The BMW Motorcycle Begins a Luxurious History
The BMW that we know today began in aircraft engines, moved on to motorcycles, and moved onto luxury cars.
In this stage in the millennium,
the luxury car seems to be at the forefront of the BMW brand, but the company also makes a motorcycle. In fact, it manufactured motorcycles first.
BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company, and the bike was first produced in 1923- long before luxury vehicles came into play. In fact, the company now known for cars that go above and beyond standards of the times first began in the early twentieth century and continued through World War I as an aircraft engine manufacturer. It maintained business through World War II as a scrap metal business, and is now the most widely known producer of luxury vehicles from sports cars to family vehicles.
The Motorrad produces five series of motorcycles currently.
The F series has parallel-twin engines of 798 cc capacity. It has a chain or a belt drive. The G series touts a single-cylinder 449 to 652 cc capacity with a chain drive. The R series has a twin-cylinder boxer engine (like the first bike manufactured) with 1,170 cc capacity featuring a drive shaft. The K series is a four-cylinder of 1,157 to 1,649 cc capacity with a shaft drive. Lastly, the S1000 sport bike is also being manufactured currently.
The company is known to enter its bikes into the Dakar Rally, which a BMW has won six times.
As far as the cars we know today, the BMW 3/20 ps was manufactured in 1932, the 303 in 1933, and the 315/1 in 1934. The last produced vehicle before the war was the 335, which is described as the company's first luxury car. The war was almost the ruin of the German car company as it did not have permission from occupying forces to continue business, but it eventually prevailed.
The company took off after the war in the year 1951 at the first Frankfurt Motor Show, where after tap-dancing around which direction the company would go, it decided to stick to luxury additions. The 501 debuted at the show, although the prototype was unfinished. The company launched a sports car in 1954, and with each new series addition to the BMW family from then, until today when sports activity vehicles recently hit the market. The company has consistently stood by quality and luxury while keeping up with the needs of the ever-changing consumer.
