We call our inside sources in the industry “Bothan Spies” because they work tirelessly to provide us with good information, and today is no different. As such, Asphalt & Rubber can confirm that BMW Motorrad will update its best-selling motorcycle at the EICMA show in Milan, the BMW R1200GS.
Our sources tell us that the 2017 BMW R1200GS will see a host of improvements over its predecessor. The most notable changes will be the revised bodywork, though changes have also been made to the suspension and electronics as well.
What remains to be seen though is whether BMW massages in some more power to the boxer-twin on the R1200GS, to help it keep up with the more powerful offerings coming from other manufacturers.
The BMW R1200GS was last updated for the 2013 model year, and a lot has changed in that four-year timespan in the adventure-touring market.
Offerings from European brands like Ducati, KTM, and Triumph compete not only on performance and features, but also brand and exclusivity. Meanwhile, the Japanese OEMs have brought out an array of ADV bikes that offer similar, if not more, performance for a fraction of the cost of the BMW.
All of this has created a number of challengers for the crown of that the BMW R1200GS wears, likely putting pressure on the Germans to update its flagship model to keep its dominant position in the ADV market.
On the other side of the coin though, the success of the BMW R1200GS is owed beyond the bike’s spec sheet, with BMW essentially creating the ADV segment through its marketing efforts.
To that end, there certainly must be reservations in Berlin about straying to far from the formula that’s caused the success of the R1200GS, so we certainly expect BMW Motorrad to be walking a thin line between updating the GS, while also keeping enough of it the same.
This theory seems proved out in how BMW handled the updated to the 2013 R1200GS. So, it will be interesting to see how far BMW goes with its revisions to the R1200GS. We should only have a few more weeks to wait to see all the details about the 2017 BMW R1200GS.
Source: Bothan Spies
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