BMW R12

The BMW R12 is a pre-World War II motorcycle that was produced by the German car manufacturing company BMW. The motorbike was first presented and developed in 1935. A total of 36,000 motorcycles were built by 1942.

History

On 14 February 1935, BMW presented the R12 together with the BMW R17 on the German Automobile Exhibition in Berlin for the first time, being a direct successor to the BMW R11. This and the R17 were the first in the world being produced with hydraulically damped telescopic forks. By 1942, the total number of BMW R12 motorcycles manufactured was 36,000. For military purposes, the Einvergasermotor was only available for the R12.

Description

Engine

The engine, designated M 56 S 6 or 212, was a twin-cylinder boxer configuration - four stroke with a flathead design. The BMW R12 with two carburetors used a battery ignition, while R12's with an Einvergasermotor used a magneto ignition, capable of working independently from the battery.

Drive

The BMW R12 had a claw-switched four-speed manual gearbox. Operation was via a hand operated shift lever with the end alongside the fuel tank near the rider's right hand. Several detail variations were seen in production. In common with most BMW Motorcycles, final drive was via shaft, with the drive shaft on the right side of the motorcycle.

R12

R12, R-12 or R.12 may refer to:

R12 (New York City Subway car)

The R12 was a New York City Subway car built in 1948 by the American Car and Foundry Company. The R12 was the first post-war city-owned rolling stock for the IRT division. These cars were very similar to the R10s, except that the R12 was smaller due to A Division specifications. In addition, while the R10s had air-operated door engines (and were the last cars ordered as such), the R12s had electric door engines. Delivery began in June 1948 and the R12s began service on the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> services) route in Queens and Manhattan on July 13, 1948, with all 100 cars delivered by October 1948. The R12s and R14/R15s ran there until 1964 with the delivery of the blue R36 World's Fair cars. The R12 cars were then transferred to operate on other IRT division routes originating in Manhattan, the Bronx, or Brooklyn throughout their service lives. One particular assignment included all fifty of the GE cars (5753-5802) being heavily modified to ease up on the shaking of the old elevated structure, by killing the dynamic brakes and cutting out the third (parallel) notch on their controllers, and sent to the (8) Third Avenue elevated line in the Bronx during August 1969 and ran there until that route's closing on April 29, 1973. In addition, four Westinghouse R12 cars (5703-5706) were slightly modified for use on the Bowling Green – South Ferry Shuttle, and were so-equipped so that the center door of each car could be opened at South Ferry, while keeping the others closed. These cars were used until the shuttle was discontinued on February 12, 1977, and were unmodified and reassigned to the 3 train shortly afterwards.

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (German pronunciation: [baˈjɛɐ̯ɪʃə mɔˈtɔʁn̩ ˈvɛɐ̯kə]; German for Bavarian Motor Works), usually known under its abbreviation BMW, is a German luxury automobile, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. Headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, it also owns and produces Mini cars and serves as the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad, and plug-in electric cars under the BMW i sub-brand. It is one of the best-selling luxury automakers in the world. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

History

BMW was established as a business entity following a restructuring of the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft manufacturing firm in 1917. After the end of World War I in 1918, BMW was forced to cease aircraft-engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company consequently shifted to motorcycle production as the restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted in 1923, followed by automobiles in 1928–29.

BMW 503

The BMW 503 is a two door 2+2 grand touring automobile from the 1950s. BMW developed the 503 alongside their 507 roadster in an attempt to sell a significant number of luxury cars in the United States. The 503 and 507 cost about twice their projected price and did not recover their costs. During production from May 1956 to March 1959, 413 units of the 503 were built. Even though it was a top and prestige model it resulted in heavy losses for BMW.

Concept and design

Hanns Grewenig, sales manager of BMW, repeatedly requested the development of a sports car based on their 501 and 502 luxury sedans. In early 1954, influenced by the public reaction to Mercedes-Benz 300SL and 190SL show cars in New York in February 1954, the management of BMW approved the project.

Max Hoffman, an influential automobile importer in the United States, saw early design sketches by BMW's Ernst Loof, and suggested to industrial designer Albrecht von Goertz that he should submit design proposals to BMW. Based on these proposals, BMW contracted Goertz to design the 503 and 507 in November 1954.

BMW 501

The BMW 501 was a luxury saloon car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first motor car to be manufactured and sold by BMW after the Second World War. The 501 and its derivatives, including the V8 powered BMW 502, were nicknamed “Baroque Angels” by the German public. The BMW 502 was the first postwar German car to be manufactured with a V8 engine.

While the 501 and 502 model numbers were discontinued in 1958, variations of the model, with the same platform and body, were continued until 1963.

Background

Autovelo restarts "BMW" production

Production at BMW's motor car factory in Eisenach restarted in late 1945 with pre-war BMW models. However, Eisenach was in the Soviet occupation zone, and the cars were not being manufactured by BMW AG, but by the Soviet manufacturing entity Autovelo. Despite not being made by BMW, these cars bore the BMW logo and were being sold as BMWs.

Meanwhile, BMW AG restarted manufacture on a much smaller scale, starting with pots and pans, and eventually moving up to household hardware and bicycles. Eventually, with permission from the U.S. authorities and funding from the banks under which BMW had been put into receivership, they began manufacturing motorcycles in 1948.