Misplaced Pages

#5994

57-483: The BSA C12 was a British pre-unit motorcycle manufactured by the Birmingham Small Arms Company from 1956 to 1958. The C12 used the same engine as the earlier C11G with the four-speed gearbox, but in a more modern chassis featuring a swinging arm rear suspension . Minor engine modifications meant it was also far more reliable. This motorcycle, scooter or moped-related article

114-400: A 250 cc unit-construction model, followed by a 350 cc in 1924, but production ended in 1925. In 1923, the advanced three-speed Triumph single-cylinder 346 cc sv unit-construction Model LS appeared, but did not sell well, and ended production in 1927. In 1923, BMW released its own unit construction shaft drive flat twin of 498 cc. BMW has never built a motorcycle with

171-453: A BMW 7 Series (G11) special edition simply called "The Final V12", the last BMW series production vehicle to be fitted with a V-12 engine. On 5 October 2023 it was announced that BMW UK CEO Chris Brownridge would succeed Torsten Müller-Ötvös as the CEO of Rolls-Royce starting 1 December 2023, as a result of Müller-Ötvös retiring. BMW is an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke . This name

228-543: A built-in balance shaft, an increased capacity to 1,170 cc (71 cu in) and enhanced performance to 75 kW (101 hp) for the R1200GS , compared to 63 kW (84 hp) of the previous R1150GS . More powerful variants of the oilhead engines are available in the R1100S and R1200S, producing 73 and 91 kW (98 and 122 hp), respectively. In 2004, BMW introduced the new K1200S Sports Bike which marked

285-498: A departure for BMW. It had an engine producing 125 kW (168 hp), derived from the company's work with the Williams F1 team, and is lighter than previous K models. Innovations include electronically adjustable front and rear suspension, and a Hossack-type front fork that BMW calls Duolever. BMW introduced anti-lock brakes on production motorcycles starting in the late 1980s. The generation of anti-lock brakes available on

342-491: A large supply of readily available spares. The tunability and ready supply of these motors, combined with their compact and light(ish) construction has also made them a popular choice for modern "Classic" competition. The BSA design was based on the Triumph Tiger Cub , first produced in 1952. The continuation of the model until 1973 speaks well for the popularity and utility of this design, but also reflects badly on

399-497: A separate gearbox. From 1924, FN single-cylinder engines changed from semi unit construction (as seen in the last semi-unit single, the 1922 FN 285TT, in its last year of sale in 1924,) to unit construction engines (as seen in the new-for-1924 M.60). In 1928, BSA made their first and only two-stroke, a 175 cc unit construction bike, for only one season, otherwise four-stroke twins became unit construction in 1962. The 1930 Triumph 175 cc Model 'X' two-stroke, two-speed

456-484: A slightly undeserved reputation for unreliability - a well maintained and regularly serviced unit single will chug along for a very long time with no problems. The warmer versions (such as the much-loved Starfire) were generally less robust, but their light weight, enjoyable handling and peppy engines meant that many people considered the hours of necessary maintenance a worthwhile trade-off. Many BSA unit singles were built, meaning there are few 1960s motorcycles with such

513-619: A unit-construction horizontally opposed ('flat') twin for Sopwith Aircraft, who, at the time, also made motorcycles. In 1919, Harley-Davidson introduced the Model W Sport Twin with a unit construction flat-twin. In 1920 Carlo Guzzi constructed the G.P. 500 prototype with unit-construction. This was followed in 1921by the first Moto Guzzi production model, the "Normale", also a 500cc unit-construction motorcycle. In 1921, an expanding Bianchi (Italy) showed its first unit-construction side-valve 600 cc V-twin. In 1923, Rover introduced

570-469: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Unit construction Prior to unit construction, the engine and gearbox had separate casings and were connected by a primary chain drive running in an oil bath chaincase. The new system used a similar chain drive and both had separate oil reservoirs for engine, gearbox and primary drive. Triumph and BSA were already using cast non-ferrous alloy chaincases and started converting to unit construction in

627-624: Is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich , Bavaria , Germany. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines , which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945 creating engines for aircraft that were used in the Second World War . The companies automobiles are marketed under the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, and motorcycles are marketed under

SECTION 10

#1732797398006

684-500: Is a futuristic cauldron-shaped building, which was also designed by Karl Schwanzer and opened in 1972. The interior has a spiral theme and the roof is a 40-metre diameter BMW logo. BMW Welt , the company's exhibition space in Munich, was designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au and opened in 2007. It includes a showroom and lifting platforms where a customer's new car is theatrically unveiled to the customer. In 1975, sculptor Alexander Calder

741-412: Is arguable that the previous system of having different types of oil for engine and gearbox is preferable. The BMC Mini was an early example of a car with the "gearbox-in-the-sump;" but this practice of using a single oil reservoir, which has become the norm for motorbikes, is generally undesirable for cars and trucks. Two stroke "total-loss" bikes always have separate oil for the gearbox, as engine oil

798-416: Is burned along with the fuel. The advantages of unit construction are: A significant disadvantage is that there is no longer any tension adjustment possible of the chain drive between engine and transmission, and tensioning (which is almost certainly still required) must be over a rubber-faced steel slipper. This is quiet and the tensioner does not wear greatly. This change to unit construction meant that it

855-689: Is grammatically incorrect (in German, compound words must not contain spaces), which is why the grammatically correct form of the name, Bayerische Motorenwerke ( German pronunciation: [ˈbaɪʁɪʃə moˈtoːʁənˌvɛʁkə] ) has been used in several publications and advertisements in the past. Bayerische Motorenwerke translates into English as Bavarian Motor Works . The suffix AG, short for Aktiengesellschaft , signifies an incorporated entity owned by shareholders, thus akin to "Inc." (US) or PLC, "Public Limited Company" (UK). The terms Beemer, Bimmer and Bee-em are sometimes used as slang for BMW in

912-412: Is now known as BMW Motorrad . Their first successful motorcycle after the failed Helios and Flink, was the " R32 " in 1923, though production originally began in 1921. This had a " boxer " twin engine, in which a cylinder projects into the air-flow from each side of the machine. Apart from their single-cylinder models (basically to the same pattern), all their motorcycles used this distinctive layout until

969-557: Is their first "all-unit construction" two-stroke single-cylinder engine. From 1932, New Imperial was known for pioneering innovations in unit construction on motorcycles . They made the Unit Minor 150 and Unit Super 250 in this manner and by 1938 all of their machines were unit construction. In 1938, Francis-Barnett offered a 125 cc unit-construction Snipe. In 1946, the Series B Vincent employed unit construction and used

1026-677: The BMW R 32 , in 1923. BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built the Austin 7 under licence from Dixi . The first car sold as a BMW was a rebadged BMW Dixi called the BMW 3/15 , following BMW's acquisition of the car manufacturer Automobilwerk Eisenach. Throughout the 1930s, BMW expanded its range into sports cars and larger luxury cars. Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be BMW's main products until World War II. During

1083-591: The 225xe using a 1.5 L three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor, the 330e / 530e using a 2.0 L four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, and the 550e / 750e using a 3.0 L six-cylinder engine with an electric motor. Also, crossover and SUV plug-in hybrid models have been released using i technology: X1 xDrive25e , X2 xDrive25e , X3 xDrive30e , and X5 xDrive40e . The BMW M GmbH subsidiary (called BMW Motorsport GmbH until 1993) started making high-performance versions of various BMW models in 1978. As of November 2024 ,

1140-624: The BMW M3 in 1986. Also in 1986, BMW introduced its first V12 engine in the 750i luxury sedan. The 1989 BMW Z1 marked BMW's return to making a two-seat roadster, the 1995 BMW Z3 was their first mass-production two-seat roadster, and the 1999 BMW X5 was the company's first entry into the SUV market. The company purchased the Rover Group in 1994, but the takeover was not successful and caused BMW large financial losses. In 2000, BMW sold off most of

1197-667: The BMW Motorrad brand. Also in 2023, BMW was the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles , with 2,555,341 vehicles produced and in 2023 the 6th largest by revenue. In 2023, the company was ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000 . The company has significant motor-sport history, especially in touring cars , sports cars , and the Isle of Man TT . BMW is headquartered in Munich and produces motor vehicles in Germany,

SECTION 20

#1732797398006

1254-481: The K Series , shaft drive but water-cooled and with either three or four cylinders mounted in a straight line from front to back. Shortly after, BMW also started making the chain-driven F and G series with single and parallel twin Rotax engines. In the early 1990s, BMW updated the airhead Boxer engine which became known as the oilhead . In 2002, the oilhead engine had two spark plugs per cylinder. In 2004 it added

1311-610: The Kingdom of Bavaria , which was a state of the German Empire . The firm was reorganized on 7 March 1916 into Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG . This company was then renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1922. However, the name BMW dates back to 1913, when a company to use the name was founded by Karl Rapp initially as Rapp Motorenwerke . The name and Rapp Motorenwerke 's engine-production assets were transferred to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in 1922, who adopted

1368-644: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ’s Madrid Yearly Review ranked BMW's number of marks applications filled under the Madrid System as 2nd in the world, with 124 trademarks applications submitted during 2023. The key trends of the BMW Group are (as at the financial year ending December 31): BMW began production of motorcycle engines and then motorcycles after World War I. Its motorcycle brand

1425-448: The X Series SUVs and crossovers are: The current model line of the Z Series two-door roadsters is the Z4 (model code G29 ). All-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are sold under the BMW i sub-brand. The current model range consists of: In addition, several plug-in hybrid models built on existing platforms have been marketed as iPerformance models. Examples include

1482-483: The "Ex-WD B40") were more rugged than the vanilla version (in particular, the timing-side main bearing was over- rather than under-engineered and an oil filter was fitted), slightly de-tuned and given a version of the competition frame. For these reasons, these bikes can make very good buying, and are often used as the basis for competition machines. Several minor changes were made to the C15 in 7 years (with some variations on

1539-498: The 1950s. A driving factor behind the BSA/Triumph change was that Lucas had declared an intention to abandon production of motorcycle dynamos and magnetos , and instead produce only alternators . By contrast, Velocette, Matchless/AJS, and Norton motorcycles continued to be pre-unit construction (the former machines with pressed-steel primary cases) until the end of production in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. In reality,

1596-468: The 1960s, BMW expanded its range by adding coupé and luxury sedan models. The BMW 5 Series mid-size sedan range was introduced in 1972, followed by the BMW 3 Series compact sedans in 1975, the BMW 6 Series luxury coupés in 1976 and the BMW 7 Series large luxury sedans in 1978. The BMW M division released its first road car, a mid-engine supercar, in 1978. This was followed by the BMW M5 in 1984 and

1653-443: The 2006 and later BMW motorcycles paved the way for the introduction of electronic stability control , or anti-skid technology later in the 2007 model year. BMW has been an innovator in motorcycle suspension design, taking up telescopic front suspension long before most other manufacturers. Then they switched to an Earles fork , front suspension by swinging fork (1955 to 1969). Most modern BMWs are truly rear swingarm, single sided at

1710-463: The English language and are sometimes used interchangeably for cars and motorcycles. The circular blue and white BMW logo or roundel evolved from the circular Rapp Motorenwerke company logo, which featured a black ring bearing the company name surrounding the company logo, an image of a horse head on a plinth. BMW retained Rapp's black ring inscribed with the company name, but the interior of

1767-541: The M lineup is: The letter "M" is also often used in the marketing of BMW's regular models, for example the F20 M140i model, the G11 M760Li model and various optional extras called "M Sport", "M Performance" or similar. BMW has a long history of motorsport activities, including: The global BMW Headquarters in Munich represents the cylinder head of a 4-cylinder engine . It was designed by Karl Schwanzer and

BSA C12 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-564: The Rover brands, retaining only the Mini brand. In 1998, BMW also acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand from Vickers . The first modern mass-produced turbocharged petrol engine was introduced in 2006 (from 1973 to 1975, BMW built 1,672 units of a turbocharged BMW M10 engine for the BMW 02 Series ), with most engines switching over to turbocharging over the 2010s. The first hybrid BMW

1881-624: The United Kingdom, the Netherlands (ceased in 2023), the United States, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India and China. The Quandt family  [ de ] is a long-term shareholder of the company, following investments by the brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt in 1959 that saved BMW from bankruptcy , with the remaining shares owned by the public . The Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik was founded in 1910 by Gustav Otto in

1938-565: The back (compare with the regular swinging fork usually, and wrongly, called swinging arm ). Some BMWs started using yet another trademark front suspension design, the Telelever, in the early 1990s. Like the Earles fork, the Telelever significantly reduces dive under braking. BMW Group, on 31 January 2013, announced that Pierer Industrie AG has bought Husqvarna Motorcycles for an undisclosed amount, which will not be revealed by either party in

1995-500: The black outline encircling the rondel. The logo is used for BMW's branding communications but it is not used on vehicles. The slogan 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' was first used in North America in 1974. In 2010, this long-lived campaign was mostly supplanted by a campaign intended to make the brand more approachable and to better appeal to women, 'Joy'. By 2012 BMW had returned to 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'. In 2023,

2052-431: The casings were not really "unitary," as the crankcase section was vertically divided in the middle and no oil was shared between the three portions. In the 1960s Japanese motorcycles introduced the now-familiar horizontally split clamshell which has become almost universal. Modern horizontally split four stroke engines invariably use single oil reservoir (whether wet- or dry-sump ) but, while this simplifies matters, it

2109-794: The company was nearly taken over by rival Daimler-Benz. A large investment in BMW by Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt resulted in the company surviving as a separate entity. Günther Quandt , was a well-known German industrialist, joined the Nazi party in 1933 and made a fortune arming the German Wehrmacht, manufacturing weapons and batteries. Many of his enterprises were appropriated from Jewish owners under duress with minimal compensation. At least three of his enterprises made extensive use of slave laborers, as many as 50,000 in all. One of his battery factories had its own on-site concentration camp, complete with gallows. Life expectancy for laborers

2166-542: The early 1980s. Many BMW's are still produced in this layout, which is designated the R Series . The entire BMW Motorcycle production has, since 1969, been located at the company's Berlin-Spandau factory. During the Second World War, BMW produced the BMW R75 motorcycle with a motor-driven sidecar attached, combined with a lockable differential , this made the vehicle very capable off-road. In 1982, came

2223-520: The engine-gearbox as a stressed member of the frame. The 1947 Sunbeam S7, an advanced overhead-cam, longitudinal twin, unit construction motorcycle, designed by Erling Poppe, used shaft drive. In 1957 the Royal Enfield Clipper was replaced by the unit-construction Crusader. In 1957 the first unit construction twin cylinder motorcycle made by Triumph, the 350 cc (21 ci) 'Twenty One' 3TA, designed by Edward Turner and Wickes,

2280-431: The first twin-cylinder unit construction model in 1957 with the release of the 350 cc Twenty One 3TA (so named because it was approximately twenty-one cubic inches capacity). The 500 cc Triumph 5TA followed, and the 650 cc models were made unit construction in 1963. The 1963—1969 unit construction 650 cc Triumph Bonneville has become sought- after models, partly as the 1970-onward oil-in-frame chassis

2337-658: The forward-thinking and investment of the BSA management. By 1967 unit singles were looking slow and rattly and the "charm" of the traditional British oil-leak was wearing thin. The new breed of Japanese motorcycles arriving on the scene were fast and exotic in comparison, and the buying public can certainly not be blamed for their eventual shunning of the entire British motorcycle industry. BMW The BMW Group (legally, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG , commonly abbreviated to BMW ( German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ), sometimes anglicized as Bavarian Motor Works ),

BSA C12 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-432: The future. The company is headed by Stephan Pierer (CEO of KTM). Pierer Industrie AG is 51% owner of KTM and 100% owner of Husqvarna. In September 2018, BMW unveiled a new self-driving motorcycle with BMW Motorrad with a goal of using the technology to help improve road safety. The design of the bike was inspired by the company's BMW R1200 GS model. The current model lines of BMW cars are: The current model lines of

2451-457: The head of the BMW Group. In January 2021, BMW announced that its sales in 2020 fell by 8.4 percent due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, BMW witnessed a rise of 3.2% in its customers' demands. This recovery was supported by the company's adoption of widely accepted technologies and integration of third-party services such as Apply Pay and on-demand music. On 18 January 2022 BMW announced

2508-404: The logo is based on the image of an airplane propeller spinning in a blue sky. This myth likely stems from a 1929 BMW advertisement that depicted the logo superimposed on a rotating propeller. However, the logo predates that advertisement by 12 years. The current iteration of the logo was introduced in 2020, removing 3D effects that had been used in previous renderings of the logo while removing

2565-540: The name the same year. BMW's first product was produced for fighter aircraft of the Luftstreitkräfte . It was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa , designed in the spring of 1917 by engineer Max Friz . Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, agricultural equipment, household items, and railway brakes. The company produced its first motorcycle,

2622-440: The ring is quartered blue and white, reminiscent of the coat of arms and flag of Bavaria (which in turn are based on the arms of the historic House of Wittelsbach , which ruled Bavaria for many centuries). The logo does not bear the distinctive lozenge shape found on the coat of arms, however, as local laws at the time it was introduced forbade the use of state coats of arms on commercial logos. A persistent myth claims that

2679-517: The theme - the "warmer" SS80 and SS90, plus competition versions). In 1967 the model underwent some revisions and a name change to B25. The model then continued with little variation until BSA collapsed in the early 1970s. The BSA unit single was an affordable introduction to motorcycling for many young men in the 1960s and 1970s. The simple design meant that inexperienced and under-equipped home mechanics could keep them running under most circumstances. The effects of such inexperienced maintenance led to

2736-434: The war, BMW concentrated on the BMW 801 aircraft engine using as many as 40,000 slave laborers. These consisted primarily of prisoners from Nazi concentration camps , most prominently Dachau . Motorcycles remained as a side-line and automobile manufacture ceased altogether. BMW's factories were heavily bombed during the war and its remaining West German facilities were banned from producing motor vehicles or aircraft after

2793-486: The war. Again, the company survived by making pots, pans, and bicycles. In 1948, BMW restarted motorcycle production. BMW resumed car production in Bavaria in 1952 with the BMW 501 luxury saloon. The range of cars was expanded in 1955, through the production of the cheaper Isetta microcar under licence. Slow sales of luxury cars and small profit margins from microcars, meant BMW was in serious financial trouble and in 1959

2850-511: Was commissioned to paint the BMW 3.0 CSL racing car driven by Hervé Poulain at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which became the first in the series of BMW Art Cars. Since Calder's work of art, many other renowned artists throughout the world have created BMW Art Cars, including David Hockney , Jenny Holzer , Roy Lichtenstein , Robert Rauschenberg , Frank Stella , and Andy Warhol . To date, a total of 19 BMW Art Cars, based on both racing and regular production vehicles, have been created. BMW sponsors

2907-406: Was completed in 1972. The building has become a European icon and was declared a protected historic building in 1999. The main tower consists of four vertical cylinders standing next to and across from each other. Each cylinder is divided horizontally in its center by a mold in the facade. Notably, these cylinders do not stand on the ground; they are suspended on a central support tower. BMW Museum

SECTION 50

#1732797398006

2964-573: Was considered inferior. The BSA Bantam range of two-stroke engines introduced the unit construction concept to BSA since its introduction in 1949. BSA produced their first four-stroke unit construction singles in 1959 when they introduced the C15 to replace the venerable c12 single. The unit construction (in contrast to the separate engine and gearbox of the C10/C11 and c12) gave the family of motorcycles started by this model its familiar name. The C15

3021-469: Was intended as a utility "get to work" model, and served this purpose faithfully for many thousands of users. It was a simple and reasonably robust design. Along with the C15 came the B40, the 350 cc version. This was no faster than the C15, but had a little more lugging power. A version of the B40 was also produced (in considerable quantities) for various branches of the military. These motorcycles (known as

3078-433: Was introduced for the 21st Anniversary of Triumph Engineering Co. Ltd. Unfortunately it also had the first "bathtub" rear enclosure, which proved a sales failure. The 1958 Ariel Leader used unit construction. Triumph Motorcycles produced its first single-cylinder unit construction model with the 149 cc Terrier launched in 1952. It was quickly followed by the more popular 196 cc Tiger Cub in 1953. They made

3135-494: Was no longer possible to choose a gearbox from a different manufacturer (e.g. a close-ratio unit for racing) and to send worn gearbox units to be rebuilt. Alfred Angas Scott, founder of The Scott Motorcycle Company , designed a motorcycle with unit construction for the engine and gearbox. Production of the motorcycle began in 1908. In 1911, Singer offered motorcycles with unit-construction 299 cc and 535 cc engines. In 1914, ABC founder Granville Bradshaw designed

3192-622: Was six months. While Quandt and BMW were not directly connected during the war, funds amassed in the Nazi era by his father allowed Herbert Quandt to buy BMW. The relative success of the small BMW 700 assisted in the company's recovery, allowing them to develop the New Class sedans. The 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class compact sedans was the beginning of BMW's reputation as a leading manufacturer of sport-oriented cars. Throughout

3249-560: Was the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 , and BMW's first mass-production electric car was the BMW i3 city car, which was released in 2013, (from 1968 to 1972, BMW built two battery-electric BMW 1602 Elektro saloons for the 1972 Olympic Games). After many years of establishing a reputation for sporting rear-wheel drive cars, BMW's first front-wheel drive car was the 2014 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) . In March 2018, Daimler and BMW merged their mobility services. In August 2019, Oliver Zipse replaced Harald Krüger as

#5994