BMW Concept Roadster motorcycle

At this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, BMW Motorrad rolled up with something that – going off its name alone – might lead you to believe it’s a car. It’s not. It’s a motorcycle, and it’s called the BMW Concept Roadster. Quite why they chose such an ambiguous name is unknown, but then it does come from a company who now think that any car can be called a coupe.

The BMW Concept Roadster is a very pretty machine indeed. It’s designed to preview the future of boxer-engined BMW motorcycles. If that’s true, then BMW are onto a good thing. It’s a fairly simple bike, not too many gadgets or gimmicks. It’s powered by a 1,107 cc 2-cylinder boxer engine which produces a healthy 125 horsepower and 92 lb-ft of torque. The designers purposefully chose to paint the engine in a contrasting color to the white bodywork in order to provide a higher level of contrast and definition.

Up front, the BMW Concept Roadster motorcycle features a sporty and aggressive street-fighter style headlight unit which uses LED technology to allow for a flatter, cleaner design. This super skinny design is carried through to the seat unit, which is so thin it’s almost two-dimensional.

Throughout the bike, BMW’s designers have added bright paintwork to specific components in order to provide some flashes of color on an otherwise monochrome machine. The frame is picked out in electric blue, while the engine is protected by pads attached to the engine case sporting neon yellow “R”s. These protective pads were inspired by the knee pads of a one-piece racing suit.

BMW haven’t said whether or not there will be a production version of the BMW Concept Roadster. If they do press on with it, then there would clearly have to be a few changes, indicator lights, and a revised exhaust system are two obvious necessities. So far all the company have said regarding production is that the bike shows: “The aspirations of BMW Motorrad with regard to future generations of boxer-powered roadsters.”