BMW Motorrad plans entry into the segment below 500 cc

BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor Company sign cooperation agreement.

Munich / Chennai, India. As part of its strategic reorientation, BMW Motorrad will be entering the segment below 500 cubic centimetres. BMW Motorrad and the TVS Motor Company have signed a long-term cooperation agreement for this purpose. This was announced at a press conference today in Chennai, India.

2013 Montréal Moto Show: V-Strom 650 “à la CMG”

Many motorcycle manufacturers lack opportunism when it is time to showcase their adventure bikes to the public…

 

…either the bikes are presented with road tires, or no skid plate, or with an inefficient windscreen, etc etc.

The people from CMG magazine were right on the spot presenting a rugged version of the popular V-Strom 650 at the 2013 Montreal Moto Show. 

Their “Adventure” interpretation of this motorcycle is pretty much what adventurers ultimately aim to achieve when customizing their bike for off-road/adv use.

Triumph Safety Recall: Tiger 800, Daytona 675, Speed Triple and Street Triple for Flashers issue

On March 21, 2013, Triumph Canada filed a safety recall on multiple 2012 and 2013 models.

As stated on Transport Canada recall # 2013089, on certain motorcycles, supports for the front and rear turn signal lamps were manufactured incorrectly and could break, causing the lamp assemblies to hang from their electrical wires. As a result, the driver’s intentions to turn may not be conveyed clearly to other road users, increasing the risk of a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.

To correct the problem, the dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the turn signal lamp assemblies.  413 Motorcycles are potentially affected by this issue.

[SRC: Transport Canada]

Manawan Reserve ride: part 4, a maze of trails

See part 3 

The last part of my ride to Manawan.  I was pleasantly surprised when I deviated from my plan and took the path that led to Zec Collin.

 

There is something spiritual about adventure motorcycling – as one never knows what’s ahead, some faith is required to make the ride a success.  Of course, that depends on one’s definition of adventure motorcycling – mine is rather simplistic: ride and have fun – which does not leave much place to planning. 

 

Well, such an approach paid off as you can see below… 

BMW R1200GS 2013 Recalled for ASC software update

With the increase of electronics in modern vehicles, it is not a surprise that an update is required in the latest BMW adventure motorcycle software. 

As the number of lines of code required to drive all the new electronics increases, the potential for programming errors grows accordingly.  Software companies have to deal with bugs on a regular basis and the transportation industry now faces the same reality. 

Fortunately, once discovered, software issues can be easily fixed and only require an update of the vehicle computer code.  In this particular case, the problem reported by BMW is related to the Automatic Stability Control (ASC) system which may not reactivate following off-road use in the “Enduro-Pro” mode. As the ASC warning lamp is no longer illuminated, the rider may be unaware that the system is still currently deactivated.  This could result in a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.

To fix the issue the dealers will install an updated ASC software.

Only 31 models have been recalled.

[SRC: TRANSPORT CANADA]