Tag Archives: motorcycles

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Hertz Introduces a New Way to Rent BMW Motorcycles

When it comes to renting motorcycles, you typically don’t have that much freedom. There aren’t that many motorcycle rental services available and America, and those that exist either have a limited selection or rely on peer-to-peer rentals — which may be off-putting to some. A new service from Hertz, however, shows this may be starting to change.

Hertz Brings Hertz Ride to the U.S.

Last year, the Hertz Ride program finally arrived in the United States. The program — which allows customers to rent motorcycles at certain Hertz locations — was initially available in Riverside, California and Las Vegas. Over the past few months, Hertz expanded the program to two new locations in Long Beach, near Los Angeles, and New Jersey.

The Hertz Ride fleet is made up entirely of BMW bikes. There are six to choose from. The F 750 GS and R 1250 GS will work best for adventure rides and any tour that features on- and off-road riding. The K 1600 B, R 1250 RT and K 1600 Grand America will be most suitable for long-distance touring and road trips.

The R nineT Scrambler will be serviceable if you need to go off-road — but, despite its name, it is a better fit for city streets. It will be the best option of the six if you just need to get around town in Miami, Los Angeles or Vegas.

The program also allows customers to rent top-level riding gear — right now, riding apparel from Rev’It and helmets from NEXX, two top-of-the-line motorcycle apparel companies. If you like your gear, you can buy it once your rental period is over, and Hertz will ship it to you.

Hertz Ride also offers tours, although its American tour list is much more limited than European offerings. There’s only one U.S. tour right now — a 14-day, 2,100 mile round-trip tour of California. The tour package includes your bike, accommodations, meals and guidance from a tour leader. 

If the European tour options are anything to go by, your options are likely to expand in the near future.

Why the Hertz Ride Program Has Motorcyclists Intrigued

One of the reasons the service has drawn attention is how few motorcycle rental options there are across America.

Car drivers outnumber motorcycle riders by a significant margin and motorcyclists tend to be more vulnerable than other motorists — so while it’s easy to rent a car just about anywhere in America, motorcycle riders are typically limited to a handful of services or their local dealer.

This is typically a Harley-Davidson dealer that will feature a limited selection of bikes. Often, these dealers and rental services will only have motorcycles from big-name American brands like Harley-Davidson, and maybe the addition of a few Toyota or Honda motorcycles.

If you’ve ever wanted to rent a BMW bike, you’ve probably been out of luck. Now, there’s a service that’s effectively dedicated to letting customers rent BMW motorcycles.

While peer-to-peer rental services like Twisted Road exist and typically feature a much wider range of bikes to choose from, your options are limited if you want to rent from a business. Hertz Ride is a sign that this may be changing.

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Introducing the Vision DC Roadster

It feels like everyone and their brother is working toward the goal of creating a sustainable and affordable electric car, but thus far, they’ve all been limited to four-wheeled cars and trucks, until recently.

In 2019, BMW debuted its first electric motorcycle, the first of its kind. What set’s BMW’s Vision DC Roadster apart, and when can we expect to see more motorcycle companies following BMW’s lead?

The BMW Electric Bike

BMW’s first electric bike looks like the brand’s old school bikes with their boxer engines, but instead of a gasoline engine, there’s a vertically-installed battery where the engine would otherwise be. The battery pack is flanked by cooling ribs — a throwback to the boxer engine’s cooling fins that were developed way back in 1923.

The Vision DC Roadster looks amazing and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to take it for a road test. It looks like the perfect addition to the BMW lineup but you probably won’t be seeing it on the road for a while.

Image via BMW PressClub

Instead, Electric Scooters

If you can’t wait for a two-wheeled electric commuting tool that’s got the BMW brand name attached, you do still have some options. The brand currently offers the C Evolution, a fully electric scooter with a range of 99 miles per charge. If you don’t need to make long trips, this scooter can be a fantastic tool. 

It’s lightweight, with a diecast aluminum case that houses and protects the 12 li-ion battery cells that power the C Evolution. These are actually the same batteries used in the brand’s i3 electric car. It’s been an option for BMW fans overseas for quite a few years, but it didn’t make its way to the states until the 2018 model year.

Waiting Until 2025

Although BMW released its plans for Vision DC Roadster in 2019, we probably won’t see one at our local BMW dealership until 2025 at the earliest. BMW isn’t rushing to get this electric motorcycle out on the road.

This is partially because motorcyclists aren’t generally looking to switch to an electric model, as fuel costs for motorcycles aren’t really an issue. There’s also the problem of range. Even fully electric vehicles, with their large battery packs, have a limited range of less than 200 miles — and there’s no room for those massive batteries on a motorcycle. When you combine these two things, BMW knows that they have to improve their technology before they release the Vision or it will end up flopping.

Looking Forward

For BMW fans, the promise of an electric motorcycle in the near future might be an exciting one — or it might turn out to be a pointless waste of resources that no one really wants to buy. The brand is biding their time and being smart about this new foray into otherwise unknown territory. It will be interesting to see where this story goes between now and 2025.

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We Won’t See an Electric BMW Motorcycle for Some Time

If you were anxious to get your hands on a BMW electric motorcycle, you’re going to have to wait. 

Despite revealing the electric Vision DC Roadster in June of 2019, it appears the German company isn’t putting electric bikes at the top of their priority list. In an interview with Cycle World, CEO of BMW Motorrad Markus Schramm said it might be at least five years before they put a new electric motorcycle on the road.

Hitting the Brakes

The head of BMW referenced the Vision DC Roadster when mentioning that the company believes electric bikes will be an important undergoing in the future. Even so, Schramm continued to say it could be half a decade before they produce an electric motorcycle for use within cities.

Five years is quite a long time to wait, and that only refers to urban bikes. Schramm’s statement indicated that he was uncertain about the future of electric bikes for touring, sports and off-roading. These remarks are somewhat surprising, given that BMW has already unveiled electronic concepts. Furthermore, the manufacturer already has an electric scooter on the market, known as the C Evolution. 

The State of Electric Bikes Today

This pause in pursuing electric motorcycles is even more curious when you consider the competition. Harley-Davidson has already begun selling their first electric bike, the LiveWire. The LiveWire boasts a near-silent ride, instant throttle response, and an estimated range of 110 miles. For comparison, the BMW C Evolution scooter claims a range of up to 99 miles.

While BMW appears to be in no hurry to actually release an electric motorcycle, a couple of the electrical concepts they have come up with include: 

  • A wireless charging system: Recently, the company filed a patent for a wireless charging system using the kickstand. Whether this means that they are revamping their efforts in the realm of all-electric motorcycles is unclear, but unlikely given Schramm’s comments.
  • E-Power Roadster Concept: In December of 2019, the company revealed the E-Power Roadster Concept, an electric sports bike. This will likely not be the first electric bike released by BMW, as Schramm remained ambiguous about the viability of electric sport and off-road motorcycles. 

The Future of BMW Motorcycles

Further in the Motor World interview, Schramm reaffirmed that urban mobility is the main focus of their electric pursuits. The BMW CEO indicated optimism about the future of electric motorcycles, claiming he was confident that they would become increasingly important within cities.   

In the same statements, Schramm reemphasized the five-year waiting period before we’ll see a proper BMW electric bike. This might signal that the manufacturer is switching gears — moving from high-power sportbikes like the Vision DC Roadster and E-Power Roadster to focus on motorcycles for city use. Or it could signal that BMW does not consider electric bikes to be a priority.

It’s difficult to say with confidence what the company’s motivations are. Whatever the reasons may be, what we do know is that BMW electric motorcycles will still likely be a long way off.