The introductions of the new R1200 RT and the R1200 ST were accompanied by mixed reactions from many observers. I went on record as saying that I felt somewhat underwhelmed about the new styling directions that BMW had chosen. In addition, the new K1200 S initially left me cool.

I also stated that I realized that this initial response might change over time. That time would tell.

The new designs of the R1200 RT and R 1200 ST represented not evolutions of previous models, but radical departures. At that time, I admitted that it may have had something to do with the fact that it was very different from what I had expected.

If there's one thing that I’ve learned from personal experience, it’s that you sometimes warm up to radically new designs over a period of time. This is true for any type of product. In other words, the design may be more advanced than your current frame of reference. As your frame of reference grows, the design that you initially found less appealing becomes more appealing.

Designers live and breathe design. As such, they live with a frame of reference that is much more evolved than the average consumer. The challenge in establishing new design benchmarks is not an easy one. The average consumer will be more comfortable with a design that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. This will provide less challenge to the established frame of reference and allow it to stretch or grow gradually. A revolutionary design smashes this frame of reference and replaces it with a new one. This is where resistance is generally felt. Of course, sometimes a design is just not successful.

I remember distinct examples of this with certain products where I initially didn't really understand where the designers were going with a concept and what they were thinking when they brought it to life. It seemed to me that they had destroyed the previously good design and replaced it with something that I didn’t fully understand.

And then over time I came to see the logic of it and found myself really liking them. It's just that they were initially too different from my expectations and frame of reference. So my frame of reference had to catch up with the design.

Well, it happened again. In the same way that a ferrous particle is inexorably drawn to a magnet, slowly at first but progressively more rapidly as the distance shortens, I found the design of the R1200 RT and that of the R1200 ST to grow on me over time. And riding them put a clincher on it.