To celebrate: BMW R nineT 100 Years & R 18 100 Years!

Thomas Wachsmuth 15 December 2022 BMW, Motorcycle / Scooter News & Tuning

Reading time 6 Min.

In December 1922, BMW chief designer Max Friz drew the first full-scale BMW motorcycle to the drawing board. The core is an air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine. The first BMW motorcycle, the R 1923, was presented as early as September 32 – the starting signal for the construction of BMW motorcycles and at the same time an unprecedented success story. With a look back at 100 years of history, BMW Motorrad is now presenting the two protagonists of the Heritage world of experience – the R nineT roadster and the R 18 cruiser with Big Boxer – as 100 Years edition models. In keeping with the year BMW Motorrad was founded, the two models are each limited to 1923 units.

BMW R nineT 100 Years: The great roadster tradition from BMW Motorrad in particularly elegant packaging.

The reduced design language of the R nineT is shaped by 100 years of motorcycle construction and BMW Motorrad's unbroken passion for the boxer engine. It skilfully stages classic roadster design 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 80 kW (109 hp) two-cylinder boxer engine. In the anniversary edition, the legendary engine is accompanied by numerous optional extras and an elaborate surface concept.

Classic chrome and Option 719 Parts: Elegant paint-on-chrome surfaces as well as exquisite milled parts and wheels.

To celebrate: BMW R nineT 100 Years & R 18 100 Years!

Paint finishes in connection with chrome surfaces also have a nearly 100-year tradition in motorcycle construction. Chrome surfaces, usually consisting of a copper, nickel and final chrome layer, impress with their hardness and thus high durability, very good protection against corrosion, but above all with their radiant, reflective shine. From the late 1920s, this made chrome a common stylistic device for designers in connection with high-quality painting concepts. For example, the BMW R 75/5 with chrome-plated tank sides and side covers is legendary at BMW Motorrad. With the new BMW R nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years and the Classic Chrome surface concept, BMW Motorrad is reviving this incomparably elegant interplay of paintwork and chrome.

The tank is designed as a combination of black with chrome and white double lining and is complemented by knee pads and a 100 years emblem. Classic chrome can also be found on the seat hump. Correspondingly, the front wheel cover is also painted in black and has white double lines. The seat in the two-tone combination of black and oxblood completes the look. Numerous black components such as fork stanchions, air intake snorkels and some Option 719 components are a harmonious addition to this.

The R nineT 100 Years includes the Option 719 Classic wheels with black anodized rim rings, the Option 719 milled parts package Shadow with milled cylinder head covers, engine housing cover, seat brackets, oil filler plug and the Option 719 milled parts package Shadow II, consisting of adjustable hand levers and a footrest system, passenger footrests as well as expansion tank covers and handlebar end mirrors. Adaptive headlights and the comfort package with heated grips, cruise control and Pro riding modes round off the extensive equipment of the edition model. An anti-theft alarm system can also be retrofitted as part of the optional extras 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) and with 1.802 cc the most powerful boxer that BMW Motorrad has ever built. The BMW R 18 borrows both technically and visually from famous BMW models such as the BMW R 5 and puts the focus back on the essentials of the motorcycle: puristic, no-frills technology and the boxer engine as the epicenter of driving pleasure. In the anniversary edition of the R 18, the Big Boxer is also complemented by numerous special features and an elegant surface concept.
The color scheme of the R 18 100 Years, like the anniversary model of the R nineT, is in classic chrome and thus an elegant combination of black paintwork and a high-gloss chrome surface as well as white double lines - also complemented by a 100 Years emblem. The paint-on-chrome concept in the color classic chrome can also be found on the rear wheel cover in conjunction with a white double line.

In line with this, the front wheel cover and the side covers are painted in black, with the front wheel fender supplemented by white double lines. The Option 719 seat upholstered in the two-tone combination black/oxblood with high-quality diamond embossing blends in harmoniously. Black, a symbolic color of great BMW Motorrad tradition, also adorns the engine, gearbox housing and rear axle drive. The exact name is Avus Black - a reminiscence of the legendary high-speed race track in Berlin, on which BMW Motorrad once celebrated great racing successes and where the Avus monument with BMW Motorrad works rider Ernst Henne still commemorates it today. The BMW motorcycle factory is also at home 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 motorcycle production.

The black of the BMW R 18 100 Years is elegantly complemented by numerous chrome parts in the chrome design option. The surface, which is established as a noble and long-lasting galvanic coating, can be found on these parts: hand fittings, shift and foot brake levers, handlebar clamps, handlebar weights, mirrors, master brake cylinders, brake calipers, engine housing covers, cylinder head covers and covers for the intake manifolds. The other features of the BMW R 18 100 Years also include chrome-plated Akrapovič rear silencers with perforated tailpipe trims in the “propeller style” of the BMW brand logo. Headlight Pro with adaptive cornering lights, reversing aid, electronic cruise control and heated grips ensure safety and comfort. As part of the optional extras ex works, the new BMW R 18 100 Years can also be equipped with an anti-theft alarm system, passenger package, running boards, Hill Start Control, lockable tank cap and power reduction.

BMW Motorrad R nineT and R 18 models

With the R nineT and R 100 models in the Heritage world of experience, BMW Motorrad is paying due attention to its almost 18-year history and tradition, which is inextricably linked to the legendary boxer engine. Tradition and history can also be found in the BMW motorcycle factory in Berlin – the birthplace of almost every BMW motorcycle for over 50 years. The iconic design and the unmistakable boxer engine show: It's all about the roots of BMW Motorrad, historically inspired shapes and details, an original riding experience and a reduction to the essentials of a motorcycle. In short: The Heritage world of experience is all about a unique attitude to life, shaped by the legendary boxer engine.

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