BMW Motorcycle Classifications
Older BMW motorcycles are classified by age into three groups: Antique, Vintage, and
Classic.
Antique (1923 – 1945)
These were side valve opposed twins like the R/4 and singles like the R2, R23 and
R35. The 1923 R32 was the first mass-produced BMW motorcycle.
Note: Only military BMWs were built in 1940 – 1945), and BMW was prohibited
from manufacturing motorcycles between 1945 and 1948.
Vintage (1948 – 1969), and
There post WWII bikes…
Classic (1970 and younger, but at least 25 years old)
These were BMW’s first “modern” motorcycles.
Except for some Antique single-cylinder bikes, all of these older machines are
horizontally opposed twin air-cooled engines commonly called “boxers”.
Another way to classify older BMW motorcycles is by engine design: the number of
cylinders and how they are cooled.
The “K” Bikes
1983 Introduced the "K" bikes; water-cooled "flying brick" inline 4 cylinder, and
later 3 cylinder motorcycles.
The “Oil Heads”
Introduced in 1993.
Airheads are two valves in the heads. Include type 247 and sometimes 248 (R65).
The “Chromeheads”
Bikes based on the BMW R1200
air-cooled BMW motorcycles with type 247 engines, or their twin-cylinder predecessors. These are the opposed-
twin models commonly called Boxers
(The R45 and R65 are not type 247 engines.
Airheads are 1970 to 1995: = Aircooled