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BMW Motorrad Sets All-Time Sales Record in 2012 – Motorcycle Sales Up 2% Worldwide

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Selling 106,358 motorcycles and maxi-scooters worldwide in 2012, BMW Motorrad had its best 365 days of sales ever last year. A 2% gain over 2011 (104,286 units), the record was punctuated by December’s sales figures, which were up 42.4% over last year, with 6,069 units sold.

Breaking things down, BMW Motorrad’s home market of Germany continues to be the #1 region for the motorcycle brand, with roughly 1 in 5 bikes produced being sold to zie Germans (20,516 units). The United States was the second-largest market with 12,100 units, followed by France (10,950), Italy (10,200), and Brazil (7,7442). Of note, Italy used to be BMW’s second-largest market, but the economic troubles of the Mediterranean states continues to send motorcycle sales in a tailspin.

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News

BMW Motorrad USA Says Sales Were Up 14% in 2012

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2012 was a good year for BMW Motorrad USA, as the German motorcycle brand saw its sales rise 14% over last year’s figures, despite the industry trend of marginal growth. Selling 12,057 units in 2012, BMW’s leading bikes in the USA were the BMW S1000RR and BMW K1600GT/GTL.

BMW Motorrad sold 1,934 S1000RR superbikes last year, a figure that is surprisingly 21% higher from the RR’s 2011 numbers. Zie Germans also had their first full-year of K1600 sales, where the six-cylinder touring bike had 1,601 delivers of the GTL model, and 697 deliveries of the GT variant (note: these are dealership deliveries, not customer sales), seemingly making it the best-selling motorcycle in the BMW fleet for the USA.

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Racing

Ben Spies Talks About Leaving Yamaha

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Today, Cycle World posted a great story by none other than MotoGP’s Ben Spies. Now out of his contractual obligations with Yamaha Racing, Spies can finally speak candidly about his 2012 season, and what was occurring behind close doors within the Yamaha factory team, as well as his contract negotiations within the MotoGP and World Superbike paddocks.

Some of the story we already know, like how a high-ranking Yamaha official told Ben Spies to give 100% or not show up, after the American was sidelined with food poisoning at Mugello. Spies also sheds light on the rumors about his switch back to WSBK, namely with the BMW Motorrad team. Discussing his interactions with HRC and Gresini Racing, Spies also sheds insight about how he ultimately landed in the Ducati Corse camp. Head over to Cycle World, the article is well-worth a read.

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Racing

Rumor: Race-Only 450cc BMW/Husqvarna Bike Coming?

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Italy’s motorcycle publication of record, Motociclismo, is reporting that BMW Motorrad is developing a 450cc race bike for youth racers. Said to be a ground-up design that centers around a single-cylinder motor that will likely be prepared by Husqvarna, the BMW race bike would feature a frame built in Bologna, Italy with “racing” suspension, forged wheels, and carbon fiber bodywork.

With pricing to be in the €20,000 range, BMW hopes that its 450cc cup bike will appeal to 15 to 18-year-old riders, and is formulating a racing series that will piggyback off six select World Superbike and British Superbike rounds. As such, BMW’s proposal appears to be in direct competition with the European Junior Cup (EJC), which will use the Honda CBR500R as its spec-machine for the 2013 season.

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Racing

Filippo Preziosi Out at Ducati Corse – BMW Motorrad’s Bernhard Gobmeier Takes Over

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Confirming rumors that Filippo Preziosi would be leaving his role as head of Ducati Corse, the Italian company announces today that the man responsible for BMW Motorrad’s World Superbike program, Bernhard Gobmeier, will be taking over the position at Ducati Corse. Reporting directly to Ducati CEO Gabriele del Torchio, Gobmeier will ultimately be in charge of all the racing projects at Ducati, including MotoGP and World Superbike.

Stepping down from his position, Preziosi will take on the role of Director of Research & Development for Ducati Motor Holding, where he will use his engineering and design talents to help develop Ducati’s next road bikes. He will report directly to Claudio Domenicali, the General Manager of Ducati Motor Holding.

On the Corse side of things, Paolo Ciabatti will oversee Ducati’s MotoGP project, while Ernesto Marinelli will be in charge of Ducati’s WSBK racing efforts with Team Ducati Alstare. Both Ciabatti & Marinelli will report to Gobmeier.

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Bikes

Bimota BB2 – Where Retro Meets the BMW S1000RR

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Our favorite news from the 2012 EICMA motorcycle show has to be the one where Bimota announced that it has entered an agreement with BMW Motorrad to use the BMW S1000RR motor in its rolling pieces of moto-art.

Using an almost exclusive diet of Ducati motors for its most recent creations, it only takes a quick look at the Bimota DB7, DB8, DB9, & DB11 to see that the boutique Italian bike builder has hit a bit of rut with its design inspiration. Our hope was that the partnership with BMW would change that.

Getting our first glimpse of the Bimota BB2, courtesy of sak_art design, the folks behind the machine, we can see our prayers haven’t gone unanswered. A clear homage to the Bimota BB1, the BB2 has some of the now-retro lines that distinguished Bimota so well in the early 1990’s.

Perhaps it is not the obscene hyperbike some were expecting when the S1000RR was tapped for duty, but there is an interesting blend of new and old in the Bimota BB2. Photos after the jump.

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Bikes

Husqvarna Baja Concept Gets Closer to Reality

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When Husqvarna debuted the at the start of this year, it was tipped that the Husqvarna Baja Concept, which was modern take on the Husqvarna Cross 400, could make it into production. We rejoiced. Eleven months later, Husqvarna has returned with the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept at the EICMA show, and the design has gone a great deal forward from its avant garde angles, to something that is a bit more rounded.

Looking like a bike that is ready for production, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that the German-owned brand will bring the Baja to market in 2013. Based around the same 652cc BMW engine that is found in the Husqvarna Strada, the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept uses a steel tube frame for the chassis.

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News

BMW Sorta Announces Air-Cooled 90th Anniversary Model

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We are barely two hours into the official start of the 2012 EICMA show, and I am already filling out the report card for BMW Motorrad: Fail. After debuting a number of machines at the INTERMOT show in Germany, zie Germans have apparently saved nothing for the show in Milan. No naked S1000RR, no Lo-Rider production models, not even an updated R1200RT with the company’s new semi-liquid-cooled boxer engine design.

In fact, the only real news to come from the BMW Group was the announcement of an upcoming announcement (no, seriously). Stating that at a latter date, the company would release details on an air-cooled model that would commemorate the 90th Anniversary of BMW Motorrad. Pure speculation, but we would expect something along the lines of an updated café racer / standard. Press release after the jump.

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Bikes

30th Anniversary Edition BMW K1300S for EICMA

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To help celebrate 30 years of BMW K-bikes, BMW Motorrad will present a special 30th Anniversary Edition of the BMW K1300S. The BMW K1300S “30 Jahre K-Modelle” is mostly a cosmetic exercise, with the big highlights being the bike’s Alpine White, Racing Red, and Sapphire Black metallic paint scheme, along with its stock Akrapovi? exhaust.

Other features include ABS brakes, BMW’s second-generation electronic suspension adjustment (ESA II), and automatic stability control (ASC). For photos and a full list of features to the BMW K1300S “30 Jahre K-Modelle” that will debut at EICMA, click past the jump.

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News

Pitching the BMW R1200GS – OEMs, Take Note

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Making effective market communications in the motorcycle industry should be a relatively straight-forward and easy task. After all, motorcycles in North America and Europe have a strong personal component that revolves around self-expression and a rider personal identity. Making things easier, the motorcycle industry is littered with enthusiasts who themselves ride on a daily basis, and should understand this concept first-hand.

The idea that an ad or campaign should reach out and grab the intended consumer is not a novel concept, and motorcycle marketing professionals have their job simplified since they need only to develop and publish creative that would speak to them personally, in order to be successful. For whatever reason though, motorcycle industry marketers, by-in-large, were absent the day they taught marketing in business school…and it shows.

It is a subject I rail on about far too often, probably because it just simply baffles me how it occurs in the first place. How a motorcycle enthusiast fails to connect with people just like himself or herself boggles my mind, and yet it routinely happens in the motorcycle industry. However, every now and then, an OEM puts together something that renews my faith in the establishment, and for a split-second I have a vision that this whole two-wheeled thing isn’t going to hell in a hand basket. Such is the case with this promo video done by BMW TV.

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News

2013 BMW HP4 Priced at $19,990*

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Possibly the most lust-worthy sport bike of the year, the BMW HP4 has finally been priced by the Bavarians for the North American market. Clocking a $19,990 price tag MSRP, as usual, there is more to BMW’s pricing scheme than meets the eye.

While BMW plays its usual tricks, what is interesting is that despite all the add-ons, the BMW HP4 remains a relatively affordable premium sport bike. Punching just above the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s price tag, the German steed could easily justify its added cost with the inclusion of BMW’s Dynamic Damping Control, a semi-active suspension system.

Available in Q4 2012, the BMW HP4 comes with a variety of packages that significantly boost the HP4’s price into the mid-$20,000 range. We break down the cost of the packages and what you get with them, after the jump (mega photo gallery here).

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