International Dealer News IDN 154 April/May 2020 | Page 48

news ROOM
NEWS
BRIEFS
German BMW specialist
Wunderlich has cancelled its
annual "Anfahrt" homecoming
customer appreciation day - slated
to have been held at its new
corporate HQ and warehouse
south of Bonn for the first time on
April 25-26, on what would have
been a celebration of its 35th
anniversary. The company has just
been awarded 'Best Brand' in
Germany by Motorrad.
Leopard Racing and LeoVince have
renewed their relationship for a third
consecutive year. Last year saw
Leopard's Lorenzo Dalla Porta win the
Moto3 World Championship. This year
Italian Dennis Foggia and the Spaniard
Jaume Masia will be the riders who will
line up in Moto3 for Leopard in 2020.
Royal Enfield is discontinuing
production of the 500 cc single-
cylinder engine it introduced in
2009 - reportedly due to
compliance issues with India's new
domestic emissions regulations.
The popular 'Classic' and 'Bullet'
model names that used the engine
will continue, but with a new
engine that is in development.
The 95th edition of the FIM
International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) has
been postponed. The event had been
slated for Lombardy-Piedmont, Italy,
from August 31 to September 5th. The
event is now slated for August 30 -
September 4, 2021 at the same
Rivanazzano Terme venue south of
Milan. The USA claimed the World
Trophy, Women's World Trophy and Club
division titles at the 2019 ISDE in
Portimao, Portugal, and finished runner-
up in the Junior World Trophy Class. The
ISDE is the most prestigious off-road
motorcycle event in the world. First held
in Carlisle, England, in 1913, the ISDE is
one of the longest-running events on
the FIM calendar.
BMW
BMW has announced that it
will not be exhibiting at
INTERMOT and EICMA later
this year. Its announcement
was followed two days later
by KTM doing the same.
In a statement rather
unfortunately dated April 1st,
the company said that "due to
the hardly foreseeable
development of the coronavirus
pandemic and its effects, BMW
Motorrad will not be
participating in the two leading
motorcycle shows, INTERMOT in
Cologne in October and EICMA
in Milan in November 2020.
"This decision was made in
order to counteract current
planning uncertainty at an early
stage, also for all our partners
involved in BMW Motorrad
motorshow appearances, in the
interests of the greatest
possible security, predictability
and transparency.
"BMW Motorrad will present
the world premieres and
product highlights planned for
these motorcycle shows on
alternative platforms in autumn
2020. In doing so, the company
will increasingly rely on its own
formats and digital
communication channels".
The announcement also came
just 48 hours before it was due
to continue its recent new
practice of unveiling new
models online with the debut of
the R 18 cruiser.
While BMW hasn't exactly 'bet
the farm' on the new cruiser, it
is very heavily invested into a
model that, as with the R nineT,
has initially been conceived as a
"Harley Killer".
Production at BMW's Spandau,
Berlin factory was halted on
March 20 and is currently slated
3T Exploro
model bicycle
to start back up again on April
19 - though as with other
manufacturers' plans, that looks
optimistic.
BMW has postponed its annual
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
(May 22-24) on the shores of
Lake Como in northern Italy,
announcing an alternate date of
October 16-18, and has also
BMW's 'Big Boxer' R 18 cruiser engine
cancelled its annual BMW
Motorrad Days at Garmisch-
Partenkirchen, southern
Germany (July 3-5).
Additional recent BMW news
includes the launch (by its
luxury car division) of an
achingly trendy special edition
3T Exploro model bicycle that
the company describes as "the
best gravel bike available,
combining performance, luxury
and cycling pleasure for our
customers"; a seven-round
second BMW BoxerCup race
series promoted by Wilbers on
R nineT race bikes that is
theoretically due to start at the
Red Bull Ring in Austria on May
24th and take in several of the
international German
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