A bike that we knew we would see at the 2019 EICMA show, it didn’t surprise us when the BMW S1000XR rolled onto the stage in Milan, but we are certainly glad that we saw it.
Based off the new BMW S1000RR platform, the 2020 BMW S1000XR takes that superbike DNA, and puts it into an adventure-sport format.
This means long-travel suspension, plenty of wind protection, all the damn farkles, and the horsepower to get it all there with a smile on your face.
If you own a 2020 BMW S1000RR, you should pay attention to this recall from BMW Motorrad, as the new superbike may have an oil leak from its oil cooler hoses.
In total, just 416 motorcycles are affected in the United States, which interestingly is the total number of S1000RR machines sold in the American market thus far this year.
The new bike season is starting to heat up, and the zenith is only a few weeks away. I am of course talking about the EICMA show in Milan.
As such, the Germans are gearing up for a big show in Italy this year, with an all-new booth design, and more importantly, four new motorcycles to showcase.
We know this, because BMW Motorrad told us so in a press release, but the real information we are craving is which bikes we will see in Milan, and for that, we have some strong guesses.
Here is an interesting find from our colleagues across the pond at Visordown, as it looks like BMW Motorrad is going to become more in line with the mothership on its naming conventions.
As such, the news is that we could see some motorcycles with the Bavarian brand’s unique “M” logo, which has graced iconic automobiles like the M3 coupe and M5 sedan.
It doesn’t surprise us to hear that Tom Sykes and BMW Motorrad have committed themselves to another season together, racing the BMW S1000RR in the WorldSBK Championship.
While the 2019 has been a slow start for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team, Sykes and the S1000RR have seen continued progress. As such, we have seen Sykes on pole position at the British round, and also on the podium at Misano, Donington Park, and Laguna Seca.
With this forward progress, BMW Motorrad says that its aim is to be on the box in 2020, and surely that means on the top step on more than one occasion.
Bad news for several BMW motorcycle owners, as the German brand is recalling several models because their front and rear brake calipers may corrode, which can cause the pistons to stick or drag in the caliper bore.
The recall affects three two-wheelers from the BMW Motorrad lineup, the BMW G310R (2017-2020) and BMW G310GS (2018-2020) motorcycles, and the BMW C400X scooter (2019). In total, 5,938 bikes are affected by this recall.
It would seem that BMW Motorrad is the latest motorcycle marque to explore the idea of forced induction for motorcycles.
This means that the Bavarians will join the ranks of Kawasaki, which has already three supercharged H2 models on the market; as well as Honda and Suzuki, which have been toying with the idea of turbocharged two-wheelers on dealership floors.
Spotted by Ben Purvis at BikeSocial (he’s on a roll lately), the German brand has filed patents locally for an electric supercharger design, with drawings seemingly using the S1000RR as its basis (for whatever that is worth).
Confirming our earlier report, Eugene Laverty has made his move to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team official today, as he replaces Markus Reiterberger’s on the team.
The news marks a return to the Shaun Muir Racing team for Laverty, who rode for the squad in 2017 and 2018, under the Milwaukee Aprilia banner.
Struggling on the Team Go Eleven Ducati this year, Laverty’s move to the BMW Motorrad squad could be well-timed, as the German bike has shown great progress over the course of the 2019 WorldSBK season.
Starting this month, BMW Motorrad will have a new name leading the direction of its motorcycle lineup, as Christof Lischka will take over as head of BMW Motorrad Development from Karl Viktor Schaller, who is retiring after fives years in the role.
As such, this means that Lischka will be responsible for finding the white spaces in BMW Motorrad’s product lineup – looking for opportunities in new segments and sectors, while also analyzing and refining the offerings that BMW already has on the showroom floors.
For the 2020 FIM Endurance World Championship, a new factory effort will join the paddock, as BMW Motorrad has announced its intentions to bring a Munich-backed BMW S1000RR to the competition.
BMW Motorrad has already been in the FIM EWC, of course, but the German brand was participating by supplying technical support to any endurance team that could afford the bill.
Now with a full-fledged factory team, BMW Motorrad joins the ranks of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha at the big kids’ table in the series. More importantly though, the chance to compete in the FIM EWC gives the Bavarians a relatively low-cost racing opportunity to showcase their new superbike.
This bike has been burning a hole in my to-do list for far too long, partially because I first saw it late last year, but also because of how radial the design is…especially when you consider that it started life as a subdued BMW R nineT roadster.
The work of Austrian designer Blechmann, the bike is called Giggerl and well…it is hard to say which genre of style it fits into exactly. Blechmann has obvious modern cues and ideas for how a motorcycle should look, but Giggerl also has lines from the past, due in part to its air-cooled R nineT roots.