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Recall

BMW Sends Letter to Dealers About Recent Recalls

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BMW is up to its fifth recall, in just five weeks, with a bevy of models been hit with safety concerns. The first recall was for the German company’s flagship model, the BMW R1200GS, which could see its front suspension fail if the motorcycle was subjected to hard use.

The second recall affected BMW models that shipped with panniers, as they did not meet federal requirements for vehicle reflectors. The third recall was for BMW R1200RT Police models, while the fourth recall concerned the wheels on two of BMW’s scooter models.

Today marked BMW’s fifth recall, which affects over 3,000 units of its BMW R nineT roadster model, as they could suffer from a swingarm pivot point pin coming loose.

With the news of all these recalls, BMW Motorrad USA has also sent a letter to its dealers, outlining the status of each recall, how BMW is going to help dealers through this massive slew of recalls, and what the brand will do for its affected customers.

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Recall

Recall: BMW R nineT

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Today we have news of the fifth (#1, #2, #3, & #4 here) BMW Motorrad recall in roughly a month’s time, as 3,368 units of the BMW R nineT (2014-2017 model years) are being recalled for swingarm pivot pin bolt that may loosen itself.

The issue stems from a supplier production process error, where one or more bolts that connect the right-side pivot pin to the frame may loosen as a result of an improper specification of the chamfer cutting process in the frame. 

As a result, proper clamp force may not have been achieved during final torqueing process. If the right-hand side pivot pin to the frame loosens itself, it can affect the handling and stability of the motorcycle, which increases the chances of a crash.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #60 – Diet Pepsi & Milk

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Episode 60 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and in it we cover some of the newsy items from the motorcycle industry that have caught our eyes recently.

But before we get to the news, Quentin and I break a pretty big story concerning a certain turbocharged motorcycle, which you won’t want to miss.

We then turn our attention to the plethora of recalls that have beseeched BMW Motorrad, and we also talk about the company’s halo bike, the BMW HP4 Race, and its 3,100-mile engine life.

We also talk about Triumph’s partnership with Bajaj, and how that will affect both brands’ futures, before we talk about Ducati’s software performance upgrade for the 2015/2016 Ducati 1299 Panigale owners.

Before the show ends, Quentin also gives a really insightful talk about plug chops, which unless you have ridden an older two-stroke machine, you have probably never heard of, until now.

There is a lot going on in this episode of the podcast, so you don’t want to miss it. And, if we have and Diet Pepsi and milk drinkers in the audience, please identify yourselves and explain this madness.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

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Recall

Nearly 30,000 BMW Motorcycles Recalled for Reflectors

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BMW Motorrad continues to have recall trouble during the 2017 riding season, this time the German brand is recalling 29,281 units from various models, for an issue with the optional aluminum luggage cases, which may block the view of the bikes’ rear reflectors.

The recall affects seven models in total: 2013-2017 BMW R1200GS, F800R, and F800GT motorcycles; 2014-2017 R1200GS Adventure motorcycles; 2016-2017 S1000XR motorcycles; and 2015-2017 R1200R and R1200RS motorcycles.

With the luggage pieces installed, the bikes fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment,” hence today’s news.

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Reviews

Welcome to the A&R Superbike Deathmatch

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Hello and welcome to Asphalt & Rubber’s 2017 Superbike Deathmatch – our take on the motorcycle media’s superbike shootout review format, and the solitary path for a motorcycle to become A&R’s Superbike of 2017. Booyah!

What makes the Superbike Deathmatch different from other shootouts, you might ask? Well for starters, instead of renting a track out for a day, and spending only a limited amount of time on the plethora of machines available, we decided instead to take a lesson from college basketball’s very own March Madness.

That’s right, we are using a single-elimination head-to-head bracket system to find out which superbike is the best of the best, and thus worthy of being our Superbike of 2017. Think of it like a two-wheeled Thunderdome: two bikes enter, one bike leaves.

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Bikes

BMW HP4 Race Engine Life Set at 5,000km

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If you’re in the market for a BMW HP4 Race – the carbon fiber clad superbike from Bavaria – the $78,000 price tag might not be all that you’re spending on, as BMW Motorrad has a few items in the fine print that you might want to be aware of – the first being the engine life.

According to documents sent to BMW Motorrad dealers in the United States, the 212hp inline-four engine for the BMW HP4 Race comes with an expiration point of 5,000km (roughly 3,100 miles), at which point the entire engine will have to be replaced. Yup, you read that right.

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Bikes

Carbon Fiber BMW HP4 Race Priced at $78,000 for USA

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Before the machine officially debuted in China, we got our first taste of the carbon-clad BMW HP4 Race at the 2016 EICMA Show in Milan. At that time, all we knew about this track-only motorcycle was that it would be built in limited quantities, and thus would not be cheap.

In China, we learned that pricing across “the pond” had been set at £68,000 / €80,000 for the UK and EU markets, respectively. And now, we finally get word regarding how much the BMW HP4 Race will cost American buyers, as BMW Motorrad USA has set an asking price of $78,000.

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Rumors

Variable Valves Coming to the BMW R1200GS?

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While the current crop of BMW R1200GS model motorcycles are being recalled for issues with their front suspension, the future of the venerable GS line continues to evolve, as Motorrad Magazine is reporting that the boxer-twin engine that powers the R-series will be getting variable valve timing (VVT).

Motorrad is also reporting that the engine displacement will also see a bump, up from 1,170cc to 1,250cc for the next-generation of R-series machines, which should mean that the water-cooled motor should get a healthy (and much needed) bump in power, to help compete in this hotly contested segment.

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News

Officially Official: BMW R1200GS Recalled in the USA

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We already broke the news last week about the BMW R1200GS model recall, for issues with the front fork tubes, but today the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made it official, listing the recall on its public database.

The move sees BMW Motorrad USA recalling over 14,000 units in the US market, which is close to one tenth of the total models sold worldwide. This recall affects certain 2014-2017 BMW R1200GS and BMW R1200GS Adventure motorcycles.

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News

BMW Motorrad Sales Grow 9.5% in First-Half of 2017

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The motorcycle industry is generally full of doom and gloom this year, but BMW Motorrad continues to post record sales, as it boasts of a record first-half of the year, with 9.5% growth.

In the first six months of 2017, BMW sold 88,389 units to customers, up from the 80,754 units sold in the first-half of 2016. That growth is attributed mostly to progress made on the European continent, says BMW, which is up 12.9% so far this year.

Those European numbers break down as follows: France: 9,447 units (+21%); Italy: 9,099 units (+15%); Spain 5,573 units (+8%); and UK/IE 5,410 units (+14%).

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