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Take a look inside!

Experience where and how BMW motorcycles are built and what lies behind.

You are member of a BMW motorcycle club in Sweden, Australia or Austria? You have always wanted to know where and how BMW motorcycles are built? You are interested in technology; you ride a motorbike yourself, even if it is not a BMW? You would like to know more about the most modern motorcycle plant in the world? Then you should visit us!

We will guide you and your friends, colleagues and fellow students through the birth place of BMW motorcycles. Experience the fascination of a highly modern vehicle production, where man and machine build two-wheeled dreams! We will be glad to answer your questions, which we are sure you have.

For more information please call 089 382 15750 (Mo. - Fr. 8 am – 6 pm, Sa. - So. 10 am – 2 pm).

CommCenter

Welcome to BMW Plant Berlin!

We would like to welcome you here in our showroom. From here you can experience the motorcycle world of BMW (Motorrad) Urban, Enduro, Tour and Sport. And now we would like to invite you for a guided tour through the plant. Skilled guides accompany you, presenting the entire process chain - from the beginning until a packed-up motorcycle stands in front of you and is ready for dispatch. The above described points of interest convey only a first impression. Would you like to learn more? We are pleased to book a guided tour for you!

Machining and Body Shop

In the machining shop a considerable number of components for the Boxer, the 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines run through several automated and well-coordinated process stages.

Under the guidance of qualified supervisors approximately 60 CNC-controlled machining centres build amongst others engine blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts and connecting rods, as well as chassis components, such as tanks and frames for different types of BMW motorcycles. High-speed machining centres and the application of efficient and flexible processes in machining, such as the 5-axis technology and the valve seat integration process, ensure not only a swift and accurate completion of parts, but also high quality. One of the most important processes in the body shop is the welding and processing of aluminium components. A manufacturing cell with three linked machining centers was introduced as a concept for the fascinating way of processing aluminium frames. At this manufacturing cell components are machined through dry processing at highest speed.

Engine Assembly

In this shop highly qualified technicians build engine components from the machining shop into a complete engine.

The main highlights of the engine assembly are three highly flexible assembly systems and a technologically demanding testing process (such as the engine test and the cold test). Technicians need about 90 minutes to fasten a Boxer on one of the ergonomic assembly facilities. An in-line 4-cylinder engine can be assembled in about 120 minutes, whereas the assembly of an in-line 6-cylinder engine needs 150 minutes.

In order to assemble a Boxer - for instance - technicians have to begin with equipping the two halves of the crank case. Crankshaft, connecting rod, bearing shells and cam chain for the valve operating mechanism are mounted one after another. After the engine number has been engraved, the tie rod and the oil pump are built in as well. This is followed by the installation of the two pre-assembled cylinders including the piston and the two cylinder heads. As a next step, the balance shaft, the cylinder caps and the timing gear case are built in. A leak test of the engines follows this; a cold test is run fully automated in order to test, amongst others, if camshaft gear, valves and oil cycle are fully functional. Finally, the gearbox is assembled.

Motorcycle Assembly (Basic Assembly Line) and Dynamometer

The key feature of the new motorcycle assembly is an electronic suspension track - a highly flexible conveyor system powered by induction carrying about 370 mounting hooks.

These mounting hooks are called C-hooks due to their similarity in form to the alphabetical letter. The motorcycles on these conveyor hooks are arranged according to order and are automatically controlled during the entire mounting process. All necessary information is rendered to the tools and testing equipment by energy and data transfer without human interference in order to ensure not only a rational production, but also one that is safe in process.

The process of creating a motorcycle begins in all cases by fitting the frame components to the engine and gearbox. These are then followed by the drive shaft, the rear wheel swinging arm and central spring strut, with the rear wheel drive unit being flanged on. Next come the exhaust manifold and footrest plates. The final components to be fitted are the front wheel completed with its fork and the telelever's longitudinal arm, the handlebar, controls and instruments, the rear section, rear wheel, silencer, and fuel tank. The CASCADE - a highly reliable electronic check-out test - is run after the components have been mounted. The mounting hooks take the motorcycles to the media filling where brake fluid and gasoline are fuelled into them. They are carried further to the Dynamometer, where an ABS test is run first. This test is mandatory in all cases of motorcycles having this equipment configuration. If the motorcycles are ready to drive, they leave the conveyor system only once: as many as nine technicians test the vehicles on the Dynamometer speeding up to 120 km/ hour. These staff member ride motorcycles the entire day, reaching about 100 km a day without moving forward even one meter. In order to complete the electronic check-out test, brakes, clutches, gearbox, front wheel suspension, illumination and suspension are also tested.

Finish/Packaging

Technicians mount the last components and pack up the motorcycles with care, so they can be delivered without suffering damage to all over the world.

After the completion of the entire checking process, the motorcycle is again hung on the hooks reaching the final assembly and waiting for final acceptance. In order to assure an easy handling for the technicians, various fairing components, seat benches or other special structural parts for vehicles used by authorities are installed only after the drive test, on one of the four finish conveyors.

To make sure every future owner – whether in Los Angles, Berlin, Tokyo or Sydney – receives his BMW in perfect shape, each machine is fastened tightly either in a solid wrapper made of a mixture of wood and corrugated fibreboard or in a returnable steel frame and is protected by transparent plastic covers. In Europe motorcycles are delivered by truck, in overseas markets by truck and freighter.

Paintshop

Innovation and tradition really come together in the Paintshop.

On the one side, five computer-operated robots paint several thousand motorcycle parts with up to 70 different shapes and more than 30 different colourings in high quality and speed. Multi-coloured paintwork is also possible, as components with basic paint layer can be disguised and covered with another basic layer of paint. After the disguise layer had been cleaned off, the fairing components receive their brilliance in colour due to a final layer of clear paint, which protects the machine from environmental influences.

On the other side, BMW decal line painters apply the traditional lines on the tanks of the motorcycles with optimum skill and dexterity. And in one of the most modern paintshops worldwide, BMW Motorrad ensures supreme environmental compatibility through the use of hydrotechnology, through implementing water-saving production, heat recycling processes and thermal post-combustion systems in order to reduce emissions.