Lot 604- 1956 BMW R60-2 Motorcycle
BMW debuted their new line of /2 bikes at the Brussels Motor Show in 1955, The R50 alongside their new R60 and R69. The R50 featured a 26 bhp 490 cc unit, while the R60 (pictured here for auction) displaced 600 cc and made 28 bhp. The R69 was the more sporting version of the R60 and made 35 bhp. All three bikes featured a new frame with leading-link Earles front forks in place of telescopic forks, and a rear swing arm suspension with dual adjustable hydraulic shock absorbers rather than “plunger” rear shocks. The hard-tail rear end was retained so that use with a sidecar was still possible.
The new flat twin bikes were further developments of the the R51/3, R67 and R68 models that had seen BMW through a huge wave of success with 100,000 bikes sold since the end of the Second World War
Fun fact: Prior to the three- and four-cylinder K-series, “R” was the BMW designation for all motorcycles. It stands for “Rad,” a German abbreviation for “motorrad,” which translates to “motorbike.” The numbers generally represent rough cubic centimeter designations (i.e., “R60” would be a 600cc motorcycle), and the “/2” designation denotes twin-cylinder engines.)