On Tuesday of last week, the one-millionth BMW motorcycle rolled off the assembly line in Berlin the only BMW production site for motorcycles worldwide.

The R 1150 RT, with the chassis number ZE 72399, documents the success story of BMW motorcycles and the BMW plant in Berlin-Spandau.

It is just over 30 years ago that 40 motorcycles were manufactured there each day. Today up to 400 bikes leave the Berlin factory every 24 hours.

Since 1923, a total of 1,445,961 BMW motorcycles have been built in Munich, Noale and Berlin.

The millionth motorcycle from Berlin is a unique specimen with lavish phoenix-grey and frost-blue metallic paint. This high-class and classically elegant paintjob recalls the BMW R 90 S of the 1970s.

This unique vehicle will be auctioned over the Internet and all proceeds will go to charity.

The first BMW motorcycle from Berlin a BMW R 60/2 rolled off the assembly line in 1967.

The production of motorcycles in the Berlin plant has grown continuously over the past three decades. To start with, 30 employees were sufficient to produce the 40 motorcycles per day.

The individual parts of the motorcycle were assembled by hand at 12 stations on the assembly line. The parts were nearly all produced in the plant itself. Overall motorcycle production consisted of approximately 400 staff.

As the plant modernised, it expanded in 1983 with the introduction of the K series.

BMW invested about DM500 million in a completely new assembly building and assembly system as well as a highly automated production line for engine components.

Ten years later, with the introduction of the flat-twin boxer generation, the company once again modernised and expanded the assembly facilities and the mechanical production of engine and chassis components.

For the assembly of the single- cylinder model F650 GS, which had its world premier in the spring of 2000 in Berlin, a further assembly line was built in the plant.