January 25, 2026
Smoking tires, wide-eyed visitors, and lively, informative conversations: From January 23 to 25, Motorradwelt Bodensee once again transformed the Friedrichshafen exhibition grounds into a meeting place for motorcycle enthusiasts from the international tri‑border region. About 40,870 visitors (2025: 41,480) gathered to celebrate the start of the new motorcycle season. Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellmann is pleased with the success of the event: “Motorradwelt Bodensee kicked off the 2026 season with a great opening event. The atmosphere was consistently upbeat, and the audience demonstrated keen interest in the industry. The enthusiasm for motorcycles and everything that goes with them was clearly palpable.” This sentiment was also confirmed by Head of BMW Motorrad Germany and President of the German Motorcycle Industry Association (IVM) Michael Sommer: “Trade fairs are enormously important for us, because it is only at events like these that you can experience the motorcycles firsthand by sitting on them and getting a feel for the vehicles while talking directly with the manufacturers.” Project Manager Petra Rathgeber also drew a positive conclusion: “Our comprehensive event and action program is what makes Motorradwelt Bodensee so special. We also aim to get younger visitors excited about motorcycles.” Wunderkind Custom Sales Manager Detlef Achterberg confirms that participants recognize that this objective is being made a reality: “We were pleasantly surprised by the very large number of young people on site.”
There was also a great deal of positive feedback on social media. On Facebook, a visitor shared the following about the new Indoor-Cross Show Races: “They really put on a great show. Hats off to the event organizers, who really spared no effort or expense.” Another visitor commented on Instagram: “What a cool trade fair. Congratulations to the entire team and everyone who helped make the event a success.”
New products and a world premiere
After a six-year hiatus from the fair, KTM returned to Motorradwelt Bodensee with three regional dealers. And with great success, as André Langner of KTM Sportmotorcycle Deutschland reports: “Visitors of all ages showed strong interest. Our regional dealers were able to showcase their products exceptionally well at Motorradwelt Bodensee. The three trade fair premieres in particular – the KTM 990 Duke, the KTM 990 RCR, and the KTM 1390 Super Adventure S EVO – drew considerable attention. BMW Motorrad’s new model also sparked great interest. Many visitors seized the opportunity to get a closer look at the BMW F450 GS. “We were very pleased with our trade fair experience, as our booth enjoyed a steady stream of visitors throughout the event,” says Michael Sommer. One particular world premiere attracted the attention of many amazed visitors: The Indian Chief Vintage, which had been unveiled for the first time in the United States the day before the show opened, celebrated its trade-fair debut at Motorradwelt Bodensee. “The show went exceptionally well for us and far exceeded our expectations. We observed an extremely high level of interest in making a purchase,” says Indian Motorcycles Stuttgart Managing Director Bodo Hayden.
Positive feedback from all participants
“We received very good feedback from many exhibiting companies, especially from those attending the fair for the first time,” notes Petra Rathgeber. WMH GmbH is among them: “We successfully presented our new location, WMH Hegau, which will open in Hilzingen in March,” says WMH Walz Operations Manager Florian Elsässer. For many exhibitors, Motorradwelt Bodensee’s location in the border region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland sets the fair apart from other events of this nature. Wunderkind Custom Sales Manager Detlef Achterberg also emphasises this point: “We are positioned ideally here across borders. The fair’s extensive reach into the German-speaking countries abroad is a unique selling point of Friedrichshafen as a location.”
Tried and tested as well as new program highlights
The new Indoor Cross hall also proved very popular with visitors. “It was extremely well received,” Petra Rathgeber states. Friedrichshafen native and four-time Supermoto World Champion Marc-Reiner Schmidt was among those who took part in the Show Races, but another Supermoto World Champion from the region could also be seen on the track: Bernd Hiemer impressed the crowd with his BMW R 1300 GS. At the Used Motorcycle Market, a large share of the 72 bikes on display found new owners. The Best Bike Award, which showcased 20 custom-built motorcycles, also drew considerable attention. First place went to Markus Berger and his Harley Davidson Chopper MB. In the “Best of Show” category, the panel of experts selected Enrico Stepan’s BMW R18.
The next edition of Motorradwelt Bodensee will take place from Friday, January 29, to Sunday, January 31, 2027.