BMW Motorcycles

About BMW

BMW's motorcycle history began in 1921 when the company commenced manufacturing engines for other companies. Motorcycle manufacturing now operates under the BMW Motorrad brand. BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) introduced the first motorcycle under its name, the R32, in 1923.

BMW merged with Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in 1922, inheriting from them the Helios motorcycle and a small two-stroke motorized bicycle called the Flink. In 1923, BMW's first "across the frame" version of the boxer engine was designed by Friz. The R32 had a 486 cc (29.7 cubic inches) engine with 8.5 hp (6.3 kW) and a top speed of 95 to 100 km/h (59 to 62 mph). The engine and gearbox formed a bolt-up single unit. At a time when many motorcycle manufacturers used total-loss oiling systems, the new BMW engine featured a recirculating wet sump oiling system with a drip feed to roller bearings. This system was used by BMW until 1969, when they adopted the "high-pressure oil" system based on shell bearings and tight clearances, still in use today.

The R32 became the foundation for all future boxer-powered BMW motorcycles. BMW oriented the boxer engine with the cylinder heads projecting out on each side for cooling as did the earlier British ABC. Other motorcycle manufacturers, including Douglas and Harley-Davidson, aligned the cylinders with the frame, one cylinder facing towards the front wheel and the other towards the back wheel. The R32 also incorporated shaft drive. BMW has continued to use shaft drive on its motorcycles and did not produce a chain driven model until the introduction of the F650 in 1994.

In 1931, BMW introduced the single-cylinder shaft-driven R2, which, as a 200 cc motorcycle, could be operated in Germany without a motorcycle licence at that time. The R2 headed a series of single-cylinder BMW motorcycles, including the 400 cc R4 in 1932 and the 300 cc R3 in 1936.

The BMW R12 and R17, both introduced in 1935, were the first production motorcycles with hydraulically damped telescopic forks.

In 1937, Ernst Henne rode a supercharged 500 cc (31 cubic inches) overhead camshaft BMW 173.88 mph (279.83 km/h), setting a world record that stood for 14 years.

Construction was so good that during World War II Harley-Davidson copied the BMW engine and transmission—simply converting metric measurements to inches—and produced the shaft-drive 750 cc (46 cubic inches) 1942 Harley-Davidson XA.

The terms of Germany's surrender forbade BMW from manufacturing motorcycles. In 1946, when BMW received permission to restart motorcycle production from US authorities in Bavaria, BMW had to start from scratch.

In 1955, BMW began introducing a new range of motorcycles with Earles forks and enclosed drive shafts. These were the 26 hp (19 kW) 500 cc R50, the 30 hp (22 kW) 600 cc R60, and the 35 hp (26 kW) sporting 600 cc R69.

On June 8, 1959, John Penton rode a BMW R69 from New York to Los Angeles in 53 hours and 11 minutes, slashing over 24 hours from the previous record of 77 hours and 53 minutes set by Earl Robinson on a 45 cubic inch (740 cc) Harley-Davidson.

For the 1968 and 1969 model years only, BMW exported into the United States three "US" models. These were the R50US, the R60US, and the R69US. On these motorcycles, there were no sidecar lugs attached to the frame and the front forks were telescopic forks, which were later used worldwide on the slash-5 series of 1970 through 1973. Earles-fork models were sold simultaneously in the United States as buyers had their choice of front suspensions.

In 1970, BMW introduced an entirely revamped product line of 500 cc, 600 cc and 750 cc displacement models, the R50/5, R60/5 and R75/5 respectively and came with the "US" telescopic forks noted above. The engines were a complete redesign. The roller and ball-bearings in the bottom end had been replaced by shell-type journal bearings similar to those used in modern car engines. The camshaft, which had been at the top of the engine, was placed under the crankshaft, giving better ground clearance under the cylinders while retaining the low centre of gravity of the flat-twin layout. The new engine had an electric starter, although the traditional gearbox-mounted kick starter was retained. The styling of the first models included chrome-plated side panels and a restyled tank. The /5 series was given a longer rear swingarm, resulting in a longer wheelbase. This improved the handling and allowed a larger battery to be installed.

The /5 models were short-lived, however, being replaced by another new product line in 1974. In that year the 500 cc model was deleted from the lineup and an even bigger 900 cc model was introduced, along with improvements to the electrical system and frame geometry. These models were the R60/6, R75/6 and the R90/6. In 1973 a supersport model, the BMW R90S, was introduced. In 1975, the kick starter was finally eliminated.

In 1995, BMW ceased production of airhead 2-valve engines and moved its boxer-engined line completely over to the 4-valve oilhead system first introduced in 1993.

Moto blog

2014 BMW F800GS Adventure Announced

BMW has announced a new Adventure version of the F800GS, providing a more off-road-oriented version of the middleweight dual-sport. BMW has offered an Adventure version of the R1200GS for a while now but this is the first time BMW has done the same for one of its smaller GS models. Like the base F800GS, the Adventure version is powered by a liquid-cooled 798cc four-valve parallel-twin engine.

What’s New With CRP Electric Motorcycles?

CRP, the Italian company who made a splash last year when it announced it would make a production electric motorcycle, has been strangely quiet lately. With no news coming from the team in Modena, Italy, we wondered, what’s CRP been up to lately? While not much has been said publicly for months, CRP has been working feverishly behind the scenes to strengthen its staff.

WSBK 2013: Assen Race Report

Tom Sykes earned his first win of the 2013 season and came a hair short of a double victory at the World Superbike Championship round at Assen in the Netherlands. Traditionally a fast starter and qualifier, Sykes started on the pole once again at Assen and had strong starts in both races. But unlike the first two rounds where he started strong before fading, the Kawasaki factory rider was able to remain at the front in both races at Assen and earn some valuable championship points.

Spy Video Provides Up-Close Look at 2014 BMW R1200RT/R1200GT

Last month, we published spy photos of what appeared to be some prototypes of the 2014 BMW R1200RT sport-tourer undergoing testing somewhere in southern France. Unfortunately, the photographs were captured from far away, preventing us from seeing many details apart from the new water-cooled Boxer engine from the new GS and what appears to be the adaptive headlight from the K1600GT and GTL. Thankfully, a new video has surfaced, providing an up-close look at the new R1200RT.

WSBK 2013: Aragon Race Report

BMW Motorrad Goldbet racer Chaz Davies scored his first career World Superbike double victory, taking both races at Spain’s Aragon circuit. The wins were the second and third of Davies’ WSBK career (the first came last year at Nurburgring for the ParkinGo Aprilia team) and the second ever double in the series for BMW. The Welsh rider and former AMA Pro Racing competitor has had some success at Aragon, getting his first career WSBK podium at the Spanish track in 2012.

New: BMW System 6 Evo helmet

BMW has released the new System 6 Evo flip-front helmet.  It retains the clean lines of the System 6, while increasing levels of comfort and practicality with a more scratch-resistant internal sun visor, a more robust visor mechanism designed to make operation with gloved hands easier, improved ventilation control on the chin, and a revised spoiler for better aerodynamics. BMW says it has a unique chin bar pivot which reduces the size of the helmet when the chin bar is upright. Weighing in at 1.57kg, the ECE 22-05 homologated Evo is a quiet lid, with noise levels registering at 84-86 dBA at 62 mph. The helmet comes ready for installation of the BMW Communication system, offering a Bluetooth connection to the BMW Navigator IV sat-nav, music players, mobile phones and other BMW helmets.

AMA Pro Racing Announces Basic Twins Flat Track Class for 2014 Season

AMA Pro Racing announced a new class for Flat Track racing designed to provide a new stepping stone for up-and-coming Pro-licensed racers, replacing the Pro Singles class in 2014. The new class, to be called Basic Twins, is more or less a revival of the Basic Expert Twins division that ran during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but dropped when the Pro Singles class was introduced for 2009. The new class will give young racers a chance to showcase their skills on Twins, easing their transition to eventually enter the Grand National Expert Twins class.

Greg Tracy to Ride Amarok P1A Electric Sportbike for Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Canada’s Amarok Racing has secured quite a coup in signing six-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Greg Tracy to ride its P1A electric superbike for the 2013 edition of the event. Tracy has six class victories in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, winning in 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. His victories have come riding motorcycles from several manufacturers: Honda, Yamaha, BMW and, more recently, Ducati.

BMW Partners with India’s TVS Motor, Plans Sub-500cc Models

  BMW announced it has signed a long-term agreement with Indian manufacturer TVS Motor to develop and produce small-displacement motorcycles. The two companies have been in discussions for several months now, but alliance is only now official. Under the agreement, BMW and TVS will work together to develop a new model with an engine displacement smaller than 500cc.

BMW S1000RR drag bike

Whilst stretched out bikes aren't that popular over here in the UK, you can certainly appreciate them a whole lot more more when you know they're going to be used at a drag strip. This video shows bike builder and ex-racer Roland Sands work his magic on a BMW S1000RR. Future plans are to increase the engine to 300bhp, and achieve speeds of 220mph.