BMW Motorcycles 1923-2023: 100 years of cutting-edge engineering and design

FOUNDED AS A MANUFACTURER OF AIRPLANE ENGINES during World War I, the Bayerische Motoren Werke, aka BMW, saw its business crumble when the Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany from maintaining an air force. Searching for a new product line, BMW turned to motorcycles, introducing its all-new R 32 in 1923. Designed by Max Friz to the same standard as his world-class aero engines, the R 32 established a template for BMW motorcycles that applies to this day, with a transverse-mounted boxer twin engine followed by shaft drive to the rear wheel. Even more important than its configuration, the R 32 established a tradition for high-quality construction, uncommon reliability, and technical innovation. Those qualities continue to define BMW’s motorcycles, which have introduced features from the automotive world—like anti-lock brakes, digital motor electronics, and variable valve timing—to remain on the cutting edge of technology and sophistication even as world events have threatened its survival.BMW MOTORCYCLES, 1923-2023 offers a comprehensive look at 100 years of innovative BMW motorcycles, from production models like the earliest R 32 to the current M 1000 RR and everything in between, including the little-known concept bikes that never made it to production. It recognizes the engineers and designers who created these machines, men like Rudolf Schleicher, Alfred Böning, Helmut-Werner Bönsch, Burkhard Göschel, Hans Muth, David Robb, Edgar Heinrich, Josef Miritsch, and Ola Stenegard. It also honors those who rode and raced BMWs, from Ernst Henne and Schorsch Meier to Walter Zeller and Helmut Fath, Gaston Rahier and Richard Sainct, Ted Simon and Ewan McGregor. Above all, it celebrates the fun that BMW motorcycles embody, and the spirit of adventure that powers every bike built in Munich, Berlin, or farther afield.Written by Jackie Jouret, author of twelve books on BMW history and the former editor of San Francisco's CityBike newspaper as well as Bimmer, the magazine about BMW, the book draws upon original research as well as rare material from the BMW Archive for an in-depth look at BMW's first century as a motorcycle manufacturer. Read more