BMW

BMW Motorrad is a division of German automaker BMW which specializes in motorcycle production.

BMW was founded in 1916 as an engine manufacturer. With the creation of the BMW M2B15 portable engine in 1919, the company was able to build its own motorcycles starting in 1923 after selling the engines to other manufacturers for several years. Their first bike was the R32, which is still used as template for many of the company’s modern designs.

Like its American counterparts, BMW was asked to supply motorbikes to aid the military during World War II. However, as a German company this left BMW on the losing side, and many of its plants and factories were either ruined or totally destroyed. To further their loss, Germany’s surrender agreement included a provision forbidding BMW from continuing motorcycle production for several years. By the time the company was able to get products back into the market in the late 40’s, German motorcycles had gone out of popularity in Europe.

Although many of BMW’s local competitors were forced out of business, the company found a new market in the United States. The international market kept the product line limping along through the next two decades.

In 1970, BMW released three new motorcycles (the R50/5, R60/5, and R75/5) with increased power and electric starters. These bikes ushered in an decade of recovery for the company. These R series bikes were tweaked and adapted throughout the 70’s, steadily increasing BMW’s success in the bike market.

The modern era of the BMW includes a diverse line of street and sportbikes. The powerful K series are some of the heavier sportbikes on the market, while the R series remains its lighter counterpart. Specifically, the R1100RT is a 2005 model that has the honor of being used in Hong Kong as an ambulance vehicle, proving without question that the company is a top competitor even against powerful Asian brands.

Although BMW had a history of early racing successes with its bikes (including being the first non-British cycle to win the Isle of Man TT race in 1939), it has only been in the last few years that the company has begun to build competition model bikes. The S1000RR was introduced in 2009 to compete in the Superbike World Championship, and is now offered as one of BMW’s commercially available bikes.

Vintage BMW motorcycles are now highly prized by bike enthusiasts, with membership organizations and restoration facilities in North America and Europe.

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BMW