BMW goes classic
BMW Motorrad has become the first mainstream manufacturer to establish a separate division of the company targeted at owners of Classic models of yesteryear, as well as developing further retroinspired New Heritage models based on the R nineT air/oil-cooled Boxer platform. BMW is set to deepen its involvement in the retro market with the launch of a further range of R nineT-based models at the Intermot show opening in Cologne on October 5. It’s understood there will be a production version of the factory-built Lac Rose enduro custom as a tribute to one of BMW’s most historic bikes, the R80/GS Paris-Dakar racer, which was the forerunner of today’s ultra-successful R1200GS line. It’s believed that the third new New Heritage model will be a half-faired café racer version of the R nineT.
To maximise its participation in this market sector, BMW has now set up a New Heritage department within BMW Motorrad specifically to develop further ways of mining the company’s rich 90-year history. Furthermore, its historic vehicle subsidiary, BMW Group Classic www.bmwclassic.com has just moved into new headquarters in Munich, which formerly housed the company’s very first factory. The BMW company archive and the vehicle collection, the workshop and the customer centre together with the parts service for classic automobiles and motorcycles are now located together in an array of buildings which includes the original factory gatehouse. The former engine production halls now provide display space for a selection of the vast collection of historic vehicles the company owns, including milestones from its motorcycle history BMW is entitled to claim that for even longer than most other major manufacturers, it has focused on its past as well as the future, and BMW Group Classic is now responsible for all activities revolving around the German manufacturer’s history. This includes the BMW Museum’s enormous permanent collection of more than 1,000 cars and motorcycles from the company’s past, with alongside it an extensive archive open to the public. It also offers a range of services for owners of historic BMW two- and fourwheeled vehicles, from the supply of replacement parts to full restoration. “We have a dedicated motorcycle workshop in our Group Classic building which repairs and/or restores motorbikes for our own collection, and for customers as well,” says BMW Group Classic spokesman Benjamin Voss. “Together with our car partners we offer a wide range of spare parts for obsolete models, with over 55,000 separate items already listed, and more being added every week as we identify which components are sufficiently in demand to justify remanufacturing them. Our archive supports inquiries about BMW Motorrad’s history in general as well as about specific bikes, and our motorcycle specialists Fred Jakobs and Robert Groh are ready to answer technical or historical questions about older models. And there is also a growing network of certified BMW Group Classic Partnership dealers, so there will be dedicated staff at these dealerships supporting the customers of vintage bikes with both parts supply and repairs.” Last year BMW Motorrad CEO Stephan Schaller set the company the objective of producing 200,000 motorcycles a year by 2020, and the creation of the New Heritage department is a signal that BMW clearly sees its emerging model line-up as a major potential contributor to that objective, providing traditional riding allure and retro styling, but in a modern context. Now that BMW has been the first to take this step, which other company will be next to follow its lead and begin catering for the needs of owners of its older models? Triumph? Ducati? Harley-Davidson? Moto Guzzi? Place your bets….