BMW Motorrad Welt
BMW Motorrad delivered a total of 64,936 motorcycles to customers (+8.0%) between April and June in this, its 2023 centenary year.
Building on the previous all-time high it posted for the first three months of the year, strong customer demand for BMW says that "demand for our motorcycles and scooters continued in the second quarter".
The highlight of a slew of news to emerge from BMW Motorrad in recent weeks are details of the grand opening of BMW Motorrad Welt at the Spandau production site in Berlin on 8th September.
Designed as a brand showcase "to give visitors an incomparable brand experience", features will include rider training, travel and events opportunities, displays and, of course, motorcycles - 100 years of BMW motorcycle history in fact.
"With BMW Motorrad Welt we are creating our own world of experience around everything to do with the brand and its motorcycles - for the first time in our 100-year history. The location was not chosen at random, but is set right in the heart of BMW Motorrad production, on the grounds of the Berlin-Spandau plant - precisely where BMW motorcycles have been built since 1969.
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| Technical Director at BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Christian Gonschor |
"Behind a historic brick facade at the Julius Tower in Spandau lies the birthplace of BMW motorcycles. BMW Motorrad Welt will move into an equally historic listed building built between 1914 and 1917 when it opens on 28 September 2023".
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad, is quoted as saying that "experiences will range from the interactive presentation of current BMW Motorrad products, exciting plant tours and unique gastronomy to events, as well as external and internal booking options. BMW Motorrad Welt will offer a unique and fascinating platform for an emotional get-together on everything BMW Motorrad."
From Monday to Friday, the plant gates also open up "for visitors who want to immerse themselves in the fascinating way BMW motorcycles are manufactured. More than 2,200 employees produce about 900 vehicles of the Sport, Tour, Roadster, Heritage, Adventure and Urban Mobility segments every day on an area of nearly 220,000 square metres. A finished vehicle comes off the assembly line about every 60 seconds".
The weekend will also see the grand finale of the BMW Motorrad Customising Championship based on the BMW R 18 models.
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| R 18 'The Crown' custom bike by Dirk Oehlerking to mark 100 years of BMW Motorrad. |
In other news, BMW Motorrad Motorsport is "positioning itself more broadly with a new and expanded structure, as it sets course for the future. Under the overall direction of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers, new roles of Technical Director and Head of Customer Racing have been created.
The Development and Test departments in Munich and Berlin are being expanded and Customer Racing will also be strengthened further.
The new Technical Director at BMW Motorrad Motorsport is Christian Gonschor. Uwe Geyer is taking on the role of Head of Customer Racing, alongside his position as Head of Marketing. Both report directly to Bongers.
"Additional specialised teams, including an independent test team, have also been formed within BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The Development and Test departments in Munich and Berlin are being expanded and synergies between BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the production development of the BMW M 1000 RR are to be taken full advantage of".
"With this new structure, we are optimising the way we are set up for development and test work, for our works projects and customer racing," said Markus Schramm. "This allows us to increase our capacities in Munich and our engine plant in Berlin, and thus to strengthen the development and test work for the FIM Superbike World Championship and the FIM Endurance World Championship, as well as for our Customer Racing programme. The connection to production development, under the leadership of Christoph Lischka, has been intensified.
In other events news, some 32,000 visitors are said to have celebrated with BMW Motorrad in Berlin (7 to 9 July) at the 21st BMW Motorrad Days, with an additional 5,000 visitors attending the simultaneous Pure&Crafted Festival. It was held in the German capital on 7 and 8 July, with almost 5,000 visitors. This year's BMW Motorrad Days was dedicated entirely to the 100th anniversary of BMW Motorrad.
In addition to offering enduro training courses and guided off-road tours through the Brandenburg countryside, the grounds of MCC Schenkenhorst were transformed into the place to be for the international BMW GS community. This was also the venue for the international qualifying round of the 2024 BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy to be held in Namibia.
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| Smart Glasses |
In product news, BMW Motorrad has unveiled ConnectedRide Smartglasses - "innovative motorcycle goggles with head-up display technology.
"They can be easily connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth and app. The projection can be positioned, and the settings can be selected, before the ride and also while riding via the multicontroller on the motorcycle handlebars".
BMW Motorrad supplies two sets of certified UVA/UVB lenses with the frame. One set of lenses is 85% transparent and can be used especially for helmets with integrated sun visors. The other set has tinted lenses turning the smartglasses into a perfect pair of sunglasses.
For people who wear glasses, there is an RX adapter (+/- 4.5 diopters). This can be ordered online directly from the provider. The corresponding QR code can be found in the user manual of the ConnectedRide Smartglasses.
Motorrad Welt opening and R 1300 GS unveil to be livestreamed
June this year saw the 1,000,000th GS equipped with a boxer engine roll off BMW's Berlin-Spandau production line - R 1250 GS - where GS models with boxer engines have been made since 1980.
The BMW Motorrad Welt and new R 1300 GS unveil will be livestreamed on BMW social media channels on 28 September 2023.
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad said: "With its unique combination of on-road and off-road capability, BMW Motorrad created a new genre of touring enduro motorcycles with the R 80 G/S in 1980.
"That first iteration delivered 50 hp from its 798 cc capacity, and more than four decades later it has developed into the high-tech touring enduro we know today. We believe the development of the R 1300 GS will mark another important chapter in the ever-evolving GS story."
