General topics » Has BMW abandoned the mid weight market?

The current generation of so called mid weight / size BMWs are real porkers. Weight nearly as much as R bikes.

For those of us who do not need or want 500 plus lbs bikes, BMW is not offering us much

Ducati has a new Monster 365lbs dry / 414 curb, 111 hp and 65lbs torque. Yes it is a naked

I'll be checking this out. Maybe I can make a sport tourer out of it with some farkles? Maybe Ducati will do

Are you talking about the new 900cc twins?

I regret the passing of the F800GT. Decent modest cost bike but could do with losing a few kilos! Mine has 61K on the clock. But for Covid that would be nearly 90K by now.

Chris

Has BMW abandoned the mid-weight market? It seems that way to me.

While they do have the R310 models, those bikes just don't have the beans to be useful at highway speeds and are light on low-speed torque. On the other hand, the new 850 and 900 bikes are kind of porky now that BMW shifted to heavy steel frames. Plus, they are taller than they need to be for street riding. Personally, I would really like to see BMW come out with a 500-600cc range of models, that weigh in around 400 pounds and cost under $10K USD. But it has been a long time since BMW showed any interest in mid-range bikes. The last that I can recall was the R65 air-heads, which were not very big sellers in NA and likely cost almost as much for BMW to manufacturer as did the 800 and 1000 cc models. But things are different now and it looks like BMW is willing to venture into new engine designs at the drop of a hat.

Honda seems to be doing well with their 500cc twins and I think BMW could enter that market too, which would give new riders, or riders intimated by heavier and taller machines, an option for having the BMW experience in a smaller and lighter, but still useful, package.

Zitat von Vtbob im Beitrag #1

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The current generation of so called mid weight / size BMWs are real porkers. Weight nearly as much as R bikes.

For those of us who do not need or want 500 plus lbs bikes, BMW is not offering us much

Ducati has a new Monster 365lbs dry / 414 curb, 111 hp and 65lbs torque. Yes it is a naked

I'll be checking this out. Maybe I can make a sport tourer out of it with some farkles? Maybe Ducati will do

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Guzzi is focusing on middleweights. Their top drawer offering is currently an 850 in the V85TT. There is an extensive V7 line, also…750s and 850s. The light weight makes them a pleasant ride.

That's the first time I have ever heard of Guzzi's being described as anything other than heavy - but I have to admit, I've never even sat on one so I don't really know

While I understand the desire for a lightweight, mid-size BMW, but I think one is asking for something that has never been, at least in the US market. And, yes, I'm ignoring F/G series singles. But, back in the day, we had 650, 750(800) and 900 (1000) airheads and 750 and 1000(1100) K-bikes. The airheads shared many components and weighed around 475-lbs. The K75 standard version weighed 520-lbs, while the K100 pushed 536-lbs.

By comparison, our R1200RS's weigh 520-lbs.

So, one could say........ our current big BMW's are the same weight as the mid-size BMW's of 1980's and 90's.

Yes What you say is all true.

But BMW was lazy or/and cheap. the R bikes all were based, both larger and smaller displacement from the same engine design....so weigh loss was minimal if at all. Making a new R 600 from our current engines will just make a narrower engine...save very little weight.

The K750 was just 3 cylinder of the K1000. so minimal weight loss.

To be serious about a modern mid weight bike needs a clean sheet of paper.

BMW sort of did it with the first gen 800 twin rotax, belt drive, but still old heavy iron tube frame. But BMW totally lost it with their own new design (made in India or china) 800 Twin which seems to have weighted even more and the bike got bigger!
Dumb but likely saved them money

An interesting thought. I think that the trouble is (or perhaps was) that when we do have mid-weight bikes offered to us, we complain that they do not have enough power at the top end to cope safely with motorway/autoroute/highway use.

I used to have a BMW F800S that was functionally superb. It remains the best handling and braking bike that I have ever ridden on the windy back roads that are my local environment. However, I reluctantly sold it, primarily because I did not feel that it had enough power to hold its own on the motorways. Yes, it could cruise happily at 90mph and that on paper is more than enough but it could not dart out of 80mph traffic for an overtake with sufficient energy and authority to keep the BMWs and Audis at bay. I found it to be slightly unsafe in these circumstances but others may feel differently. In the UK, many of these top-end car drivers are pretty dangerous unless you can stamp your authority on the situation and keep them away from you.

I think that we often subscribe to options that are perfectly sensible choices on paper, in many parts of life, that when presented to the real world are actually not good enough!

In the R1200 RS' case, for me in most circumstances, it is overkill. But, occasionally I need that power and confidence to maintain safe road space. Of course, our bikes come nowhere near the massive excesses of the true mega-sports bikes, so there is some sort of middle ground that is appropriate. I truly think that this is where our bikes are located at the moment. I also enjoy the relative calm and freedom from threat that having a bike with reasonable power gives you. I have always thought that underpowered motorbikes are amongst the most dangerous vehicles on the roads. I have not changed that opinion.

I have slightly conflated the distinction between weight and power but there is a direct connection in most cases. I do not find that weight is a problem with my R1200 RS. For me, as a short-arse, seat height is usually the challenge! I have the lowest seat option, so I am quite happy thank you!

Aprilia RS660 owner and very happy with it for all my riding needs at the moment. Some 50 kg lighter than the R1200RS it does not feel underpowered on UK motorways for me, maybe on the German unlimited sections of autobahn it might. I agree and think BMW are ignoring the middleweight segment but they probably sell enough GSs not to worry too much.

Zitat von DJBee im Beitrag #12

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I think that the trouble is (or perhaps was) that when we do have mid-weight bikes offered to us, we complain that they do not have enough power at the top end to cope safely with motorway/autoroute/highway use.

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Zitat von Duckbubbles im Beitrag #14

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Zitat von DJBee im Beitrag #12

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I think that the trouble is (or perhaps was) that when we do have mid-weight bikes offered to us, we complain that they do not have enough power at the top end to cope safely with motorway/autoroute/highway use.

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That, and also that the asking price for what we were getting was ridiculously high compared to offerings from other manufacturers. BMW is pretty quick to pull the trigger and discontinue models if sales aren't up to expectations. That is why I am glad to see the RS offered in '22, at least continuing for the immediate future.

Frank

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