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BMW R90 Interceptor – The Last RAD Bike

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For the past week or so I have been stooped over in a depression, because after hearing the news that Radical Ducati would be shutting its doors after 15 years of incredible custom motorcycle building, I am just not sure if life is worth living. That’s a bit of hyperbole of course, but we are, like many, selfishly saddened to see that Pepo and Reyes will be moving onto bigger and better things.

So, it is with some irony that we bring you the last motorcycle to come from Radical Ducati — ironic because the machine is not one of RAD’s mix-matched Ducati’s, which has given the small Spanish firm such notoriety, but instead the motorcycle is a BMW, with the same unique style and flare. Dubbed the BMW R90 Interceptor, the machine is a joint project between Radical Ducati and MaxBOXER.

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Recall

BMW is Recalling 50,000+ Bikes Due to Potential Fuel Leaks

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BMW Motorrad North America announced yesterday it will be recalling 50,184 motorcycles ranging from 2005-2012 due to potential fuel leaks. The models affected are the 2005-2011 R-models, 2005-2012 K-models, 2010-2011 S1000RR models, and 2006-2010 HP2 models.

According to BMW, the reason for the recall is the fuel pump flange and auxiliary fuel pump flange may develop cracks and leak, which may result in fires.

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Opinion/Editorial

Modular Design & Why the BMW R nineT is Such a Big Deal

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The first of the new BMW R nineT motorcycles rolled off its assembly line today, a fact that is only newsworthy because so many motorcycle publications are struggling for content in these coming winter doldrums.

It was only a month ago that we were overwhelmed with stories of new bikes debuting in Milan, and now we motorcycle journalists must scrounge around for anything lurid that is at least tangentially related to motorcycles. I hear there is a law student in Italy selling nude photos of herself so she can buy a new scooter. Juicy.

Who doesn’t like a good tit story, right? But instead I offer to you perhaps the biggest development in motorcycling this year — a story that no one else has thought to discuss, until now — and it is about the BMW R nineT itself, and what it represents not only for BMW Motorrad, but also for motorcycling as a whole.

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Bikes

Bimota BB3 — Italian Design, German Performance

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Today marks a formal new beginning for Bimota, as the boutique Italian firm has recently been acquired by Daniele Longoni and Marco Chiancianesi. Helping to commemortate that event, Bimota debuted at the 2013 EICMA show its new S1000RR-powered Bimota BB3 sport bike.

Using the 999cc four-cylinder superbike motor found on the BMW, the Italians quote 190hp for the Bimota BB3, the same as what the Germans have been able to coax from the S1000RR. Weight is 394 lbs dry, also the same as the BMW S1000RR, so on paper the two bikes appear to be quite similar. In person though, they are anything but.

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Bikes

2014 BMW R1200RT — Cooler Heads Prevail

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A big announcement at EICMA that we have seen coming down the pipe since the latest generation of the BMW R1200GS broke cover, the 2014 BMW R1200RT is the next logical step of progression in BMW Motorrad’s push to bring a “precision-cooled” water-cooled boxer-twin to its R-series of motorbike.

The new BMW R1200RT uses a basic formula for its philosophy: take BMW’s already proven touring package, and update it with the company’s latest technologies, while giving a mild facelift in the process. In many ways the 2014 BMW R1200RT feels like previous generations, and in many ways it is not.

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Bikes

2014 BMW S1000R – 160hp, ABS, & Optional DTC & DDC

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As expected, BMW Motorrad took the wraps off a completely new motorcycle today at the EICMA show, the BMW S1000R. A streetfighter version of the venerable BMW S1000RR superbike, the S1000R drops an “R” from its name along with roughly 30hp, with the naked bike sporting a 160hp peak figure — primarily due to a redline that is 2,000 rpm less than the S1000RR.

Build the 999cc inline-four motor for low-end and mid-range torque, rather the maximum peak horsepower, BMW says that the S1000R makes 7 lbs•ft more torque than the S1000RR, all the way up to 7,500 rpm.

With a peak torque figure of 83 lbs•ft at 9,250 rpm, the BMW S1000R  is now slouch, though with it tipping the scales at 456 lbs (207kg) — the 2014 BMW S1000R is few pounds heavier than its predecessor.

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Bikes

Ninja’d: BMW S1000R Streetfighter Caught on Camera

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Our friends at Oliepeil.nl have some serious “lef” going on, because through some “enhanced journalism” those crazy Dutch moto-enthusiasts have managed to grab a couple photos of the BMW S1000R as it waits in the BMW Motorrad exhibit, ahead of its official EICMA debut tomorrow.

A streetfighter version of the venerable BMW S1000RR, the BMW S1000R drops an “R” from its predecessors name, but still features the same inline-four engine as it superbike counterpart –though the motor has likely been detuned to a more sane level.

Unfortunately, we don’t have word on specs or features for the 2014 BMW S1000R, but we do have an idea now of what its finished form looks like. Photos after the jump, but be sure to see more photos and watch the the walk-around video on Oliepeil.nl…just don’t eat the mayo while you’re there.

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Bikes

Bimota BB3 Will Debut at EICMA

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Last year we were wowed by the Bimota BB2, and not necessarily in a good way. The boutique Italian brand has a reputation for making rolling pieces of art that feature production motors with Bimota’s own chassis genius. While the BB2 was powered by the venerable BMW S1000RR’s inline-four engine, Bimota failed to live up to its end of the bargain, which made the Bimota BB2 an interesting, although rather unappealing, effort.

From what our sources have told us, that project has since been taken out behind the woodshed, and to help make up for things, a clean-slate Bimota BB3 will debut at this year’s EICMA show. The first machine to debut under Bimota’s new owners, Marco Chiancianesi and Daniele Longoni, the BB3 again features an S1000RR power plant, and from what our sources have been telling us, the BB3 swaps the BB2’s throwback retro look for a 21st century racing aesthetic.

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Banter

Are You the 2014 BMW S1000R Streetfighter? Nope.

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Is this an image of the much anticipated BMW S1000R – the streetfightered version of BMW’s popular S1000RR superbike? Nope, it’s not…but, it is a spot-on approximation of what we expect to see from BMW Motorrad early next month at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. Italian site DueRuote commissioned this render from the folks at MotoRendering.com, and we have to say it is some damn fine work.

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Bikes

170 Hi-Res Photos of the BMW R nineT

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The final realization of the BMW LoRider concept, a modular roadster design project, the BMW R nineT debuted in Munich today as a commemoration of 90 years of BMW motorcycles.

Powered by the German company’s venerable air-cooled 1,170cc boxer twin, the nineT is likely the last motorcycle in the OEM’s range to use the motor, as BMW Motorrad shifts its attention to its new “precision-cooled” boxer. That nostalgia probably only adds to the retro roadster’s mystique though, and if our comments section is any indication, people are likely what they see here.

Built with customization in mind, BMW has gone to some length to make a chassis that builders and hobbyists can easily build-off of to suit their individual tastes — a basic tenet of the original LoRider concept.nIt doesn’t hurt of course that BMW has a litany of genuine accessories and parts to help in that endeavor as well.

Because we know you just can’t get enough of this bike (we certainly like it, though the name is a bit cumbersome), we have 170 high-resolution photos for you after the jump. Enjoy!

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