Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 2, 2006… Once again, BMW motorcycles have earned high-fives from editors of Motorcyclist Magazine.  In the publication’s September issue, the BMW R 1200 GS is named Best Adventure Bike for 2006, while the R 1200 RT captured top honors in the Touring category – both for the second year in a row.

Since its introduction in early 2004, the versatile R 1200 GS has won consistent praise from motorcycle enthusiasts and the motorcycling press for its exceptional performance both on and off-road.  In addition to winning Motorcyclist’s Adventure category last year, it was named Motorcycle of the Year by Motorcyclist editors in 2004, International Bike of the Year, and one of Cycle World’s top ten motorcycles for 2004.  That same year, the GS also earned an International Design Excellence “Gold” Award by the Industrial Design Society of America.

According to editors of Motorcyclist, the latest GS is “more like half a jeep than a real dirt bike…it will take you to work all week, mortify sportbike poseurs in the twisty bits on Saturday, then follow an afternoon’s worth of logging roads over the river, through the woods to grandma’s house (and back) on one 8.7-gallon tank of gas.”

Describing their Best Touring category pick, Motorcyclist editors write, “The R1200RT inhales East Texas tedium as happily as it reels in the length of California's Coast Highway, which is why the RT waltzes off with the best touring bike trophy for the second year in a row. The most luxurious iteration of BMW's 1170cc boxer is amazingly agile, with sufficient punch to steam past processionals of rental cars and motor homes. The electrically adjustable windscreen is there when you need it and out of the way when you don't.  BMW's removable luggage is the best in the business.  And there are enough
optional amenities -- from a heated seat to a CD-player and GPS navigation -- to make the I-40 between Albuquerque and Amarillo almost tolerable; a minor miracle all by itself.”

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car centers, 334 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:
www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwgroup.com.  Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

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