Our friends atMOTORRAD magazinein Germany managed to take aside the head of BMW Motorrad, Markus Schramm, and ask some detailed questions. The results are fascinating; here are some excerpts.
Is there a new GS model coming between the 310 and the 850?
“We don’t need such an additional model. In the USA, for example, our two 310cc bikes are extremely popular entry-level models, as many dealers have confirmed to me. And if you have one, you will be happy to switch directly to a larger model, such as the F 850 or even larger. In this respect, we are not missing anything.”
ab什么out customers who want to downsize?
“They can! And they do, as our market research confirms. The F 850 GS is also very good for this. And above all, the F 750 GS. We sell around 40,000 units of the mid-range segment annually and are once again 15 percent higher than last year this year. So we don’t see a need for a model between 310 and 850 cc.”
What can you say about the new R 1300 GS coming on September 28th?
“Higher torque, slightly higher horsepower – we don’t need unlimited power development. It already has enough power… we also bring a new GS Adventure. We have also noticed the rumors about it, such as that the Adventure will come as a 1400. But there won’t be any other engine in it than in the R 1300 GS.”
When is the M 1300 GS coming?
(Herr Schramm smiles) “Hmmmm… The M models pull the basic bikes upwards with them. We didn’t really expect that. Before we had the M 1000 RR, we sold around 10,300 RR bikes worldwide a year at the peak. And now we’re at around 12,000 RR and another 1,500 M-RR. So we have significantly increased the total volume of the RR. With the M 1000 R, this is even more extreme.”
Eighteen months ago, you announced the upcoming BMW electric motorcycle for 2025. Now it has been pushed back to 2026. Why is that?
“Among other things it is due to the market. Basically, it can be said that the electric market for two-wheelers is ten years behind that of cars. Last year we had 2.5 percent of our sales electric, this year it will be five percent. These are the values that BMW Auto had ten years ago. But that also means that there is no point in offering a motorcycle at a time when the clientele is not yet ready to accept it. For such reasons, we sometimes prefer to postpone models for a year.”
If you could ask the EU for one thing, what would it be?
“It would quite clearly be to push the topic of e-fuels. That is important for a number of reasons. We currently have 40 million motorized two-wheelers in Europe, with an average lifespan of 20 years. But while we are now waiting for them all to become electric, we are blowing away 250 million tons of CO₂. This could be prevented by the use of e-fuels. And although motorized two-wheelers only account for 0.3 percent of CO₂ emissions in Europe, that would be a huge step. In the case of passenger cars, it would be even greater. The introduction of e-fuels would be possible immediately, it even brings performance advantages as a test by MOTORRAD has confirmed. That would be my wish, my only one: to promote e-fuels. As soon as possible.”
(This is a translated and edited excerpt from MOTORRAD Magazine 19/2023)
