A Serious Rant on Buttons By Dubmark

It is a truth universally accepted that motorcycles are expensive.  The higher up the luxury ladder and engine size they progress, the more the price rises geometrically.  The price brings commensurate luxury and toys.  Some useful like cruise control and some not so useful like showers and ashtrays.  My pet hate is directed entriely at BMW's.  The model in particular is the "Range".  Particulary the buttons and the switch gear.  For motorcycles dripping in luxury, the quality and the feel of the buttons on BMW's is sadly lacking.  Switches and entire switch units were replaced on my previous RT........twice.  The short version of the problem is they just refused to work.  Particulary dangerous in one case as the indicators refused to cancel. 

When I spend the national debt of Poland on a motorcycle I expect Tonka Toy quality on the switch gear.  Man switch gear.  Proper buttons that have a noticeable clunk quality, a positive click when activated and that look like hairy chested man ape riders would be proud of.  Not an Airfix type plastic button for some unrecognisable gender fluid limp wristed stick to the speed limit scooter rider.  The BMW switches look like they were melted down and recycled from an old plastic model kit found lying in Mick's attic.  The buttons have all the feel and feedback of Admiral Nelson's empty eye socket and they are mounted in a loose fashion on the handlebars.

Recently my good friend Paul decided to equip himself with a Yamaha FJR.  I am not going to do a full review of the bike but suffice it to say, it is a fantastic machine but I will do a brief review of the buttons.  They fit nicely and operate properly under the fat thumb of a rain soaked glove and you have the feedback that screams, I got this, message understood, aye aye sir.

The RT equivalent is not so easy to operate, assuming you can find it on the handlebar at all.  They look and feel like Haribo miniture fried eggs and some decent flatulence would wipe them out for good.  I am a biker.  I like to feel something solid in my hand.  BMW, please please please open the wallet and get some navy with a shovel to lorry some proper buttons on the handlebars.

Yamaher FJR Buttons and Switchgear.

BMW Buttons.

Dubmark