BMW celebrates the 50th anniversary of the RS family in 2026

BMW is celebrating 50 years of the RS series in 2026, which began all the way back in 1976 with the R100 RS.

Some of you may remember that bike, which BMW claims to be the “world’s first large‑series motorcycle”. If you are too young to remember the R100 RS, it was built with a frame‑mounted full fairing that BMW developed in its wind tunnel. 

Although BMW is celebrating the RS series turning 50, it’s not delivered an anniversary edition, at least not yet. This is something that could change later this year, but for now, here’s a look back at some of the machines that shaped the RS series as we know it. 

Starting with the aforementioned R100, BMW’s first-ever RS bike was just the third model that was fitted with the company’s 1,000cc boxer engine. 

That alone is not enough to make the bike particularly famous, however, what followed in 1977 made that more of a reality. BMW attempted to break several motorcycle world records in Nardò, Italy, using a modified R100 RS. Those record attempts were completed over 10, 100, and even 1,000 kilometre distances, as well as one, six, 12, and 24 hours. 

Nearly 20 years on from the debut of the first R100 RS, BMW would go on to shift its focus towards production of the R1100 RS model, which debuted in 1993. The R1100 RS brought with it an air‑cooled two‑cylinder boxer with four‑valve technology. Production of the R1100 RS lasted from 1992 to 2001. 

While the R1100 RS was still around, BMW sought to debut a larger model, which was achieved with the R1150 RS in 1998. The engine displacement was increased from 1,085cc to 1,130cc, allowing it to produce 93bhp at 7,250rpm. 

In September 2014, BMW launched the R1200 RS which arrived as the fifth-generation model. One of the highlights of the machine was unquestionably its liquid‑cooled boxer engine with a vertical instead of horizontal flow. 

With that also came a big boost in power, as the R1200 RS became the first RS machine to deliver over 100bhp. The German company would go on to reveal an even more powerful R1250 RS in 2018, but that was eventually replaced by the current R1300 RS, which is the most powerful model from the series to date. The R1300 RS produces 143bhp compared to 134bhp that was achieved by the R1250 RS. 

The R1300 RS received its most recent update in 2025, with technical and styling tweaks made. It was also given four colour variants as well.

Bikes like the Honda Fireblade and Suzuki GSX-R1000R received plaudits for their abilities on track, and rightfully so, but the BMW RS family did more than just update BMW’s sport-touring line - it subtly reshaped expectations for what the category is all about in the modern era. To some, that probably makes more of a “real-world” difference.

It is one of the models that tightened the gap between sport and touring, while bikes from previous generations often leaned more one way or the other in the class.

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