BMW R18 Prototype VS Old BMW R32 - Motorcycle Design & Technique Evolution

Comparison between BMW R18 Concept and BMW R32

BMW Motorbike Design & Technique Evolution from 1923 to 2020.

The BMW Motorrad Concept R18 shows how the upgrade of a boxer engine from the 1960s can, today, be minimalist in a custom motorcycle combined with all the icons of classic BMW Motorrad design. "With an evident minimalist aesthetic, the Concept R18 embodies, in my opinion, the essence of motorcycling. It is about feeling instead of thinking, not using technology for a mere representation of the same but giving space to the imagination.
"This concept bike draws a deep instinct: it just feels like getting in the saddle and starting off" explains Edgar Heinrich, Head of Design at BMW Motorrad.

The BMW R32 was the first motorcycle produced by BMW under the BMW name. An aircraft engine manufacturer during World War I, BMW was forced to diversify after the Treaty of Versailles banned the German air force and German aircraft manufacture. BMW initially turned to industrial engine design and manufacturing. The R32 established the boxer-twin, shaft-drive powertrain layout that BMW would use until the present. BMW used shaft drives in all of its motorcycles until the introduction of the F650 in 1994 and continues to use it on their boxer-twin motorcycles.