The first superbike. Once the fastest series engine in the world. A machine that at the time was listed in a British motorcycle magazine as "The motorcycle for which the owner had increased the mortgage on his house
The BMW R69S was the top of the list R 50, R 60 R 69S at a time when 500 cc machines were really tough guys.
With its 590 cc, the R 69S was a really tough boy. The super men from the BMW stable were externally recognizable by the only 2 reinforcement ribs / cooling ribs on the valve covers and the somewhat different exhaust bends and thicker dampers.
The machines equipped with Earless rocker arm forks were not the most vividly controlled machines, and scientists still disagree about the usefulness and operation of the mechanical steering dampers. The frames from this series, the R50, R60 and R69S, were all suitable for mounting on a sidecar. But actually the R60 was the born sidecar tractor. An R50 with a third wheel, there was no gait at all, and the R69S delivered its power and torque at a speed that is too high for side-racers.
To improve steering behavior and camouflage the model's dated nature, BMW gave the R69S for the US market telescope forks. They were developed in the endurance (off-road) and would seamlessly make the switch to the / 5 series.
The USA models, by the way, were in a lot more appealing colors such as the European summer black and cheering white. A red, or green R69S with telescopic fork can therefore be original!
BMS R69Ssen are fairly scarce and the prices are popping up at the moment. We know there is one that does not go away for less than 25.000 euros
In the initial phase, an R69S block was already killed, but since a vibration damper was mounted on the crankshaft, that problem was over and the R69S became the touchstone for all really fast motorcyclists who kept their travel averages extra high because they didn't have to travel. stop to tinker. The specified top speed of the 42 (!) Pk strong machine was 170 km / h. A cruising speed of 150 km / h could sustain the most expensive boxer for days.
Many of the current survivors contain more chrome than they had been given when they were born: The hub caps and the air filter were factory-silver silver-gray.
BMS R69Ssen are fairly scarce and the prices are popping up at the moment. Prices up to 20.000 + euros have already been reported.
But don't think you will find anything under six billion. However, check that the frame, block and box numbers are identical for everything.
For BMW purists, it is a deadly sin if it is not.