Meet the people who built your bike

[Duane Ausherman]

This time I watched the whole video. I was able to recognize/remember many of the procedures shown.

If that was a wobble test, it can't work in any way. You could see the compression of the forks to make sure that they would move. That is one of the several tests that I brought up to the engineers as faulty. We stopped the production line only once for me to show something.

When I finished the 3 hour tour of the assembly line, I was amazed that the bike even worked as well as it did.

I showed them the mistake in wire routing and the proof of it in the frame stampings at the rear brake switch. They believed me as they could see it and "hadn't noticed it" but they never corrected it in all those years later. We had to fix all of them as they came out of the crate. It was only a few minutes wasted.

[khittner1]

And then BMWNA shortened the guest list to the Western region's holiday party? . . .

[Sibbo]

Bamboo that was just awesome. Coming from a guy that worked in an auto assembly plant in 1969. That pin striping was amazing! Thank you.

It was ! More pin striping .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZppD-vrGK0

[Sibbo]

and a pretty good painter on a BeeM tank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuvF5wOIzRM

[The Veg]

That was pretty cool!

For comparison, here's some 2014 footage. The bikes are much higher-tech now, but you might be surprised how much assembly is still done by hand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWA9vrxhyE

A bit more technology is used in the engine-manufacturing. This one is incorrectly titled; it is actually the R1200 boxer assembly not the S1000:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD6kGafB2to

[b25bsaboy]

Something for the /5 and /6 owners. It's in French, worth a look see. http://www.ina.fr/video/CAA93053907

Thank you for sharing this with the masses!

Rick MacPherson
1968 BSA Starfire
1976 BMW R75/6
2009 BMW R1200RT
Retired.

[dwerbil]

More assembly fun, at a snail's pace. 2,000,000th one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHY_MT2pNLc