Get FinancingBMW Motorcycles: A Century Of Rides
BMW and its motorcycle division got off to a rocky start largely due to the fallout from two world wars. The company originally developed aircraft engines, but was forced to switch production to air brakes, ag equipment, and other products after Germany’s defeat in World War I. Soon after, BMW transitioned to vehicle manufacturing, which is when it built the M2B15 flat-twin engine to be used in Helios motorcycles from Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. In 1922, BMW merged with that company and began manufacturing motorcycles in earnest. The first motorcycle to bear the BMW name was the R 32, which was powered by an 8.5-horsepower, 486cc engine.
In the years that followed, BMW introduced the R 39, R 2, R 4, R 3, R 12, and R 17. The company’s last motorcycle released before World War II was the R 71, although the company did develop an R 75 model that was used by German forces during World War II. That war left many of BMW’s manufacturing facilities heavily damaged if not outright destroyed, and the company was barred from building motorcycles.
BMW received permission to restart production in 1947, but because much of the company’s research had been destroyed in the war, it had to reverse-engineer past models in order to move forward. The company released the R 24 soon after, and would go on to manufacture more than 9,000 units in 1949 and more than 17,000 in 1950.
Rising From The Ashes
Recovering financially from the aftermath of two world wars certainly wasn’t easy, but BMW was largely buoyed by its car manufacturing business. This allowed it to rebound and produce several popular motorcycle models in the ensuing decades, including the R 51/3 in 1951, the R 69 in 1955, the R 75/5 in 1970, the R 100 S in 1977, the R 65 in 1979, the R 80 G/S in 1980, the K 100 in 1983, and the R 1100 RS and the F 650 in 1993. Over the next few decades, BMW set the foundation for its current lineup of motorcycles, including the F-series, G-series, K-series, R-series, S-series, and C-series models.
BMW Motorcycles Today
Today, BMW Motorrad manufacturers motorcycles under the sport, tour, roadster, heritage, and adventure categories. The R-series, in particular, illustrates the breadth of BMW’s offerings, because it has models that fall into each of those categories. This includes the R 1200 RS sport, R 1200 RT touring, R 1200 R roadster, R 1200 GS Adventure, and R nineT series of heritage models. Other popular BMW motorcycles include the F 800 GS, G 310 GS, G 310 R, K 1600 GTL, and S 1000 R. The company also sells a line of urban mobility scooters, which consists of the C 650 GT, C 400 X, and C evolution.
The R nineT is an excellent example of how BMW’s past has informed its future. This motorcycle’s style hearkens back to classic BMW models, but it has all of the features and technology you’d expect from a modern-day bike. It features a four-stroke, air-cooled, flat-twin engine that produces 110 horsepower (81 kilowatts) and 86 pounds-foot (117 newton meters) of torque. Other features include a constant-mesh 6-speed transmission, upside-down telescopic fork front suspension, aluminum fuel tank, chrome exhaust, and disc brakes supported by BMW Motorrad ABS.
Own A Piece Of History
If you’d like to own a motorcycle with roots that stretch back to the 1910s, you’ll find dozens of new and used BMW motorcycles for sale every day at MotorSportsUniverse.com.
