The factory on the shores of beautiful Lake Varese in Lombardy, an early epicentre of the virus in Italy, had been continuing with a reduced workforce.
Now they have announced that from tomorrow (26 March 2020) will cease all activities until the production ban is lifted, whenever that might be.
They join other Italian motorcycle, car and automotive component factories in shutting down.
BMW Motorrad has halted manufacturing at its Spandau factory n Berlin, but we believe G 310 production is continuing in the TVR plant in India.
The company has also closed its Munich HQ and two museums.
In Australia, BMW’s GS Safari has been postponed from this month until May 24-29.
GS Safari in doubt
A spokeswoman says the event will “most definitely go ahead in May”, but we think that’s unlikely given the pandemic expected to be at its peak then.
“We are aware that medically we will still be in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 virus Australia wide however under advisement the current travel restrictions will have changed which will allow us to run the event as planned,” the spokeswoman says.
Several motorcycle factories have closed across Europe while Harley-Davidson joined the temporary closure to clean its factories after a worker tested positive at their Milwaukee engine plant.
Ducati has extended its factory closure until March 25 and Brembo and Yamaha have closed their European factories until next Monday.
Moto Morini, KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas had already closed their factories in Italy and Austria.
The Piaggio Group – owner of Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Vespa – closed its factories last weekend for a “deep clean” and returned to production this week.
Meanwhile, MV Agusta in Lombardy, the epicentre of the Italian coronavirus contagion, continues with a reduced workforce.
All these manufacturing halts may not have an immediate effect on motorcycle supplies, but could result in longer term delays, especially on spare parts.
BMW Motorrad will unveil their much-anticipated R 18 on 3 April 2020, but exactly what it will look like is still anyone’s guess.
So far they have shown two concepts – a retro classic and a modern cruiser – and there have been spy shots of touring models.
Perhaps they will unveil a whole family of R 18 models, all powered by the same massive 1802cc Boxer engine.
Modern R 18 concept
Retro R 18 prototype
Bagger spy shot
BMW Motorrad boss Dr. Markus Schramm certainly isn’t giving anything away:
With the R 18 and the associated entry into the cruiser segment, we are consistently pursuing our growth strategy with the clear goal of becoming the number one in the premium segment worldwide”.
The most recent spy shots show a full dresser to take on the HarleyDavidson and Indian Motorcycle tourers.
All spy images: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Full dresser details
BMW R 18 (Image: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien)
Harley Street Glide
The most obvious feature is the fork-mounted “batwing” fairing that closely resembles that used by Harley.
However, it has a much higher four-dial instrument section. Unlike Harley and Indian full dressers, this doesn’t include satnav as there is a separate aftermarket GPS mounted on the bars.
There are also tacked-on lowers to protect your knees from the cold and rain that look more like an afterthought.
Panniers are hard and the hinges are on the outside so you can open them while seated, just like Harley introduced a few years ago. Convenient, but a Harley rip-off.
BMW R 18 (Image: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien)
But unlike a Harley, there are no forward controls and big floorboards.
We reckon touring on this beast would be hard on the knees which are bent back further than 90 degrees.
An electric commuter/off-road motorcycle, a concept electric BMW and the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 adventure bike have been honoured with international iF Design Awards.
They are among hundreds of awards announced this year for products and concepts from baby prams to an automated toilet cleaner.
The iF Design Award is a global contest celebrating world-renowned design in the fields of product, packaging, communication, interior design, service design, professional concept and architecture.
Previous motorcycle award winners include the Yamaha’s MT-10 SP, its robot-controlled Motoroid concept bike, the Cake Kalk off-road electric bike, AGV Sport Modular helmet and BMW’s Motorrad Concept Link scooter.
Ösa bike
The Ösa is a utility urban commuter with some off-road capabilities.
It features a unique clamp-on system that acts as a workstation, an integrated mobile power station and flexible transport packages.
Judges said: “If users prioritise matters of sustainability, responsibility and respect, in conjunction with an active lifestyle and the need for a change in urban commuting, this is the future!”
BMW Vision DC concept
BMW’s Vision DC concept is a boxer-style electric-powered motorcycle.
It’s not necessarily going to make it into production, but it does show that BMW is thinking about how an electric motorcycle would look.
Yamaha Ténéré 700
Yamaha Tenere 700
This is the seventh successive time Yamaha have won an iF Design award.
Yamaha also won an award this year for their YNF-01 four-wheeled mobility vehicle.
The judges were impressed with the Ténéré’s minimalist styling.
“Behind the rally-bred quad-LED headlight, the 16-litre fuel tank provides over 350 km of potential range while the beefy suspension front and rear handily soak up rough terrain. As adventure bike models balloon in size and complexity, the Ténéré remains a simpler, more straightforward partner for the journey.”
BMW Motorrad has posted its ninth consecutive record year with global sales of 175,162 motorcycles and maxi-scooters, a 5.8% increase over 2018.
That’s impressive, given many markets were down and Europe was only slightly up, yet BMW recorded 7% growth in Europe.
However, in Australia, BMW sold 2675 motorcycles and scooters which was 8.5% down on the previous year, coincidentally the same as the total market decrease.
Strong scooters buoyed those results with their road bike sales down a massive 12.9% to 2470.
BMW Motorrad boss Markus Schramm credits the launch of seven new models for their ninth record year, despite a global slump in sales of motorcycles and scooters.
The new R 1250 GS and outgoing R 1200 GS models claimed top honours as the bestsellers:
BMW R 1250 GS
R 1200/1250 GS and R 1200/1250 GS Adventure: over 59,000 units worldwide
G 310 R and G 310 GS single-cylinder models: Over 20,000
F 750 GS and F 850 GS and other inline-twin models: Over 29,000
2020 outlook
R 18/2
Markus says they are going for a 10th consecutive record year with the introduction of the F 900 range, revised S 1000 XR and, of course, the much-vaunted R 18 cruiser.
We don’t expect it will be a big seller, but it will add to sales as the cruiser is a whole new family and shouldn’t cannibalise any of their existing product.
The company is already taking orders for the cruiser, even though we do not yet know what it looks like.
BMW Motorrad has filed a patent for a sidestand charger that looks like it belongs to an electric motorcycle, lending more weight to an electric future.
These patent applications seem to give a clear indication of BMW’s electrification plans.
However, BMW Motorrad boss Markus Schramm recently told US website Cycle World they would not have an electric motorcycle for at least another five years.
“In the urban environment, it is possible that there will be an electric BMW motorcycle in five years. In the touring, off-road, and sport segments, I am not sure that we will see them,” he is quoted as saying.
The Bavarian company already has an electric scooter, the C-Evolution.
BMW C evolution electric scooter
But these latest patent filings seem to show plans for an electric motorcycle, at least for the urban environment.
The sidestand charger system involves the stand slotting into a “puck” which is plugged into the AC mains.
It’s simply another way of connecting to a charger.
It would probably only be of use in your home as we cannot see this sort of infrastructure being rolled out in public places.
In 2017, BMW Group Australia boss Marc Werner said Australia needed tax incentives, import subsidies and/or charging infrastructure, but we don’t think he had a sidestand charger in mind at the time.
The only advantage we can see of a sidestand charger is that it might save you a couple of seconds where you would normally plug in the bike’s onboard charger.
However, the filing is important as it is another example of BMW getting serious about electric motorcycles.
BMW Motorrad has been toying with the idea of an electric motorcycle for some time and has now revealed the working E-Power Roadster prototype at a small media event.
For now it’s called the E-Power Roadster and it is the first time an electric BMW motorcycle has been ridden by journalists.
However, it’s still a long way from production. Thank god! At the moment it looks hideous and heavy!
This hefty 289kg prototype seems to have been built just to show journalists that they can make an electric motorcycle.
The Bavarian company has been making their electric C-Evolution scooter for some years now, but this is their first working electric motorcycle prototype.
This E-Power Roadster is made up of existing BMW models with the front end from an S 1000 R and the rear from a R 1200 RS.
Bulky prototype
The small media event follows the recent release of a patent drawing that has little resemblance to the bulky prototype.
Patent drawing
BMW as also unveiled several electric concepts over the past few years:the boxer-style Vision DC Roadster unveiled in June 2019, the Concept Link electric scooter and the electric S 1000 RR concept called the eRR.
Vision DC Roadster
Concept Link
BMW eRR electric sports bike
E-Power Roadster
The E-Power Roadster is powered by a 13kW battery and a 101kW/199Nm electric motor from a 7 Series car.
Despite its 289kg of bulk, BMW claims the bike will dart to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds which is 0.1 seconds faster than Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire.
They also claim it can be fast charged at 5km of range every minute which means 20 minutes for a 100km charge.
Despite its bulk, maximum range seems to be only about 160km and we’re not sure wether that is on the highway or in the city.
BMW hasn’t provided a lot of technical detail, but it compares with Harley’s 152km (highway) and 235km (city range).
However, neither is anywhere near Energica’s claimed 400km.
BMW Motorrad boss Christoph Lischka says they will only produce the bike if they can get close to 300km of range.
In 2018, BMW Motorrad managing director Stephan Schaller said electric motorcycles were “not in their immediate future”.
In 2017, BMW Group Australia boss Marc Werner said Australia was not ready yet for electric motorcycles and scooters.
He said we needed tax incentives, import subsidies and/or charging infrastructure to catch up with the rest of the world on low-emissions vehicles.
There have also been some spy shots, but not a full reveal which is expected early next year.
BMW R 18 spy photo
Even before a production model R 18 cruiser has rolled out of the Spandau factory gates, BMW Motorrad Australia is taking orders and deposits and has set up a dedicated site.
Big Boxer details
BMW says the Big Boxer engine will have overhead valves and a separate engine and transmission housing, but otherwise the same structural features of their first boxer which had laterally controlled valves.
It is BMW’s highest-capacity twin-cylinder boxer engine in motorcycle series production.
The Big Boxer weighs a hefty 110.8kg and has a 107.1mm bore and 100mm stroke.
Other features are large ribbed cylinders and heads with a vertically split aluminium engine housing.
Unlike their classic air-cooled two-valve boxer engines, the crankshaft is forged from quenched and tempered steel.
It has an additional main bearing at the centre, which is necessary to prevent “undesirable bending vibrations of the crankshaft”.
Like the crankshaft, the two connecting rods with I-shaft are mounted on plain bearings and are also forged from quenched and tempered steel.
They accommodate cast aluminium pistons with two compression rings and an oil wiper ring. The running surface of the light metal cylinders is coated with NiCaSil.
Lubricating and cooling oil is supplied by a wet sump lubrication system with a two-stage oil pump via sleeve-type chain driven by the crankshaft.
Two camshafts
Modern features include four valves, dual ignition, a modern combustion chamber architecture, intake manifold injection and the BMS-O engine management system for optimum torque and to meet Euro emissions targets.
However, it uses the classic OHV configuration for its valve drive of the legendary R 5 to R 51/2 from 70 years ago.
2016 R 5 Hommage concept
As in the historical role model, the two camshafts are positioned to the left and right above the crankshaft in the Big Boxer.
BMW says the advantage of this “twin camshaft boxer” is shorter pushrods which reduces moving masses, minimises deflections and lowers linear expansions for a stiffer valve drive with improved control precision and higher speed stability.
In the traditional BMW Motorrad boxer design, the two pushrods actuate one pushrod per cylinder side for the intake and one for the exhaust side, guided in a sealed pushrod tube on the top of the cylinders. The two intake and exhaust valves in the cylinder head are actuated in pairs via fork toggle levers.
In contrast to today’s widespread engine technology, valve clearance compensation is not effected by means of hydraulic elements, but – as was the case in most classic air-cooled BMW two-valve boxers for decades – via one adjusting screw with one lock nut for each valve.
As was formerly the case in the classic two-valve boxers, valve clearance adjustment (0.2 – 0.3 mm) in the R18 Big Boxer is also quick and easy. The valves are made of steel, with a disc diameter of 41.2mm on the inlet side and 35mm on the outlet side. The valve angle is 21 degrees on the inlet side and 24 degrees on the outlet side.
Transmission
It is married to a constant-mesh six-speed transmission and self-reinforcing single-plate dry clutch with anti-hopping function to prevent rear-wheel lock-ups on rapid downshifts.
The transmission is located in a dual-section aluminium housing and is designed as a four-shaft transmission with helical gear pairs.
The gearbox input shaft with lug dampers drives the two gearbox shafts with the gear wheel pairs. An output shaft is provided to bridge the distance and reverse the direction of rotation. A reverse gear is available as an optional extra. This is driven by an intermediate gear and an electric motor and can be shifted manually.
As in all BMW motorcycles with boxer engines, torque is transmitted from the gearbox to the rear wheel in the R 18 via a propeller-shaft or universal-shaft drive with universal joint, shaft and rear-axle drive with bevel and ring gear.
The propeller shaft and universal joint are classically nickel-plated and open, as used by BMW Motorrad in models up to 1955.
A so-called tripoid joint is applied on the gearbox side for length compensation.
BMW Motorrad seems to be getting serious about an electric motorcycle, judging by their latest patent application for a frameless motorbike.
The patent drawing, published by Electrek, shows the motor and battery making up the book of the frame, linked via upside down forks and a single 45-degree mono shock to the swingarm.
The Bavarian company already has and electric scooter, the C-Evolution.
But this drawing is a long way from that as well as their electric concepts of the past few years:the boxer-style Vision DC Roadster unveiled in June 2019, the Concept Link electric scooter and the electric S 1000 RR concept called the eRR.
Vision DC Roadster
Concept Link
BMW eRR electric sports bike
Serious spark
But it does lend weight to the likelihood of BMW getting serious about an electric motorcycle sooner, rather than later.
Maybe they will unveil one at the Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne next year.
This is despite managing director Stephan Schaller telling Italian publisher Motociclismo in March 2018 that electric motorcycles are “not in their immediate future”.
Clearly they are now getting serious about electric motorcycles.
Just don’t expect it to be released in Australia soon.
Despite their electric scooter being available for several years, it is still not on sale here.
In 2017, BMW Group Australia boss Marc Werner said Australia needed tax incentives, import subsidies and/or charging infrastructure to catch up with the rest of the world on low-emissions vehicles.
Harley’s Pilgrim Road factory where a worker tested positive 
GS Safari in doubt
Harley’s Pilgrim Rd engine factory
All spy images: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
BMW R 18 (Image: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien)
BMW R 18 Big Boxer
Patent drawing
Yamaha Tenere 700
BMW R 1250 GS
R 18/2
BMW R 18 Big Boxer
