After the unveiling at the EICMA, it was the turn of German off-road fans to see what the customer version of the factory 450cc sports enduro looks like 'in the metal'. This happened last weekend in Stuttgart, in the south of Germany, at a Supercross event, the first of four big race events taking place in Germany in the next two months.

BMW Motorrad had already displayed the G 650 X Series at last year's Nokia Air & Style event, as well as exhibiting at the Super CrossOver (a combination of extreme mountain biking, Supercross, quad bike and freestyle motocross competitions and displays) at Munich's Olympiahalle. Therefore, according to BMW 'ambassador' Bernd Eckenbach, it was a logical decision for the company to have a presence at this year's indoor Supercross series as it is at these kinds of events where BMW will find its future customers.

"The Supercross scene is big in Germany and attracts lots of spectators and an especially young audience," said the former German motocross champion and accomplished team manager. "We wanted to have the new G 450 X and other enduro bikes there for all to see, so we set up a display area with an 'easy-up' tent, banners, flags and various bikes including an HP2 Megamoto, HP2 Enduro, two R 1200 GS, a G 650 Xchallenge and G 650 Xmoto - and of course, the new G 450 X. Apart from the EICMA show, it was the first time that this bike had been seen in public and the Supercross fans were very interested in it."

Bernd Eckenbach is assisting Motorrad dealers to familiarise themselves with the off-road world in preparation for the growing number of potential customers that are becoming interested in BMW's latest model range and motorsport activities. The display was staged in conjunction with the Niederlassung dealership in Stuttgart and was designed to be as welcoming as possible for the visitors to the indoor Supercross event.

"Our display area was in a very accessible position and the spectators were able to walk in and wander about at their leisure. The guys at the Niederlassung in Stuttgart are very enthusiastic about this new product and we all enjoyed talking to the spectators about how exciting it is that BMW is becoming increasingly involved in the off-road segment. It is important to get our product in front of the people and given that more than 100,000 spectators will be turning up to one of these Supercross races in the next couple of months, it was a journey well worth making."

Needless to say, all the effort was worth it and there will be a similar BMW exhibition display at the Supercross events in Chemnitz (30 November - 1 December); Munich (14-16 December) and Dortmund (11-13 January), where there will also be live television coverage of the race and BMW branding in the stadium. BMW Motorrad staff will of course be on hand to showcase the latest enduro and supermoto machines, and to inform prospects exactly what the world of BMW has to offer riders. By taking the brand to the people at events such as this, BMW Motorrad dealers are rapidly discovering an entirely new generation of potential customers, eager to experience these exciting machines for themselves.