What kind of motorcycles would you like to be riding in the future and can you have a say in deciding this? BMW Motorrad wants you to take part in its first Innovation Contest and submit your creative ideas online.

Psychologist Thomas Hirschmann is running this scientific study that he hopes will influence the future design and functionality of the motorcycles that we - and perhaps even our children - will be riding in the years ahead. The PHD student, who has already completed several projects for BMW, wants to gather data that will help determine our future mobility needs and desires, and with the support of BMW Motorrad, is hoping to gain insight into the wants and needs of riders all over the world.

By visiting www.bmwmotorrad-innovationcontest.com viewers can submit their ideas and drawings of what they believe the perfect motorcycle of the future should look like and how it should function. As a special incentive, there is also the opportunity for entrants to win up to 3,000 Swiss Francs. There has already been a fantastic response to the contest -  especially in Germany and Switzerland,- with hundreds of entries received to date, but Thomas is interested in what the rest of the world thinks so wants to hear the views of motorcycle fans in all countries.

"To date, we have had nearly 500 ideas submitted, mainly from Germany, which show a real passion, interest and excitement for the kind of machines we're going to be riding in the future. We have already held 'workshops' in Switzerland, as well as in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, which have been very successful in generating some fantastic ideas. People are also able to comment and 'rate' the ideas that have been submitted online, and as the site is available in English language, we are welcoming creative ideas from all countries."

The contest is open until July 17, after which Thomas will be taking the ideas to the next level and asking the community to develop the best ideas further into specific concepts which will be presented to the development department of BMW Motorrad to hopefully be put into reality.

To be able to do this the community will be asked to rate their best ideas until the end of the idea stage. Also, the full idea list will be presented to motorcycle experts from BMW to evaluate and assess all ideas. By the end of the idea stage, after July 17, the best (probably 10 to 20) ideas will be awarded cash prizes.

For people who are interested in not only winning this first stage of the contest but also being part of the realization process of some of the ideas, there will be the possibility to work on a planning and concept stage for the most successful ideas. A panel of experts, including several from BMW Motorrad's design and engineering departments, will be available as 'mentors' for self-organized teams from the contest community, assisting the participating members in developing as realistic and promising as possible concepts for BMW to put into reality.

Some participants are already forming teams with their friends and distributing roles in these concept developing teams, e.g. for chief engineer, chief financial officer, art and design director and so forth. Of course, the teams with the best concepts will also be granted prizes, which will eventually be even more attractive than the pure cash prizes in the idea stage (details will be communicated shortly online at the idea site).

For Thomas however, his biggest regret is that he is not allowed to enter the competition himself, but he is looking forward to seeing many more ideas roll in from all over the world.

"As this is my project, I am obviously unable to take part, but so far I have been extremely encouraged by the interest in this scientific study. Some of the ideas already put forward have been very promising, while others have come from a more subjective direction. We've also received some big ideas in the field of alternative propulsion systems, so the only limit really is people's imagination. With the new S 1000 RR superbike, BMW Motorrad is clearly already pushing the boundaries of design and performance, so who knows what we'll be riding in the future?"

Your ideas can be submitted online at www.bmwmotorrad-innovationcontest.com where you can also view and comment on other ideas. For some, the future is about environmental credentials, affordability, sustainability, mechanical simplicity and security, while for others the overriding factors range from performance, individual engine sound characteristics and lifestyle enhancers, to special plug-ins, hybrid systems and all-inclusive 'pay as you go' public transport alternatives.

Remember, all the fantastic motorcycles we enjoy riding had to start life somewhere, perhaps as an idea 'doodled' in a work diary during a boring meeting. Don't let yours get away...

https://www.atizo.com/projects/ideaproject/24/detail/