Why? Well, the etymology comes from the post-WWII era. BMW Motorrad TerminologyīMW Motorrad: Pronounced “Moto-rad” (meaning “motorcycle” in German), this has been BMW AG’s motorcycle division since 1923.īeemer/Beamer: Traditionally, “Bimmer” is the nickname for BMW cars, while “Beemer” or “Beamer” applies to motorcycles. Lastly comes the letter or letters following the numbers-the part of the name that explains the purpose of the bike: A (for Adventure, sometimes spelled out), S (sometimes Sport or Strasse, the German word for street), G (from the German word Gelande, which means terrain), GT (sport touring), RR (road racing), RT (road touring), L (luxury), T (touring), GTL (luxury sport touring), B (bagger), R (road), X (extreme), and GSA (grand sport adventure, sometimes spelled out) all see use in 2019.
#Bimmer or beamer series
The second part of the name is comprised of numbers, which represent the size of the engine’s displacement in cubic centimeters….except when it’s actually just a random series of numbers instead, which does happen. Between those extremes, you have bikes starting with the letter S (four-cylinder sport motor), R (opposed twin-cylinder), G (single cylinder), F (parallel twin-cylinder), and K (three or more cylinders). The first part of the name is a letter, which corresponds to an engine type currently, the BMW Motorrad lineup has engine types varying from scooters names start with a C (parallel twin-cylinder engines attached to a constantly variable clutch) to sport bikes like the departed $78,000 HP4 Race (high-performance four-stroke four-cylinder). The 8 Common Types of Motorcycles You Should Know How BMW Names Its MotorcyclesĪs is the case with its cars, BMW Motorrad uses an alphanumeric naming system for their motorcycles. (If you think those bikes are highly sought-after collector’s items these days, you’d be correct.) Following a trademark lawsuit in 1952, motorcycles produced at the Eisenach plant in East Germany wore a red-and-white roundel bearing the name EMW ( Eisenacher Motoren Werke) to distance them from BMW. (That R32 was the foundation of BMW motorcycles for decades its shaft drive was in use until 1994.)įollowing World War II, the company was given permission to start building motorcycles again in Western Germany in 1947 however, it had to start from scratch, as all its surviving blueprints and plans were at the facility in Eastern Germany under Soviet control. BMW Motorrad HistoryīMW stands for “Bavarian Motor Works” (or Bayerische Motoren Werke, in German) and while the company is best known for its cars, its motorcycle engine manufacturing predates its first automobile by nine years.īMW AG was founded in Munich in 1916 and produced airplane engines during World War I in 1921, it began building motorcycle engines for other manufacturers before building its first bike, the R32, in 1923. And even those Beemers that don’t bear such obvious marks can still be clearly identified, as all of them wear the iconic blue-and-white roundel on the gas tank. Adventure and heritage motorcycles equipped with the brand’s signature boxer engine are instantly recognizable, thanks to the horizontally opposed cylinders.
Constant innovation, with a focus on safety and accessibility, has made its efforts to mint new riders among the most successful in the industry.Įntry-level single-cylinder bikes and scooters seek to bring the joy of riding to urban mobility. But just as BMW’s cars have adapted to changing times, so too have BMW’s motorcycles. Products from BMW Motorrad are no different, bringing equal amounts of sportiness, capability and luxury to the table. Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.īMW automobiles have long set themselves apart in the crowded luxury marketplace by being driver-oriented machines, offering a dynamic experience behind the wheel while maintaining a high degree of refinement.
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