BMW Motorrad Presents the R 1200 RS ConnectedRide

Motorcycle safety systems of the future are staged at the CMC Conference 2017.

For decades now, BMW Motorrad has been regarded as a frontrunner when it comes to issues of safety in connection with motorcycling. BMW Motorrad has continued to establish itself as the trailblazer, be it with ABS, anti-slip control, dynamic traction control or rider equipment. BMW Motorrad is continually striving to improve motorcycling safety and to make riding on two wheels even safer and more attractive.

With the R 1200 RS ConnectedRide prototype, BMW Motorrad presented a motorcycle, giving visitors of the CMC Conference 2017 on 12 October at BMW Welt in Munich, a look into the future of motorcycle safety systems. In addition to a crossing and left-turn assistant it features a large number of further systems designed to prevent accidents between motorcycles and passenger cars. Other traffic users who are about to disregard the right of way are warned as well as the motorcycle rider himself. This dangerous situation is detected and warning measures are initiated thanks to Vehicle to Vehicle Communication (V2V), based on a cross-manufacturer communication standard and extremely high-precision localisation via D-GNSS (Differential-Global Navigation Satellite System).

In 2016 the CMC (Connected Motorcycle Consortium www.cmc-info.net) was founded by BMW Motorrad, Honda and Yamaha with the aim of promoting Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) for motorcycles with as many cross-manufacturer standards as possible. The only cross-manufacturer consortium for motorcycle safety worldwide has been steadily gaining significance.

The CMC takes special account of the requirements specific to motorcycling in view of the highly dynamic development of automotive safety systems. This above all includes Vehicle to Vehicle Communication which has not taken motorcycle-specific safety aspects into consideration sufficiently so far. The CMC Conference 2017 centred on the speeches by and the exchange of information with Pedro Barradas of the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission (DG MOVE) and Dr. Ulrich Veh, Security Director of the European Automotive Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) as well as Antonio Perlot, Secretary General of the European Motorcycle Manufacturers’ Association (ACEM). Host and new CMC President Prof. Dr. Karl Viktor Schaller, Head of Development BMW Motorrad. “Our aim is to promote the comprehensive use of cooperative safety systems for motorcycles at an early stage in order to exploit their potential for increasing safety as well as riding pleasure. This is why we are inviting other companies to join in.”

In addition to providing the opportunity for intensive dialogue, the CMC will focus on joint motor show appearances as well as events in 2018 in order to actively illustrate the latest safety system developments for two-wheeled vehicles. A foretaste of what is to come was given at the CMC Conference 2017 by the BMW R 1200 RS ConnectedRide prototype and two prototypes based on a Honda CRF 1000 L Africa Twin and a Yamaha Tracer 900 using a common architecture.

The next important date in the CMC calendar is the ITS World Congress from 29 October to 2 November 2017 in Montréal, Canada. This will be the world’s biggest event focussing on intelligent transport systems and services. At the round-table-talk on 1 November, the CMC will conduct an in-depth discussion on the topics of connected networking and V2V communication with experts from the US, Europe and Taiwan.

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.