BMW Motorrad
Brand DNA
German engineering in service of adventure. Since 1923, BMW Motorrad has built motorcycles around a simple idea: technology should serve rider enjoyment and safety. The flat-twin boxer and shaft drive, present from the very first R32, still define the brand's identity today. BMW is the manufacturer that invented adventure touring with the GS, put ABS on a production motorcycle, and developed suspension systems nobody else uses. The range is the broadest on the market, from a 310cc single to a 1,649cc inline-six and a monstrous 1,802cc cruiser boxer. The price of entry is high and options add up fast, but build quality and resale values are consistently strong.
Key features
Pros and cons
Pros
- Broadest range on the market: from 310cc to 1,802cc, covering adventure, touring, sport, cruiser, and electric
- Cutting-edge technology: first motorcycle ABS, Telelever, ShiftCam, semi-active suspension
- The GS is the undisputed benchmark in adventure touring, with an unmatched global dealer and accessories network
- Strong reliability and among the best resale values in the market
- Dense worldwide dealer network with structured after-sales service
- Highly sophisticated rider electronics: riding modes, traction control, cornering ABS, dynamic suspension
Cons
- High purchase prices and options that quickly inflate the bill (a well-equipped GS easily exceeds $20,000)
- Electronic complexity that can intimidate riders used to simpler machines
- Heavy weight on most models, especially the larger displacements
- Above-average maintenance costs, particularly at official dealerships
- Brand image sometimes perceived as “corporate” or “middle-aged” by younger riders
History
How did BMW go from aircraft to motorcycles?
BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle division of Bayerische Motoren Werke (literally “Bavarian Motor Works”), a German group founded in 1916 that originally manufactured aircraft engines. When the Treaty of Versailles banned Germany from producing aero engines in 1919, BMW had to reinvent itself. The company started making industrial engines, then supplied a small flat-twin, the M2B15, to other motorcycle makers including Victoria and Helios.
In 1922, BMW merged with Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and decided to build its own motorcycle. Chief engineer Max Friz designed a radically new concept in just a few weeks: a transversely mounted flat-twin (“boxer”) engine with a shaft drive instead of a chain. The BMW R32 was unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show in September 1923. With 8.5 hp and a 59 mph top speed, it wasn’t the most powerful machine around, but its architecture was so well conceived that it defined BMW’s DNA for the next century: boxer engine, shaft drive, reliability, and build quality.
The early decades: speed records and innovation
By 1925, the R37 doubled the R32’s output and launched BMW into competition. Engineer Rudolf Schleicher designed the world’s first aluminum overhead-valve cylinder head for series motorcycle production. In 1929, Ernst Henne set the motorcycle world speed record at 134 mph on a supercharged BMW, a record he would break multiple times in subsequent years.
The 1930s brought landmark models: the R12 (1935), the first production motorcycle with hydraulically damped telescopic forks, and the R71, whose design was copied by the Soviet Union to create the Dnepr M-72 and the Ural, still in production today. During World War II, the R75 sidecar combination earned a reputation for extreme ruggedness, particularly in North Africa.
Post-war recovery and the 1950s-60s crisis
Production resumed in 1950 with the R51/2. The 1952 R68 was the first BMW to exceed 100 mph. But the 1950s were brutal: Europe was moving to cars, and motorcycle sales collapsed. BMW went from 30,000 bikes in 1954 to fewer than 5,500 by 1957. Three major German competitors went bankrupt in 1967.
BMW survived on product quality and loyal customers, particularly law enforcement agencies. In 1969, motorcycle production moved from Munich to the Berlin-Spandau plant, which remains BMW Motorrad’s manufacturing heart today. The new /5 series (R50/5, R60/5, R75/5) radically modernized the range with modular design.
The R90S and the sporting renaissance
In 1973, for BMW Motorrad’s 50th anniversary, came the R90S: 67 hp, 124 mph, with Hans Muth’s iconic smoke paintwork. This was the sports bike that revitalized BMW’s image with a younger audience. The R90S is now widely regarded as one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made.
The R80 G/S and the invention of adventure touring
In 1980, BMW created a segment that didn’t exist: the large dual-sport motorcycle. The R80 G/S (Gelände/Strasse, off-road/road) combined a big 798cc boxer, long-travel suspension, and a single-sided swingarm (Monolever). It was equally at home on highways and dirt tracks.
The gamble was spectacularly validated at the Paris-Dakar Rally: Hubert Auriol won in 1981 on an R80 G/S, the first victory for a multi-cylinder motorcycle. Gaston Rahier added back-to-back wins in 1984 and 1985. These Dakar triumphs established the GS legend and created the adventure touring segment that BMW has dominated for over 40 years.
The K series and the tech revolution
In 1983, the K100 broke from boxer tradition with a water-cooled 987cc inline-four laid on its side. In 1988, the K100 became the first production motorcycle in the world to be fitted with ABS (anti-lock braking system), a landmark safety innovation. In 1993, the R1100RS debuted the Telelever front suspension (a patented system that separates steering and suspension functions, dramatically reducing brake dive) paired with the rear Paralever.
The GS: a sales phenomenon
The R1100GS (1994) was the first GS with a four-valve boxer and Telelever. The R1150GS and then the R1200GS (2004) sent sales skyward: by 2007, the R1200GS had passed 100,000 units produced. The “Long Way Round” documentary (2004), in which Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode BMW GSAs around the world, turbocharged the GS’s popularity. In 2012, Cycle World called it “the most successful motorcycle of the past 25 years.”
The R1250GS (2019) introduced ShiftCam technology (variable intake valve timing that optimizes torque and fuel efficiency across the rev range). In 2024, the R1300GS arrived with EVO Telelever and a new 145 hp boxer, the most powerful BMW has ever built. In 2024, GS models accounted for roughly 32% of BMW Motorrad’s total sales, over 68,000 units.
The S1000RR and the sportbike era
In 2009, BMW stunned the world with the S1000RR, its first inline-four sportbike, developed for the World Superbike Championship. With 193 hp, standard ABS and traction control (a first in the superbike class), it redefined expectations. The M1000RR variant (2021) pushed the concept further. In 2024, Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu delivered BMW its first-ever WorldSBK rider’s title, successfully defending it in 2025.
BMW Motorrad today
BMW Motorrad sold a record 210,408 motorcycles in 2024. The range spans 310cc to 1,802cc, covering adventure (GS), touring (K1600 GT/GTL, R1250RT), roadster (R1250R, RnineT), sport (S1000RR, M1000RR), accessible trail (F750/850/900 GS, G310GS), cruiser (R18), and urban mobility (CE 04 electric scooter, C400). The main factory remains Berlin-Spandau (about 2,400 employees, up to 900 bikes per day), complemented by assembly plants in Rayong (Thailand), Manaus (Brazil), a partnership with TVS in India (G310), and with Loncin in China (C400).
In summary
BMW Motorrad represents a century of innovations born from German aerospace engineering: from the 1923 shaft-drive boxer to motorcycle ABS, from Telelever to ShiftCam variable valve timing. The brand invented adventure touring with the GS, dominated the Dakar in the 1980s, and conquered the World Superbike Championship in the 2020s. If you’re looking for a motorcycle that combines cutting-edge technology, legendary reliability, and the ability to cross continents, BMW Motorrad is a hard choice to beat.
Iconic models
BMW R 1300 GS
The GS is THE motorcycle that created the adventure touring segment and has dominated global sales for decades. Born in 1980 with the Dakar-winning R80 G/S, it became BMW’s best-selling model and arguably the most influential motorcycle of the modern era. The current R1300GS (2024) features the most powerful boxer engine ever produced (145 hp) with ShiftCam variable valve timing technology and the innovative EVO Telelever suspension. GS models alone account for roughly a third of BMW Motorrad’s worldwide sales, exceeding 68,000 units in 2024. It remains the definitive adventure bike, copied by every competitor but never matched for versatility, global dealer support, and aftermarket ecosystem.
BMW S 1000 RR
Launched in 2009 specifically for the World Superbike Championship, the S1000RR took the sportbike world by storm. BMW’s first inline-four, it offered 193 hp with standard ABS and traction control — a first for any production superbike. The asymmetric headlight design became an instant visual signature. Its track-focused M1000RR variant, introduced in 2021, carried Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu to the 2024 and 2025 WorldSBK titles, BMW Motorrad’s first-ever rider championships in the series. It proved conclusively that BMW could compete with the best Japanese and Italian sportbikes at the highest level of production-based racing.
BMW R 1250 RT
The RT (Reise-Tourer, travel tourer) is the quintessential grand touring motorcycle, a category BMW has dominated for decades. Full fairing, exceptional wind protection, heated seats, comfortable riding position, integrated luggage: it’s the machine designed to eat thousands of miles two-up without fatigue. Massively adopted by law enforcement agencies worldwide, from American highway patrols to European police forces, it features the ShiftCam boxer engine and state-of-the-art rider electronics including semi-active suspension.
BMW R 18
Launched in 2020, the R18 is BMW’s bold answer to the cruiser market long dominated by Harley-Davidson and Indian. Its 1,802cc boxer — the largest BMW has ever built — produces 91 hp and a massive 116 lb-ft of torque. The retro design deliberately references iconic 1930s BMW models. It’s an audacious bet to capture the American custom market, with an engine character entirely unique in the cruiser world: that distinctive boxer thump instead of the traditional V-twin rumble.
BMW R32
The mother of all BMW motorcycles. Unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show in 1923, Max Friz’s R32 laid the foundations of the brand with its transverse flat-twin boxer engine and shaft drive. These two fundamental engineering choices still define BMW’s DNA over a century later. With just 8.5 hp, it wasn’t the fastest machine of its day, but its design was so ahead of its time that BMW sold over 3,000 units within three years. It is one of the most influential motorcycles in history, transforming an aircraft engine manufacturer into a motorcycling legend.