BMW Motorcycles: 100 Years celebrates the legendary machines built by Germany’s leading motorcycle manufacturer.

BMW’s long history of evolving technology is highlighted in this detailed story beginning with side-valve machines in the 1920s and early overhead-valve performance bikes, then moving to the postwar R-series Airhead and modern Oilhead twins, followed by four-cylinder and six-cylinder K-series touring bikes, the latest parallel twins, and inline-four cylinder sport bikes. From the first R32 that launched BMW’s motorcycle dynasty, to the latest S1000RR superbike and R18 mega-cruiser, BMW Motorcycles captures a century of motorcycling excellence in a combination of historic and contemporary photos sourced from BMW’s archive.

The stories behind all the classic and modern BMWs are here:

• 1920s and 1930s BMWs like the R5 that defined performance in the prewar era
• The military R12 that supported the Wehrmacht as it battled its way across Europe in World War II
• The 1960s R69S that offered an excellent platform for both touring and sporting riding
• The R90S café racer and the R100RS, the latter arguably the world’s first dedicated sports tourer
• The astounding K1 “flying brick”
• The GS (Gelände Sport) series that launched the adventure-bike revolution
• Today’s R18, R nine T, and the world-class S100RR superbike

Alan Dowds has been writing about motorcycles since 1994, when he launched his own Scottish bike magazine in Glasgow, Scotland. Next stop was Motorcycle News, where he spent two years in the newsprint mines before slacking off to an easy life on monthly magazines: first RiDE as road test editor, then SuperBike as deputy editor. After a decade at the latter, Alan went freelance in 2011, writing for a wide range of top UK motorcycle magazines, including Fast Bikes, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics and Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, as well as major websites like Visordown, DriveTribe and FastBikesMag.com.
Alan has also written several books on motorcycles, including Superbikes: Street Racers Design and Technology, Superbikes: the World’s Greatest Bikes, Classic Superbikes and Cool Wheels – Superbikes.

He’s tested virtually every BMW motorcycle built over the past three decades, and is more Scottish than anyone you know. Despite that, he lives openly in London with his wife, kids, and cats – and he still loves writing about motorcycles.