BMW
BMW Motorcycle Alternator
Germany’s BMW--makers of the world’s most popular luxury car, the 3 Series--started life in 1916 as Rapp Motorenwerke, an aircraft manufacturer. The Treaty of Versailles had banned the Luftstreitkräfte from building aircraft, so the company resorted to manufacturing a variety of industrial and agricultural machines, toolboxes, office furniture, and then motorcycles and cars. BMW found early success with the 1921 M2B15 flat-twin engine. It was used by a plethora of other motorcycle manufacturers including Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, who would later be merged into BMW in 1922. With the merger came Bayerische Flugzeugwerke’s Helios motorcycle and the Flink, a simple two-stroke motorized bicycle. These formed the basis of BMW’s newest motorcycle design, the R32. The R32 featured never-before-seen technological advancements, as well as paved the way for future BMW motorcycles using the boxer engine. After World War II, BMW was completely decimated by Allied bombings. To stay afloat, BMW produced kitchen appliances and utensils until being granted permission by the US Government to resume motorcycle production in 1947. Throughout the following decades, BMW continued to revolutionize the motorcycle market with groundbreaking technological advances appearing on each succeeding model. As many of BMW’s competitors fell, BMW themselves grew stronger. The boxer engine design has led to the development of a full range of touring bikes to sport-oriented performance machines. As they are with their cars, BMW is a recognized world leader in motorcycle engineering. The R Series, K Series and later, the F Series and G Series bikes are among the most highly-desired machines to come from a European manufacturer. HQ Powersports is an online retailer of brand new, quality aftermarket replacement parts for domestic and foreign motorcycles including the BMW R1150RT, K1200GT, R1200C, K1200LT, and more. Browse our online inventory for the right alternator for your classic vintage or late model BMW bike at HQ Powersports.