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SPECIAL
FEATURE Origin of BMW Motorcycles |
OBXYOGA.NET
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The
origins of BMW motorcycles can be traced to 1913 when Karl Friedrich Rapp,
a Bavarian who had been a well-known engineer in a German aircraft company,
formed Rapp Motoren Werke near Munich, Germany. This company specialized
in airplane engines. The first engines were unreliable and suffered from
excessive vibration. Nearby, Gustav Otto, also an airplane specialist,
set up a small shop building small aircraft. Because of the engine problems, Rapp Motoren Werke secured a contract with Austro-Daimler to build V12 Aero engines under license. However, the new company expanded too quickly and Austro-Daimler was unable to supply enough engines for production. Soon, Rapp had to resign from the company for obvious financial reasons. |
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Franz
Josef Popp and Max Friz, two Austrians now took over the company. Soon
Rapp Motoren Werke merged their company with Otto’s small company
nearby to form Bayersiche Flugzeungwerke. It was shortly afterwards renamed
Bayersiche Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), or BMW, forming the company
we know today. |
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 Max Friz |
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BMW's
first aircraft engine went into production in 1917. It was a 6 cylinder
Type IIIa. . In 1919, using an aircraft powered by its successor, the
Type IV, Franz Zeno Diemer set an altitude record of 9,760 metres (32,013
ft). The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 ending World War I. This
treaty also prohibited BMW from building aircraft engines. The young company
began producing air brakes for railway cars to keep its workforce busy
while the engineers looked for another product to sell. |
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 R 32 under Assembly in Germany |
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That
came shortly in the form of the R 32 BMW motorcycle. It went into production
in 1923 at the newly constructed Eisenach factory next to the Munich airport.
The R 32 used a flat-twin cylinder engine transversely mounted in a double-tubular
frame producing 8.5 horsepower at 3300 rpm. The 2-cylinder 494cc motorcycle
could reach a top speed of 59 mph (95 km/h). BMW manufactured 3090 of
them during its 3 year life span. The current BMW logo, introduced in 1920, was based on the circular design of an aircraft propeller. |
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 Early BMW Chopper |
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| BMW's in World War II | ||
 Victory Parade through Paris 1940 |
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Luftwaffe Motorcyclists standing by their BMW's in World War II |
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Motorcycle Squad patroling in what looks like southeastern Europe during World War II |
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 German's Riding toward the eastern Front |
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Motorcycle soldiers of 24th Panzer Division fighting on the Russian Front.
The Division was wiped out at Stalingrad in 1943. |
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German motorcycle soldier fleeing Russians on the Eastern Front. |
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| After World War II | ||
 1955 R 26 |
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 1969 BMW R60/2 |
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1972 R75 |
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 1981 R 100RS |
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 1990 BMW K1 |
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 1998 R 1100 RT-Police Bike |
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 Customized 1983 BMW R 80 |
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| BMW Movies | ||
| Vintage BMW Motorcycle Racing | ||
| BMW Airhead History | ||
| Early BMW Motorcycles | ||
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