BMW naming

[TravisBickle]

Am I correct in thinking that:

Let's get the prefixes out of the way and come to the suffixes later...

Starts with C = Scooter
Starts with F = Parallel twin
Starts with G = Single
Starts with K = In-line four
Starts with R = Flat twin
Starts with S = In-line four

Is that right?

And what does HP stand for / indicate? HP2 and HP4 very similar names, very different engines and bike styles???!!!
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2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[Ste]

HP = high performance.

As for the rest of 'em...

"F: This is for parallel twins in the 900 to 750 range. Confusingly, BMW called the 650 single-cylinder motor an F from 2000 to 2007—let us never speak of this again.

G: A single-cylinder motor—currently the 310 exclusively, though it has been a 650 in the past.

K: In the 21st century, this means an inline-6 that is transversely mounted. Back in the 1900s, it was a longitudinally mounted inline-4. The K continued in the early 2000s as a transversely mounted inline-4. We’re not sure why BMW recycled the K instead of coming up with a new letter for the inline-6.

M: The M is the high-performance version of the inline-4 used by the S models.

R: The classic boxer twin, these range from the Big Boxer used in the R 18 to the 1170cc R nineT line. BMW’s use of the R dates back to the 1923 R 32 flat-twin, though the R was used for single-cylinder models into the 1960s.

S: This is the inline-4 configuration. It’s a one-liter design."

[Nobby the Bastard]

Missed off one.
B - pretentious annoying cunt.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[MCN]

Lest we forget.

"A large investment in BMW by Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt resulted in the company surviving as a separate entity. The Quandt's father, Günther Quandt, was a well-known German industrialist. Quandt joined the Nazi party in 1933 and made a fortune arming the German Wehrmacht, manufacturing weapons and batteries.
Many of his enterprises were appropriated from Jewish owners under duress with minimal compensation. At least three of his enterprises made extensive use of slave laborers, as many as 50,000 in all. One of his battery factories had its own on-site concentration camp, complete with gallows. Life expectancy for laborers was six months.
While Quandt and BMW were not directly connected during the war, funds amassed in the Nazi era by his father allowed Herbert Quandt to buy BMW."

(BMW's sub-stellar history. As found in Wikipedia)
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[xX-Alex-Xx]

[MarJay]

GS is a suffix not a prefix but it means Gelande Strasse, which translate as Off road/On Road.

It's no more or less confusing than Japanese naming schemes, it's just we're all so used to the Jap stuff that the Beemer naming seems weird and alien. Especially since before 2011 we had to be 60 and wear a lot of tweed to consider owning one.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[TravisBickle]

[A100man]

K75 - inline triple
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[MarJay]

[ThunderGuts]

[Zen Dog]

All vehicle naming schemes are driven by marketing departments really. Sometimes they indicate useful information (engine sizes, capabilities). Sometimes it's whatever association they want consumers to have to their previous/other products (lineage, style, market segment). Pretty much every seemingly hard and fast rule on naming has exceptions, so I just wouldn't put too much stock in them.

Saying all that, it still annoys me that the 2008+ F650GS is an 800. And that while in the UK a Kawasaki "Ninja" indicates a dedicated sportsbike, in the US they put it on pretty much every bike. And that... I think I just hate marketing departments.
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Current - '94 VFR750FR (Dead), '00 VFR800FI, 2011 CBF125 Previous - '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win (chinese copy of an old Honda design with a C90 engine)
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

[Diggs]