Following its introduction in 1980, the BMW R 80 G/S created a new niche in motorcycling - adventure touring. BMW Motorrard rolled of the 500000th GS off the assembly line at its Berlin-Spandua facility. The plant has manufactured BMW Motorrad machines for the world market since 1969, including all BMW GS models with their boxer engines.
Marc Sielemann, Head of the BMW Motorrad Berlin Plant, said "With the precision-cooled drive unit, a new evolutionary stage was reached last year. Manufacturing half a million units underlines the fact that the boxer GS represents a cornerstone of our motorcycle production more than ever before."
It was in 1980 that BMW Motorrad presented the R 80 G/S, a machine which combined the qualities for two very special fields of use: Offroad and street. And then what began with 798cc of displacement and 50 bhp of output developed into a high-tech travel enduro in the shape of the R 1200 GS with 125bhp and 1170cc over a period of three decades. Furthermore state-of-the art suspension technology and electronic regulation systems such ABS, traction control or semi-active suspension have been added.
Stephan Schaller, President of BMW Motorrad, said, "By combining street, off-road and everyday qualities, BMW Motorrad created the new travel enduro species with the R 80 G/S. The flat-twin GS became the synonym for this segment. The outstanding talents of the boxer-engined GS models - ride dynamics, offroad qualities, comfort and endurance - have been continuously nurtured, developed and transferred very successfully to other BMW Motorrad model series."
