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Today I am starting with the PressClub from Germany. Page 2 has the rest of the Morning Reads.
BMW Group Press Club:
PressClub Germany
English translation of the press release by Google Translator.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Neues Engagement im sport Gel?ñnde
Area haven is inseparably linked with the motorcycles of BMW. The multiple victories of BMW motorcycles with the Rallye Dakar still are in lively memory, but the tradition passes still much on. In the last eighty years apart from successes in road racing Top results provided also again and again off the bitumen for world-wide attention.
After successes of the HP2 Sportboxer Enduro in competitions like the German CROSS Country series, which running at the Pikes peak or the ore mountain expands in the last year BMW now its Offroad commitment on the sportily attractive and prestigious class E2, in which with 450 cubic centimeters four-cycle or 250 cubic centimeter Zweitakt sport Enduros one fights. In this class BMW tests the concept of a 450er Einzylinder Enduro, which is aligned to the sporty employment. The mark is satisfied not with class-usual design features, but ties with BMW typical, completely new technical solutions regarding drive and chassis to the area haven tradition of the house and lends to the mark also off the road a salient, independent profile.
In the season 2007 the innovative, patented technology of the Einzylinder sport Enduro concept in the surrounding field of numerous competitions on heart and kidneys is tested. In addition could be won with Sascha Eckert, Joel Sm?®ts and Simo Kirssi racer-rehearsed Offroad professionals, who with its experience and authority contribute to test the concept under hardest conditions to co-ordinate and develop further.
The following is the press information kit included with the press release. Fortunately it was offered both in German and English. The following is in BMW’s words.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport: New involvement in off-road racing.
Contents.
1. Intensification of off-road sports involvement: Competitive participation with the 450 cc BMW sports enduro in 2007.
2. The fascination of enduro sport: Single-cylinder sports enduro concept with innovative
technology.
3. Rider portraits.
4. BMW motorcycles – an off-road tradition which goes back 81
years.
1. Intensification of off-road sports involvement: Competitive
participation with the 450 cc BMW sports enduro in 2007.
Off-road racing is inseparably linked to BMW motorcycles. The multiple
victories of BMW motorcycles in the Paris-Dakar rally are still in recent
memory, but the tradition goes much further back than this. Over the last
eighty years, not just success in road racing but also outstanding results off
the asphalt have attracted great interest.
After the success of the HP2 sports flat twin enduro in competitions such as
the German Cross Country Series, the race at Pikes Peak and the Erzberg,
BMW is now expanding its off-road involvement to include the attractive and
prestigious E2 class, in which 450 cc 4-stroke machines and 250 cc 2-stroke
sports enduros will be entered for competition. In this class, BMW will be
testing the concept of a 450 cc single cylinder enduro machine which is
mainly designed for sports use. Here, BMW is not content simply to
implement the design features typical of the class but combines these with
completely new technological solutions which are characteristic of BMW in
terms of engine and chassis, thus continuing its off-road sporting tradition and
giving the brand a striking, distinctive profile in an off-road context, too.
In the 2007 season, the innovative, patented technology of the single cylinder
sports enduro concept will be put to the acid test in numerous competitive
races. What is more, BMW has been able to secure the services of
experienced off-road professionals Sascha Eckert, Joel Sm?®ts and Simo
Kirssi who will contribute their skill and experience to the process of testing
under the toughest conditions, as well as the harmonisation and further
development of the concept.
2. The fascination of enduro sport: Single-cylinder sports enduro concept
with innovative technology.
The concept for the new BMW sports enduro started with an idea: if the
mounting axis of the rear swing arm were to coincide with the axis of rotation
of the drive chain pinion, there would be no change in length of the chain on
compression and rebound. Then, without changing the wheelbase, one could
realise a longer swing arm, position the engine further to the rear, tilt the
cylinder more and thus create space for long, straight induction tracts with a
dual throttle valve system so as to meet the requirements of the Euro III
exhaust gas norm. The fuel tank could be placed directly beneath the rider,
the clutch could go on the crankshaft, with the frame tubes straight ahead of
the swing arm pivot, and the airbox could be placed as high as possible for
optimum protection. In short: it would be possible to create a package with
significant benefits in terms of traction, centralisation of masses and stability
and with a low weight, important for an offroad motorcycle.
The man who put this idea into practice was Markus Theobald, a BMW
Motorrad development engineer with off-road experience and one of the
fathers of the successful BMW HP2 Enduro. He thought through the concept
and consistently implemented the advantages: the swing arm, made of
welded light alloy profiles, is 30 mm longer even though the wheelbase was at
competitor level – thus improving traction properties. And the shift of the
clutch onto the crankshaft creates constructional space behind the engine
allowing a new straight frame and ideal support for the swing arm pivot
against the steering head. This concept idea was registered for a patent by
Markus Theobald for BMW in 2005. The first prototype was instantly
impressive and reflected the benefits in practice. Thus the green light was
given to test the concept under the tough conditions of competitive enduro racing and to develop it in further detail.
Technical features of the racing bike:
The racing motorcycle has been designed based on these ideas. The frame
forms a composite triangle made of high-precision premium steel tubing
actually developed for crash structures and rarely used in motorcycle
construction. Two arched tubes lead from the steering head via the engine to
the swing arm pivot. The swing arm pivot is supported via the shortest
possible distance by the steering head, pointing at an angle towards the front
via two straight tubes. This construction requires minimum use of material
and thus allows a hitherto unequalled relationship between rigidity and weight.
This frame layout is only possible in conjunction with the clutch position on
the crankshaft as mentioned above and a cylinder which is tilted far forward.
The rear frame is formed by lightweight square profiles made of light alloy
which are bolted to the main frame.
The coaxial mounting of the swing arm and the chain pinion had to be solved
in a practical manner. In the current design, the swing arm pivot mounted on
the frame leads through the hollow gearbox output which bears the drive
pinion. To change the pinion, the motorcycle is jacked up, the swing arm pivot
is pulled out and the swing arm with mounted wheel is folded backwards. A
practised mechanic can do it in 15 minutes.
The other chassis elements are conventional and are in keeping with the high
standard of the class. The front wheel control is provided by an adjustable
upside-down fork by Marzocchi with a spring travel of 300 mm. Suspension
and damping of the rear wheel is taken care of by a directly linked,
progressively operating ?ûhlins suspension strut with a spring travel of 320
mm. Set at a slant, it is supported directly by the rigid main frame.
The engine of the competition prototype is 450 cc high-performance single
cylinder 4-stroke engine designed by BMW with two upper camshafts and
dry sump lubrication. A special feature which is unique in this class is the fuel
injection and oxygen sensor regulation. The position of the cylinder, tilted far
forwards, enables virtually straight intake air ducting into the large-volume
airbox positioned above the engine. This provides excellent conditions for
optimum engine performance tune-up. This favourable overall arrangement
was made possibly by the fuel tank position below the rider’s seat, familiar
from the existing single cylinder models, with all its advantages in terms of the
centre of gravity.
Another unique feature is the position of the clutch: it is located on the right
crankshaft end and was thus given extremely compact dimensions since it
rotates with the engine due to a lack of a speed-reduction ratio of the primary
drive: it therefore has to transfer a lower level of torque. An intermediate shaft
with integrated ventilation function transfers the power from the crankshaft to
the gearbox. An electric start is obligatory.
The chain drive to the rear makes do without additional tensioning devices
and channels due to the fact that chain sag is barely necessary a any longer
and the chain retains a constant length – another weight-saving factor. The
load-alteration effect on the powertrain is reduced, chain stress is also
reduced and generous chain encapsulations become feasible.
The performance figures of the engine are at competitor level, though further
details will be revealed at a later stage. This also applies to the total vehicle
weight – even the first concept vehicle achieved levels in the range of the
established representatives of this motorcycle class.
Racing as a tool of development.
While the motorcycle has appeared entirely in black at test runs to date, its
baptism of fire in Puerto Lumbreras will see it presented for the first time in
the typical BMW Motorrad Motorsport colours. Markus Theobald and the
BMW team see themselves as “testing novices” at the World Cup race in
Spain and at other upcoming events this season. At this development stage,
it is not about racing success but about gaining well-founded testing insights
which lead to development progress.
3. Rider portraits.
Sascha Eckert:
Sascha Eckert was born on September 30th 1977 in Bochum. He raced his
first bike at the age of nine. 1997 he finished the german motocrosschampionship
in 8th position, one year later he came in 6th . In 2000 he ranked 9th in the Enduro-World-Championship. 2003 he won the German Enduro-Championship and finished third in the European Enduro-Championship.2004 Sascha Eckert became German Champion of the E1-Class. One year ago, Sascha Eckert startet working for the Team BMW
Motorsport Offroad.
Simo Kirssi:
Simo Kirssi was born on Oktober 3rd 1979 and now lives in Wei?ƒenburg,
Bavaria. His first race took place in 1984 and in 2004 he became European
and German Champion in the Cross-Country-Series. 2005 and 2006 he won
the Erzberg-Proloque. Two years ago he joined the Team BMW Motorsport
Offroad.
Jo?®l Smets:
Jo?®l Smets was born on April 6th 1969. He raced a cross-motorcycle first in
1986. After that he became famous as cross-professional. He became five
times Moto-Cross-World Champion and six times Belgian national Champion.
Three times he could also win the “Moto-Cross of Nations”-series. Two
months ago, Smets joined the Team BMW Motorsport Offroad.
4. BMW motorcycles - an off-road
tradition which goes back 81 years.
The abbreviation “GS” has stood for “Gel?ñnde” (German for “off-road”) and
“Sport” for the last 25 years, and the models from the first R 80 G/S through to
the current R 1200 GS represent a unique success story for the Munichbased
company. With the HP 2 Enduro, BMW has set new standards in the
large-volume off-road class since 2005, and since the start of the 2007
season it has the first real hard enduro on the market, the 650 Xchallenge. The
450 cc single-cylinder competition concept currently undergoing race testing
is even more consistently oriented towards sporting use and reaches a very
high level in terms of power-to-weight ratio and unique technical features.
However, these three machines do not only consist of fascinating technology,
they also reflect eight decades of experience in off-road sports on the part of
BMW. It was an engineer who celebrated BMW’s very first of-road success
exactly eighty years ago: in competition with the leading motorcycle brands,
Rudolf Schleicher won the Six-Day Race in the UK on the R 37 he himself had
designed. The young motorcycle brand from Munich gained overnight fame in
the wake of the enormous press response.
In the thirties, BMW factory riders achieved impressive success in international
6-day races, making the general public aware of the robustness, endurance
and power of the machines from Bavaria. The serial production of the
telescopic fork developed by BMW was ultimately only possible due to the
merciless testing carried out at tough off-road sports events. The same
applies to the straight rear-wheel suspension which was conscientiously
tested at the major off-road competitions for several years.
Famous BMW road racing motorcyclists such as Ernst Henne and Schorsch
Meier started their careers as off-road riders on BMW motorcycles. There are
the wonderful memories of success in the German Championships of 1955 to
1980 with riders such as Hans Meier, Sebastian Nachtmann, Herbert Scheck
and Richard Schalber, who lined up at the start on forerunners of the GS
models. Rolf Witth?Âft even won the European Championship.
The Paris-Dakar victories in the eighties were truly outstanding, when rally
legends such as Gaston Rahier and Hubert Auriol celebrated off-road
triumphs on the rally versions of the BMW R 100 GS. In 1999 Richard Sainct
clinched the Paris-Dakar victory again for BMW on a modified F 650 singlecylinder
machine. And even this was to be surpassed when BMW won a
quadruple victory in 2000.
In the more recent past, Simo Kirrsi has achieved impressive results on the
HP2 Enduro at events such as the German Cross Country Series, the Pikes
Peak competition and the Erzberg-Rodeo.
Bike Candy:
THE END
Today I am starting with the PressClub from Germany. Page 2 has the rest of the Morning Reads.
BMW Group Press Club:
PressClub Germany
English translation of the press release by Google Translator.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Neues Engagement im sport Gel?ñnde
Area haven is inseparably linked with the motorcycles of BMW. The multiple victories of BMW motorcycles with the Rallye Dakar still are in lively memory, but the tradition passes still much on. In the last eighty years apart from successes in road racing Top results provided also again and again off the bitumen for world-wide attention.
After successes of the HP2 Sportboxer Enduro in competitions like the German CROSS Country series, which running at the Pikes peak or the ore mountain expands in the last year BMW now its Offroad commitment on the sportily attractive and prestigious class E2, in which with 450 cubic centimeters four-cycle or 250 cubic centimeter Zweitakt sport Enduros one fights. In this class BMW tests the concept of a 450er Einzylinder Enduro, which is aligned to the sporty employment. The mark is satisfied not with class-usual design features, but ties with BMW typical, completely new technical solutions regarding drive and chassis to the area haven tradition of the house and lends to the mark also off the road a salient, independent profile.
In the season 2007 the innovative, patented technology of the Einzylinder sport Enduro concept in the surrounding field of numerous competitions on heart and kidneys is tested. In addition could be won with Sascha Eckert, Joel Sm?®ts and Simo Kirssi racer-rehearsed Offroad professionals, who with its experience and authority contribute to test the concept under hardest conditions to co-ordinate and develop further.
The following is the press information kit included with the press release. Fortunately it was offered both in German and English. The following is in BMW’s words.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport: New involvement in off-road racing.
Contents.
1. Intensification of off-road sports involvement: Competitive participation with the 450 cc BMW sports enduro in 2007.
2. The fascination of enduro sport: Single-cylinder sports enduro concept with innovative
technology.
3. Rider portraits.
4. BMW motorcycles – an off-road tradition which goes back 81
years.
1. Intensification of off-road sports involvement: Competitive
participation with the 450 cc BMW sports enduro in 2007.
Off-road racing is inseparably linked to BMW motorcycles. The multiple
victories of BMW motorcycles in the Paris-Dakar rally are still in recent
memory, but the tradition goes much further back than this. Over the last
eighty years, not just success in road racing but also outstanding results off
the asphalt have attracted great interest.
After the success of the HP2 sports flat twin enduro in competitions such as
the German Cross Country Series, the race at Pikes Peak and the Erzberg,
BMW is now expanding its off-road involvement to include the attractive and
prestigious E2 class, in which 450 cc 4-stroke machines and 250 cc 2-stroke
sports enduros will be entered for competition. In this class, BMW will be
testing the concept of a 450 cc single cylinder enduro machine which is
mainly designed for sports use. Here, BMW is not content simply to
implement the design features typical of the class but combines these with
completely new technological solutions which are characteristic of BMW in
terms of engine and chassis, thus continuing its off-road sporting tradition and
giving the brand a striking, distinctive profile in an off-road context, too.
In the 2007 season, the innovative, patented technology of the single cylinder
sports enduro concept will be put to the acid test in numerous competitive
races. What is more, BMW has been able to secure the services of
experienced off-road professionals Sascha Eckert, Joel Sm?®ts and Simo
Kirssi who will contribute their skill and experience to the process of testing
under the toughest conditions, as well as the harmonisation and further
development of the concept.
2. The fascination of enduro sport: Single-cylinder sports enduro concept
with innovative technology.
The concept for the new BMW sports enduro started with an idea: if the
mounting axis of the rear swing arm were to coincide with the axis of rotation
of the drive chain pinion, there would be no change in length of the chain on
compression and rebound. Then, without changing the wheelbase, one could
realise a longer swing arm, position the engine further to the rear, tilt the
cylinder more and thus create space for long, straight induction tracts with a
dual throttle valve system so as to meet the requirements of the Euro III
exhaust gas norm. The fuel tank could be placed directly beneath the rider,
the clutch could go on the crankshaft, with the frame tubes straight ahead of
the swing arm pivot, and the airbox could be placed as high as possible for
optimum protection. In short: it would be possible to create a package with
significant benefits in terms of traction, centralisation of masses and stability
and with a low weight, important for an offroad motorcycle.
The man who put this idea into practice was Markus Theobald, a BMW
Motorrad development engineer with off-road experience and one of the
fathers of the successful BMW HP2 Enduro. He thought through the concept
and consistently implemented the advantages: the swing arm, made of
welded light alloy profiles, is 30 mm longer even though the wheelbase was at
competitor level – thus improving traction properties. And the shift of the
clutch onto the crankshaft creates constructional space behind the engine
allowing a new straight frame and ideal support for the swing arm pivot
against the steering head. This concept idea was registered for a patent by
Markus Theobald for BMW in 2005. The first prototype was instantly
impressive and reflected the benefits in practice. Thus the green light was
given to test the concept under the tough conditions of competitive enduro racing and to develop it in further detail.
Technical features of the racing bike:
The racing motorcycle has been designed based on these ideas. The frame
forms a composite triangle made of high-precision premium steel tubing
actually developed for crash structures and rarely used in motorcycle
construction. Two arched tubes lead from the steering head via the engine to
the swing arm pivot. The swing arm pivot is supported via the shortest
possible distance by the steering head, pointing at an angle towards the front
via two straight tubes. This construction requires minimum use of material
and thus allows a hitherto unequalled relationship between rigidity and weight.
This frame layout is only possible in conjunction with the clutch position on
the crankshaft as mentioned above and a cylinder which is tilted far forward.
The rear frame is formed by lightweight square profiles made of light alloy
which are bolted to the main frame.
The coaxial mounting of the swing arm and the chain pinion had to be solved
in a practical manner. In the current design, the swing arm pivot mounted on
the frame leads through the hollow gearbox output which bears the drive
pinion. To change the pinion, the motorcycle is jacked up, the swing arm pivot
is pulled out and the swing arm with mounted wheel is folded backwards. A
practised mechanic can do it in 15 minutes.
The other chassis elements are conventional and are in keeping with the high
standard of the class. The front wheel control is provided by an adjustable
upside-down fork by Marzocchi with a spring travel of 300 mm. Suspension
and damping of the rear wheel is taken care of by a directly linked,
progressively operating ?ûhlins suspension strut with a spring travel of 320
mm. Set at a slant, it is supported directly by the rigid main frame.
The engine of the competition prototype is 450 cc high-performance single
cylinder 4-stroke engine designed by BMW with two upper camshafts and
dry sump lubrication. A special feature which is unique in this class is the fuel
injection and oxygen sensor regulation. The position of the cylinder, tilted far
forwards, enables virtually straight intake air ducting into the large-volume
airbox positioned above the engine. This provides excellent conditions for
optimum engine performance tune-up. This favourable overall arrangement
was made possibly by the fuel tank position below the rider’s seat, familiar
from the existing single cylinder models, with all its advantages in terms of the
centre of gravity.
Another unique feature is the position of the clutch: it is located on the right
crankshaft end and was thus given extremely compact dimensions since it
rotates with the engine due to a lack of a speed-reduction ratio of the primary
drive: it therefore has to transfer a lower level of torque. An intermediate shaft
with integrated ventilation function transfers the power from the crankshaft to
the gearbox. An electric start is obligatory.
The chain drive to the rear makes do without additional tensioning devices
and channels due to the fact that chain sag is barely necessary a any longer
and the chain retains a constant length – another weight-saving factor. The
load-alteration effect on the powertrain is reduced, chain stress is also
reduced and generous chain encapsulations become feasible.
The performance figures of the engine are at competitor level, though further
details will be revealed at a later stage. This also applies to the total vehicle
weight – even the first concept vehicle achieved levels in the range of the
established representatives of this motorcycle class.
Racing as a tool of development.
While the motorcycle has appeared entirely in black at test runs to date, its
baptism of fire in Puerto Lumbreras will see it presented for the first time in
the typical BMW Motorrad Motorsport colours. Markus Theobald and the
BMW team see themselves as “testing novices” at the World Cup race in
Spain and at other upcoming events this season. At this development stage,
it is not about racing success but about gaining well-founded testing insights
which lead to development progress.
3. Rider portraits.
Sascha Eckert:
Sascha Eckert was born on September 30th 1977 in Bochum. He raced his
first bike at the age of nine. 1997 he finished the german motocrosschampionship
in 8th position, one year later he came in 6th . In 2000 he ranked 9th in the Enduro-World-Championship. 2003 he won the German Enduro-Championship and finished third in the European Enduro-Championship.2004 Sascha Eckert became German Champion of the E1-Class. One year ago, Sascha Eckert startet working for the Team BMW
Motorsport Offroad.
Simo Kirssi:
Simo Kirssi was born on Oktober 3rd 1979 and now lives in Wei?ƒenburg,
Bavaria. His first race took place in 1984 and in 2004 he became European
and German Champion in the Cross-Country-Series. 2005 and 2006 he won
the Erzberg-Proloque. Two years ago he joined the Team BMW Motorsport
Offroad.
Jo?®l Smets:
Jo?®l Smets was born on April 6th 1969. He raced a cross-motorcycle first in
1986. After that he became famous as cross-professional. He became five
times Moto-Cross-World Champion and six times Belgian national Champion.
Three times he could also win the “Moto-Cross of Nations”-series. Two
months ago, Smets joined the Team BMW Motorsport Offroad.
4. BMW motorcycles - an off-road
tradition which goes back 81 years.
The abbreviation “GS” has stood for “Gel?ñnde” (German for “off-road”) and
“Sport” for the last 25 years, and the models from the first R 80 G/S through to
the current R 1200 GS represent a unique success story for the Munichbased
company. With the HP 2 Enduro, BMW has set new standards in the
large-volume off-road class since 2005, and since the start of the 2007
season it has the first real hard enduro on the market, the 650 Xchallenge. The
450 cc single-cylinder competition concept currently undergoing race testing
is even more consistently oriented towards sporting use and reaches a very
high level in terms of power-to-weight ratio and unique technical features.
However, these three machines do not only consist of fascinating technology,
they also reflect eight decades of experience in off-road sports on the part of
BMW. It was an engineer who celebrated BMW’s very first of-road success
exactly eighty years ago: in competition with the leading motorcycle brands,
Rudolf Schleicher won the Six-Day Race in the UK on the R 37 he himself had
designed. The young motorcycle brand from Munich gained overnight fame in
the wake of the enormous press response.
In the thirties, BMW factory riders achieved impressive success in international
6-day races, making the general public aware of the robustness, endurance
and power of the machines from Bavaria. The serial production of the
telescopic fork developed by BMW was ultimately only possible due to the
merciless testing carried out at tough off-road sports events. The same
applies to the straight rear-wheel suspension which was conscientiously
tested at the major off-road competitions for several years.
Famous BMW road racing motorcyclists such as Ernst Henne and Schorsch
Meier started their careers as off-road riders on BMW motorcycles. There are
the wonderful memories of success in the German Championships of 1955 to
1980 with riders such as Hans Meier, Sebastian Nachtmann, Herbert Scheck
and Richard Schalber, who lined up at the start on forerunners of the GS
models. Rolf Witth?Âft even won the European Championship.
The Paris-Dakar victories in the eighties were truly outstanding, when rally
legends such as Gaston Rahier and Hubert Auriol celebrated off-road
triumphs on the rally versions of the BMW R 100 GS. In 1999 Richard Sainct
clinched the Paris-Dakar victory again for BMW on a modified F 650 singlecylinder
machine. And even this was to be surpassed when BMW won a
quadruple victory in 2000.
In the more recent past, Simo Kirrsi has achieved impressive results on the
HP2 Enduro at events such as the German Cross Country Series, the Pikes
Peak competition and the Erzberg-Rodeo.
Bike Candy:
THE END
