BMW Is Celebrating 50 Years of Motorcycle Helmets, And That's Way Longer Than I Thought

BMW has been building or working with motorcycle helmet manufacturers for over five decades, and is celebrating that anniversary in true BMW fashion.

Photo by: BMW

By: Jonathon Klein

May 6, at 8:17am ET

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BMW's motorcycles are some of my favorite bikes around. They're well-built, powerful as all get up, look fantastic, and do exactly what you ask of them, which is that and a little bit more. Case in point, off-roading and fording a river a GS on street tires and living to tell the tale.

About the only thing you can knock BMW motorcycles for is their owners, as they're the sort where they need matching outfits, matching helmets, and everything to be branded with BMW's roundel. I get looking the part, but it's a bit on the nose if you ask me. Luckily for BMW, I'm not the arbiter of good fashion nor of its parts counter, as the company wouldn't probably be celebrating 50 years of BMW motorcycle helmets.

And, honestly, that's a lot longer a history than I would've guessed, but one that goes to the heart of BMW Motorrad as a brand. It's one where safety has been, and always will be, a big priority for the company.

Even if it's a bit too matchy-matchy for my tastes.

BMW 50 Years of Motorcycle Helmets

Photos by: BMW

Beginning in 1975 with a co-production with Römer, which itself began making helmets in the 1870s, BMW's focus on helmet safety was from the beginning, as it was a full-face helmet made of fiberglass reinforced plastic, had a double fastening system, a chin guard, came with both a clear and sun visor, and reflective elements "for enhanced visibility in road traffic, contributing to increased rider safety."

Basically, it was a modern full-face motorcycle helmet, but built 50 years ago. And while the technology within the helmet's construction has changed over the years, that basic premise has been carried through to the modern day, with BMW's push for safety reveberating in the industry. Case in point, in 1989, BMW put a scratch‑resistant visor onto its helmets, featuring an anti‑fog coating, and featured a six-position lock. The following upgrade introduced carbon-kevlar reinforcements, while more and more aerodynamic testing followed that.

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The culmination is the brand's BMW System Helmet 8, the latest in the lineup, which features MIPS, can be had in a full carbon or composite spec, better sound dampening, better aerodynamics, and can even be had with BMW's communications system, which gives you access to calls, turn-by-turn directions, inter-rider comms, and music.

But everything started way back when, and that's something BMW should be proud of. I think maybe it could do a few more colorways, and maybe not feature the logo as centrally as the company does, but I'm also not the company's target demographic. I probably have too many tattoos, too.