[Trex]

Let's not forget that regarding the roundel, blue and white are the colors of Bavaria.

As far as engine design moving from aircraft to motorcycles, I think it was a matter of a form follows function mentality. BMW knew how to make reliable aircraft engines and they understood the advantages of an air cooled engine. The transfer of that design was easy enough for a motocycle and there was the added bonus of a good dose of over engineering. Not just over engineering in design, but I imagine that materials used and methods of manufacturing were very advanced for a motorcycle at that time. That meant a motorcycle that, in a sense, was not measured by miles but hours of use. That engineering craft that was brought over to the BMW motocycles certainly allowed them to hold on to a great reputation for reliablity.

A quick run through Google should get a list of books and articles detailing the alliance between aircraft and motorcycle engineers in those early years.

Just as an aside, the sales side of high engineering always commands a premium. BMWs (cars or motos) were never cheap because they were never cheaply built. Take a look at the sea change that Mercedes went through in the early 90s. Up until around 1993, the engineers ran Mercedes and they defined their goals and built the car accordingly and you marked the car up from there to sell it. Then it all changed. The marketers were in charge. You set a price point and subtracted what went to the dealer and subtracted what went to the parent company and then you built the car to that wholesale price level.

Anyone notice the complaints the last few years about things not working properly on Benzes?

More importantly, are the engineers in charge at BMW? Anyone notice a new marketing strategy for BMW? Hey, anyone notice a new marketing strategy for the BMW MOA (read the new editors comments in the latest BMW ON)?

What a time we live in. Earlier today the exact time was 123456. And Nortons are coming back.

Perhaps, it is the best of all possible worlds.