BMW Museum in Munich has a dedicated motorcycle gallery spanning the company’s two-wheeled history from the 1920s to the present. Three highlighted models make that long story easier to read through changing design priorities, rather than a simple sequence of model years.
The R32 was BMW’s first motorcycle model. It represents a period when the basic architecture of the machine was central to its identity. The 1973 R90 S, designed by Hans A. Muth, took on a different task: shaping the image of a sporting road bike. Capable of around 200 km/h, it helped establish a new visual language for BMW motorcycles.
The third marker is the K1. Its fiberglass-reinforced fairing put the outer form to work at high speed; the model had a 16-valve engine and could reach 240 km/h. Viewed together, the three motorcycles trace a shift from foundational layout to sporting image and then to design shaped by aerodynamics.