Big year for Bimm

From the Bimm bunker: BMW Motorrad Australia and New Zealand is celebrating a new sales record.

With 2006 registrations in 2007, the previous year's record result (1610 in Australia and 191 in New Zealand), has been well and truly eclipsed.

The surge has been driven by a near-total model range overhaul in the past four years, along with a focus that is strongly sporty and oriented towards younger riders.

The company promises more for 2008 with the arrival of eight new machines, starting with first supplies of the G 650 Xcountry and G 650 Xmoto in January.

Hot on their heels come the revised R 1200 GS and GS Adventure models, with the all new parallel twin powered F 650 GS, not far behind. The F 800 GS now arrives later in 2008 than previously expected, due to production capacity issues in Europe.

Around mid-year will see the arrival of the HP2 Sport (pictured), based on the successful endurance racer campaigned by the factory in 2007, while another race-bred model, the G 450 X sports enduro arrives later in the third quarter.

The G 450 X was raced in the World Enduro Championships in 2007 as a prototype but a factory team will campaign a full season of racing in Europe in the WEC and Germany Cross-Country series in 2008, while Australia's Glenn Kearney race the new 450 enduro machine for the BMW XPLOR team in the US series.

"Our sales success in 2007 has been driven by our stalwart Boxers, notably the R 1200 GS, Adventure and RT along with high levels of success for the K Series four-cylinder machines," said Cameron Cuthill, General Manager.

"The growth of the premium segment in Australia and New Zealand perfectly coincides with the arrival of our new exciting models, and with all indicators suggesting another bumper year for both markets, we are confident that BMW is well placed to take advantage.”

Web: www.motorcycles.bmw.com.au