BMW G650GS SERTAO Motorcycles in Wichita, page #18

Moto blog

BMW Set Record with 115,215 Motorcycles Sold in 2013

BMW continues to set sales records, announcing the sale of 115,215 motorcycles in 2013. This marks the third consecutive year of record sales, following the 106,358 motorcycles in 2012 and 104,286 motorcycles sold in 2011. We already knew BMW was going to have a banner year last month, when the German manufacturer passed its 2012 figures in just 11 months.

Liquid-Cooled 2015 BMW R1200R Spied

German site MotorradOnline.de has published a spy photo of what appears to be a new liquid-cooled BMW R1200R prototype undergoing testing. The production model should arrive for the 2015 model year, with the official unveiling likely to take place at the Intermot show in Cologne in October. The spy photo shows the top of the test bike, with the engines, wheels and exhaust hidden behind a railing.

Kevin Ash, one year on

I’ve lost dozens of friends in bike racing over the years, and while each death was a shock and incredibly sad, I’ve always had some kind of internal coping mechanism that allowed me to carry on relatively unaffected.  Maybe it’s because I was always extremely passionate and committed when taking part in my dangerous sport so was also prepared to pay the ultimate price should things go wrong.  Rightly or wrongly I’ve taken comfort from the fact that these unfortunate racers have checked out while doing something they love.   I’ve also lost a few journalist friends in bike accidents over the years but for some reason these have hit me harder.  The worst and possibly as it is the most recent is Kevin Ash who was killed last January while on a BMW launch in South Africa.  Starting in 2001, over a period of ten years, I was in Kevin’s company on countless new bike launches in pretty much every corner of the world.  At times he was cocky and occasionally irritating but always entertaining with a wicked sense of humour.  He was many things but no one can deny he was a brilliant journalist and his technical knowledge was second to none.  I always appreciated his complete enthusiasm to all things biking as he would ride through any weather on a daily basis to jobs or airports and seemed to always be tinkering with winter projects (mainly Ducatis) at home.  I also admired how much work he got through as he had columns in more than one weekly publication plus all his launch and web work. He was a competent safe rider who was certainly quick enough to evaluate any new bike thrown his way.  Kevin also drove a Porsche but then none of us are perfect!   I looked to Kevin as a wise Owl so not long after I started working with TWO/ Visordown, I asked him on an R1 launch in Australia he thought the motorcycle industry was currently in a good place.  His reply was, ‘we’ve just been flown here business class, been taken by speed boat to our five star hotel under Sydney Harbour Bridge, Yamaha have wined and dined us and furnished us with expensive gifts each day, what do you think Niall?  How times have changed.  On the subject on air travel he once told me, ‘when travelling business or first class it’s not about the pampering, comfy beds or fine dining, the important part is looking smug as you walk straight past all the people lining up at the cattle class check in! On more than one occasion I had food or drink spurt out when Kevin would deliver unexpected one line funnies at the dinner table.

BMW Fuel Pump Recall Hits US, Affecting 50,184 Motorcycles

A recall affecting 18 different BMW motorcycle models from seven model years has been announced for the U.S., affecting 50,184 motorcycles. At issue is a potential leak in the fuel pumps or auxiliary fuel pumps on 2005-2011 BMW R series models, 2005-2012 K series models, 2006-2010 HP2 models and 2010-2011 S1000RR sportbikes. A similar recall was announced last month in Canada, affecting 6,325 motorcycles, and we knew it was a matter of time before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced one for the U.S.

Wazuma V8: The Ferrari Powered Quad

What’s $250,000, has four wheels, and is powered by a Ferrari engine? Clearly, if you guessed a Ferrari you’d be wrong. From the crazy minds of French custom car and motorcycle builders, Lazareth, comes this Wazuma V8 quad — yes, quad — with the aforementioned parts.

Ohlins Upgrades For Adventure/Dual-Purpose Bikes Now Available

Front-end upgrades are now available from Öhlins for Adventure bikes and Dual-Purpose motorcycles. The Öhlins FKA 100-series drop-in Cartridge Kits benefit from the lineage of Öhlins championship-winning road-racing kits, with applications for many mediumweight models of burly bikes. Tuned for riding long miles on difficult terrain, the Öhlins Cartridge Kits provide smooth comfort everywhere, from riding tame routes to crossing insane roots, from tarmac to terrain.

CFMoto 650TK Riders Set Record with 21,222-Mile Tour of China

A couple of adventurers have claimed a new world record for longest journey by motorcycle in a single country after completing a 21,222-mile trek around China. Buck Perley and Amy Mathieson completed their trek, traveling all 33 of China’s provinces in 147 days on a CF Moto 650TK sport-tourer. Guinness World Records still needs to ratify the couple’s journey, but if it stands, they will have surpassed the previous record of 18,041 miles set by Steven H. Siler earlier this year, after he completed his 26-day trip around the U.S.

2014 BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Announced

After holding three events in the southern hemisphere, the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy will go north in September 2014, to Canada. Billed as the GS riders’ Olympics, the biennial competition pits teams representing different countries against one another in a number of challenges testing their riding skills. Previous competitions had competitors riding the F800GS but for 2014, the GS Trophy will switch to the liquid-cooled R1200GS.

BMW Recalls Several Models in Canada for Potential Fuel Leaks

Transport Canada has announced a recall on 18 BMW models across several model years spanning from 2005 to 2012 because of a risk of fuel leaks (the full list of models and model years is below). As of this posting, no recall has been announced for the U.S. but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) currently has an investigation open for a similar issue, potentially affecting 45,588 BMW motorcycles.

BMW Sets New Annual Record for Motorcycle Sales – With One Month Still to Go

BMW announced sales of 108,872 motorcycles and scooters, shattering last year’s company record for annual sales by 2.4%. Even more impressively, BMW reached that mark by the end of November and still has a whole month’s worth of sales to pad its record. In 2012, BMW sold 106,358 motorcycles and scooters to set a new company record.