Each tour is determined by two factors: the time and the distance. With the new BMW R 1250 RS you can get more track out of every tour. The rich 143 Nm torque and 100 kW (136 hp) of the new boxer engine accelerate you even faster to your cruising speed. The innovative BMW ShiftCam technology offers you more torque and impressive elasticity over the entire speed range. So you can rocket to an impressive sprint on the asphalt in every riding situation. The redesigned front gives the full-LED headlight a fresh, sporty look and turns aerodynamically into the wind. This way, you can ride fast and comfortably at any time. One thing is certain – no matter how much road you leave behind in a certain time: with the R 1250 RS your riding pleasure grows with every metre you ride.

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BMW automobiles have long set themselves apart in the crowded luxury marketplace by being driver-oriented machines, offering a dynamic experience behind the wheel while maintaining a high degree of refinement. Products from BMW Motorrad are no different, bringing equal amounts of sportiness, capability and luxury to the table.

But just as BMW’s cars have adapted to changing times, so too have BMW’s motorcycles. Constant innovation, with a focus on safety and accessibility, have made their efforts to mint new riders among the most successful in the industry. Entry-level single-cylinder bikes and scooters seek to bring the joy of riding to urban mobility. Adventure and heritage motorcycles equipped with the brand’s signature boxer engine are instantly recognizable, thanks to the horizontally opposed cylinders—and even those Beemers that don’t bear such obvious marks can still be clearly identified, as all of them wear the iconic blue-and-white roundel on the gas tank.

BMW Motorrad History

BMW stands for “Bavarian Motor Works” (or Bayerische Motoren Werke, in German) and while the company is best-known for its cars, its motorcycle engine manufacturing predates their first automobile by nine years. BMW AG was founded in Munich in 1916 and produced airplane engines during World War I; in 1921, it began building motorcycle engines for other manufacturers before building their first bike, the R32, in 1923. (That R32 was the foundation of BMW motorcycles for decades; its shaft drive was in use until 1994.)

Following World War II, the company was given permission to start building motorcycles again in Western Germany in 1947; however, it had to start from scratch, as all its surviving blueprints and plans were at the facility in Eastern Germany under Soviet control. Following a trademark lawsuit in 1952, motorcycles produced at the Eisenach plant in East Germany wore a red-and-white roundel bearing the name EMW (Eisenacher Motoren Werke) to distance them from BMW. (If you think those bikes are highly sought-after collector’s items these days, you’d be correct.)

How BMW Names its Motorcycles

As is the case with its cars, BMW Motorrad uses an alphanumeric naming system for their motorcycles. The first part of the name is a letter, which corresponds to an engine type; currently, the BMW Motorrad lineup has engine types varying from scooters names start with a C (parallel twin-cylinder engines attached to a constantly variable clutch) to sport bikes like the recently-departed $78,000 HP4 Race (high-performance four-stroke four-cylinder). Between those extremes, you have bikes starting with the letter S (four-cylinder sport motor), R (opposed twin-cylinder), G (single cylinder), F (parallel twin-cylinder), and K (three or more cylinders).

The second part of the name is comprised of numbers, which represent the size of the engine’s displacement in cubic centimeters….except when it’s actually just a random series of numbers instead, which does happen. Currently, models with the numbers 310, 400, 650, 750, 850, 1000, 1200, 1250, and 1600 fill up the lineup.

Lastly comes the letter or letters following the numbers—the part of the name that explains the purpose of the bike: A (for Adventure, sometimes spelled out), S (sometimes Sport or Strasse, the German word for street), G (from the German word Gelande, which means terrain), GT (sport touring), RR (road racing), RT (road touring), L (luxury), T (touring), GTL (luxury sport touring), B (bagger), R (road), X (extreme), and GSA (grand sport adventure, sometimes spelled out) all see use in 2019.