BMW R61 1938 600cc 2 cyl sv - starting up

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Manufacturer: BMW
Model: R61
Year: 1938
Displacement: 600 cc
Cylinder: 2 - transverse
Engine type: 4-stroke / sv
Bore / Stroke: 70 x 78 mm
Power: 18hp @ 4.800 rpm
Compression Ratio: 1 : 6.0
Weight: 184 kg
Top Speed: 115 km/h
Production years: 1938 - 1941

Frame number: 95017
Engine number: 603166

A company with its roots in the aero engine business, BMW brought the same innovative spirit to its cars and motorcycles that had made its aircraft engines some of WWI’s finest. At a time when single-cylinder and v-twin engines were the norm, BMW opted for the better-balanced flat twin. In 1930 it broke fresh ground with the launch of the pressed-steel-framed R11, and followed that up in 1935 with the introduction of an hydraulically-damped telescopic front fork on the R12, the first time such a device had been seen on a mass-produced motorcycle. Also notable as the first BMW motorcycle to have a four-speed gearbox, the R12 was superseded – in the civilian marketplace – by the tubular-framed R6, the Wehrmacht preferring to stick with the older pressed-steel-framed model. A 600cc sidevalve-engined tourer, the R6 was updated with BMW’s new plunger-suspended frame in 1938, becoming the R61.

This early BMW is a very fine example of BMW´s side-valve bikes. Only 3.747 units have been produced and BMW offered this model for 1.420 RM. It runs very smoothly.

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