BMW BLOG

We haven’t covered many BMW Motorrad news on here, but we’re looking to change this and what’s the best way to reconnect with the BMW bikes fans other than posting the official unveiling of the S 1000 RR. Last week, BMW has finally revealed their latest superbike and it is quite impressive.

So, what got us so excited? Well, for one, the 193 horsepower at 13,000 RPM and 82.5 lb-ft of torque at 9,750 RPM, while only weighing 455.3 pounds with a full tank of gas. The super Beemer has the most horsepower and best power-to-weight ratio of all 1000 cc bikes available for the consumers. BMW S 1000 RR can be equipped with ABS and Dynamic Traction Control systems. As a curiosity, the ABS system weighs only 5.51 lbs.

Facing various riding conditions such as wet roads (”Rain”), regular road conditions (”Sport”), a race track with supersport tyres (”Race”), or a race track with slicks (”Slick”), the rider also has the choice of various engine characteristics and set-ups available at the touch of a button. There’s also an HP Gearshift Assistant that will allow for full-power clutchless upshifts.

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In a recent press release, BMW North America announced the opening of a new Off-Road Training Center on the West Coast. The training center will be similar to the one at the Spartanburg Plant in South Carolina.

BMW Motorrad chose RawHyde Adventures, of Castaic, CA to serve as a factory-authorized off-road training. BMW Motorrad and RawHyde, BMW will initially provide 12 GS-model motorcycles (F 650 GS, F 800 GS and R 1200 GS models) for the training center. RawHyde will supply instructors for the two-and-a-half day courses.

Pricing? Not on the low side, but I’m assuming well worth it for motorcycles fans: the cost for the two-and-a-half day course is $1,295 and the one including the Base Camp Alpha Adventure, will cost $1,890.

Full Press Release

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - December 9, 2008… BMW Motorrad has selected RawHyde Adventures, of Castaic, CA to serve as one of nine factory-authorized off-road training centers worldwide. In the United States, RawHyde Adventures, located on 500 acres in the mountains above Los Angeles, will serve as the West Coast BMW off-road training facility. An East Coast off-road training facility is at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, SC.
“We are delighted to welcome RawHyde Adventures into our international family of off-road training centers,” said Pieter de Waal, Vice President, BMW Motorrad USA. “They are joining an elite group of factory-authorized training schools worldwide that have the quality and commitment to meet BMW’s high standards.”
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It’s Saturday and I thought we should take a bit slower today and diversify our content. Our blog pretty much covers anything and everything BMW auto related, but from time to time, we like to diversify and offer you, our readers, different articles.

Now, before we get into the BMW bikes subject, let me tell you upfront that I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to beemers, but I will do my best to share with you some of the best looking and per formant BMW Motorcycles that I know of.

If any of you has more experience when it comes to them, please feel free to contact me and we can put together an article and post it here for everyone.

BMW K 1300S

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We’re continuing our Formula One series that we started yesterday, with Nick Heidfel and Robert Kubica talking about their equipment worn during the races. Yesterday, they talked about the amazing technological advanced steering wheel found in their F1 monoposts.

Those videos are quite interesting and I enjoy finding out more behind the scenes things. I know that talking about clothing might not be exciting for all of us, but the F1 driver’s equipment is really different and you will hear Nick and Robert talking about it.

P.S I’m a big Puma fan and I love seeing them as BMW’s sponsor.

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Don’t remember the old-school legendary Brabham Racing? Here is a short history of them. The British racing car manufacturer was founded by two Australians in 1960, Jack Brabham, driver, and Ron Tauranac as a designer. In 1960s, Brabham was the world’s largest manufacturer of open wheel racing cars and it won several championships in Formula One, Two and Three. 

In 1992, the company went through a tough financial crisis and were unable to pay their lenders. But now, Brabham is back and their focus seem to be on becoming a BMW tuner. In a press release, the company announced three models:

1. Brabham BT 92 - based on an M3 Coupe
2. Brabham BT 60 - a tuned up M5
3. Brabham BT 70 - a sporty interpretation of the X6

Since it seems like we have a lot of Formula One fans as our readers, I decided to cover the subject more often. For the past few days, Stew and I gave you more details on the last F1 championship, what went down and what to expect in the next season.

Today, with the help from our friends at BMW-web.tv, we have a couple of short videos, first one, starting with the amazing steering wheel found in the F1 monoposts.

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With the Formula One season being over, all the teams are already preparing their monoposts for next year. Every year in January, BMW reveals their new F1 models an event that draws a lot of attention. 2008 was a great season for the BMW Sauber team who achieved all of their goals and more, but I always had a feeling they could have done better. The winning of the first two places in the Montreal Grand Prix was the highlight of their season, a season that ended with them in the 3rd place in constructors championship.

The F1.09 will make its first public appearance in testing at Valencia in Spain. With the new monopost, BMW has high hopes for this upcoming season. The team believes that major changes to the Formula One regulations for 2009, including the return of slick tyres, aerodynamic restrictions and the introduction of KERS to recover waste energy from braking, could play into their advantage.

Here is what BMW’s Team boss Mario Theissen said:

“In 2009, Formula One will have to face arguably the most dramatic rule changes in the history of the sport,” he said.

“Due to the aerodynamic restrictions, the appearance of the single-seaters will differ massively from this year’s Formula One cars. To cut a long story short: the front will be bulkier, there won’t be any winglets and superstructures in front of and on the side pods respectively - and the rear wing will be smaller and positioned higher.

“Furthermore, slicks will make their comeback. In addition, the introduction of the KERS technology for the recovery of brake energy is in the offing. As a result, drivers will have to adapt to new situations in three vital areas of their working environment. And the engineers will have to carry out a lot of work.”

BMW have already announced that they will retain both Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld for next season.

This article was written by Stew, a talented and passionate writer for BMWF1blog.

If you could have thought of an exciting way to end the 2008 F1 season at Interlogos in 

Brazil, you wouldn’t have come close to one of the most exciting championship races ever.  I though I’d seen it all over the years, but certainly nothing like this.  The weekend at the Interlogos circuit began on Friday and it soon became apparent that this year the circuit was on the side of Ferrari, but with the threat of rain throughout the weekend and the McLaren better in wet weather, no one could say for sure who of any driver on the grid would win.

The stage was set with Lewis Hamilton of McLaren 7 points clear of second place Felipe Massa and with the two of them fighting neck and neck all season, the scenario for each driver was simple.  For Felipe Massa to win the championship, he had to win the race and  Lewis Hamilton had to finish in the top 5 to win the championship.  It all sounds fairly simple especially for Hamilton, but this weekend there was a lot at stake for other drivers and teams.  BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld wanted to secure their overall third and fifth place finishes, positions that were far from secure coming into this race.  It didn’t stop there as there were many other drivers needing a good finish both to secure their overall final placing as well as impress their employers for next season and maybe beyond.

The weekend up to the race remained dry and as expected, Felipe Massa secured a dominate pole position showing at his home circuit that he was there to win and from pole there wasn’t anyone I could find who would pick anyone else to win the race.  Just about 10 minutes before the race was to begin, the skies over Interlogos opened up in a short but substantial downpour that lasted only about 5 minutes, but enough to thoroughly soak the surface.  The race was delayed another 10 minutes and just about all driver changed from dry weather tires to intermediate wet tires, but Robert Kubica did not and as the parade lap finished he peeled into the pits realizing that hydroplaning around the circuit just wasn’t good enough.

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BMW in collaboration with Formula One put together a fan day event at the BMW branch in Munich-Fröttmaning. Last weekend, over 1,000 BMW Sauber fans had a chance to see their idols live: Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and the test drivers Christian Klien, Marko Asmer. 

The fans had the opportunity to see the BMW F1 drivers take their monoposts around the demonstration circuit. The F1.08, latest BMW monopost, was explained in detail by Technical Director Willy Rampf, Head of Powertrain Markus Duesmann, and Managing Director Walter Riedl. 

One of our readers, Maarten, and a member of Germancarzone forum has shared with us some photos from the event along with a short video. Overall, this was a great touch by BMW, that allowed their die hard fans to take photos and autographs with the drivers, and even to chit-chat with them. 

But here is what Maarten said:

It’s a great sensation to have an F1 car started right in front of your nose. Seeing Kubica get in and seeing him take off like a madman. He really enjoyed his demo run, passing at the borders by mere inches. 

I also got to drive a new 123d coupé on a slalom track, and you could perform a pit stop yourself. All great extra things that made this a special day!

Afterwards they gave away some prices like two rims, and some other car parts. I was also lucky and won a leather team jacket. 
It was an amazing day and for a true F1 and BMW fan this is something to look forward to!! I’ll be back next year!!
 

I am a huge Formula One fan and I am a little sad that we don’t have a race here in the U.S anymore, but hopefully this coming here, I will catch the Monaco Race, one of my favorite to watch.

Thanks for the photos again!

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As I promised earlier this week with the article about BMW’s new and revolutionary motorcycle helmet, BMW Blog would be covering more news and features about BMW motorcycles. After all, they deserve a lot of respect, as do their riders. To see the Motorrad news, just click the Motorrad category icon on the right there –>.

Today I went and hung out at a BMW motorcycle shop in my area and learned a lot about the guys that are dedicated to BMW bikes. I also learned that BMW Motorcycles only make up roughly 1% of all motorcycles in the U.S. Even Triumph accounts for more bikes (just below 3%).

Still, though, it takes a dedicated person to ride a BMW just like us BMW car drivers. We love our Bimmers, and talking with the riders today, I’d say they have us beat for dedication, believe it or not.

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