BMW Motorrad USA has announced the opening of eight new dealerships within the past five months to better serve new and underserved markets.

“In 2010 and beyond we will continue to identify growth opportunities for the BMW brand in markets that do not currently have a BMW motorcycle dealership by partnering with new or existing motorcycle dealers in those areas,” Todd Andersen, the company’s marketing manager, states in a press release.

The newest BMW dealerships are

• Van-Wall Powersports in Perry, Iowa;
• BMW Motorcycles of Chattanooga in Chattanooga, Tenn.;
• Bergen County BMW Motorcycles in Rochelle Park, N.J.;
• Montgomeryville Cycle Center in Hatfield, Pa.;
• BMW Motorcycles Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla.;
• BMW Motorcycles of Spokane/Westside Motorsports in Spokane, Wash.;
• BMW Motorcycles of Utah in Sandy, Utah; and
• Kissell Motor Sports in State College, Pa.

“Our dedicated dealer network was the key to our success last year,” says Andersen, citing the fact that BMW Motorrad USA outperformed the industry for the second year in a row in 2009 despite an overall motorcycle industry decline of 41 percent. “Our dealers continued to serve our customers well thanks to new products like the K1300 GT, K 1300 S, and the new S 1000 RR superbike, as well as attractive financing programs from BMW Financial Services.”

BMW says it now has 143 active dealers. In comparison, in February 2008 it had 136; last year it had 139.

2009 Sales Performance
BMW Motorrad says that worldwide, 87,306 BMW motorcycles were delivered to customers in 2009, a year-over-year drop of 14.1 percent and in line with company expectations.

BMW says that while the world market for motorcycles above 500cc was still about 1.5 million units in 2007, it shrank to about 900,000 units in 2009. This corresponds to a market drop of around 40 percent in two years. In 2009 alone, the world market declined by more than 30 percent, BMW says. The company did not cite sources for the statistics.

BMW Motorrad says that in the U.S., its third-largest market, 9,168 BMW motorcycles were registered, a drop of 22.5 percent compared to the previous year. But the company says it increased its share of the over-500cc market by 2.0 percent to 2.6 percent.

Husqvarna Motorcycles, the second motorcycle brand of the BMW Group, had worldwide sales figures of 13,052 units, a drop of 3 percent. BMW does not divulge U.S. sales, but does say they were up in 2009.

from Dealer News

The entire collection was sold for a total of 1,038,400 euros (US$1.57 million), well over the pre-auction estimate of 590,000-780,000 euros. The collection was put up for auction by Neutken’s estate after the former BMW dealer died in 2008. The entire collection was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest motorcycle collection of a single make.  See Motorcycle News for the entire story

Sunday mornings always seem to bring out the contemplative side of me.  Yes, I have one of those!  It is most often on Sunday mornings that  I think about the blessings in my life, how I am spending my time, and what I am doing for others.  I know most of you have thoughts like that as well because motorcyclist’s are some of the most charitable people in all of the world.

The two wheeled community regularly organizes charity rides for every cause imaginable.  If you desire to have a charity ride you are organizing, or participating in, advertised.  Check out Bikers Charities.

courtesy of  scootertramps

I spent an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day with friends and family, and like most of you ate more than I should have.  Today I have posted three links that may give you a few ideas for Christmas gifts for you or another rider in your life.

How to fit a motorcycle jacket

Super Cycle Store

Roaring Toyz

If storing your motorcycle is an issue, this post may provide a solution.  Speed-Way Shelters has a product you may want to take a look at.  It’s a steel framed, fabric covered miniature rolltop shelter.

Top 10 Features

Fits all Standard / Sport and Touring Motorcycles as well as Scooters, many ATVs, Bicycles, Riding Lawn Mowers, General Storage and Firewood shelter.

100% Waterproof material.

Built-In Locking Hardware allows the Speed-way Shelter to be locked in the lowered position.

Provides full coverage protection from Sun, Rain, Snow, Dust and Debris.

Allows you to park and cover your bike even with hot pipes.

Fully Taped Seams for waterproofing.

Very fast assembly — less than 30 minutes.

Sturdy Steel Frame structure protects your bike from falling objects.

Includes a 48 lamp LED Bright Light for night parking or general night access.

Diamond tough Impact resistant floor available for additional protection and a complete Shelter appearance!

Well, what do you think?

Temps in the high sixties today means I am on the road.  But here’s a few motorcycle links you may want to check out.  By the way, thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it.  Hope you will tell a friend about KTRSD!

MotorcycleRoads.us

The site bills itself as a one stop shop to locate great roads all over the country.  There’s also a place to submit your favorite rides.

Powersports.Honda.com/V4

If you love the legendary Honda V4 you will love this site.

MotoRetroIllustrated.com

A new magazine highlighting classic dirt, street and mini bikes, from the 60’s, 7-’s and 80’s.

As a balanced and comprehensive motorcycle website, Motorcycle-USA.com offers motorcycle news and content of the highest journalistic quality, with an extensive library of motorcycle reviews, photo galleries and video clips.  This commitment to high quality information presented on an easy to navigate website has established Motorcycle- USA.com as the number one online motorcycle magazine.

 Regardless of your area of interest within the motorcycle industry, here you will find the most current, accurate, and unbiased information available.

Be sure and check it out today!

A magnificent autumn day is in store for residents in my neck of the woods.  That means a hearty breakfast, some yard work and a leisurely ride, will fill my schedule.

Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of riding St. Route 56 from Springfield, to Athens, a trek through the lovely Hocking Hills region of Ohio, complete with exciting twisties and gently rolling hills.  So today’s ride will be closer to home.

Recently I read of a milestone in Husqvarna’s history.  The famed manufacturer of off road motorcycles, rolled it’s 25,000 motorcycle off the assembly line since becoming a member of the BMW name brand.  Originally founded in Sweden in 1903, the company became part of BMW in October of 2007.  Congratulations to Husqvarna and here’s to 25,000 more motorcycles.

The next time you are enjoying a Sunday afternoon cruise and some young punk flies by you on his crotch rocket keep this in mind, it may not be a “young punk” riding that bike.  According to a recent online survey conducted by Sportsbikeclub.com that sport bike rider may be older than you think.  Here’s a few results of the survey.

• The average of age of a sport bike rider is 38.7.
  
• Annual household income of $60,000.
• 1/3 said they plan to purchase another bike with in the next year.
• 87.7% modify their motorcycles, 68.6% will spend more than $500 and 31% will spend more than $1000 annually on mods.
• On average, sport bike riders spend $700 annually on parts, $650 on accessories, and $475 on apparel.
  

News

The Pilgrimage, Myrtle Beach’s final biker rally of the year, is always smaller than the two spring events, but this one was dismal according to vendors and businesses. Full Story

Ben Spies dominates race 1 at Magny-Cours, but a 4th place finish in race 2 puts him in second place in the overall points standings. 10 points behind Haga.

Sunday’s ride found me winding through the back roads of Clark County.  Traffic was light and the weather was cool, perfect for a little solo time.   Below are a couple of shots I took of a local farmers market.

Congratulations to Shawn Bowshier and all the gang at Competition Accessories for being named one of the top 100 dealers in the country by Dealer News Magazine.  This is an award they have received for two consecutive years.

Competition Accessories is located in Springfield, Ohio and have partnered with KTRSD on a number of occasions including this years Bike Night. 

If you are looking for any of the following brands, parts or service, I recommend you give them a call.

Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki