The next generation of the popular GS series from BMW Motorrad has been spotted testing in Germany, with what is being touted as the 2023 BMW R1300GS.
Featured in spy photos run that are being run in Italian, German, and even American publications, the new GS is a fairly sizable departure from the BMW R1250GS that we know and love.
Another year, and another April Fools Day is done and dusted, and this year’s affair was far less somber than 365 days ago, though the offerings on display in 2021 show a poor result from the motorcycling community.
Since Asphalt & Rubber is still on double-secret probation with Harley-Davidson for last year’s story, we decided to double-down on the Bar & Shield brand for this go-around. What are they going to do? Un-invite us from even more press launches this year? Pfft…
Our efforts saw us making an OnlyFans account for Harley-Davidson, paired with a story about how the folks in Milwaukee were using the pay-to-play content-creator site to reach a younger audience, all in a bid to turn the tide on their falling sales.
The whole thing is mostly an excuse to photoshop some sweet captions, and to make about half a dozen dick jokes at the expense of one of America’s most iconic brands. Such is the petty nature of motorcycle journalists.
That BMW Motorrad is working on a bagger version of its R18 cruiser is perhaps not new information. The bike has been spied in a variety of ways by the eager eyes of the two-wheeled press.
Today though is our first teasing of its existence from the German brand though, as the company let slip in its yearly report that BMW Motorrad would soon be showing this new “touring” model to the world.
By all fair accounts, BMW Motorrad’s sales drop in 2020 (the first in nine years) should still be considered a positive result considering the circumstances, though perhaps not quite the extent that BMW’s press release would lead you to believe.
This is because the German brand is busy spinning its 2020 motorcycle sales figures with a full-court press, including the caveat that 2020 was the second-best sales result in BMW Motorrad’s history (which they are), though the success of BMW Motorrad varies greatly by region.
BMW Motorrad has had no shortage of factory-backed custom motorcycle builds involving the BMW R18.
The giant air-cooled cruiser may have debuted with a retro vibe, but the Germans have been busy trying to build the platform’s street cred as a robust platform for customization.
Enter here the “Spirit of Passion” BMW R18 by Kingston Custom, which takes things full loop with a distinct vintage feel that included a dustbin front fairing that brings an art deco feel to the motorcycle.
As we saw with the Ducati Motor Holding’s sales report from earlier today, 2020 was an obviously tough year for the motorcycle industry, and that trend continues with the BMW Motorrad’s results for the year.
In its preliminary report on the BMW Group’s annual sales, the German brand quotes that it sold 169,272 motorcycles and scooters to customers in 2020.
Despite BMW Motorrad spinning this as its second-best sales year ever, this number of bikes sold is a 3.4% drop compared to 2019’s sales volume, and it is the first time in nine years that sales for BMW Motorrad have not grown.
The BMW M1000RR was one of the surprise new bike announcements this year, as it takes the BMW S1000RR superbike package, and cranks it to 11.
This winged homologation special will be the platform that Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark will use on the factory BMW squad next year (along with Jonas Folger and Eugene Laverty, who will appear on two separate satellite teams).
BMW Motorrad is already playing around with the idea of its electric future, teasing us with electric scooters and fancy futuristic concepts that practically ride themselves, but what if the company’s future actually rested in its past?
Take for instance this electric sidecar concept by Spanish transportation design student Iago Valiño. Drawing off-road inspiration from the El Solitario troupe, the concept is a nod to BMW’s sidecars from the WWII era, but with an obviously modern flare.
The WorldSBK will see more diversity on its grid next season, as two satellite BMW squads will race in 2021, in addition to the factory effort.
Those two teams are the RC Squadra Corse team from Italy and the Bonovo Action team from Germany. Both squads will have only one rider, but they both will use the new BMW M1000RR superbike platform for their racing needs.
An easy bike to predict for a 2021 debut, the BMW S1000R has just debuted from the German brand. As such, the 2021 BMW S1000R is the streetfighter cousin to the current generation BMW S1000RR, which means it boasts a new engine and chassis.
Another year, another electric scoot concept from BMW Motorrad – as one colleague put it.
He has a point, for how much BMW Motorrad talks about the future of mobility (it’s been close to a decade now), and how that future relies on electric vehicles, the German brand has been painfully slow in its attempts to bring an electric scooter to market.