Motorcycles

BMW releases the surprising Megamoto 1200

BMW releases the surprising Megamoto 1200
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October 13, 2006 BMW Motorrad was once a staid company that took few risks with its Blue Chip brand, but these days its difficult to guess just exactly what the company might do next, other than be absolutely sure that at least some of its thinking will be a long way “outside the square.” True to recent form, BMW announced five new motorcycles at INTERMOT 2006 in Cologne this week, and several of them were big surprises, with the most outrageous being the new Megamoto. Based on the 1200cc BMW HP2 Enduro machine, the unique Megamoto is a mega supermotard style motorcycle weighing less than 200 kilos in road trim, and with no claimed horsepower figure yet announced other than that it will offer “significantly more power and torque” than the 105 bhp HP2. Other motorcycles to be announced by BMW at INTERMOT include a sports version of the BMW K 1200 R, the K 1200 R Sport, and an all-new single-cylinder model series including three brand-new motorcycles quite different in their features and character – the G 650 Xcountry, the G 650 Xchallenge, and the G 650 Xmoto (another motard). Read on for all available details of the Megamoto.

To meet the specific demands of sports surfing on country roads as well as the toughest conditions on the race track, the extra-firm, lowered suspension comes with truly outstanding components: At the front a fully adjustable, fine-response upside-down fork from Marzocchi with sliding tubes measuring an impressive 45 millimetres or 1.77" in diameter and with 160 millimetres /6.30" spring travel ensures superior wheel guidance at all times. At the rear an Öhlins spring strut with 180 millimetres/7.09" spring travel also adjustable in its basic spring setting, damper inbound and rebound stroke, likewise ensures a firm and muscular stance on the road.

The wheels and tires are also tailored ideally to specific road-going requirements: The front tire measures 120/70-ZR 17 and runs on a 3.5-inch rim, the rear tire is 180/55 ZR 17 in size and runs on a 5.5-inch rim in the usual supersports dimension.

To make even better use of the stable suspension with its great potential, the new BMW HP2 Megamoto comes with a second front brake disc ensuring stopping power and deceleration absolutely comparable to a modern road-going sports machine. Good news for the rational enthusiast is that both a tachometer and a new headlight, as well as the significantly lower seat, give the Megamoto an even higher standard of everyday riding qualities.

The very looks of the new machine and the choice of the most exclusive materials again help to make the BMW HP2 Megamoto absolutely fascinating and emotional in every respect. The tank cover and headlight fairing, for example, are both made in part of carbon fiber.

The double-chamber Akrapovic exhaust system gives the new Megamoto a powerful and throaty sound very appropriate for a machine of this kind. And at the same timethe exhaust system not only helps to boost engine power, but also refines the overall image and style of BMW Motorrad's new Supermoto. In re-configuring the Boxer power unit so full of character, the engineers responsible for the new machine have focused in particular on even more spontaneous response and supreme torque at low and medium engine speeds.

With its very active, front wheel-oriented seating position, its smooth balance and impressive ergonomic qualities, the Megamoto will certainly appeal to all connoisseurs, individualists and pleasure-conscious riders within the segment of dynamic motorcyclists. Simply because this new machine offers a brand-new interpretation of Sheer Riding Pleasure and light handling, making it a truly uncompromising riding machine in all its features: light, powerful, agile and, in particular, very exclusive.

This exclusivity is ensured by the limited production figures of the BMW HP2 Megamoto, since the machine is built by hand to a large extent and uses very exclusive materials. So the individualist opting for the Megamoto, this explosive combination of high-tech and powerful character, of emotion and function, should also be willing and able to take a bold but wise decision....

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