The only remaining major manufacturer in western Germany by the 1960s, BMW was setting international standards in motorcycle manufacturing. In 1960, it launched the R 69 S, the fastest German production motorcycle. This model enabled the Bavarian company to maintain its position as a leading international producer. Not only were BMW machines a familiar sight on European country roads, they were also conquering the highways of the US and other continents.
As motorcycling developed into an increasingly popular leisure sport, the manufacturers went on to produce bigger, faster and more powerful machines. BMW made motorcycling history with two models from this period: the R 90 S with the world's first cockpit fairing ever featured on a production machine and stunning paintwork is now considered a motorcycling design icon, and the R 100 RS, the first production motorcycle in the world with a full fairing that saw BMW's entry into the sports touring sector - a field in which the Munich-based company is still setting standards.
Motorcycles continued to be popular in the former East Germany: MZ (Zschopau motorcycle factories) reached the one million mark in 1970, with the two millionth motorbike rolling off the line in 1983. As with East German cars, the history of MZ motorcycle manufacturing ended with the reunification of Germany in 1990. However, the company's successor, MuZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk GmbH, is still producing motorbikes in the Erzgebirge mountains as the subsidiary of a Malayan group.
