New bikes arriving soon - Suzuki, BMW, Yamaha and what else?
 

In lots of other threads there are various references to what bikes may be offered to the public in 2008, and this is the time of year for the rumour mill to work overtime - just in front of the bike show season that will kick off in the near future.

So, here is a thread to pull together all of the rumours that will be around in the next few months - one place where you can spread the information that you have seen or heard somewhere else, but, hopefully, some information that has a modicum of substance to the story!


I have just picked up the August copy of the freebie Motorcycle Monthly that is distributed here in the UK: MOTOR CYCLE MONTHLY NEWSPAPER - FREE Motorcycle Newspaper for real riders - www.motorcyclemonthly.co.uk
This "confirms" that Suzuki are bringing out a 450cc motocrosser, RM-Z450, with fuel injection for about £4500 list price (does anyone pay list price for a brand new bike nowadays?). Available around Nov 07 for those who are holding their breath at present. I guess that the 450 motor will turn up in other Suzi models in due course.

So, what else is new??

KTM690 adventure :thumbup1:

Hmm, when, at what price and how will it differ from the current Supermoto model would be nice to know (or at least have some amount of rumour in circulation!).
So, when does it arrive in the Netherlands?

Here in the UK you can now have the BMW HP2 in supermoto version for around £12500 (same source of information as my first post) unless you negotiate a discount with your dealer - could be the bargain to have between now and Christmas! :cool4:

You must ride this bike..!! It does everything well.

What new Tenere?

Thanks.

Ian,
This one, if the speculation is correct (hence my post to see if there is any substance to all of the rumours that go around and come around):-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...a-tenere-28195

Bmw
 

Just to say I went to the Erzberg Enduro (Austria) and the BMW team was running a couple of 450 Enduro´s there. I have some pictures but know idea how to show them here.

Fish.

15K and makes over 40 hp. A 250!!

For a mix of the 450 and HP2 check here: YouTube - BMW Motorrad Motorsport @ Erzberg 2007

Like Mollydog I have heard that the 450 is out but I have also heard that it's not... After all Erzberg was after most people knew abut the Husqvarna-deal and it doesn't make sense to let Chris Pfeiffer ride an abondoned modell, or......?

Interesting situation....
No factory efforts at Pike's Peak from the Japanese.
The US is where the money is regards off road bikes....so where are BMW?

Market segments for selling bikes
 

That's a nice link Alibaba, and there are a few other half decent vids in Youtube of that venue; KTM are well represented (of course, being in Austria), but I have no idea if there is factory support for any of these teams, Mollydog - maybe someone else on here is more clued up about Erzberg.

Anyway, for marketing differentiation purposes (What a management term for a simple concept!) it's possible that BMW could place their own badge on the 450 and sell the Huskies with other engine capacities and that badge; customers will always pay a bit more for the blue and white propeller. I would not be surprised if there is no firm decision by BMW at present, which might account for different rumours and versions of stories.

For a travellers bike, BMW will surely stick with the projected 800GS?!

Fish,
You can put pics in to your posts as attachments (see underneath any current post that you are typing for "additional options/manage attachments") but this will handle only very small (not many Kb that is) pics.

Lots of people put them into a free web hosting site and then show the link and some of the moderators say that they prefer this - keeps the bandwidth down I guess.

It must be right....and if its' good they'll sell a million.

Without the driveshaft enigma to market, this bike will be compared to many other machines, from 650-1000cc+. I don't know where pricing will fall, but I assume it will be typical BM'Wish'.

If it 'is' light and it 'is' reasonably crashable, they could pull new buyers.

Is this bike something other than a replacement for the old F bikes...and those owners/buyers?

Based on?
 

"BMW....they are going Super Bike racing and have a 190 hp race bike....a production version will come soon too. A real sport bike based on the GSXR1000, which was their baseline bike. (BMW are getting smart!)"

- Since the GSXR is a bike built by their rival, how come this be? Or you mean more like theyre going to use similar layout of the engine, chassis, etc? Doesnt sound like BMW to copy a Japanese rival! And where theyre going to race it then... like national level, European level or World Superbikes? Stock streetbikes are now making close to 190 hp, think theyre going to need much more to even dream of success. And they now have launch control, traction control and other very expensive electronics.

Werent BMW (and KTM as well) rushing into Motogp just a few years ago.. until they both realised how friggin expensive it will be, so they pulled the plug? Will probably need a big sponsor (like Ducati has) to make it a reality.

The 800GS will certainly be an interesting bike. While the 1200 is just too big for anything but good roads, and the 650 maybe a tad underpowered against some v-twins, this could really hit the nail in the head!