BMW Motorrad Celebrates 100 Years With Limited Edition RnineT and R18 Bikes

Black and chrome features make for some truly beautiful BMW bikes.

Maxim Staff

Dec 20, 2022

BMW is among the world’s best-known manufacturers of luxurious performance automobiles, but it’s the younger sibling of BMW Motorrad, which is celebrating its centennial in 2023 with a pair of 100 Years edition street bikes.

The RnineT, one of the great modern standard motorcycle customization platforms, and the newer R18 cruiser, both employ a heavy use of chrome in their 100th anniversary spec. The finish has been making motorcycles pretty since the 1920s, the decade that saw the launch of BMW Motorrad’s first model, the R32.

BMW Motorrad RnineT 100 Years
(BMW Motorrad)

On the RnineT—powered by a 109-horsepower two-cylinder boxer—the tank is half-black, half-chrome with white double-lining, while more chrome adorns the seat hump’s sides. The front wheel cover is also painted black with white double lining, and the seat bench is rendered in an elegant two-tone black/oxblood scheme.

To help provide balance with the shimmering metallic treatment, BMW Motorrad’s Option 719 customization division provided a number of other black components for the RnineT 100 Years, including the fork tubes, air intake snorkel, black anodized rim rings for the 719 Classic wheels, and various milled parts.

The R18 100 Years—powered by BMW Motorrad’s biggest boxer engine, a1.8-liter two-cylinder—features a more liberal use of chrome, with the galvanic coating also applied to the handlebar fittings, gearshift and foot brake levers, handlebar clamps, handlebar weights, mirrors, brake master cylinders, brake calipers, engine casing covers, cylinder head covers and intake manifold trims.

BMW Motorrad R18 100 Years
(BMW Motorrad)

An especially cool detail is found inside the R18 100 Years’ chromed Akrapovic rear silencers, which feature perforated tips shaped to resemble the BMW propeller logo.