2023 BMW R nineT and R 18 100 Years Heritage Editions

December 15, 2022 editor 2023, BMW Motorrad 10 min read

2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years and 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years, both featuring Classic Chrome and Avus Black paint

To celebrate 100 years of BMW Motorrad, BMW has announced two Heritage models: the R nineT 100 Years Edition and the R 18 100 Years Edition. Both models will be limited to 1,923 units worldwide to honor the year that BMW was founded. These special editions will also pay tribute to the boxer engine and the history of the paint-on-chrome process. We don’t yet know how many of these units will be available for American consumers, but we do know some are coming.

Read the press release below for more information.

2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years Editions

Special Heritage editions celebrate 100 Years of BMW Motorrad

Each model to be limited to 1,923 units globally

MSRP of $18,990 plus $895 Destination for the R 18 100 Years

MSRP of $19,995 plus $695 Destination for the R nineT 100 Years

Market Launch planned for Q1, 2023

The 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years, the BMW R 32, and the 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – BMW Motorrad USA proudly presents the 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years Edition and the BMW R nineT 100 Years Edition to commemorate 100 years of BMW Motorrad. In keeping with the year in which BMW Motorrad was founded, each model will be limited to 1,923 units globally.

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In December 1922, BMW chief designer Max Friz put the first full-scale BMW motorcycle on the drawing board. At its heart was a 494cc, 8.5 hp, air-cooled 2-cylinder, 4-stroke boxer engine. The first BMW motorcycle, the R 32, was unveiled in September 1923 at the German Motor Show in Berlin. Production soon began in an area sectioned off, by a wooden fence, from the BMW aircraft engine works on the edge of the Munich’s Oberwiesenfeld airfield. Those humble beginnings of BMW motorcycle production launched an unprecedented success story that would span a century.

BMW Motorrad started producing the R 32, with a 494cc boxer engine, in 1923.

BMW R nineT 100 Years Edition

The design of the R nineT is shaped by 100 years of motorcycle production and by BMW Motorrad’s unwavering passion for the boxer engine. The classic roadster design recipe begins with a compact tank and an upright seating position and extends to premium materials and stylish design elements.

The 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years will be limited to 1,923 units worldwide and will have a price tag of $19,995.

The new R nineT 100 Years becomes an exclusive anniversary edition thanks to numerous special features. The heart is still the air/oil-cooled, 1,170cc, 109 hp 2-cylinder boxer engine. In the anniversary edition, the legendary engine is accompanied by chrome and Option 719 parts, including paint-on-chrome surfaces and exquisitely milled parts and wheels.

Paint finishes in combination with chrome surfaces also have an almost 100-year tradition in motorcycle production. Chrome surfaces, usually consisting of a copper, nickel, and final chrome layer, are known for their hardness and resulting high durability, very good protection against corrosion, but above all by their radiant, mirror-like shine.

The Classic Chrome painting technique on the 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years honors the tradition of chrome in motorcycle production.

This made chrome a common stylistic device for designers from the late 1920s onwards. The BMW R 75/5 with its chrome-plated tank sides and side covers, for example, is legendary within BMW Motorrad enthusiast circles. With the new BMW R nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years and the Classic Chrome surface finish, BMW Motorrad is reviving this incomparably beautiful and sophisticated interplay of paint and chrome.

The rear seat cover on the BMW R nineT 100 Years is treated with the paint-on-chrome process and features white double-pinstriping.

Fifty years ago, the “paint-on-chrome” technology did not pose much of a problem for motorcycle manufacturers. At that time, the solvent-based paints combined well with chromium – significantly better than the solvent-free paints of today. Today, the 100 Year Edition models use only REACH compliant Chromium III.

The 100 Years badge adorns the gas tank on the 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years edition.

The chrome plating process and the preparatory work are extremely complex: In preparation, the metal tank, for example, is first polished to a high gloss. The surface must be completely free of dust and scratches for further treatment. After this step, the part is immersed in various electroplating baths. Layers of copper, nickel, and ultimately chromium are applied. The finished chrome-plated part is then painted in several layers; a final coat of clear coat covers the entire tank.

The metal tanks on both anniversary models feature this paint-on-chrome process, called Classic Chrome. On the R nineT, the tank finish combines black paint with chrome and white double-pinstriping, knee pads, and a 100 Years badge. Classic Chrome is also found on the seat’s rear cover. The front wheel fender is painted in black and features white double-pinstriping. A two-tone seat in black/oxblood red rounds off the design.

The 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years at the BMW Motorrad Berlin Production Plant

Numerous black components such as fork tubes, air intake snorkels, and some Option 719 components complement the look. The R nineT 100 Years includes Option 719 Classic wheels with black anodized rims, the Option 719 Billet Pack Shadow with milled cylinder head covers, front engine cover, seat holders, oil filler plug, and the Option 719 Billet Pack Shadow II, consisting of adjustable hand levers and foot pegs, passenger foot pegs as well as expansion tank covers and handlebar end mirrors. The 100 Years Edition also includes an adaptive turning headlight, heated grips, cruise control and Riding Modes Pro. An anti-theft alarm system can be fitted as a dealer installed accessory.

The 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years Edition.

BMW R 18 100 Years Edition

The unmistakable center piece of the R 18 100 Years is the 1,802cc, 91 hp boxer motor, the largest displacement engine ever installed in a BMW motorcycle. Both technically and visually, the BMW R 18 borrows from famous BMW models, such as the 1936 BMW R 5, and puts the focus back on the essentials of motorcycling: Purist and no-frills, with the boxer engine as the epicenter of the riding experience.

The 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years will be limited to 1,923 units worldwide and will have a price tag of $18,990.

The big boxer is complemented by numerous special features and details. The paint finish of the R 18 100 Years, like that of the anniversary model of the R nineT, is in Classic Chrome and thus combines black paintwork and high-gloss chrome surfaces as well as white double-pinstriping and a 100 Years badge.

The 100 Years badge adorns the gas tank on the 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years edition.

The Classic Chrome finish is also found on the rear fender in combination with white double-pinstriping. The front fender and the side covers are painted in black, complemented by white double-pinstriping on the front fender. The Option 719 seat is upholstered in the two-tone combination black/oxblood red and features diamond embossing.

Black is a symbolic and traditional BMW Motorrad color and also adorns the engine, transmission housing, and rear axle drive. The exact designation of the color is Avus Black – a nod to the legendary 12.1-mile-long high-speed racetrack running through the Grunewald Forest, west of Berlin, where BMW Motorrad once celebrated great racing successes and where the AVUS monument with BMW Motorrad factory rider Ernst Henne still stands today. Berlin is also home to the BMW Motorrad production plant. The plant, located in Berlin-Spandau, is the lead plant for BMW Motorrad’s international motorcycle production.

The 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years in the BMW Motorrad Berlin Production Plant

The R 18 100 Years Edition is complemented by numerous Chrome design parts. The durable galvanic surface coating can be found on: The handlebar fittings, gear shift and foot brake levers, handlebar clamps, handlebar weights, mirrors, brake master cylinders, brake calipers, engine cover, cylinder head covers, and intake manifold covers.

The seat on the 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years is upholstered in two-tone black and oxblood red with diamond embossing.

Other features of the BMW R 18 100 Years also include a chromed Akrapovič rear muffler with perforated tailpipe trim in the shape of the BMW logo. Safety and comfort are ensured by ASC Automatic Stability Control, Headlight Pro, cruise control, and heated grips.

Related Story: BMW R 18 Classic | Tour Test Review

With the Heritage line R nineT and R 18 models, BMW Motorrad is paying tribute to its 100-year history and tradition, which is inextricably linked with the legendary boxer engine. Tradition and history can also be found at the BMW Motorrad production plant in Berlin – the birthplace of almost every BMW motorcycle for over 50 years.

The iconic design and the unmistakable boxer engine illustrate that it’s about the roots of BMW Motorrad, about historically inspired shapes and details, about an authentic riding experience, and about reducing motorbikes to the essentials. In short: The Heritage line experience is all about a unique attitude to life, shaped by the legendary boxer engine.

The 2023 BMW R 18 100 Years Edition

BMW R nineT 100 Years Edition

1,170 cc air/oil-cooled 2-cylinder, 4-stroke boxer engine

109 hp @ 7,250 rpm and 85.5 lb-ft torque @ 6,000 rpm

Constant mesh six-speed transmission with shaft drive

ASC Automatic Stability Control

BMW Motorrad ABS Pro

DBC Dynamic Brake Control

DTC Dynamic Traction Control

MSR Dynamic Engine Brake Control

Full LED lighting with Adaptive turning headlight

Heated Grips

Ride Modes Pro (adds DYNAMIC mode to existing ROAD and RAIN modes)

USB port

Special Edition Features

Avus Black paint and Classic Chrome highlights

100 Years “1 of 1923” BMW Motorrad tank badge

Classic Chrome/Avus Black 4.5-gal fuel tank with white double-pinstriping

Avus Black front fender with white double-pinstriping

Black inverted 45mm front fork, black frame, and air intake runners

Black/oxblood red seat with solo seat back rest

Classic Chrome/Avus Black rear seat cover with white double-pinstriping

Option 719 Classic spoked wheels with black anodized rims

Chrome plated exhaust manifold

Option 719 Billet Pack Shadow

Milled aluminum front engine cover, cylinder head covers, seat brackets, and oil filler plug

Option 719 Billet Pack Shadow II

Milled aluminum adjustable hand control levers and foot controls, foot pegs, expansion tank covers, and bar-end mirrors

BMW R 18 100 Years Edition

1,802 cc air/oil-cooled, 2-cylinder, 4-stroke boxer engine

91 hp @ 4,750 rpm and 116 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000 rpm

Constant-mesh 6-speed transmission with nickel-plated drive shaft

ASC Automatic Stability Control

MSR Dynamic Engine Brake Control

DBC Dynamic Brake Control

BMW Motorrad Integral ABS

Full LED lighting

Keyless Ride

Heated Grips

Cruise Control

Reverse Assist

Special Edition Features

Avus Black paint and Classic Chrome highlights

100 Years “1 of 1923” BMW Motorrad tank badge

Classic Chrome/Avus Black 4.2-gal fuel tank with white double-pinstriping

Classic Chrome/Avus Black rear fender with white double-pinstriping

Avus Black front fender with white double-pinstriping

Black engine and front fork covers

Option 719 black/oxblood red diamond-embossed solo seat

Chrome Akrapovič rear muffler with perforated BMW logo tailpipe trim

Design Option Chrome

Chrome plated front engine cover, cylinder covers, exhaust manifold, handlebar fittings, gear shift and foot brake levers, handlebar clamps, handlebar weights, mirrors, brake master cylinders, brake calipers, and intake covers