2019 BMW Motorrad bike range revised and updated

Almost the entire range of two-wheelers in BMW Motorrad’s catalogue has received updates for the upcoming 2019 model year. While most of the revisions are cosmetic and involve new paint schemes, Motorrad’s big ‘K’ line of six-cylinder touring rigs have stepped up a notch in the rider aids stakes.

First off, except for the C 650 Sport and GT scooters, the G 310 GS (RM28,223) and R, the F 800 GT and R (not listed for Malaysia) and the S 1000 RR and S 1000R, all 2019 BMW motorcycles come with self-cancelling indicators based on road speed. In the previous generation, self-cancelling mode was based on a fixed time or distance.

As BMW Motorrad’s first foray into the sub-middleweight market, the G 310 R (RM25,392) will come with a Racing Red paint scheme for the new model year. Also offered is the HP Motorsport colour scheme in Pearl White Metallic with “HP” lettering and the previous Strato Blue Metallic colour is now superseded.

Motorrad’s one-litre four-cylinder ‘S’ bikes, the S 1000 R naked sports (RM87,666) and S 1000 XR sports-touring (RM99,930), now come with new colours in 2019. The S 1000 R is available in Black Storm Metallic and HP Motorsport colours of Light White/Racing Blue Metallic /Racing Red with the Catalano Grey and Light White/Lupine Blue/Racing Red paint options deleted.

The S 1000 XR will come in Triple Black with a Black Storm Metallic finish and lettering, complemented by black handlebars. The previous paint scheme of Ocean Blue Metallic Matte is no longer available.

Losing weight is the S 1000 RR superbike (RM100,875), with the installation of a lightweight lithium-ion battery. This lets the S 1000 RR lose 2 kg from the previous wet weight of 204 kg.

All five machines in BMW Motorrad’s “Heritage” bike series – the R nineT and its variants the Pure, Racer, Scrambler and Urban GS as well as the F 750 GS and F 850 GS – now come with Dynamic brake lights. This is Motorrad’s term for a two-level brake light system, where the brake lights flash at a frequency of 5 Hertz when braking from speeds above 50 kmh.

During panic braking, the second level of brake lighting in supplemented by the hazard lights and remains active till the bike accelerates to above 20 kmh. This option was previously only available on BMW Motorrad’s bigger bikes, notably the GS and K series motorcycles.

Several R nineT models receive paint scheme changes, starting with the base R nineT (RM97,100) which gets optional Mars Red Metallic Matte/Cosmic Blue Metallic Matte and Pollux Metallic/Aluminium, deleting the previous Blue Planet Metallic/Aluminium colour option. The R nine T Pure (RM79,176) now comes in optional Black Storm Metallic with Light White or Aurum options, with Matte Black removed from the options list.

The R nineT Scrambler (RM82,949) heads into 2019 cross-spoke wheels as an option from the Motorrad catalogue with the Monolith Metallic Matte standard paint deleted. This is replaced with Stereo Metallic Matte as standard or Black Storm Metallic combined with Light White or Aurum schemes.

Rounding out the list of R nineT paint changes is the Racer (RM84,836), which comes in optional Black Storm Metallic/Aurum with “Racer” lettering. The R nineT Urban GS (RM82,949) adds classic looking cross-spoke wheels as an ex-works option.

BMW Motorrad’s big touring machines, the K 1600 series, now come with Hill Start Control Pro (HSC Pro) as standard. This rider aid automatically holds the bike when brakes are activated for approximately one second beyond standstill on any gradient of more than 5%, plus or minus.

New paint option for the K 1600 GT (RM150,874) is Black Storm Metallic/Glacier Silver Metallic with gold brake callipers. The Mars Red Metallic and Lupine Blue Metallic/Black Storm Metallic paint schemes are deleted for the new model year.

The higher specification K 1600 GTL (RM160,308) is available in Pollux Metallic, deleting the previous year’s Thunder Grey Metallic and Ebony Metallic from the catalogue. Major change for the K 1600 B bagger-style cruiser (RM150,874) is seat height, which drops to 750 mm from 780 mm, with the latter being the “tall seat” option along with a new Imperial Blue Metallic paint scheme.

Low seating is also applied to the K 1600 Grand America (not listed for Malaysia), with comes with the same 750 mm seat height. A rear speaker with amplifier is added to the topcase, with fader function and the Austin Yellow Metallic/Black Storm Metallic paint is no longer available, replaced with Imperial Blue Metallic.

Light White paint is now omitted from the C 650 Sport (RM62,189) and C 650 GT (RM65,962) scooters, replaced by HP Motorsport paint on the former and optional Sparkling Storm Metallic and brown seat on the latter. Meanwhile, the C 400 X comes in Black Storm Metallic, while the C evolution is available in Mineral Grey Metallic/Black, deleting Ionic Silver Metallic/Electric green.

Completing the list of changes is BMW Motorrad Connectivity which gets a major update to version 1.6, with digital maps completely revised and optimised navigation by TomTom with a “winding route” navigation option. The 2019 BMW Motorrad range is available for order this August and prices listed above are for 2018 motorcycles, excluding road tax, insurance and registration.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.