c.1939 BMW 750cc R71

Please kindly note that this motorbike will be available for viewing by prior appointment in Dortmund: please contact [email protected] for booking.

An important development in the history of BMW's long-running flat-twin occurred in 1936 with the introduction of a welded, tubular steel frame on the R5 model, replacing the pressed steel chassis used hitherto. The R5's 500cc overhead-valve engine likewise was new and the following year a 600cc sidevalve derivative was introduced as the R6, a touring model intended for sidecar duty. In 1938 the R5 and R6 were updated, gaining a telescopic front fork and plunger rear suspension to become the R51 and R61 respectively, while the range was further extended by the introduction of a bored-out-to-750cc version of the latter: the R71. The R71 engine produced only a relatively modest 22bhp but its biggest virtue was exceptional flexibility, which was just what its intended market required. A total of 3,458 R71s had been made by the time production ceased in 1941. Post-war the design was revived in the USSR (as the Ural) and also in China.

This R71 is offered with an old German Kraftfahrzeugbrief (registration document) issued in 1947. The engine turns over.



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