For a while now, it’s been common knowledge that BMW is planning to move into developing motorcycle markets with a smaller machine. Now, Asian bike writers are saying they have some more clues to what that bike will look like.
According to just about every motorcycle news website in India, the new BMW will have a 300 cc single-cylinder motor, and be built by Indian manufacturer TVS. The hookup with TVS is no surprise; that deal was announced last year. However, as far as we know, the biggest bike TVS has built so far is a 290 cc concept bike (the Apache dirt bike), so this would be a significant move for them.
If the reports are true, the idea of a 300 cc machine certainly makes sense; Honda and Kawasaki have both taken their entry-level 250 cc sportbikes and punched them out to 300 cc, and there’s some speculation that Yamaha is doing the same with their long-awaited entry bike project. KTM splits the difference; they have the entry-level Duke 200, but also a Duke 390. While developing markets like India are high on the target list for the European manufacturers, it’s likely BMW is also eyeing the EU beginner market carefully, where riders would certainly quibble if their machine was significantly underpowered when compared to the competition.
When BMW’s deal with TVS was initially announced (after TVS ended a long partnership with Suzuki), we were told we’d see their first bikes sometime in 2015. Maybe now we’re getting the first hints of what those machines will look like.
[…] and a joint venture with India’s TVS, it’s been reported on and hyped in the media for the past two years. As with Ducati’s Scrambler last year, and the KTM 390 family a year before that, the G310R has […]