International Dealer News IDN 149 June/July 2019 | Page 10

news ROOM
BMW sets the stage for a
BRIEFS Harley showdown
NEWS
Triumph Motorcycles has announced a
new collaboration with UK industry
experts such as Williams F1 Advanced
Engineering and Integral Powertrain Ltd’s
e-Drive Division, and Innovate UK, to
develop specialist electric motorcycle
technology which will provide significant
input into potential future electric
motorcycle offers from Triumph. This two-
year project (TRIUMPH TE-1) also includes
partnership work with Warwick
University's world famous WMG
(Warwick Manufacturing Group).
BMW Motorrad says it has seen
sales continue to grow strongly,
with year-to-date deliveries to the
end of April 2019 up by +7.7% to
57,014 units. In April a total of
18,408 (+7.7%) BMW Motorrad
motorcycles and maxi scooters
were delivered to customers around
the world.
Having already worked very successfully
with the Kawasaki Racing Team and its
riders, SHOWA has increased its
commitment to the successful KRT World
Superbike championship-winning team
for 2019 by becoming a major sponsor as
well as Technical Partner.
BMW Group have officially opened
its new automotive plant in San
Luis Potosi in Mexico. BMW has
already been making cars in the
USA for 25 years at Greer, South
Carolina - the speculation has been
that this is where they may start
manufacturing motorcycles for the
North American market if they
finally do decide to go down that
route. The company has invested
more than one billion US dollars in
the new production location, with a
capacity there of up to 175,000
units per year.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced that
the YZF-R15 motorcycle – produced and
sold by Yamaha Motor’s India subsidiary,
India Yamaha Motor Private Limited – has
been awarded the India Design Mark (I
MARK) sponsored by The India Design
Council. This is the eighth year in a row –
every year since the inaugural awards in
2012 – that a Yamaha Motor product has
received the I MARK.
10
Contrary to many reports, the much
hyped BMW R18 cruiser, the biggest
story to come out of the (BMW
sponsored) Concorso d'Eleganza Villa
d'Este, on the shore of Lake Como in
May, is more than simply a wish list
concept, with the production version
likely to be unveiled at EICMA later this
year, and on sale in 2020 as part of a
range of cruisers that look set to build
on the custom sector confidence BMW
has gained from the success of its R
nineT line-up.
Described as a tribute to the original
1936 R5 and more recent R5
Concepts, BMW describes the R18 as
an "engaging alternative for a time
that is being increasingly characterised
by rapid technological change" and as
transporting "the essence of the big
BMW Motorrad classics into the
modern age, or in other words, it is
taking a historical motorcycle design
and giving it a modern, custom
attitude".
Roughly translated from corporate
media speak, that likely means
"Harley-Davidson, we are coming
after ya!"
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW
Motorrad, said of the design: “With
this dream bike, BMW Motorrad
presents its own version of an
emotional and authentic offer for the
large cruiser segment.”
Edgar Heinrich, Head of BMW
Motorrad Design, is quoted as saying:
"With its clear aesthetics openly on
display, the Concept R18 embodies for
me what motorcycling, at its core, is
really about. It is all about feeling
instead of thinking, and not using
technology for self-staging, instead
giving space for imagination. This
concept bike appeals to something
deep down - you just want to get on it
and ride off. But when you get off it
again, you don't just put it in the
garage and walk away - you turn
around again and give it a final parting
glance."
Yep, they are going after Harley-
Davidson alright!
Bart Janssen Groesbeek, designer of
the concept bike, says: “The biggest
challenge in the design is to render
everything visible. Every part has a
functional purpose. There are not many
who would dare to take such an
absolutely honest approach."
The BMW Motorrad Concept R18 is
immediately recognisable as a
genuine BMW: Boxer engine, cradle
frame, exposed universal shaft and
drop-shaped fuel tank, with its black
paintwork and hand-applied contrast
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JUNE/JULY 2019
lines interpreting typical design icons
of BMW Motorrad classics, "while
displaying confidence along with
modern-style linearity. The balanced
proportions are reminiscent of classics
like the BMW R5, and convey - even
from a distance - the timeless beauty
that comes about whenever things are
consistently reduced to their bare
essentials".
BMW
discovers
'Naked
Bikes'…shock, regardless, as a
Teutonic 'Monster' it will be another
welcome addition to the party. "The
frame and tank create a common line
all the way from the steering head to
the rear wheel hub and lend a flowing
elegance to the side view. The large
spoke wheels (front 21 inch, rear 18
inch) provide a secure stance and
perfectly balance the dominant power
unit".
The newly designed, two-cylinder
1800 cc Boxer engine is consciously
reminiscent of the flat twin engines
that BMW Motorrad used to build up
until the end of the 1960s - but with a
considerably bigger displacement and
modern air/oil cooling. The engine
block and transmission are made of
glass bead-blasted aluminium, with
hand-polished
aluminium
components such as the belt guard
and valve covers, while the Solex dual
carburettors are said to "hark back to
the brand's construction history and
add a final touch to the bike's visual
authenticity".
An exposed, chrome-plated universal
shaft connects the back wheel to the
drive, and there are no further covers
anywhere on the motorcycle - "which
serves to keep its engineering clearly
visible. Similarly, the electronics of the
concept bike are reduced to no more
than starter and lights, underlining its
purist design".
This is the third in-house interpretation
of the large-capacity Boxer engine to
come from BMW - last December the
'Departed', created by the Japanese
customiser CUSTOM WORKS ZON,
was presented at the Yokohama Hot
Rod Show, taking the 'Best of Show
Motorcycle' award, and that was
followed up by the interpretation of
Austin, Texas based Revival Cycles'
'Revival Birdcage' with a specially
developed titanium frame giving an
unobstructed view of the engine and
drive from all angles - a star turn at the
Handbuilt Show this year.
In 2018 BMW sold more than 165,000
motorcycles worldwide.
www.bmwgroup.com