BMW Motorrad Working on Electric Motorcycle

A new patent reveals that BMW Motorrad is beginning to look at the idea of an electric motorcycle but with a bit of a twist. The news follows hot on the heals of Polaris purchasing Brammo’s electric motorcycle business.

This is by no mean’s BMW’s first foray into battery powered two wheelers. In fact, the BMW C Evolution was the first electric scooter from any of the major motorcycle manufacturers. The trouble for a company like BMW Motorrad however is that they’ve got a lot of history with the design of their machines – the flat-twin boxer configuration has been used by the company since 1932.

Uncovered by AMCN, the patent shows that BMW is thinking about using a twin electric motor design, with each motor protruding horizontally either side of the bike much like a boxer twin. They’re connected to a central transmission unit where power is transferred via a shaft drive to the rear wheel – another typical BMW design element.

While designing a twin electric engine arrangement gives an obvious nod to BMW Motorrad’s traditional gas powered setup, the patent goes on to explain that it provides some practical benefits too.  First of all, it would allow only one motor to function if required (say cruising down the highway or riding down a hill, much like cylinder displacement on some V8’s) which reduces unnecessary friction (and therefore improves electrical efficiency). Secondly, two flat horizontal motors means the center of gravity is lowered.

A patent most certainly does not indicate that BMW is close to releasing an electric powered bike or that it has any plans to do so for many years. But with Polaris making a big move and even the likes of Harley-Davidson going down the electric path, it wouldn’t be surprising to see BMW be one of if not the first major motorcycle manufacturer releasing an electric bike.

 

BMW Motorrad Working on Electric Motorcycle

BMW Motorrad Posts Record Year

The success stories continue with BMW Motorrad announcing today that sales were up 7.2% in 2014 to a record 123,495 (115,215 for 2013). This makes it the fourth year in a row that BMW Motorrad has had a record year.

The best market for Motorrad was in its home market of Germany which accounted for around 20% of total sales, followed by the United States, France, Italy and Brazil. It was a big year for Motorrad with five new models released including the highly acclaimed (and already highly successful) R nineT which has already become the fourth most successful model for the German company.

The adventure orientated R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure made up the bulk of Motorrad’s sales for 2014 , selling a combined 40,622 units or nearly a third of all of Motorrad motorcycles delivered. The R 1200 RT sold 12,140, the R nineT 8,488 and combined the S 1000 R and S 1000 RR accounted for over 10,000 sales.

2015 is looking just as good as 2014 for BMW, with a heavily updated S 1000 RR, plus the brand new R 1200 R, R 1200 RS and S 1000 XR, as well as a brand new F 800 R.

You can read the full press release here.

 

BMW Motorrad Posts Record Year

BMW Motorrad Announces 2015 New Model Pricing

BMW Motorrad has announced the pricing on the majority of their new models for 2015, with pricing still to be advised on a few bikes in the United Kingdom and Australia. Next year will be a massive year for BMW Motorrad, with the updated S 1000 RR and F 800 R, plus the brand new R 1200 RS, R 1200R and S 1000 XR. Delivery dates vary between each market, though it’s expected that the United States, Canada and Western Europe will get initial deliveries with the Australia and the UK closely behind.

All the below prices are for the base models and don’t include government charges.

2015 S 1000 RR

• USA: $15,550


• Australia: $22,990


• UK: £13,700


• Canada: $17,950

2015 R 1200 R

• USA: $13,950


• Australia: $21,950


• UK: £10,250


• Canada: $16,050

2015 R 1200 RS

• USA: $14,950


• Australia:


• UK: N/A


• Canada: $16,725

2015 F 800 R

• USA:  $9,950


• Australia: $13,100


• UK: N/A


• Canada: $10,800

2015 S 1000 XR

• USA:  $16,350


• Australia: $


• UK: £12,400


• Canada: $17,600

 

 

BMW Motorrad Announces 2015 New Model Pricing

BMW Motorrad and Roland Sands Combine for R nineT Accessories

Released in 2013, BMW has heavily pushed the R nineT as a blank canvas for customizers to work from. Back in August, BMW Motorrad showed of a number of machines that had been worked on by some of the best customizers in Japan. Now, BMW has teamed up with world renowned customizers, Roland Sands Design to create a range of new accessories that bolt on to the R nineT – little mechanical aptitude required.

Some of the parts on offer include valve covers that also offer crash protection ($949.95), new gauge housings for your speedometer and tachometer ($399.95) and for something a little more affordable, RSD bar ends ($59.95).  Added up, the currently known range of Roland Sands Designs accessories would set you back around $3,200 – or about 21 per cent of the cost of an actual BMW R nineT.

The parts will be available for delivery at the end of February 2015. They will be purchased by Roland Sands Design’s dealers (www.rolandsands.com/purchase-info) and can also be purchased by participating BMW Motorrad dealers.

 

BMW Motorrad and Roland Sands Combine for R nineT Accessories

BMW Motorrad Already Outperforms The Previous Year"s Record Sales As Of November 2014

Munich. As of November, BMW Motorrad has sold 7.0% more vehicles than in the equivalent period of the previous year. 116,463 (prev. yr.: 108,872) motorcycles and maxi scooters were supplied to customers worldwide. As of November 2014, this already puts sales above the record figure achieved in 2013 overall (as of December 2013: 115,215 units). In November BMW Motorrad sold 7,411 units (prev. yr.: 7,342 units). This is an increase of 0,9 % as compared to an already strong showing in November 2013.

Heiner Faust, BMW Motorrad Head of Sales and Marketing: “One month before the end of the year we have supplied 116,463 vehicles to our customers, thereby already surpassing last year’s record sales figure. This excellent retail result is mainly due to solid growth in the European markets, Asia and the USA. The sales figure for Germany, our largest individual market, is just above last year’s high level.”

Demand continues to be strong for our R series models launched in 2014 with the new air/liquid-cooled boxer engine, as well as for the purist boxer roadster BMW R nineT and the sporty 4-cylinder roadster BMW S 1000 R. As Heiner Faust adds: “Clearly we are appealing very effectively to our customers with all our new models. Our shooting star is the R nine T, which has made it from zero to fourth place on our bestseller list as of November. Meanwhile, our new supersports bike for model year 2015 – the S 1000 RR – has received outstanding reviews in the motorcycle press. We are very much looking forward to seeing the first comparative tests among current competitors. We are also getting very positive market signals for our other four new motorshow presentations, the R 1200 R roadster, the sports touring bike R 1200 RS and the S 1000 XR in the new Adventure-Sport segment, as well as the mid-range model F 800 R. So as the year draws to a close we are not only looking at a new sales record but also excellent prospects for further growth in 2015.”

BMW Motorrad Already Outperforms The Previous Year"s Record Sales As Of November 2014