the motorbike is just as unobtrusive. The classic round headlight, the tank and a short seat provide clear, agile proportions. The bodywork ends visually above the rear wheel hub, promising playful handling. Typical scrambler features such as lugged tyres, a larger front wheel, slightly longer suspension travel and a high-mounted exhaust allow the bike to move forward effortlessly on gravel or sand. At the same time, these elements make for a striking appearance. It shows at first glance what you can experience with the BMW Concept Path 22.
Driving pleasure in its most pristine form.
The BMW Concept Path 22 is minimal to the maximum. Every shape, every surface has a function. Yet every detail is as much an expression of aesthetics as it is of craftsmanship. In addition to the rustic elements such as the lugged tyres or the protective grille in front of the headlight, high-quality details such as the quilted leather seat, the grips also inlaid with leather or the tailpipes made of stainless steel in the typical scrambler style from Akrapovic set exclusive accents. High-performance parts from Öhlins and Gilles Tooling, sophisticated solutions such as the turn signals integrated into the handlebar ends and the instrument cluster from MotoGadget, as well as milled parts in contrasting colours from Roland Sands Design underline the high quality standards in detail. The aluminium wheels, which are also milled in contrasting colours, are exclusively manufactured by BMW Motorrad and round off the minimalist appearance in a high-quality way. All parts of the concept bike are necessary essence, at the same time they offer the best possible quality. In this way, the BMW Concept Path 22 perfects the art of reduction and returns to the essence of motorcycling: the unity of man and machine.
Artwork by Ornamental Conifer.
Riding the Waves – Boards by Dyer Brand.
A special highlight of the BMW Concept Path 22 is the surfboard holder on the right-hand side. Specially developed by BMW Motorrad, it is just as minimalist, functional and high-quality as the bike itself. Made only of aluminium profiles and leather, it is highly variable and can adapt to different board sizes. When not in use, it disappears into the silhouette of the bike or can simply be removed. The matching boards for the surfboard holder were made by none other than shaper luminary Mason Dyer from Dyer Brand in San Diego. He is famous for his high-quality custom boards, which find their inspiration in the 1950s and 1960s. He made two custom boards exclusively for the BMW Concept Path 22: a longboard (9’4) as a reminiscence of the time when the scrambler was created and a shortboard (6’8) for the demands of modern surfers.
The graphic design of the bike, jackets and surfboards is an expression of individuality and creativity. Each one is unique in its own right, they refer to each other in terms of colour and complement each other. Each element thus retains its independence and at the same time underlines the core of Wheels & Waves: celebrating differences together.
BRAND: BMW AG
virtualdesignmagazine Michael Hiller
