Refinement in the Marketplace
Initially written in 2009, this post has been updated to reflect how BMW Motorcycles continues to refine its GS motorcycle. Few companies have been able to balance refining iconic offerings without compromising what made a product great in the first place. The R1300GS represents the most significant change to the model in over a decade. Yet, despite many new features, safety technologies, and technical improvements, it remains familiar, exemplary, and true to its core.
Companies passionate about their offerings can be found to continually improve their products or services openly in the marketplace. Take the BMW GS line of motorcycles. A few years ago, BMW was positioned to hold in place with the design of arguably the finest adventure touring motorcycle. And yet, the company continued listening to riders and dealers. Each year, they made subtle and not-so-subtle ergonomic, stylistic, and performance enhancements as they refined the GS line. To be sure, some years brought more refinements than others, but overall, the pace of refinement was notable. Despite all of the refinements, BMW managed to reduce the weight of the GS as well, which is evidence of another noteworthy trait. The ability to balance principled design thinking with passion. In this case, they enthusiastically introduced new refinements while holding themselves to what is undoubtedly one of their core principles of "rideability."
The R1150GS benefitted from many refinements since release of the first R1000GS was launched in 1993
The R1300GS represents the pinnacle in the adventure bike class for 2023.
2024 BMW R1300GS Trophy Edition
As an update and evidence of continued refinement in the market, BMW released the 2024 R1300GS with a revised frame that significantly reduces overall weight, new signature lighting, and new safety features, including adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, and an automatic SOS call feature if the bike goes down. This is further evidence of refinement in the market from a leadership position.
R1150 GS Adventure
R1200GS Adventure
R1250GS Adventure
R1300GS
(Note: Models not shown to scale)
This kind of subtle improvement year-over-year impresses and inspires. The beauty of it is that companies can find themselves with loyal, secure followers if they stick to it. They know that changes in the product will be well thought out and align with their passions.
The BMW GS series had a signature dual-lamp headlight system for years
The R1300GS breaks convention with a new headlight and an adaptive cruise control sensor mounted above it
Once an offering reaches a certain level of success, it is often all too easy to hold off on further refinement due to economic pressures or a paralyzing fear of not wanting to "mess with success." Companies like BMW remain committed to constant product improvement guided by underlying design principles, allowing them to refine their motorcycles while continuing to succeed in the marketplace. The R1300GS has launched to nearly universal praise as a significant improvement over the outgoing model and yet familiar, allowing it to stay atop increasingly compelling competitive offerings. This shows just how vital both passion for riding and design thinking are in their culture.
As they nurture an offering, they can take comfort in the fact that they will be able to look back at a series of world-class offerings that, taken together as a whole, leave a more significant impression on the marketplace than many initially hot-selling offerings that either are innovated past by their creators or fade into obscurity over time due to a lack of persistence in the marketplace.
One can see a similar balance of passion and principled design thinking with Apple's iPhone refinement. The experience of the original iPhone translated mainly seamlessly into the 3G unit even as impressive new features were introduced, including location awareness enhancements. This evolution occurs smoothly from model to model because new features are left to be discovered in the context of use. Prompts for the iPhone to use location services are initially encountered naturally within the maps application, leaving users with a pleasant discovery at a moment of maximum emotional potential rather than burdening them with some extended step-by-step setup wizard sequence. Similar moments of delight are undoubtedly experienced by GS riders when they realize while at freeway riding speeds that they have a sixth gear they can shift to.
Some variation has occurred between the original iPhone and the iPhone 15 but the product has mainly stayed true to its core offering and user interface
In an era when innovation is constantly touted as the way forward, we should recognize that incremental refinement has merits, mainly when it generates a loyal following and gives users the confidence to join a rewarding ride.
Of course, another fine example of iterating and refining a design in the market is the often-referenced Porsche 911. The vehicle’s performance has come a long way, but the core visual elements
