BMW motorcycles were first produced in 1923 and had an unusual "boxer twin" engine, with two air-cooled cylinders protruding from opposite sides of the machine.
Final drive was by shaft contributing to the excellent reliability of the machine.
Essentially, the same basic design is still manufactured by the company today, but other designs were also introduced.
Model names
BMW motorcycles are named according to a three-part code:
<engine type> <approximate engine volume> <style information>
Thus, an R1150RT has
- an R series engine
- approximatey 1150 cc of engine displacement
- "RT" styling
Engine types
There are currently three lines of BMW motorcycles:
- F series
- R series
- K series
The series differ primarily in the class of engine that each uses.
F series
The F series of BMW motorcycles are built around a 4-stroke, single piston engine. These bikes tend to be light. At this time only one engine size is available: 650 cc.
R series
The R series are built around a two piston, horizontally opposed Flat-twin engine. As the engine is mounted transversally
across the bike, and the heads protrude well beyond the frame of the bike, R series motorcycles are quite visually distinctive. Originally
R series bikes had air-cooled heads ("air heads"), but are now produced only with oil-cooled heads.
K series
The K series are built around liquid cooled, inline engines with three
(K75) or four (K100, K1100, K1200) cylinders. Unusually for motorcycles,
the engine is longitudinal: the crankshaft is in line with the
direction of motion. Also, the cylinders are banked over, parallel
to the ground. This causes some to incorrectly call the configuration
a Flat-4.
Engine Volume
Engine volume, as specified in the model numer, is approximate.
Style
Every bike has one or two of the following primary designations:
Additionally, a bike may have zero or more of the following modifiers in its name:
Technologies
BMW has a few patented motorcycle technologies. Not all of these are present on every BMW bike.
Paralever
Paralever is a rear suspension technology that allows the drive shaft to pivot along the same axis as the sprung rear frame.
Telelever
The telelever is a unique 3-tube front fork, where the shock absorbing mechanism is in the third tube, which is located between and behind the two primary tubes. This system both lowers unsprung weight as well as decouples wheel placement function of the forks from the shock absorbtion function - eleminating brake dive and providing superior traction during hard-braking situations.
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