Marketing of the R 12xx RS by BMW Motorrad

[Grumpy Goat]

I completely agree, Grumpy If the bikes aren't marketed properly they won't sell...and BmW wills top making them AND stop innovating them. Seems like what's happened to the FJR in the Yamaha world.

Its a vicious circle, sometimes. Get the marketing down right and you get more sales and it is a big success. Do no marketing or have crap marketing and you'll have to wait for pressure from other manufacturers before you make a decision to either get the marketing right or get out of the kitchen. I have heard lots of comments about how motorcycling as a whole is on the downturn, yet still they choose not to effectively market the RS. Makes no sense to me.

I also agree that it's improperly segmented. To me, it should squarely fall in the touring category, not the sport category.

Funny you should say that ... now that I have the Tracer as well, there is no question as to which of the two is the sport bike. Compared to the Tracer, the ergonomics, suspension, throttle response all say sport bike. Contrast that with the previous 2nd bike (S1000R) which, although a naked, almost pushed the RS more into the tourer end of the spectrum.

The RS is truly unique in the BMW lineup and for that reason alone it should be well marketed. BMW Motorrad needs to show its pride in their product.