Midnight Blue BMW Other Motorcycles, page #37

Moto blog

Fake motorcycle police. Why?

People who like to pretend they're police baffle me and annoy me in equal measure. I took this picture the other day at Cobham, about to join the A3 heading to Guildford. I guessed that the guy on the left had just bought his rather fetching BMW off the guy on the right.

More on BMW’s Record-Setting 2011 Motorcycle Sales Figures

BMW has released additional information breaking down its record 2011 sales. As previously reported, the German manufacturer sold a record 104,286 units in 2011, with a 7.4% year-on-year growth in the United States alone. According to BMW, the company sold 10,203 units in the U.S., making it the third largest market for BMW, behind Germany (20,002 units) and Italy (13,600 units).

BMW Motorrad USA Reports 7.4% Growth in 2011

BMW Motorrad reported a 7.4% growth in U.S. sales in 2011, nearly double the growth reported in the previous year. The 7.4% growth is also higher than the overall worldwide growth of 6.4% BMW recently announced.

Preliminary 2012 MotoGP Entry List Released

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released a preliminary entry list for the 2012 MotoGP World Championship. The provisional list includes 21 riders in the premiere class, including nine classified as Claiming Rule Team entries. Defending MotoGP Champion Casey Stoner will wear the #1 plate for the 2012 season, the first with both CRT entries and the new 1000cc engine displacement cap.

BMW Set New Sales Record in 2011 – Husqvarna Sales Continue Plunge

BMW sold 104,286 motorcycles in 2011, the most units the German manufacturer has sold in a single year in its entire 90-year history. 2011 sales surpassed the previous record of 102,467 units sold in 2007. 2011 also saw a 6.4% increase in BMW’s motorcycle sales over the 98,047 units sold in 2010.

Crank(er) up the volume

Want to listen to your tunes on the go but don't want to wear earplugs? Well this new Sportech Cranker tankbag could be for you. It features an integrated speaker and amplifier and runs off 4xAA batteries.

BSB 2012; Mystic Mac investigates

In my opinion, the smartest move in the BSB off season has to be Michael Laverty moving from Swan Yamaha to HM Plant Honda. With a ban on electronics for 2012, and in particular traction control, WFR's Graham Gowland has already proved to Laverty how competitive an EVO spec Fireblade can be - so I’m tipping both these riders to be bang on the money at the Brands Hatch season opener in April. Unlike BMW, Kawasaki and Yamaha, Honda have deliberately developed their road-going Superbike without electronics to give a user friendly feel with good mechanical traction, so it’ll be interesting to see how the opposition copes with their high-tech trickery stripped off.

Boxer Design Superbob Concept – 158 HP Turbocharged V-Twin

French firm Boxer Design has unveiled a new 1000cc turbocharged V-Twin concept model at the 2011 Salon de la Moto show in Paris. The Boxer Superbob is powered by a 88-degree V-Twin engine claiming 158 hp at 9500rpm and 92 ft-lb. of torque at 8000rpm.

Husqvarna Reveals BMW G650GS-Engined Concept Strada

Husqvarna unveiled a new streetbike model powered by the engine from parent company BMW’s G650GS. The Husqvarna Concept Strada was int4roduced in Paris at the Salon de la Moto show. Though Husqvarna is calling the supermoto-styled Strada a concept, but the new model is near production ready, with Husqvarna expecting to begin sales in 2012, possibly as a 2013 model.

The future. But we can't have it

It's no secret that we motorcyclists are getting older. We're ageing because less people are passing their bike test each year (roughly 30,000 last year compared to 50,000 for the 10 years before the new two-part test) and so not only is the pool not growing it's not even being replenished and so the average age isn't being diluted down by yoof. When the going gets tough in any situation, you really get to see who's got their shit-sorted and who's light enough on their feet to adapt to change.