THE BMW R1200 GS has become such a fixture at the top of sales charts in the UK and around Europe that it’s hard to imagine a bike that could topple it. But the latest figures from Italy show that it’s being pipped over there by none other than Honda’s curious X-ADV 750.
Yes, between January and August this year, 3,180 BMW R1200 GS models were sold in Italy, compared to 3,233 Honda X-ADVs.
Now, in Italy, the BMW still lays claim to being the best-sellingmotorcycle, since the country’s industry association classes the X-ADV as a scooter. But we reckon that’s pushing the definition of a scooter a bit too far. But however you look at it, the fact that a bike as wacky as the X-ADV has managed to outsell the mighty R1200 GS is remarkable.
Of course, if we add the sales of the BMW R1200 GS Adventure into the mix – another 1,941 so far this year – it easily passes the Honda, but that’s not how the figures are counted.
In overall terms, though, they all pale into insignificance in comparison to the sales of some real scooters in the Italian market. The best seller overall there is the Honda SH150, with 7,713 sales so far this year. The SH300 is second with 7,187 and the SH125 is third on 7,163, meaning that, overall, Honda has sold more than 22,000 SH scoots in Italy in just eight months this year!
