MOBILITY/MOTORCYCLES: BMW Concept Path 22 – The expression of freedom.
Munich/Biarritz. From 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, a festival that 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 road bikes that were made suitable for off-road riding with chunky tyres, slightly more suspension travel and a raised exhaust. This led to the characteristic appearance that came to symbolise an attitude. „Nothing suits Wheels & Waves better than a scrambler. A scrambler is the epitome of a motorbike that goes beyond established standards and conventions. Performance data is 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 goes far beyond the motorbike. On the initiative of the organisers of Wheels & Waves, the motorbike club Southsiders MC, and above all its member Vincent Prat, BMW Motorrad invited the artist Ornamental Conifer and the surfboard manufacturer Dyer Brand to design the BMW Concept Path 22 together. „Based on our Scrambler interpretation, we wanted to give the special mix of people and cultures at Wheels & Waves a kind of canvas. We found exactly the right partners for this. The BMW Concept Path 22 embodies everything that characterises the people, the festival and the attitude to life behind Wheels & Waves,“ continues Edgar Heinrich. The BMW Scrambler interpretation will therefore be presented to visitors to the Wheels & Waves Festival in a customised paint finish and with specially designed leather jackets from Ornamental Conifer and two exclusively manufactured surfboards from Dyer Brand. Together they reflect all facets of the creative and constantly growing scene that gathers every year at Wheels & Waves.
The name „Path 22“ refers to one of the insider tips among surfing spots in Europe. This special stretch of beach is inaccessible to cars on the southern French Atlantic coast, half an hour’s walk through one of the largest pine forests in Europe. The path that leads 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. That’s why the idea of a BMW scrambler is nothing 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 centre of the BMW Concept Path is a powerful two-cylinder boxer engine with cardan drive, typical for BMW. As usual with BMW, the single-sided swingarm provides a clear view of the five-spoke rear wheel. The rest of the motorbike is just as unobstructed. The classic round headlights, the tank and a short seat ensure clear, manoeuvrable proportions. The bodywork ends visually above the rear wheel hub and thus promises playful handling. Typical scrambler features such as knobbly tyres, a larger front wheel, slightly longer suspension travel and a raised exhaust allow the bike to move forward effortlessly on gravel or sand. At the same time, these elements ensure a striking appearance. It shows at first glance what you can experience with the BMW Concept Path 22.
Driving pleasure in its most original form.
The BMW Concept Path 22 is maximally minimal. Every shape, every surface has a function. Every detail is an expression of both aesthetics and craftsmanship. In addition to the rustic elements such as the studded tyres or the protective grille in front of the headlight, high-quality details such as the quilted leather seat, the handles, which are also covered in leather, or the stainless steel tailpipes in the typical Akrapovic scrambler style set exclusive accents. High-performance parts from Öhlins and Gilles Tooling, ingenious solutions such as the indicators 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 the details. The aluminium wheels, also milled in a contrasting colour, are exclusively manufactured one-off pieces from BMW Motorrad and round off the minimalist design of the high-quality appearance. All parts of the concept bike are a necessary essence, while at the same time offering the best possible quality. The BMW Concept Path 22 thus perfects the art of reduction and returns to the original essence of motorcycling: the unity of man and machine.
Artwork by Ornamental Conifer.
The BMW Concept Path 22’s headlamp cover, tank and mudguards bear the artwork of Ornamental Conifer, also known as Nico Sclater. He has long been part of the Wheels & Waves movement and co-founder of the scene’s graphic identity. Stylised lettering and graphic ornaments play a central role in his work. The look of his typography is characterised by short statements full of wit and depth. In addition to his work on vehicles, signs and windows, Nico Sclater is particularly famous for his graphic embellishments on leather jackets. In addition to the special paintwork for the concept bike, he also designed several exclusive BMW leather jackets, each one unique.
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 solely from aluminium profiles and leather, it is highly variable and can be adapted to different board sizes. When not in use, it disappears into the silhouette of the bike when folded up 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 produced 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 bikes, jackets and surfboards is an expression of individuality and creativity. Each one is unique in its own right, and they relate to each other in terms of colour and complement each other. Each element thus retains its independence and at the same time emphasises the core of Wheels & Waves: celebrating the differences together.
BRAND: BMW AG
virtualdesignmagazine Michael Hiller
