BMW Motorrad is recalling a combined 21 units of its 2017 BMW S1000R and 2016-2017 BMW S1000RR motorcycles because of a rear suspension bolt that may become loose. According to BMW’s NHTSA filings, more specifically the recall affects one S1000R unit and twenty S1000RR units.
The bolt is part of what BMW calls the rear suspension deflection lever, and when it loosens it may adversely affect the handling of the motorcycle.
2016 was another record sales year for BMW Motorrad, the sixth in a row for the German motorcycle maker. BMW Motorrad sold 145,032 units to customers in 2016, a 5.9% gain over 2015’s sales figure.
Because of this result, BMW says it is well on its way to its goal of selling 200,000 units in the 2020 model year. As lofty (and arbitrary) as that goal is, what is more impressive is the fact that BMW Motorrad has been able to increase its sales volume by nearly 50% since 2010 (98,047 units).
Nicolas Petit has a way of inking motorcycle designs that we didn’t even know we wanted. First it was drawings of dustbin motorcycles, and now its his drag bike creation, which is based off the BMW R1200R.
BMW’s boxer-twin engine doesn’t lend itself to being a great platform for drag racing, but you have to admit that this is a handsome ride, even if it’s all show and no go.
With BMW filling every niche under the two-wheeled sun with its bikes though, we wouldn’t be that surprised to see the Germans follow-up with something similar to what the French designer has done here. After all, BMW Motorrad is rumored to be working on an XDiavel-killer, and then there’s…
A few months ago, this pocket-sized street tracker caught my attention on Facebook. It was based off the BMW G310R street bike platform, that much I could tell, but I couldn’t find anymore information on the machine.
A few more weeks of this lonesome photo sitting in my ‘to do” box, and it finally moved on to the place where all good stories go to die.
So, imagine my surprise when our friends at BMW Motorrad Japan sent me the following photos, which depict a new custom bike they commissioned from Takashi Nihira, at Tokyo’s Wedge Motorcycles.
It is the same bike I saw months earlier, but now we know who to thank for its creation, as well as a little bit more about its build. Its is quite impressive, for an unassuming “little” street tracker, don’t you think?
Episode 38 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is aptly named, as it covers some of the new bikes that debuted at the 2016 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. There’s no need for a long summary of the show, as Quentin and I merely cover some of the standout machines that caught our eye in Milan this year.
We think you will enjoy this podcast, it’s pretty much classic Two Enthusiasts fodder (when we remember to hit the record button), and we give more than one shout-out to the departed Husqvarna Nuda 900, a bike we hardly knew.
As always, 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. Enjoy the show!
The Digimoto concept is the creation of a collaboration between German designer Zanzotti, industrial design house GRAYDEV., and parts-maker Wunderlich.
The trio make a good pitch about how the Digimoto bike was made using virtual reality and other high-tech manufacturing buzzwords, but honestly we just like the simple lines that come from their creation.
Using a BMW R1200R as its basis, the minimalist and modern design is a unique take on the boxer twin. Disc wheels and fork shrouds add an aerodynamic flare to the machine, along with its clear swooping LED tail light.
The seat looks like a repurpose skateboard, and the headlight looks like a Daft Punk helmet to us; but the fuel tank has an interesting design, with the gap between it and the motor giving a sense of levitation.
One of the more interesting concepts on display at EICMA, it gives us something to chew on through the long motorcycle winter.
Here we have a BMW R1200GS Adventure that finally everyone can afford. Teaming up with the great minds at Lego, BMW Motorrad has helped to create a Lego Technic model of the BMW R1200GS Adventure.
The set comes with 603 pieces, measures 18cm by 33cm by 10cm, and faithfully reproduces the venerable adventure-tourer, right down to its adjustable windscreen, Telelver front wheel suspension, rear wheel shaft drive, and moving boxer-twin engine.
Just in time for the holiday season, we imagine more adults than kids will be looking for this set of Legos.
Our Bothan Spies came through once again this EICMA season, bringing us news that the BMW Lac Rose Concept would enter production as the 2017 BMW R nineT Urban G/S motorcycle.
As the name implies, the Urban G/S is based off the BMW R nineT platform, which means that it uses the iconic 1,170cc, 110hp, air-cooled, boxer-twin engine as its base, and then builds out from there.
As such, the chassis is the same modular frame that powers the rest of the R nineT line, complete with telescoping fork suspension at the front, along with a 19″ wheel wire-spoked wheel in the front, and a 17″ wire-spoked wheel in the rear.
All of this means that the BMW R nineT is mostly an aesthetic exercise – but it is quite the exercise, if you want our opinion.
As expected, the BMW R1200GS is getting some updates for the 2017 model year. Beyond the anticipated engine refresh for Euro4 compliance – which sees the 2017 BMW R1200GS continuing to make 125hp at 7,750 rpm, thanks to a new catalytic converter and modified ECU settings – other improvements have also been made to this iconic machine.
The changes run the gamut, and include visual changes to the bodywork, mechanical updates for better operation, ergonomic refinements to the controls, and electronic upgrades to the standard and optional equipment.
BMW Motorrad has also made several model variations available of the 2017 BMW R1200GS, shown here is the very tasty BMW R1200GS Rallye, which shows an off-road focus with its rally seat, sport windshield, radiator and frame guards, wide enduro foot pegs, and spoked wheels with optional studded tires.
If you are like us, you can’t get enough of the BMW HP4 Race, which debuted today in Milan, at the 2016 EICMA trade show. Featuring a carbon fiber frame, carbon fiber wheels, and carbon fiber bodywork, not to mention a bevy of premium-spec components, the BMW HP4 Race is the track bike of your wet dreams.
BMW Motorrad plans on making the HP4 Race a production model too, with an expected release date somewhere in the second-half of 2017. Quantities will be limited, and each BMW HP4 Race will be hand-built. So basically, we are telling you that the price tag will be not be cheap.
So for many of us, photos are as close as we are going to get to this supreme beauty. Luckily, we have some ridiculously large photos for you to drool over. Enjoy!
One of the four new motorcycles we were expecting to see from BMW at the 2016 EICMA show, the BMW G310GS adds a small-displacement model to the German brand’s already iconic adventure-touring line.
Based off the BMW G310R street bike, the 313cc single-cylinder platform has been reworked for dual-sport riding, offering not only a smaller ADV machine for adventure enthusiasts, but also an entry point into the BMW brand via one of its best-selling segments.
As such, the GS model gains some suspension travel (1.6″ in the front, 2″ in the rear) over its street bike sibling, the styling is obviously a nod towards the rest of the GS line, namely the best-selling R1200GS, and the ergonomics have been reworked for adventure-style riding.
Power is rated at just under 34hp, with a curb weight of 374 lbs.