The R Model They Still Make... A Hint To Volvo.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Weekend before last I spent at a BMW motorcycle rally. Rode up on the '84 R model that I bought new, and it was far from the oldest ridden to the rally- that award went to another R model from the 50s! There were plenty of current BMW bikes there too- BMW is one of the few manufacturers that have actually increased their sales volume the last few years.

Did I hear that right... Sales increases? Yup, while Harley is fighting for it's corporate life and many brands have seen their motorcycle sales halved, BMW's sales are increasing. How? Back to those old, and new, R models. BMW built the first R model horizontally opposed twin with shaft drive in 1923. After several major redesigns and minor improvements the R model is still built in 2011, and it still has two horizontally opposed cylinders and shaft drive. Like Volvo, BMW killed the R model once. But unlike Volvo, BMW had the wisdom to put the R model back in production after but a few months abscense from the assembly line. That was back in the 80s when BMW mistakenly thought they could replace the old R model with the high tech four cylinder water cooled K model bikes. The K model is still around, but the R model outsells it.

Back to those old bikes... Back in the 90s BMW cut the supply of parts for the older bikes, hoping to force their riders to buy new bikes. Sound familiar? Yup, the same strategy Volvo seems to be trying. This caused considerable anger from the owners of older BMW bikes, not unlike one reads in this Mack forum. Frustrated owners of older BMW bikes swore they'd never buy another, and potential new bike buyers shied away from BMW, fearful that BMW would abandon them.

Then BMW woke up, and figured out that the parts business is profitable. When a new vehicle is sold that's just the beginning, not the end, of the profits it will provide the manufacturer. As long as the vehicle is in service it will profitably consume parts and service. Parts have the highest markup of anything the manufacturer sells, and even though they produce less revenue than new truck sales, they produce very respectable profits. Parts are also anti cyclic- parts sales increase when economic hard times reduce new vehicle sales. That can make keep a manufacturer and their dealers out of bankruptcy court! But when a Mack is junked because parts aren't available, that profitable gravy train ends. So it's in Volvo's interest to keep Macks on the road for as long as possible.

So BMW set up a whole division to supply parts for older BMWs. They even sent two guys over from Germany to ask us what we needed. There sales brochures for new bikes feature their older models as well. BMW applied the same wisdom to the Mini brand, after at first heavy handedly killing off the classic Mini and substituting their new Mini. But the Mini brand management learned from their mistakes and followed BMW motorcycle's example- they insured that classic Mini parts production would continue when Rover went bankrupt and support classic Mini racers as well as racers of the new Mini.

So the message for Volvo: Keep parts for the older trucks available- every one is an advertisement for the brand. Bring back simple, reliable work trucks like the R model. Get out of Goteburg and listen to Mack truck owners. And never forget that the kid with the old Mack who comes in looking for parts today will be back to buy a new Mack tomorrow... If you treat him right.

[Rob]

I have a buddy, (retired coworker) that has a 1969 "R" model BMW. That bike is rock solid dependable and goes many thousands of miles per year. Yes, most parts come from the BMW motorcycle dealer as do the lubricants, and filters. This bike always catches a second look from those who recognize what it is. I suspect it has well over 100,000 miles on the engine since it was rebuilt last by the BMW dealer. I know when the current owner purchased it in 1991, the odometer showed 91,000 miles and it still ran well. Can't tell you if it had ever been overhauled prior but it was and is a very clean well taken care of motorcycle.

Parts as I know have never been a problem. There have been times when the original part has had to be sent in for rebuilding, but to the best of my knowlege he has never been stranded alongside the road.

Rob