-
1923 - BMWs Chief Designer
Max Friz builds the R 32, BMW's first motorcycle
launched at the Berlin Motor Show. The R
32 already had the characteristic features
of shaft drive and the famous BMW twin-cylinder
Boxer engine fitted in transverse arrangement,
with the gearbox connected directly to the
engine.
-
1924 - Rudolf Schleicher,
BMWs Chief Test Engineer, developed the
first ohv sports engine fitted in the R
37. Franz Bieber won the first German Championship
for BMW on the machine.
-
1925 - The year of the first
single-cylinder BMW, the R 39, which displaced
250cc and developed a maximum output of
6.5 bhp.
-
1926 - Rudolf Schleicher
won a gold medal in the Six-Day Trial of
Great Britain.
-
1927 - The R 62 and R 63
made their appearance as the first BMW motor-cycles
with 750cc engines. This capacity remained
the largest engine size in the range until
1973.
-
1929 - Riding a 750cc BMW
on Ingolstädter Landstrasse near Munich,
Ernst Henne set a new motorcycle world record
of 216.75 km/h or 134.39 mph.
-
1931 - BMW counters the
world economic crisis with the 250cc R 2,
which was sold with great success in the
marketplace.
-
1933 - The BMW team won
the first International Six Day Trial.
-
1935 - BMW introduced the
first telescopic front wheel fork with hydraulic
damping on the R 12 and R 17.
-
1936 - The all-new BMW R
5 entered production. It was the first time
a motorcycle had featured a tubular frame
welded electrically under protective gas.
-
1937 - Riding a streamlined
500cc compressor BMW, Ernst Henne set a
new world speed record of 279.5 km/h or
173.4 mph.
-
1938 - The 100,000th BMW
motorcycle was delivered to its proud female
owner
-
1939 - Following his European
Championship win of the previous year, Schorsch
Meier rode a BMW compressor, racing machine
to win the Senior TT on the Isle of Man
the world's most famous and demanding motorcycle
race. His British team-mate Jock West finished
second.
-
1942 - Production of the
R 75 military motorcycle, with an additional
drive on the sidecar wheel, was moved from
Munich to Eisenach.
-
1945 - Production of the
R 35 started in Eisenach under Soviet administra-tion.
-
1947 - Schorsch Meier won
his second German Championship. His first
title was in 1938 and he repeated this success
as a BMW works rider in 1948, 1949, 1950,
and 1953.
-
1948 - The 250-cc single-cylinder
R 24 was introduced and BMW once again started
motorcycle production at Munich.
-
1950 - Launch of the R 51/2
BMW's first post-war Boxer.
-
1952 - The R 68 became the
first German production machine to reach
a speed of 160 km/h or 100 mph.
-
1954 - Wilhelm Noll and
Fritz Cron won the first World Sidecar Championship
on a BMW RS.
-
1955 - BMW launched the
R 26, R 50 and R 69 with new swinging-arm
suspension.
-
1960 - Powered by a 42 bhp,
600cc Boxer engine, the new R 69 S boasted
a top speed of 175 km/h or 109 mph.
-
1969 - BMW motorcycle production
moved from Munich to Berlin and the new
model generation with the top-of-the-range
R 75/5 made its debut on the market.
-
1973 - Enlarging the engine
for the first time, BMW launched the R 90/6
and R 90 S. >li>1974 - Klaus Enders
riding a BMW RS won the Sidecar World Championship
for the sixth time and BMW won the manufacturers’
title for the 20th successive time.
-
1976 - BMW launched the
first large capacity production machine
in the world with a full fairing, the 1,000-cc
R 100 RS.
-
1977 - The R 45 and R 65
were added to the model range. Annual production
of BMW motorcycles exceeded the 30,000-mark
for the first time.
-
1980 - Riding an 800cc BMW,
Rolf Witthöft won the European Off-road
Championship. The production version of
the Enduro is launched in the guise of the
R 80 G/S with BMW Monolever single, rear-wheel
swinging arm.
-
1981 - Hubert Auriol (F)
wins the Paris Dakar Rally on a BMW Enduro.
-
1983 - BMW's first four-cylinder
motorcycles, the K 100 model series, was
introduced. Hubert Auriol once again achieved
victory in the Paris Dakar Rally on a BMW.
-
1985 - The three-cylinder
K 75 was launched. Following his first victory
in 1984, Gaston Rahier (B) clinched his
second title on a BMW in the Paris Dakar
Rally.
-
1986 - In response to great
demand, the R 100 RS and R 100 RT now with
a Monolever swinging arm made their return
to BMW's model range.
-
1987 - Introduction of the
largest enduro on the world market, the
BMW R 100 GS featured the first double-joint,
rear wheel swinging-arm, the BMW Paralever.
-
1988 - BMW became the first
motorcycle manufacturer to introduce anti-lock
brakes (ABS) on the K 100 models. With sales
amounting to 5, 865 units, the R 100 GS
was the best-selling motorcycle in Germany.
-
1989 - The BMW K 1 featured
a specially streamlined sports fairing and
a 16-valve power unit with Motronic Digital
Motor Electronics.
-
1990 - BMW took the initiative
in the fight for a cleaner environment with
the introduction of the catalytic converter
for motorcycle engines. Motronic paved the
way for the first fully controlled three-way
catalytic converter when it entered series
production in 1991.
-
1991 - The K 1100 LT became
the first BMW motorcycle to displace more
than 1000cc. The 1,000,000th BMW motorcycle
rolled off the Berlin production line.
-
1992 - Riding a BMW R 100
GS in standard trim, Jutta Kleinschmidt
won the ladies cup in the Cape Town Rally
after completing a distance of 12,700 km
or 7,874 miles.
-
1993 - The BMW Boxer celebrated
its 70th birthday with the R 1100 RS as
the first model of a new generation featuring
four-valve Boxer engines. The single-cylinder
F 650 was the first BMW motorcycle with-out
shaft drive.
-
1994 - The R 1100 GS enduro,
R 850 GS, and the R 1100 R rounded off the
range of new BMW Boxers machines. BMW opens
its Enduro Park in the small German town
of Hechlingen.
-
1995 - The R 1100 RT touring
Boxer was launched. BMW Motorrad built the
100,000th machine with ABS. For the first
time in its history the company sold more
than 50,000 motorcycles in one year.
-
1996 - Production of the
two-valve Boxer ended with the R 80 GS Basic
and the special Ultima version of the K
75. Developing a maximum output of 130 bhp,
the new K 1200 RS became the most powerful
motor-cy-cle ever produced by BMW.
-
1997 - The first BMW cruiser,
the R 1200 C, was launched in the USA. The
motorcycle division of BMW AG reported,
for the first time, sales ex-ceeding DM
1billion.
-
1998 - Starring as the most
sporting and dynamic Boxer for the road,
the BMW R 1100 S entered the market. At
the Munich Intermot Show BMW set new benchmark
standards for the luxury tourer market with
the K 1200 LT.
-
1999 - Richard Sainct (F)
won the Paris Dakar Rally on the rally version
of the single-cylinder BMW F 650. The standard
R 1150 GS received a larger engine and a
six-speed gearbox.
-
2000 - Four BMW works riders
finished in the top four places in the Dakar
Cairo Rally. The new F 650 GS and the highly
innovative C1 two-wheeler entered the market.
BMW became the only motorcycle manufacturer
in the world to fit all models with ABS
and a G-type catalytic converter as standard.
Schorsch Meier, BMW's legendary mo-tor-cycle
racer, died at the age of 90.
-
2001 - BMW's new and unique
Integral ABS further enhanced BMW's reputation
for producing advanced safety products.
Production in Berlin had increased so quickly
that 117 million euros was invested to significantly
expand the plant. The Tourer, Sports Tourer
and new Roadster were all fitted with the
1,150-cc Boxer engine. The road going F
650 CS the very agile Scarver entered the
market.
-
2002 - Because of its previous
success, the second international season
of the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup took place
with an expanded programme. The R 1100 S
BoxerCup Replica for road use was presented
to the pub-lic and the K 1200 GT (as a dynami-c
tourer) and the R 1200 CL luxury cruiser
make debuts at the Intermot Show. Record-breaking
annual production of 93,010 units underlined
BMW's number one position when it became
the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe.
-
2003 - Responding to great
demand, BMW introduced the production ver-sion
of the R 1150 R Rockster design study. The
Boxer machine was equipped with dual ignition.
In addition, the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup moved
to the USA for the first race of the season
at Daytona.
