2003 marks eighty years of BMW motorcycles. Here are some images from the early days of BMW: (click on the thumbnail for a larger view, use your Back button to return)

The 1923 BMW R32 featured the horizontally-opposed Boxer twin and shaft drive seen to this day in the R series.
A close-up photo showing details of the R32.
The 1935 BMW R17: a 750cc sports model with 35 bhp.
Georg "Schorsch" Meir riding the BMW Rennsport to victory in the 1939 Isle of Man Senior TT.
BMW Rennsport, with supercharging, shaft driven overhead camshafts and magnesium engine and gearbox castings. Supercharging was soon banned, but naturally-aspirated Rennsport engines were used to win European sidecar championships well into the 1970's.