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The History of BMW Motorcycles
1910 to 1920
The 1910s. What would eventually become the
Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) began as two separate companies. Gustav
Otto's Flugzenmaschinenfabrik (Airplane Factory) in Munich merged with
Karl Rapp's Flugwerke Deutschland on March 7, 1916 to become the
Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Bavarian Airplane Works). Initially specializing
in the design and manufacture of airplane engines, the company would
manufacture for Germany's fledgling air force, including the Baron von
Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron.
1917. On July 21, 1917, under the leadership of
Karl Rapp and Max Friz, the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke is renamed the
Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). Their logo, representing
an airplane propeller in the blue sky, would remain throughout the
company's history. At 3,400 employees, BMW recruited Franz Joseph Popp
from Daimler to become its managing director. The company's primary output
was the V-12 airplane engine. 1918.
BMW, in the midst of an economic boom funded by the German air force,
takes its 3,500 employees and goes public. Primarily focused on
manufacturing for the Fokker DV II - arguably one of the best aircraft of
the time - the future appears to be all blue skies for Rapp, Friz, Popp
and company.
1919. With the Treaty of Versailles (signed June 28th) ending WWI,
Germany is now forbidden to manufacture airplanes. Max Friz, the head
designer for BMW at the time, reluctantly looks to motorcycle and
automobile engines to sustain the company's economic health. A sharp turn
away from the six- and 12-cylinder airplane engines the company was
making, Friz puts his aeroengineering knowledge to work, and within four
weeks of being commissioned, has blueprints for what would become the
famous 'Boxer' engine.
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