No motorcycle manufacturer is more closely associated with one type of engine than BMW: the air-cooled boxer twin or 'airhead'. It was included in BMW's very first motorcycle in 1923 and virtually every machine the company made, of every type, from radical road bike to TT winner, to land speed record holder, to 1970s style icon and even to the creation of an all-new adventure bike class with the R 80 G/S, right up to the mid-1990s. Phil West celebrates the success of the BMW airhead twin motorcycles. This book, with over 290 photographs, includes a history of the company pre- and post-War; the personalities behind the development of the bikes; profiles of each of the 'R' bikes in turn, including detailed specification guides and production numbers. These wonderful machines are regularly celebrated and now BMW itself is harking back to them with an all-new series of machines.

The Complete Book of BMW Motorcycles offers a thorough year-by-year guide to every production machine ever built by Germany’s leading motorcycle manufacturer. From the first model, the 1923 R32 that launched BMW's motorcycle dynasty, to the latest (and fastest) superbike, the S1000RR, this book captures nearly a century of motorcycling excellence in a combination of historic and contemporary photos. Technical specs are provided for each model. This comprehensive review covers all of BMW's bike families: The side-valve machines from the early years The early overhead-valve performance bikes The modern Airheads and Oilheads The four-cylinder and six-cylinder touring bikes The early pushrod singles The modern overhead-cam singles The latest parallel twins, and inline-four cylinder sport bikes Among them, you'll find all the classic bikes—pre-World War II BMWs like the R5 that defined performance in that era; the military R12 that carried the Wehrmacht as it blitzkrieged its way across Europe; the Earles-forked R69S that offered the perfect platform for mounting a Steib sidecar; the R90S café racer; the K1 “flying brick”; and the GS (Gelände Sport) series that launched a dual-sport revolution right up to today’s world-class S100RR and retro-inspired R nine T. Like the other titles in Motorbooks' Complete Book series, this guide to BMW's motorcycle output offers the most complete reference to the subject available.

For nearly 80 years, shaft-drive boxer twins have traditionally formed the backbone of the BMW motorcycle line-up. For many enthusiasts of the Bavarian marque the classic BMW twin was the R90S of 1973-76. Over the decades, successive generations of durable machines - including the R100S, fully-faired R100RS, four-cylinder K-series, high-performance R1100RS and an entire family of touring and sporting models ranging from 850 to 1200cc - would ensure the BMW boxer twins a place in the Haynes "Great Bikes" series. This book covers: historical context, racing, the wartime R75 and R69S; the "75" series which enabled BMW to compete with the high-performance Japanese machines; the R90S, the "76" and Superbike performance; the R100RS, the "77" and the touring R100RT; smaller twins, smaller potential; the R89G/S, including a Paris-Dakar version; rationalization of the boxer range, and the new twins that included four-valve heads and electronic engine management; and technical specifications from 1969 to 2003.

BMW Motorcycles captures nearly every century of motorcycling excellence, from the R32 on, with engaging information and stunning photography.

Part of the acclaimed Original series, Original BMW Air-Cooled Boxer Twins presents BMW's most famous motorcycles in exquisite detail. The book focuses on the post-1969 /5 and newer series, paying particular attention to such groundbreaking models as the R75/5, the R90S, the R100RS, and the R80G/S. The book also covers the earlier models in a chapter focusing on the Earles fork machines.

The Complete Book of BMW Motorcycles offers a thorough year-by-year guide to every production machine ever built by Germany’s leading motorcycle manufacturer. From the first model, the 1923 R32 that launched BMW's motorcycle dynasty, to the latest (and fastest) superbike, the S1000RR, this book captures nearly a century of motorcycling excellence in a combination of historic and contemporary photos. Technical specs are provided for each model. This comprehensive review covers all of BMW's bike families: The side-valve machines from the early years The early overhead-valve performance bikes The modern Airheads and Oilheads The four-cylinder and six-cylinder touring bikes The early pushrod singles The modern overhead-cam singles The latest parallel twins, and inline-four cylinder sport bikes Among them, you'll find all the classic bikes—pre-World War II BMWs like the R5 that defined performance in that era; the military R12 that carried the Wehrmacht as it blitzkrieged its way across Europe; the Earles-forked R69S that offered the perfect platform for mounting a Steib sidecar; the R90S café racer; the K1 “flying brick”; and the GS (Gelände Sport) series that launched a dual-sport revolution right up to today’s world-class S100RR and retro-inspired R nine T. Like the other titles in Motorbooks' Complete Book series, this guide to BMW's motorcycle output offers the most complete reference to the subject available.