It is an open secret that BMW Motorrad has been working on a bagger version of the K1600 for quite some time now. Now though, the German bike manufacturer has given us the first official glimpse of how the final production luxury tourer will look like, in the form of Concept 101.
The Concept 101 derives its name from the Highway 101, which is a stone’s throw away from the BMW design studio in Southern California, where the motorcycle was developed. The Cocnept 101 gets a completely restyled fairing, which gets a few remarkable touches like wooden veneer and carbon fibre inserts. The chromed dual exhaust pipes get a very unique three tip design and complement the rest of the bike’s aluminium bodywork. Based on the standard K1600, the Concept 101 comes with the 1,649cc inline six-cylinder engine, which produces 158bhp and 175Nm of torque.
Speaking about the Concept 101, Mr Edgar Heinrich, head of BMW Motorrad Design said, “The Concept 101 opens up a new chapter in the history of our concept bikes. It is the BMW Motorrad interpretation of endless highways and the dream of freedom and independence – the perfect embodiment of ‘American touring’. To me, the Concept 101 is the epitome of elegance, power and luxury on two wheels.”
Camouflaged test mules of the BMW K1600 Bagger have been spotted quite a few times now, though the German manufacturer hasn’t yet divulged any details about the bike’s official launch date. Big bagger motorcycles have a huge following in the American market, where the Honda Gold Wing-based F6B has been the sole contender in this lucrative segment so far. Now though, BMW seems be quite intent on carving out a piece of this lucrative segment, which has been dominated by the Gold Wing for a very long time. We can expect the production version of the Concept 101 to go sale by the first half of next year.
