F850GS / F800GS / F750GS / F700GS / F650GS Twin pics

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Complete that slick look Matt: powder coat the skidplate & tailrack black and tint that screen dark.

Looks cool either way though.

Someone was selling a BMW skid plate that had been powder coated black in the Flea Market.

And if you really want to take it over the top, black out those blue roundel propellor sweeps.
(thats what they are btw, for those who don't know, an airplane propellor in the sky). BMW trivia:
Do you know why ?

The BMW logo evolved from the Rapp-Motorenwerke logo, used by a former bicycle factory founded in 1913 near Munich. Karl Rapp began manufacturing his own aircraft engines because of his proximity to the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik who were building aeroplanes in Milbertshofen. After Rapp left the company was taken over the Austrian Franz Josef Popp in 1917, and named BMW AG in 1918. Around that time the BMW roundel developed pretty much to the shape/colour we now know and love, allegedly based on the inspiration of looking through a revolving aeroplane propellor toward the Bavarian "chequered" sky.

Controversy:

One version of the &#8216;sky blue and white checker box&#8217; BMW logo myth connects it with a shining silver/white rotating propeller that the engineers of BMW were working on. The other relates the BMW logo to Bavaria as the place where the products of the company are manufactured and with the national colors of Bavaria (sky blue and white).





The SHINING PROPELLER Theory:

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The current BMW logo is said to be inspired from the circular design of a rotating aircraft propeller. The white and blue checker boxes are supposed to be a stylized representation of a white/silver propeller blade spinning against a clear blue sky. The theory is further strengthened with the statement that the image has its origins in World War I in which the Bavarian Luftwaffe flew planes painted in blue and white. It also reflects the origins of BMW as a military aircraft engine maker during WWI and the belief that BMW started as an aero engine manufacturer. According to the company&#8217;s journal, &#8220;BMW Werkzeitschrift&#8221; (1942), the BMW logo emerged when a BMW engineer was testing the company&#8217;s first 320 bhp engine. He admired the reflection of the shining disc of the rotating propeller that radiated like an aura of two silver cones. In between the two cones, the blue from the sky shined that made the &#8216;rotating propeller into four areas of color &#8211; silver and blue&#8217;. The engineer, who envisioned this image, also saw three letters &#8211; B M W &#8211; reflected on the propeller. Thus, the BMW logo was born. However, according to a BMW spokesperson, the BMW logo does not symbolize a spinning propeller (although the imagery did appear in post-WWI advertisements). On other note, this statement is considered by many as merely a bogus claim made by the company to give a logical explanation to the public about the BMW logo&#8217;s creation. In fact, the first BMW aero-engine test took place in March 1918 &#8211; six months after the BMW logo had been created. Additionally, the founding myth of the BMW logo, the propeller, was a component of the engine that was never manufactured by BMW.





The BAVARIAN FLAG Theory:





For BMW, it was &#8216;a happy coincidence&#8217; that the BMW logo symbolized the Bavarian flag colors and represented the company&#8217;s origin. When the BMW logo was first created, it was prohibited by the Trademark Act to feature &#8216;national coats of arms or other symbols of national sovereignty&#8217; in a trademark. This led the BMW marketers to come up with a solution of &#8216;incorrectly configuring the color elements in the BMW logo from a heraldic perspective&#8217;, while also keeping its relationship with Bavaria evident.





Conclusion:

There is every reason to conclude that the BMW logo was created to signify the company&#8217;s origin &#8211; Bavaria as the BMW production site. And despite growing hype about the true meaning of the logo design, the BMW logo has become one of the world&#8217;s most recognized symbols that exemplifies class, personality and sophistication.

Cause that's what BMW used to before turning into the motorcycle market, airplane engines.

I bet it would look great in yellow and black by the way.... with a black screen.... then again, that's to much trouble for a bike that will be covered in dirt/mud most of the time, why bother?
Looks great though

Cheers

OK, now, why do they no longer make airplane engines ?

and no google help !

Um, because the Germans lost WWI, and the Versailles Treaty forced them to disarm?

Just a semi-edumacated guess.

David

Plan on the black skid plate, as for the rack its covered by a black pelican 1450. I might look into blacking out the forks sometime also.

You are correct Dave, and since your from Oregon did you know the U.S. & the greatest generation ever for sure, won the war mostly because of the Grand Coulee Dam ?
Thats a fact. But I have this wondering off topic.

You've wandered out of Oregon too, Frank. The Grand Coulee Dam is in Washington!

Here you go, back in Oregon, and back on topic:



David

relatively close.

On topic and in Canada:

Could not disagree more. Only thing I might do differently would be to make the "GS" in dark grey. And I like the idea of blacking out the forks too. That would look really good.

Looks like the security was pretty lax at the border...

I must say, that was one hellva trip.

Loving all the latest pic's, keep em coming

OK DP, I'll bite, as a history buff, I'm all ears.

Talk about one of the sweeeeetest bikes in hundreds of pages, sigh... I want it!