UPDATE: The BMW M1000RR has now debuted…and it looks awesome.
In the time of COVID-19, all bets are off when it comes to when new motorcycles will be released.
International travel has effectively ended; the big trade shows have canceled their events for this year; and manufacturers are already shifting to less rigid unveiling schemes.
As such, a new bike for 2021 could pop up at any time during the next few months, and it looks like we will see one tomorrow.
Tom Sykes will spend a third season with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK racing team, signing a one-year deal with the German outfit this week.
He will be joined in the garage by Michael van der Mark, who will take his first season on the BMW S1000RR next year.
The re-signing of Sykes is no surprise, though the real news here might be the shifting of Michael van der Mark from the Yamaha squad to the BMW outfit.
BMW Motorrad USA has two recalls this week, and the first one concerns the braking components on 9,392 motorcycles, across five models.
Specifically, the recall affects certain BMW R1250GS (2019-2020), BMW R1250GS Adventure (2019-2020, BMW R1250RT (2019-2020, BMW S1000RR (2020), BMW S1000XR (2020) motorcycles.
It would perhaps be easier to list which models BMW Motorrad USA is not recalling today with NHTSA, as many of the brands newer motorcycles fall afoul of the vehicle code pertaining to rear brake light operation.
Nevertheless we will give it a go, as the following bikes (4,026 units in total) are being recalled for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment”:
BMW F900R, BMW F900XR, BMW S1000RR, BMW F750GS, BMW F850GS, BMW F850GS Adventure, BMW R1250GS, BMW R1250GS Adventure, BMW R1250RS, BMW R1250R, BMW RnineT, BMW RnineT Pure, and BMW RnineT Scrambler from the 2020 model year. The 2019-2020 BMW S1000R motorcycles are also affected by this recall.
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.
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.
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.
Episode 16 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and this is another two-hour show to sooth your two-wheeled aches.
We start the show off when Shahin’s trip out into the Washington BDR trails, on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro. The Shah also got a chance to throw a leg over a Walt Siegl Ducati adventure bike, which made him giddy with delight.
Meanwhile, Jensen was busy at the Barber Motorsports Park, riding the 2020 BMW S1000RR superbike. Giving his thoughts on that new machine, and the general state of the liter-bike category, you won’t want to miss his review. Additionally, the “Yensen” score for bikes is progressing nicely, which leads to a fun conversation.
A few days ago, we sat down with Peter Hickman to figure out what it takes to find the limit at the Isle of Man TT. Now today, we get up-close and personal on the machine he is campaigning in the Superbike and Senior TT races.
A 2020 BMW S1000RR, the race bike is put together by Smiths Racing BMW, with the hope that the German superbike’s supremacy on the Mountain Course continues with this next generation of the machine, and thus add to Hickman’s two-win tally at the Isle of Man TT.
As we can see from Steve’s photos though, this is not your ordinary BMW S1000RR…in fact, it is not your ordinary superbike.
Greetings from a very warm Birmingham, Alabama where we are about to swing a leg over the new BMW S1000RR…again.
After a disappointing and inadequate international launch in Portugal, where the rain got in the way of our two-wheeled fun, BMW Motorrad USA has invited us out to the famous Barber Motorsports Park to ride their new superbike for a second time.
That is just fine by us, because yours truly has been keen to swing a leg over the 2020 BMW S1000RR, and see how it compares to the offerings from the other top brands, not to mention I have always wanted to ride this popular American track.