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The History of BMW Motorcycles
1920 to 1930
The 1920s. Only a few years before, Germany was a booming
industrial power. But in the aftermath of WWI, high inflationary rates and
a general lack of money for luxury items placed economic pressure on
domestic manufacturers. Fortunately, motorcycles were seen as an important
means of transportation (especially with so few cars available) and 80% of
BMW's products went to business clients. Even in a tight economy, BMW
didn't skimp on parts or process. The years between 1923 and 1939 would be
looked back upon historically as BMW's heyday.
1920. Kurt Hanfland designs the 'Kurier' engine,
a tiny two-stroke, 148-cc motor. Eventually it is incorporated into a
combination bicycle/motorcycle called the 'Flink' (a word ironically
meaning "speedy" - which the Flink was not). The heavyish bike with its
underpowered engine requires vigorous pedaling to start. The Flink flunks
and is never sold under the BMW name. 1921.
Max Friz and Martin Stolle collaborate on the M2B15 - the first 'flat
twin' or 'Boxer' engine. Based on the British Douglas design, it is
manufactured by BMW but used in the motorcycles of other brands like
Corona, Heller, Helios and Scheid. In this same year BMW sells off the
assets of the original Otto Flugzenmaschinenfabrik which continues its own
manufacture of Flottweg motorcycles. BMW will buy the works back in 1937.
1922. Rudolf Schleicher develops the first
light-alloy cylinder head. It proves to be one of the essential
improvements that leads to the second, and ultimately more successful,
version of the Boxer engine. Meanwhile the M2B15 is only moderately
successful as a motorcycle engine. Some speculate this is because BMW's
heart is still in airplanes. Regardless, toward the end of this year, Max
Friz pushes to improve on the "flat twin".
1923. The R 32. It is Max Friz's reluctant (his heart is still in
airplane engines) improvement on the earlier M2B15 engine designed with
Martin Stolle that leads BMW to its first serious motorcycle. Using other
design developments like Rudolph Schleicher's aluminum-alloy cylinders,
Friz engineers a motorcycle with a 486-cc engine that at 8.5 bhp reaches a
top speed of about 60 mph. Characterized by the transversely mounted M2B32
"flat twin" engine, a gearbox which forms a single unit with that engine
and a driveshaft as opposed to a chain and sprocket drive, the R 32
becomes the foundation for all future machine designs until the
introduction of the K-Series in 1983. It would also whet the appetite for
racing motorcycles that would come along in a few years.
1924. After only one year in the motorcycle business, BMW wins its
first German racing championship, setting the groundwork for a history of
trophy taking. Rudolph Schleicher is named chief designer, replacing Friz
who returns to his first love, airplanes. Because he is a racer,
Schleicher brings a passion to his designs. This passion would set the bar
for excellence which BMW would continually strive to raise.
1925. Schleicher's first original design, the R
37, is introduced this year. Very obviously a racing version of the R 32,
it achieves a modest 11mph more than its predecessor but has twice the
power (500 cc with 16 bhp @ 4000 rpm) and humorously, no speedometer. The
R37 goes on to win 100 races in Germany. But it is an expensive machine to
manufacture and only 152 are ever made. BMW's first single-cylinder bike,
the R 39 makes its debut this year also. And while on the subject of
speed, it should be noted that the R 32 is given a much-needed front brake
this year as well. 1926. 3,000 R 32s
have been sold by this time. Though more expensive than competitor models,
the BMW name seems to warrant the expense in the public's eye. 1926 is a
good year for racing, too, and Rudolph Schleicher wins the International
Six Days Trial for BMW. It is Germany's first ever gold medal in the
event. Perhaps out of jealousy, Grenville Bradshaw of England accuses BMW
of copying the ABC engine. The claim cannot be backed up and is more or
less ignored. 1927. Another excellent
year in racing for BMW. Paul Koppen earns his first of two (and three
consecutive for BMW) wins at the Targa Florio in Sicily. BMW has by this
point manufactured 25,000 motorcycles with its newest model, the R 47
selling 1,720 machines in 18 months. An extraordinary pace at the time.
Cheaper than the R 23, the R 47 would replace it in production as well as
replacing the R 37 and R 39. 1928. BMW
releases its first 750-cc motorcycle, the R 62. Designed as a touring
machine (but with headlights costing extra!), the R 62 holds BMW's largest
engine (the M5651). Reaching a top speed of 71mph, the R 62 is a
gas-guzzler. BMW also begins to dabble more seriously in another industry
that will prove successful for the company in the coming years -
automobiles. By purchasing (and renaming) the Dixi-Werke in Eisenbach for
2.2 million reichsmarks, BMW officially entered the car making business.
1929. Ernst Henne, riding a custom-built 750-cc
BMW motorcycle clocks a land-speed world record of 134 mph. He will go on
to best his own record six more times during the 1930s, earning BMW a
reputation for speed as well as performance. By now BMW has grown from
2,630 to 3,860 employees in just one year and is manufacturing bikes using
a pressed-steel "star" frame instead of the traditional tubular frame.
Abroad, Wall Street crashes, sending an economic shockwave across the
world.
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