Manufacturer-Information BMW

Motorcycles from Bavaria since 1923.

Markus

25.04.2018

For the sake of completeness, however, the two motorized two-wheelers "Flink" and "Helios" which the Bavarian aircraft plants built with their built-in m2B15 engine are also mentioned here. However, this has been moderately successful. It was not until 1918 that BFW became BMW, the Bavarian Motorenwerke GmbH.

The success story was shifted from air to road, so to speak, and so we are now back in 1923: the first BMW engine listened to the simple name R 32. It was powered by a longitudinal two-cylinder boxer four-stroke engine with SV valve control and gimbal drive, typically BMW flat and one of two BMW series that has been successful for decades.

On September 16, 1923, BMW competed with two of these machines in the first Hindelang-Oberjoch race, taking two first prizes and even reaching the best time of the day.

On 28 September 1923, the R 32 was presented to the public for the first time at the German Motor Show in Berlin. According to the BMW price list of 1925, 2200 Reichsmarks were, with the speedometer, horn, lighting system and the passenger seat not included in the price. Production ceased in 1926 and 3090 R32were produced by then.

From today's point of view, perhaps quite interesting: We are talking about 494 cm3, 8.5 hp at 3299 rpm and a top speed of 95 km/h.

The second, no less typical BMW design was launched a few years later with the R 39. It was a standing single cylinder also with gimbal drive. The R 39 also enjoyed sporting success in its first year of production and won the German Road Championship of the DMV in the 250 cm3 class in 1925. In 1926 Rudolf Schleicher won the 6-day race in England. And not on a machine prepared for racing, but he sat in the saddle of the series model of an R37.

The success of the race meant that BMW invested a lot of energy in the further development of the technology. They took advantage of the experience of racing and in 1928 thoroughly revised the motorcycle program. This also paid off and sales volumes continued to rise. Thus, the executive floor realized that there was room for more than two models.

The Bavarian engine plants, however, have always remained quite true to themselves and their typical style. An air-cooled side valve in boxer arrangement that sits across the frame, as well as the gimbal drive for it, BMW stands for to this day. Nevertheless, there have been important technical innovations and various successes over the decades. But also one or the other setback.

The affectionate nickname "rubber cow", for example, was earned in the mid-fifties by a completely new driving feeling. The full swingarm replaced the gimbling suspension and the gimbal drive was changed in such a way that it was no longer possible to shift the load in the transverse direction, but also to lift and lower.

In the mid-sixties, the car became more and more important as an affordable means of transport. Thus, the production of the smaller single cylinders was discontinued. From now on, BMW was the only German manufacturer to continue to produce high-capacity motorcycles. Boxer and Kardan were therefore thankfully preserved in the motorcycle world.

The machines became bigger and stronger with the R 75/5 1969 and the R90 S 1973. However, this development was also driven by engines from Japan, which soon became leaders in performance and maintenance.

The R 80 G/S was not only BMW's answer to the enduro hype of that time (unforgettable here are e.B. Yamaha's XT500 , Suzuki's DR600 or Honda's XL500,...) but also served an extremely wide range of applications. G/S stood for terrain & road and thus for a bike that should be fun and suitable for cornering as well as long-distance travel. And although the decision to use multi-cylinder and gimbal even in off-road terrain is not directly obvious in my eyes, BMW wins the next Paris Dakar Rally with the R80 G/S.

With the K 100, a completely new BMW was launched in 1983. Their grid frame and the longitudinally arranged, water-cooled four-cylinder in-line engine shaped this new type of BMW bikes.

Other innovations included the ABS, which was first installed in the R 1200 C in 1987, or the four-valve technology used in the K 100 RS in 1989. Even a regulated KAT and the Paralever were no longer missing from the sporty machine.

In 1993, another boxer, the R 1100 RS, was launched, with the new Telelever system ensuring that the motorcycle stopped braking.

Also new: BMW released the F650 in the same year, the engine of which was neither developed nor built by BMW. Rather, it is a single cylinder from Rotax. The Pegaso from Aprilia, which also produced the F650 for BMW, served as a model. A bike that is not without controversy among BMW fans. But if you ask me an absolutely successful motorcycle. My F 650 ST has accompanied me for over 15 years and never caused the slightest trouble in all this time. Apart from that, a very affordable model for BWM ratios.

For most motorcyclists, it's probably just a side note, but still a notable outlier is the C1, which was introduced by BMW in 2000. An unusual mix of scooter and small car. Well, you don't have to wear a helmet – but let's face it: who wants to strap on the moped?

Therefore, back to the "real" motorcycles: they continue to be more large-volume and powerful. In 2005 the four-cylinder engine was rotated and installed in the K 1200 S now transversely. In 2008, an F800 with parallel twin and belt drive comes – again a Rotax engine. The manufacturer from Austria has already proven quality with the F 650. In the same year, the G 450 X with Kymco-Machine from Taiwan is also introduced. A sports enduro for the off-roaders among motorcyclists.

With the S 100 RR, BMW is taking a step towards the competition from Japan and is installed with an upside-down fork next to the transverse four-cylinder engine with chain-end drive.

And it's even thicker: BMW delivers the first six-cylinder motorcycle produced as standard in Germany with the K 1600 GT 2011.

In 2012, the F650 will be replaced by the G650 GS. And in 2013 BMW teamed up with the TVS Motor Company from India to jointly develop bikes under 500 cm3. One result of this cooperation is the BMW G 300.

The BMW is also very present as a government vehicle. BMW currently offers the F 700 GS, F 800 GS, F 800 GT and R 1200 GS for these purposes with appropriate optional equipment. In Germany, every little boy, when he thinks of a police motorcycle, probably has a BWM in mind. But not only in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Croatia, France, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Algeria, USA, Egypt, Russia, Great Britain, Ethiopia, Thailand, Kuwait, Kosovo and the Republic of China, BWW motorcycles are used as official vehicles.

For all those who are not allowed to ride motorcycles on duty, BMW offers the R-series: (two-cylinder boxer engines / currently 1170 cm3 / air-/oil-cooled, from 2013 water-cooled / gimbal) K-series (in-line six-cylinder with 1649 cm3 / water-cooled / gimbal), S-series (in-line four-cylinder with 999 cm3 / chain), F-series (two-cylinder four-stroke engine of Rotax with 798 cm3 / water-cooled / chain or belt), G-series (single-cylinder engine with 313 cm3 / water-cooled / up to 35 KW / manufactured in Taiwan by Kymco) and C-series (scooter). After the letter for the row, the displacement size is followed by the model abbreviation in the label. So an R 1200 GS is about a two-cylinder boxer engine air-/oil-cooled, from 2013 water-cooled with gimbal drive. The machine has 1170 cm3 and is designed for terrain & road.

Other model names besides GS (road and road) are RS (travel and sport), RT (travel tourer), LT (luxury tourer), GT (Grand Tourer), GTL (Grand Tourer Luxury), ST (Strada), CS (City Scarver), R (Roadster), RR (Road Race), S (Sport), XR (Cross Road), CS (Classic Sport). A detailed list of pictures and technical data of all current BWW bikes can be found in our database below.

In Germany, the BMW Group manufactures the motorcycles at the BMW plant in Berlin and has been doing so since 1967. There are 1800 employees and up to 550 bikes are produced every day. By the way, the two millionth BMW motorcycle came off the production line on May 6, 2011.

BMW sold 145,032 motorcycles worldwide last year (2016), more than doubling its sales since 1999 (65,168). And this year, BMW is looking forward to a 5.5 percent increase in global sales in the first quarter of 2017. From January to March, 35,636 motorcycles and large scooters were sold.