New generation BMW motorcycles continue to reap the highest level of acclaim in the world as influential US publication Motorcyclist Magazine again names BMWs as the best of the year.

The new BMW R 1200 GS has been named Best Adventure Bike for 2006, while the R 1200 RT captured top honors in the Touring category – both for the second year in a row.

Since its introduction in early 2004, the versatile R 1200 GS has won consistent praise from motorcycle enthusiasts and the motorcycling press for its exceptional performance both on and off-road. 

In addition to winning Motorcyclist’s Adventure category last year, it was named Motorcycle of the Year by Motorcyclist editors in 2004, International Bike of the Year, and one of Cycle World’s top ten motorcycles for 2004.  That same year, the GS also earned an International Design Excellence “Gold” Award by the Industrial Design Society of America.

According to editors of Motorcyclist, the latest GS is “more like half a jeep than a real dirt bike…it will take you to work all week, mortify sportbike poseurs in the twisty bits on Saturday, then follow an afternoon’s worth of logging roads over the river, through the woods to grandma’s house (and back) on one 8.7-gallon tank of gas.”

Describing their Best Touring category pick, Motorcyclist editors said: “The R 1200 RT inhales East Texas tedium as happily as it reels in the length of California's Coast Highway, which is why the RT waltzes off with the best touring bike trophy for the second year in a row. The most luxurious iteration of BMW's 1,170 cc boxer is amazingly agile, with sufficient punch to steam past processionals of rental cars and motor homes.

The electrically adjustable windscreen is there when you need it and out of the way when you don't.  BMW's removable luggage is the best in the business.  And there are enough optional amenities -- from a heated seat to a CD-player and GPS navigation -- to make the I-40 between Albuquerque and Amarillo almost tolerable; a minor miracle all by itself.”

For further information contact:
Alexander Corne
Communications and Specialist Media Manager
BMW Group Australia
Phone: 03 9264 4150
Fax: 03 9562 2799
Mobile: 0439 568 819
Email: alexander.corne@bmw.com.au