A brief BMW Motorrad background

BMW are one of the longest standing motorcycle manufacturers, and have been producing bikes since 1923. Interestingly, the Bavarian brand were producing motorrads (the German for motorcycle) five years before they branched out into making cars.

In the modern era, the brand was (up until fairly recently) known for its boxer engines, touring motorcycles – and a strong association with the “old man’s bike” segment of the motorcycling market. Apart from the very offbeat K1 of the late 80's/early 90's, the BMW bike brand was never seen as much of an aspirational or desirable brand. You'd probably have spotted more BMW bikes being used by the police or other professional users than you would at the local bike meet. They were, at the time, very much an "under the radar" manufacturer.

BMW's somewhat staid image began to shift in 2004 when Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman thrust the BMW brand firmly into the biking (and wider public) spotlight with their “Long Way Round” global circumnavigation adventure on a pair of R1150GS's

The popularity of the show saw exponential growth and interest in BMW's GS, with motorcyclists looking to emulate (or imagine!) the adventuring duo. The popularity of the GS also led to a general explosion of interest in dual purpose machines as they joined the off-road-style go anywhere, do anything biking niche.

You'd actually be hard pressed these days to avoid an R 1250GS on your biking travels such is their immense popularity - especially when touring is the name of the game.

Who knows what would have happened to BMW bikes if Ewan and Charley hadn’t been turned down by their first choice, KTM (who turned the pair down because they “thought they wouldn’t make it”). This may well have been true given KTM’s reputation for reliability at the time, but the decision helped BMW motorcycle sales no end.

Basking in a warm glow after the Long Way Down period, the Bavarian brand experienced somthing of a renaissance. Spurred no doubt by the by the ensuing attitudinal shift (and most probably greatly improved financials) at the bike arm of the business, it was just to be just five years later in 2009 that BMW launched the original S1000RR.

This was to be BMW’s first foray into the sportsbike market. With sights set firmly on toppling the superbike crown from the "big 4", BMW threw everything at the machine. The S1000RR not only succeeded, but was widely regarded as disrupting the sportsbike market in a similar way that Yamaha had written the rulebook ten years prior with the 1998 R1.

Today, the R1250GS is still the benchmark all-purpose do-anything bike, and remains central to the BMW Motorrad brand. The S1000RR, with its latest symmetrical eyed update, has once again put BMW ahead of the Japanese (and Italian) competition. You can now even get a naked S1000, or a high-barred XR variant on the theme.

Of course, massive tourers still feature heavily in the BMW bike range – with various models of the 6-cylinder K1600 behemoth, the R1250 RT - plus heritage options like the RnineT and R18.

Whatever BMW motorcycle you own – whether it’s the latest M1000 RR, an old GS, or even a K1, we can help. Make sure you compare your BMW motorcycle insurance at Biker Insure to find cheaper BMW motorbike insurance today.

BMW motorbike insurance

The cost of your BMW bike insurance will vary depending on a number of factors including your age, occupation, where you live, your riding history, and more - plus of course which BMW bike you own. Although a new S1000RR will typically cost more to insure than a 15 year old GS, there are so many factors involved that each combination of bike and rider will always give a different and unique quote.

The easiest way to find out how much insurance for your BMW bike is likely to cost is to run a free comparison quote.

We have provided a few examples below. For a tailored BMW motorcycle insurance quote, simply fill in the form yourself. It's free, only takes a couple of minutes, and you'll be able to see at a glance just how much you could save on your BMW motorbike insurance.

Insurance for all BMW bike models

Whether you ride the latest R1300GS, S1000RR, XR, an R nineT or an older bike from BMW's lengthy history, Biker Insure can help.

Compare at Biker Insure today to see just how much your could save on your BMW motorcycle insurance.