There’s a big BMW media event running in Germany right now, with a few juicy details already leaking out.
First off, it seems an Italian mag has jumped the gun on a press embargo and published photos of BMW’s 90th anniversary cafe racer a bit early. Asphalt and Rubber says they found these photos on La Repubblica, but they were later yanked. No worries! Thanks to Asphalt and Rubber’s presence of mind (they saved the shots before they were taken down), you can see what the bike looks like.
As well, Brit mag Visordown says BMW dropped an even bigger bomb on their journo audience. Supposedly, one of their marketing bigwigs from the UK told journos at the launch that BMW is working on a series of sub-500 cc motorcycles. These small-capacity bikes will be built in conjunction with Indian manufacturer TVS. They’re even planning to build an adventure bike in this series, possibly one under 250 cc. Don’t be surprised if you see an R 200 GS in the future.
Those new bikes are primarily going to be aimed at the Asian market, but they’ll also be sold in the UK, and presumably Europe as well. Can the Canadian market be far behind? We hope not …
GALLERY
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I like it, great bike for european roads or city riding. With that motor it will be very responsive with great midrange.
Compared to the Roland Sands BMW Concept Ninety, this one is clear miss.
Cafe racers are about simplicity and minimalism. It’s a roadster for sure but it’s loaded with more complex modern features and there is going to be nothing minimal about that BMW price tag. This looks like competition for the Motor Guzzi Griso 8V but the V7 has nothing to worry about.
The old engine re-used…
Ugly motor; twins should go up and down.
Bulbous gas tank; looks more like a Cagiva
Elephant. Or a real elephant.
Idiotic exhaust. One can. Tucked away, so
one may admire the single-sided swing-arm.
Other than that, it is a Café Racer.
Naked roadster? Yes. Cafe racer – NOT.
That’s how the 1150 Rockster should of looked. I would prefer a single muffler instead of the duel, but i would expect the aftermarket to cure that, for a substantial fee of coarse.