Top 10 best-selling BMWs

YEAR after year BMW’s R1200GS seems to have a monopoly on the best-seller spot in the UK sales charts as what once seemed like a fad for adventure bikes has become an established market that outsells previously huge segments like sports bikes.

But BMW is far more than just the GS, and many of its other models are selling in big enough numbers to make other brands green with envy.

We’ve used the government’s six-monthly registration figures to see exactly which models are doing best. The figures take the first half of 2015 into account, running from the start of January to the end of June. Year-end figures for most bikes are therefore likely to be something like twice the numbers seen here, but the overall order is unlikely to change significantly.

10. F800GT (154 registrations, Jan-June 2015)

The BMW brand might be dominated by its boxer twins and the S1000RR but the easily-forgotten F800GT is a capable all-rounder and there are plenty of buyers to reflect that. It’s interesting that despite the focus on adventure bikes, the F800GT is the only bike with BMW’s parallel-twin motor to appear on this list – the F800GS and F700GS are left trailing in its wake in sales terms, outsold by both the F800GT and the naked F800R (which would be 11th in the league if the list extended that far).

9. S1000XR (164 registrations, Jan-June 2015)

It’s too early to use the sales figures of the S1000XR to judge its success, but while looking at its 164 registrations it is worth bearing in mind that the bike was only actually on sale for around a month in the first half of 2015, so virtually all of those registrations will have been in June alone. Does that mean you can simply add a beak and some extra ride height to anything and guarantee sales? No, the XR is much wiser than that, and despite adventure overtones it’s really a fast, comfy all-rounder or an S1000RR for riders with stiff backs.

8. R1200R (190 registrations, Jan-June 2015)

Another new-for-2015 bike, the R1200R has at least been available for pretty much the whole period being measured here (in fact, records show that three were registered before the end of 2014). So the 190 sales in six months is an accurate reflection of its popularity, and we might have expected a little more. We thought it was 'a fantastic piece of kit' during our test ride but had reservations over its conservative looks. Maybe it’s just not attracting the attention it deserves.