Tag Archives: 42063

42063 Technic BMW R 1200 GS Adventure | Review

Lego Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure Review

It’s time for another LEGO Set Review here at The Lego Car Blog! It’s big, it’s blue, and it’s an officially-licensed replica of an awesome real-world vehicle. OK, it isn’t that big blue officially-licensed Technic set, but it is quite an exciting product nonetheless.

BMW’s Motorrad division has made some mighty products over the years, from the ridiculous 200bhp S1000RR (until recently the fastest production motorbike in the world) to some of the finest long-distance adventure bikes ever made. It’s the latter LEGO have chosen for the 42063 set (although we hope an S1000RR will follow!), and since our Set Preview back in 2016 we’ve been itching to get our hands on it.

The R 1200 GS Adventure is BMW’s best-selling bike, and in TLCB’s home nation it’s the best selling bike, which seeing as we have no deserts or tundras to cross is somewhat of a surprise. LEGO must be hoping for a similar success, but does the 42063 set deserve it? Let’s find out…

Lego Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure Review

Containing 600 pieces 42063 joins LEGO’s ever expanding line-up of officially-licensed replica vehicles, a range that we think is the best decision LEGO have ever made. The instructions feature exactly 200 steps to turn a pile of blue, black and grey into an authentic replica of BMW’s desert-crossing motorbike.

Well, not just blue, black and grey, as like some of LEGO’s other recent Technic sets 42063 contains pins, connectors and axles in almost every possible colour. There’s even a brown one! This is to make finding said parts easier (with the side benefit that the instructions are clearer to read too), and it doesn’t impact too much on the finished aesthetic, but this TLCB Writer is from a time when every single Technic part was either black or grey, and he managed OK. What’s wrong with teaching kids perseverance?

Anyway, upon emptying all that lot on to the floor it seemed that around a third of the parts were black Technic connection pins, which may help to explain the decision above. In fact there are 123(!) of them, which we suspect might be the greatest ratio of pins to bricks of any Technic set ever.

As always the instructions are masterfully designed, combining single-part steps with more complicated sub-assemblies, and they make the building of 42063 both pretty fun and reasonably challenging too. There’s a 3-hole Technic beam printed with the 40th Anniversary of Technic decal (which is pretty pointless but a nice easter egg) and a cool-looking sticker sheet with a raft of BMW/GS/R1200 decals so there can be no mistaking what you’ve built.

Lego Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure Review

The build flows nicely and begins to look quite bikey fairly early on. As it progresses though that huge pile of black pins seems to hardly diminish at all, leading you to wonder what the hell they’re all for. Continue reading

Technic 40th Anniversary | Super Secret Set!

Lego Technic 40th Anniversary Car Chassis

Lego Technic is 40 years old this year! Launched in 1977 the Technic range took LEGO into a new world of technical detail, providing advanced construction for older children and adults alike, and bringing with it probably the largest range of new parts in the brand’s history.

It all kicked off with a simple car chassis, a ‘New Technical Set’, 853. The single most viewed page here at TLCB, 853 introduced rack and pinion steering, a working piston engine and an operable transmission to LEGO fans. Its success allowed LEGO to develop the theme and three years later the second generation car chassis was released, this time with LEGO’s first attempt at working suspension, 8860.

Despite being LEGO’s second Technic car chassis, 8860 is often thought of as the daddy of all Technic sets, paving the way for the series of Technic Supercars that followed (of which you can read more in the Set Review Library).

With the Technic theme turning 40 years old this year LEGO have decided to pay homage to one of their greatest products, giving builders the chance to recreate the iconic 1980 set using modern parts found in the 2017 Technic  range. Three sets, the superb-looking 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorbike, the 42061 Telehandler and the 42057 Ultralight Helicopter provide the pieces required, and building instructions are now available* for free online.

Such is the way with the advancement of technology, LEGO’s modern take on the classic 8860 set packs all the functions of the original into a more compact package, and features working steering, a 4-cylinder boxer engine, an operable transmission (which may well be the first since the 1980s not to use purpose-built gearbox parts) and functioning rear suspension. The design uses straight-forward pieces too, so many builders may be able to build it from parts found within their existing collection.

You can read our previews of the three sets that supply the full parts list to build the 40th Anniversary 8860 set via the links above, our review of the original set here, and you can create your very own 40th Anniversary set by clicking the link to the building instructions below.

Download building instructions here!

Lego Technic 40th Anniversary Set

*Thanks to a reader for the tip!