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BMW HP Motorcycles Might Just Make a Comeback

While attending a BMW event recently we caught up with a Motorrad top hat (whose name will remain only known to us for now) and we chatted a bit over the directions the Bavarian bike-making industry is eyeing. Since nobody seems to be too eager to share info with the media when it comes to the future small-displacement bikes, we managed to steer into the hypersport segment. It goes without saying, the main idea was trying to learn what’s going on with the HP4 bike.
BMW HP4 front view 1 photo
Photo: BMW
BMW has recently surfaced the prices for most of their remaining 2014 machines alongside with the 2015 models which have already entered production, with the newest bikes to follow in the coming months. No HP4 on the list… hence the obvious bunch of questions.

HP4 is a successful story

According to the BMW Motorrad official, the HP4 was a very successful addition to the line-up. It was offered for a higher price than what other competitors delivered, but the on-track performance and overall rideability seem to have also been top-notch.

Of course, like any similar piece of machinery, nobody expected the HP4 to become the best-selling model. Still, BMW was happy with the figures, even though the HP4 was only sold for a couple of years. The added edge over the already sizzling hot performance of the WSBK-focused S1000RR upon which it was built seemed to be exactly what diehard track maniac were looking for.

Still, BMW preferred to pull out from the Superbike series, and stage their own championship. Some say that this move was in fact aimed at gathering a much more comprehensive amount of engineering data which would allow BMW to build a significantly better high-performance machine to attain World Superbike glory.

While these are, of course only wild speculations, we cannot help thinking about a future in which we might even get to see a BMW lined up on the MotoGP grid. Of course, nobody is mentioning this now, but KTM themselves said they were not interested in MotoGP, and one year later we see them working around the clock to ready the 2017 prototype for premier class racing…

The answers we got contained no firm “yes” or “no”, but the main thing we believe to have read between the lines is that BMW is in reality working on a new generation of HP machines. The 2015 model year S1000RR has just gotten a serious upgrade and could be used as a very solid basis for a new HP machine. The BMW Motorrad official told us that BMW “may be thinking about bringing a HP bike back in 2016”. If this is true, we’ll be all-eyes for spy shots, as the 2016 machine will most likely be unveiled next fall at Intermot or EICMA…

Even more, in the hyperbike segment, the enemy never sleeps (not that the enemy ever sleeps). Yamaha has just introduced the 2015 YZF-R1M, while Kawasaki showed up their all-new supercharged Ninja H2 and H2R monsters. Honda has not been idling, as a new machine derived from the MotoGP RC213V prototype is expected in 2015, as well, so if BMW want a piece of cake in this segment, showing only the S1000RR will not do.

Honestly, it’s rather hard to believe BMW could abandon this bike, but for now all we can do is just wait and see.
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