10 Motorcycle Myths By Walter F. Kern Myth 10. BMW only makes cars. Everyone has heard of Harley-Davidson. Maybe that's because they've been making motorcycles since 1903. However, there are other old motorcycle companies that few people know about. Whenever I stop my motorcycle, I seem to get into conversations about motorcycles with people just walking by. Many times, they'll say, "I used to ride an old Harley but gave it up when I got married." Sometimes people don't know what kind of bike you're riding. Often they guess and say, "Is that a Harley?" Of course, most Japanese cruisers do look a lot like Harleys and even sound like them so it's confusing. Many times I talk about how I got into riding. My brother-in-law was into BMWs and I was exposed to them when I visited him. The next question is usually, "I thought we were talking about motorcycles. What's a BMW got to do with it." Then I realize that they don't know that BMW also makes motorcycles. The fact is that BMW made the R32 model in 1923. They hadn't even thought about making cars yet. That didn't happen until 1928 with the Dixi model. The first "real" BMW car, the AM 4, was produced completely in-house in 1932. The first BMW R32 motorcycle used a flat-twin engine quite similar to the engines used by BMW for the next 75 years. BMW motorcycles are referred to as Beemers. BMW cars are called Bimmers. Although BMW only has about 3-4 percent of the motorcycle market, all riders are familiar with BMW and many are devoted to the brand, as shown in the picture. 10 Motorcycle Myths: <= Myth 9 10 of 10 Myth 1 =>
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© 2017 Walter F. Kern. All rights reserved.
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