But it's Americans who seem to be the biggest users of the Bimmer appellation. Of course, the fact that the BMW's and BSA's were around at the same time could have lead to the Beemer/Beeser name play.Īnd near as I can figure this BSA/BMW thing was European based. By this time, BMW was producing cars anyway. The only race results I found were BSA and BMW were head to head was in the 1969 sidecar ISle of man race. Although both BMW and BSA are mentioned, they don't appear to be 'competing'. If you look at there is no mention of BMW. Probably not between 1914 to 1919 or between 1939 to 1945. But when exactly in the early 20th century were BSA's often racing BMW's. The details are vague enough to have a sort of truthiness. This is one of those oft-repeated internet stories that it seems plausible but is pretty much impossible to verify. Inappropriate use of the email addresses on this web site will be considered theft of service.

The electronic mail addresses listed on this web site are for official BMW Car Club of BC business only, and are not intended for commercial use such as Unsolicited Commercial Email, also known as SPAM or junk email. © 1998-2007 BMW Car Club of British Columbia Hence it is little surprise that the non enthusiast types out there incorrectly labeled BMW cars and their owners as 'beamers' or 'beemers'. Unfortunately, in the US and Canada, and perhaps other countries, there was a time (kind of still is) where for various reasons, a BMW owner was considered an upwardly mobile person, and of course due to the fun in driving their BMWs most all of them had big grins on their faces. So, of course for any true enthusiast, there is no way that a BMW car could be called a 'beemer', so they were called 'bimmers'. Well as things would have it, a track slang developed, and the BMWs were usually referred to as 'beemers' and the BSAs were referred to as 'beesers'. In those days, BMW motorcycles were quite active in racing, and one of their competitors at the track was often the BSA bikes. The answer in part lies in knowing some BMW history and what came first.Īll real BMW enthusiasts know that BMW got a big start on two wheels, what many call the real BMWs.

So just why is a BMW car called a 'bimmer' not a 'beemer' or 'beamer'? You will hear this term used incorrectly by many people.īitter - Another German car. Most people don't know this.īeamer/Beemer - proper accepted slang for BMW motorcycles. Check it out.īimmer - proper accepted slang for BMW cars. In terms of what is common usage in Canada, the link I posted above which confirms my usage is from the BMW car club in British Columbia, Canada. To the extent that slang is based on common usage there is lots of evidence that the common usage is Bimmer for cars and Beemer for motorcycles. If you are a bmwcca member you can access this issue online. We found a reference to this in the March, 2002 issue of Roundel, page 117 in the lower left hand side of the page. I just got off the phone with Steven at the BMW CCA and he confirmed that a BMW car is a Bimmer and a BMW motorcycle is a Beemer.

Beamer vehicle