alp
Registered user
I've just been to the NEC show and I thought that the BMW stand was ok but I have some comments :-
RnineT - They had a number of various versions on the stand but the biggest RnineT attraction was a group of 4 which had very colourful features on the tanks. These features were a kind of bright marble effect in different colours on the bikes. When I enquired about whether these effects were going to be available as options the answer was no, they are only there for the show to attract attention. I didn't see any wording on the information cards by each bike to indicate this that they were only special non available custom jobs but maybe it was in the small print. It certainly attracted visitor attention!
G310GS - while I can't see myself wanting such a low powered bike I thought that it looked much better than I expected and would be attractive to new riders.
R1200GS - Somewhat disappointed that they only had a Rallye (yep that's how it's spelt in the glossy 2017 brochure available at the show). It wasn't possible to sit on it but I think we know there aren't any significant changes as far as the rider ergonomics is concerned. I noticed that the new panels on the side of the radiators looked ok and that the radiators had stone protection grids fitted.
Which brings me to the 2017 model brochure - I have to question whether BMW are prioritising the GSA over the normal GS for a number of reasons a) No normal GS was on the stand while the GSA was well represented even though there didn't appear to be any changes to it b) the brochure page 11 only shows the normal GS in 3 miniature pictures, the Black Storm, Iced Chocolate and Light White, all three pictures are so small you can't actually see the colours! Even worse the Light White picture is the current model and not the 2017 model c) Have they down graded the electronics on the normal GS? Page 11 lists Optional Equipment which doesn't include Rider Mode Pro i.e. no Dynamic, Enduro etc. This is of course listed for the GSA but has not been included in the GS options.
1000XR - I was expecting to see what BMW had changed in the handle bar mounting to make it vibration free as they have been advertising but I couldn't see any difference. I asked a BMW stand rep what had been changed to eliminate the bar vibrations and then walked straight into an unseemly argument with the rep over whether the bar ever vibrated or not....a bit surprising considering that BMW say they have improved that aspect of the rider experience, which was concluded when the rep suddenly realised that the XR they had on the stand was in fact the current 2016 Euro 3 model and not the 2017 Euro 4 one we thought we were looking at. Hey Ho!
RnineT - They had a number of various versions on the stand but the biggest RnineT attraction was a group of 4 which had very colourful features on the tanks. These features were a kind of bright marble effect in different colours on the bikes. When I enquired about whether these effects were going to be available as options the answer was no, they are only there for the show to attract attention. I didn't see any wording on the information cards by each bike to indicate this that they were only special non available custom jobs but maybe it was in the small print. It certainly attracted visitor attention!
G310GS - while I can't see myself wanting such a low powered bike I thought that it looked much better than I expected and would be attractive to new riders.
R1200GS - Somewhat disappointed that they only had a Rallye (yep that's how it's spelt in the glossy 2017 brochure available at the show). It wasn't possible to sit on it but I think we know there aren't any significant changes as far as the rider ergonomics is concerned. I noticed that the new panels on the side of the radiators looked ok and that the radiators had stone protection grids fitted.
Which brings me to the 2017 model brochure - I have to question whether BMW are prioritising the GSA over the normal GS for a number of reasons a) No normal GS was on the stand while the GSA was well represented even though there didn't appear to be any changes to it b) the brochure page 11 only shows the normal GS in 3 miniature pictures, the Black Storm, Iced Chocolate and Light White, all three pictures are so small you can't actually see the colours! Even worse the Light White picture is the current model and not the 2017 model c) Have they down graded the electronics on the normal GS? Page 11 lists Optional Equipment which doesn't include Rider Mode Pro i.e. no Dynamic, Enduro etc. This is of course listed for the GSA but has not been included in the GS options.
1000XR - I was expecting to see what BMW had changed in the handle bar mounting to make it vibration free as they have been advertising but I couldn't see any difference. I asked a BMW stand rep what had been changed to eliminate the bar vibrations and then walked straight into an unseemly argument with the rep over whether the bar ever vibrated or not....a bit surprising considering that BMW say they have improved that aspect of the rider experience, which was concluded when the rep suddenly realised that the XR they had on the stand was in fact the current 2016 Euro 3 model and not the 2017 Euro 4 one we thought we were looking at. Hey Ho!
