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The rumors of the Bonnier Motorcycle Group (BMG) being for sale have been ongoing for a while now, but now they have finally come good, as Octane has been named as the buyer of BMG.

For those not familiar with Octane, it is a part of Fintech, and it operates as a portal for financing loans to powersports buyers. Why does a lending house want to buy C​ycle World, Motorcyclist, Dirt Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser, UTV Driver, ATV Rider,​ and ​Cycle Volta?

Octane CEO Jason Guss perhaps says it best in the company’s joint press release with Bonnier Corp.:

“We are acquiring these titles because we want to support brands that get people excited about powersports. Our goal for this acquisition is to ensure that unbiased product reviews, rigorous and objective testing, and informed storytelling​ will continue to be available to powersports enthusiasts.”

“When combined with Octane’s financing platform and dealership partners, consumers will soon be able to go directly from researching their dream vehicle to owning it, in a fast, seamless process.”

If you’ve heard any loud thuds while visiting A&R the past two weeks, it’s been us falling over ourselves over the 2011 KTM 1198 RC8 R. For 2011, the new RC8 R gets a number of refinements to its already stout package, and for the spec sheets racers the most drool-worthy stat perhaps is the bike’s modest power boost to 175hp, up from its base of 167hp. There’s a kicker to that power figure though, it comes from switching the base engine map, which is designed for 91 octane (AKI rating, which is what we use here in the USA), to a 93 octane map.

It could seem like we’re splitting hairs here, but unless you live next to a race track where gas stations will often carry the 93 octane rated fuel, you’ll be risking pinging KTM’s beautiful 1195cc motor with the lower-rated fuel, and be relegated to using the 170hp engine map while on the street. We don’t know how RC8 R owners will only handle 170hp on the street, hopefully the photos after the jump will help.