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BMW Motorrad USA Issues “Stop Sale” on the R1200GS

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What started out as a worldwide service campaign for the water-cooled BMW R1200GS models is turning into a massive global recall for the German motorcycle manufacturer, as now the United States has joined the United Kingdom in issuing a recall on the popular ADV machine.

Accordingly, BMW Motorrad USA has issued a “stop sale” to BMW dealers, as documents for a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are being readied for release.

The recall sees BMW Motorrad dealers inspecting the fixed fork tube on R1200GS models produced between November 2013 and June 2017. If the inspected motorcycle has an excessively large gap between the fork pipe and the seal plug, then the fork cannot be repaired by the dealer, and must be replaced.

If no gap is present (or if the gap is of an acceptable distance), BMW dealers must still press in a sleeve on the fork, before returning the bike back to the owner. With over 150,000 motorcycles potentially affected worldwide, this recall will be a massive undertaking for BMW Motorrad.

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Recall

BMW Motorrad UK Recalls R1200GS Forks, America Next?

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Last week, BMW Motorrad made the interesting move of releasing a worldwide service campaign for the BMW R1200GS and its fixed fork tubes, which may get damaged from hard impacts.

The service campaign affects R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure models made between November 2013 and June 2017, which by our math means that over 155,000 motorcycles are involved in this service campaign.

Taking things a step further now, Visordown now reports that BMW Motorrad UK has issued a recall for the affected liquid-cooled R1200GS and R1200GSA motorcycles, within its market.

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Recall

Don’t Call It a Recall, BMW Issues Worldwide Service Campaign for BMW R1200GS Motorcycles

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Water-cooled BMW R1200GS owners will soon be getting a call from their local dealership, as the popular adventure-touring machine is getting a worldwide service bulletin that affects models made between November 2013 and June 2017.

The service bulletin concerns the fixed fork tubes on the BMW R1200GS and BMW R1200 GS Adventure models, which can suffer damage from high stress incidents (going over an obstacle, riding through a pothole, etc), and subsequently fail.

By our math, this service bulletin affects over 150,000 motorcycles, making it a massive global undertaking for the German motorcycle brand, for its flagship model.

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Racing

Take a Lap Around the Isle of Man TT on the BMW HP4

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With five podium-finishes at this year’s Isle of Man TT, Peter Hickman is the man to watch in future TT fortnights, as the 30-year-old is showing tremendous talent and progress with his racing.

Helping Hickman to those finishes in the superbike classes (Superbike TT, Superstock TT, and Senior TT) was the BMW HP4, the Bavarian brand’s carbon-fiber-everything liter-bike that was just unveiled earlier this year.

A talented rider, an amazing machine, and one of the most iconic race tracks in the world? That sounds like the recipe for an epic onboard video.

Grab a stopwatch before you click play though, and see how much time Hickman’s front wheel spends in the air. It’s impressive.

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Bikes

BMW G310 Classic GS Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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The BMW G310R is an unassuming small-displacement machine, from little German company called BMW Motorrad.

Joking aside, the minds in Berlin might be the most successful in the motorcycle industry right now, with BMW continuing to release intriguing new bikes, and also continuing to see steady growth in its sales year after year.

Some of that success is built around BMW repurposing motorcycle platforms for different segments. The company’s boxer engine powers the entire R line, the company’s inline-four engine powers the entire S line, and so on and so forth.

For the G lineup of bikes, BMW is drawing upon its 313cc single-cylinder, for both its beginner model street bike, and an entry-level adventure-tourer. Taking a look at the rest of BMW Motorrad’s lineup though, Oberdan Bezzi has imagined some other niches that BMW could take its G line.

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Bikes

BMW Motorrad Concept Link – Tomorrow’s Scooter

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BMW Motorrad continues to explore the electric scooter space, and at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este the German company debuted a new mobility concept, which it calls the BMW Motorrad Concept Link scooter.

A zero-emission vehicle for the new era – so says BMW’s press materials – the design is perhaps the most intriguing feature, with the core of the machine looking very similar to the BMW C Evolution electric scooter.

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News

BMW Tops Pied Piper Dealership Rankings

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For as long as we have covered the Pied Piper dealership rankings, one brand has stood above all others in customer satisfaction, and that brand has been Ducati.

But for the 2016 rankings, we have a new boss in town, as BMW dealerships have taken the top honors in the most recent Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index.

For those readers who aren’t that aren’t familiar with Pied Piper, the company’s Prospect Satisfaction Index is sort of the Consumer Reports of a dealership network experience, and acts as a measuring stick for how a brand is performing when it comes to interacting with potential customers.

As such, the PSI takes into account a mixture of “mystery shopper” experiences, along with actual sales success for each brand, thus giving a mixture of subjective and objective measurement for a company’s dealer network.

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Bikes

Watch the BMW HP4 Race Do Its Thing

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BMW Motorrad is one of the few brands still growing in this motorcycle economy, even in the United States, which is facing another year of doubtful sales increases. That’s no easy task.

Not so easy is also improving upon the BMW S1000RR superbike – a machine that tops the lists of many motorcycle publications, near and far. When you ride the BMW S1000RR, it is easy to see why the Bavarian Bullet is so popular.

The BMW S1000RR is beating the Japanese brands at their own game, offering a 1,000cc inline-four superbike with near-200hp peak horsepower figures, anemic measurements on the scale, and a full-suite of electronics…all with aggressive pricing.

How do you improve on this design? Well, a carbon fiber chassis is certainly one way to start; a WorldSBK-spec 212hp engine certainly helps; and factory-set electronics don’t hurt nothin’ either. In other words, you make the BMW HP4 Race.

There are so many reasons why we should heap praise on BMW Motorrad for building the 2017 BMW HP4 Race, but instead we are just going to let this video from the German brand do the talking.

Does anyone know what the 3asy pricing on the HP4 Race is looking like? What if I use my kidney as a down payment? No, seriously…asking for friend.

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Bikes

Mega Gallery: BMW HP4 Race

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The BMW HP4 Race has finally dropped, the Bavarian brand’s extreme superbike offering that drips in carbon fiber pieces. A track-only liter-bike for true enthusiasts, the BMW HP4 Race sees a potent 212hp engine packed into featherweight 377 lbs wet body.

Of course to hit those weight goals, BMW Motorrad employed extensive use of composite materials to shed weight from the already robust BMW S1000RR superbike. As such, the frame, bodywork, and wheels are made from carbon fiber, including the self-supporting tail section.

BMW doesn’t reveal too much on how it has boosted the power from the 199hp found on the S1000RR’s inline-four power plant, though the result is an increased redline to 14,500 rpm (up from 14,200 rpm).

Keeping inline with its ~$85,000 price tag though (BMW Motorrad hasn’t released pricing figures yet, unfortunately), the BMW HP4 Race comes with top-of-the-line brakes and suspension pieces. It also has a robust electronics package that features the usual suspects of three-letter acronyms.

There is plenty to drool over on the BMW HP4 Race, so we have 64 high-resolution photos of the machine, waiting for you after the jump. Enjoy!

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Bikes

Carbon Fiber BMW HP4 Race Debuts in China

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As we predicted, the BMW HP4 Race carbon fiber superbike debuted today in China, at the Auto Shanghai 2017 expo. This is the production version of the prototype that BMW Motorrad teased at last year’s EIMCA show in Milan.

Details were scarce in Italy, but now BMW is ready to tell us all about its halo bike. The numbers? Only 750 units of the BMW HP4 Race will be produced. Each one will make 212hp, and weigh 377 lbs when fully fueled and ready to ride – which is lighter than BMW’s WorldSBK-spec S1000RR racing machine.

Of course the main feature of the BMW HP4 Race is that it drips in carbon fiber. The bodywork, main frame, and wheels are made of this composite material, with the tail section being a self-supporting carbon fiber unit.

BMW Motorrad has interestingly chosen an aluminum swingarm for the HP4 Race though, a departure from the show bike, likely for rigidity/handling reasons.

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