MOBILITY / MOTORCYCLE: Exclusive special models limited to 1923 units.
Munich. In December 1922, BMW chief designer Max Friz puts the first full-scale BMW motorcycle on the drawing board. At its heart is an air-cooled two-cylinder, four-stroke boxer engine. The first BMW motorcycle, the R 32, is presented as early as September 1923 – the starting signal for the construction of BMW motorcycles and, at the same time, an unprecedented success story.
With a view to its 100-year history, BMW Motorrad is now presenting the two protagonists of the Heritage experience – the R nineT roadster and the R 18 cruiser with big boxer – as 100 Years edition models. In keeping with the founding year of BMW Motorrad, the two models are limited to 1923 units each.
BMW R nineT 100 Years: The great roadster tradition of BMW Motorrad in particularly noble packaging.
The reduced design language of the R nineT is shaped by 100 years of motorcycle construction and the unbroken passion of BMW Motorrad for the boxer engine. Classic roadster design skilfully sets it off with a compact tank and upright seating position as well as high-quality materials and stylish design elements. Numerous other special features make the new R nineT 100 Years an exclusive anniversary edition. The centerpiece is still the air/oil-cooled and 80 kW (109 hp) two-cylinder boxer engine. In the anniversary edition, the legendary engine is accompanied by numerous special features and an elaborate surface concept.
Classic Chrome and Option 719 Parts: Fine paint-on-chrome surfaces and exquisite milled parts and wheels.
Paint finishes combined with chrome surfaces also have an almost 100-year tradition in motorcycle construction. Chrome surfaces, usually consisting of a copper, nickel and final chrome layer, are characterized by hardness and thus high durability, very good protection against corrosion, but above all by a radiant, mirror-like shine. From the end of the 1920s, this made chrome a common stylistic element for designers in conjunction with high-quality paint concepts. Legendary at BMW Motorrad, for example, is the BMW R 75/5 with chrome-plated tank sides and side covers. With the new BMW R nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years and the Klassik Chrom surface concept, BMW Motorrad is reviving this incomparably noble interplay of paint and chrome.
The tank, for example, is a combination of black with chrome and white double-lining and is complemented by knee pads and a 100 Years emblem. Classic chrome is also found on the seat hump. Correspondingly, the front wheel cover is also painted in black with white double-lining. The seat in a two-tone combination of black and oxblood rounds off the look.
Numerous black components such as fork tubes, air intake snorkel and some Option 719 components are a harmonious complement to this. For example, the R nineT 100 Years includes the Option 719 Classic wheels with black anodised rim rings, the Option 719 Shadow milled parts package with milled cylinder head covers, engine housing covers, seat holders and oil filler plug, as well as the Option 719 Shadow II milled parts package, consisting of adjustable hand levers and a footrest system, pillion footrests, expansion tank covers and handlebar end mirrors. Adaptive bend lighting and the Comfort Package with heated grips, cruise control and Driving Modes Pro complete the extensive equipment of the edition model. An anti-theft alarm system can also be retrofitted as part of the special equipment ex works or via the range of Original BMW Motorrad Accessories.
BMW R 18 100 Years: The Big Boxer stylishly wrapped in a special paint and surface concept with Classic Chrome.
The unmistakable heart of the R 18 100 Years is the 67 kW (91 hp) boxer engine with the largest displacement ever built by BMW Motorrad with 1,802 cc. Both technically and visually, the BMW R 18 borrows from famous BMW models such as the BMW R 5 and puts the focus back on the essentials of the motorbike: purist, no-frills technology and the boxer engine as the epicentre of riding pleasure. The big boxer is also complemented by numerous special features as well as a noble surface concept in the anniversary edition of the R 18.
The colour scheme of the R 18 100 Years, for example, is the same as on the anniversary model of the R nineT in classic chrome and thus in a noble combination of black paint and high-gloss chrome surface as well as white double lamination – also complemented by a 100 Years emblem. The paint-on-chrome concept in the colour classic chrome is also found on the rear wheel cover in combination with a white double-lining. The front wheel cover and the side covers are painted in black, complemented by a white double-lining on the front mudguard. The Option 719 seat, upholstered in the bicolour combination black/oxblood with high-quality diamond embossing, blends in harmoniously.
Black as a symbolic colour scheme of great BMW Motorrad tradition also adorns the engine, transmission housing and rear axle drive. The exact designation is Avusschwarz (Avus Black) – a reminiscence of the legendary high-speed racetrack in Berlin, where BMW Motorrad once celebrated great racing successes and where the Avus monument with BMW Motorrad factory driver Ernst Henne is still a reminder today. The BMW Motorrad factory is also located in Berlin. Located in the Spandau district, the plant is not only a production site, it is also the lead plant for BMW Motorrad’s international motorbike production.
On the BMW R 18 100 Years, black is complemented in a noble manner by numerous chrome parts from the Chrome design option. The finish, established as a noble and durable galvanic coating, can be found on these parts: Hand controls, gearshift and foot brake levers, handlebar clamps, handlebar weights, mirrors, master brake cylinder, brake callipers, engine casing covers, cylinder head covers and intake manifold trim.
Other features of the BMW R 18 100 Years include chrome-plated Akrapovič rear silencers with perforated tailpipe trims in the „propeller style“ of the BMW brand logo. Safety as well as comfort are provided by Headlight Pro with adaptive cornering lights, reversing aid, electronic cruise control and heated grips. As part of the optional equipment ex works, the new BMW R 18 100 Years can also be equipped with anti-theft alarm system, pillion package, running boards, Hill Start Control, lockable fuel filler cap and power reduction.
BMW Motorrad pays due tribute to its almost 100-year history and tradition, which is inextricably linked with the legendary boxer engine, with the R nineT and R 18 models in the Heritage world of experience. Tradition and history are also reflected in the BMW Motorrad plant in Berlin – the birthplace of almost every BMW motorbike for over 50 years. The iconic design and the unmistakable boxer engine show: It’s all about the roots of BMW Motorrad, about historically inspired shapes and details, about a rustic riding experience and about reducing motorbikes to the essentials. In short, the Heritage world of experience is all about a unique attitude to life, shaped by the legendary boxer engine.
BRAND: BMW AG
virtualdesignmagazine Michael Hiller
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