BMW Motorrad is set to complete 100 years in operation in 2023, and to mark the occasion, BMW Motorrad has unveiled two limited edition models - R nineT 100 Years And R 18 100 Years. In December 1922, BMW's chief designer Max Friz put the first full-scale BMW motorcycle on the drawing board, and at its heart was an air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine. The first BMW motorcycle - the R 32 - was unveiled in September 1923, marking the beginning of BMW Motorrad. To celebrate that motorcycle, BMW Motorrad chose two of its current classic motorcycles with big boxer engines to make limited edition models out of, and only 1923 examples of both models will be made, paying tribute to the year of inauguration of the brand.
BMW Motorrad has given many bespoke details to both the limited edition motorcycles. Both models come with a number of chrome and Option 719 parts, including some milled pieces and several paint-on-chrome surfaces. Because of the changes in paint technology over the years, the painted chrome elements posed a new challenge that the brand didn't have to face in the past, as the solvent-free paints don't work as well with chromium as the solvent-based paints from the past did. BMW then had to paint several layers, and had to top it off with a clear coat.
The BMW R nineT 100 Years edition features a chrome fuel tank with black paint, which gets white double pinstriping. The motorcycle gets black components which twin with the chrome parts, such as fork tubes, air intakes and Option 719 Classic black anodized rims. It also gets a two-tone black & oxblood red seat.
The R 18 100 Years edition comes in a similar chrome and Avus black treatment with double white pin-striping, and seat is also two-toned black and oxblood red, but is embossed with a diamond pattern, as opposed to the R nineT's plain finish. The cruiser also gets a chrome Akrapovič exhaust with a perforated tailpipe trim shaped like the BMW logo.
