BMW in 2003 MotoGP! Sort of...
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Re: BMW in 2003 MotoGP! Sort of...
I have seen interviews with several top BMW execs (both Motorcycle and Aotomobile divisions) which indicate that they are, in fact, considering it. They indicated that if they were to do so, it would not be primarily for marketing motorcycles, but was for marketing cars. BMW car owners, especially in Europe, are very much performance oriented, and like to be on the cutting edge of technology, much different from the Bike customers who are much more traditional.
The other reason cited was to motivate and reward their engineering and technical staff. I believe that Honda used to do that (maybe still do) -- rotate promising engineers through the race departments as 1) a reward, and 2) part of training.
Cheers
Bob
I have seen interviews with several top BMW execs (both Motorcycle and Aotomobile divisions) which indicate that they are, in fact, considering it. They indicated that if they were to do so, it would not be primarily for marketing motorcycles, but was for marketing cars. BMW car owners, especially in Europe, are very much performance oriented, and like to be on the cutting edge of technology, much different from the Bike customers who are much more traditional.
The other reason cited was to motivate and reward their engineering and technical staff. I believe that Honda used to do that (maybe still do) -- rotate promising engineers through the race departments as 1) a reward, and 2) part of training.
Cheers
Bob
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BMW //M Bike?
Is it time for the R990 //M? BMW did try and give up on the R1 Superbike (not the Yamaha) a few years ago.
The F1 highly 18,000 rpm electronic motors do seem to do well in MotoGP, see the Aprilia R3.
Crudely put: listen to a F1 race and compare to the sounds of a MotoGP race, two very different types of power delivery.
Is it time for the R990 //M? BMW did try and give up on the R1 Superbike (not the Yamaha) a few years ago.
The F1 highly 18,000 rpm electronic motors do seem to do well in MotoGP, see the Aprilia R3.
Crudely put: listen to a F1 race and compare to the sounds of a MotoGP race, two very different types of power delivery.
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13 Posts
Re: BMW //M Bike?
Meant to write:
" the 18,000 rpm highly electronic motors of F1 do *NOT* seem to do well in MotoGP, see the Aprilia RS Qube."
Meant to write:
" the 18,000 rpm highly electronic motors of F1 do *NOT* seem to do well in MotoGP, see the Aprilia RS Qube."
Re: BMW //M Bike?
I'd reserve judgement on that until we see how Colin does this season. It has gotten down pretty close to Honda times already.
The Aprilia's issues to date have been with fine tuning the electronic power-management software, and the fact the the bike is still overweight.
I'd reserve judgement on that until we see how Colin does this season. It has gotten down pretty close to Honda times already.
The Aprilia's issues to date have been with fine tuning the electronic power-management software, and the fact the the bike is still overweight.
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246 Posts
Re: BMW in 2003 MotoGP! Sort of...
BMW usually does pretty well in races when the company decides to seriously try to win. They've done pretty well in the past with the Paris-Dakar Rally. They have been testing the racing waters lately with the Boxer Cup series. I think that BMW could very design a potent GP bike if they chose to put their corporate resources into it. I would not even try to guess what type of engine etc they would theoretically choose to use. Anyway, time will tell won't it?
Take care,
Dave
BMW usually does pretty well in races when the company decides to seriously try to win. They've done pretty well in the past with the Paris-Dakar Rally. They have been testing the racing waters lately with the Boxer Cup series. I think that BMW could very design a potent GP bike if they chose to put their corporate resources into it. I would not even try to guess what type of engine etc they would theoretically choose to use. Anyway, time will tell won't it?
Take care,
Dave
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1,538 Posts
Re: BMW in 2003 MotoGP! Sort of...
Just be sure to run 10W60 BMW synthetic oil, in your modern M3.
Just be sure to run 10W60 BMW synthetic oil, in your modern M3.
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