A Beemer By Any Other Name
A BEEMER BY ANY OTHER NAME
BMW AND APRILIA confirmed in June that the two firms will engage in a joint venture to produce and sell an all-new motorcycle that will be built by Aprilia at its plant in Noale, Italy, and sold by BMW dealers.
The machine, powered by an Austrian-built, 650cc, four-valve Rotax Single, will be designed by BMW stylists to be what a BMW spokesperson called “an entry-level bike that will be suitable for moderate off-road use.”
It is scheduled to be available for the 1994 riding season, according to both firms.
Price of the machine has not been mentioned by either half of the joint venture. Whether or not this new BMW/Aprilia/Rotax Single will ever be offered for sale in the United States remains open to question, according to Rob Mitchell, a BMW public relations representative.
“It’ll be up to the dealers and the results of product clinics that we will hold,” said Mitchell. “We don’t know enough today to make a decision,” he added.
Mitchell said of reports that BMW and Aprilia have agreed to collaborate on a liquidcooled World Superbike contender that would be ready in time to contest the 1995 season, “That’s the first I’ve heard about that.”
BMW’s last Single was the 250cc R27 (see related story, page 46), production of which ceased in 1967.
-Jon F. Thompson
