BMW Group Australia gave me the opportunity to cover the launch of the S 1000 XR motorbike over three days out of Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast in NSW. Flying in to Coolangatta it is a short drive to Kingscliff and the luxury of Peppers Salt Resort & Spa http://www.peppers.com.au/salt/ where we were based.
Monday morning a semi arrived carrying the motorbikes to be ridden the following two days by journalists from Rapid Bikes, MotorCycle Trader, Australian Road Rider, Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, Cycle Torque, Australian Motor Cycle News, Freelancers and Masterchef judge and motorbike enthusiast Gary Mehigan. Mid morning I set off following the BMW crew to check out the course and find locations suitable for shooting the new bike. We covered probably 500kms of outback NSW and Queensland before returning to base.
From BMW's Australian website a short description of the bike: Following on from the S 1000 RR and HP4 superbikes as well as the S 1000 R roadster, BMW Motorrad is now unveiling the fourth member in the BMW Motorrad line-up of high-power motorcycles with inline-4-cylinder engines and a distinctly sporty bias. Building on the tantalising and unique mix of innovative technology, performance and safety already inherent to the existing models in this series, BMW Motorrad has taken the next step by bringing out the S 1000 XR, which offers this repertoire of core characteristics in a brand-new blend dubbed “adventure sport”. This encompasses dynamic touring qualities, sporty performance and high levels of comfort as well as outstanding everyday usability. In short, the new S 1000 XR serves up its own individual mix of sporting and touring flair at the same time as injecting a generous dose of emotion.
So Tuesday the group set out towards Murwillumbah through the cane fields along the Tweed River, then towards Kyogle and then on to the famous Lions Road. In 1969 the NSW government rejected the building of a connection road between NSW and QLD north of Kyogle, the local community led by the Lions Club decided to do it themselves. A 50km world class scenic drive is the result. From Rathdowney we headed towards the nights accommodation at Mt Barney Lodge, home made pizza out of a wood fired oven, using fresh local ingredients and cooked by true Italians. Beer and red wine was supplied also! http://www.mtbarneylodge.com.au
Wednesday morning it was up early with bacon and eggs cooked on the bbq before heading off back down Lions Road and eventually returning to Kingscliff, packing the bags and heading home before a massive edit of raw files, 117GB to be precise. The following gallery is a selection of images from the event shot by MDPhotography. http://www.mdphotography.com.au
