A company with its roots in the aero engine business, BMW brought the same spirit of innovation to its cars and motorcycles that had made its aircraft engines some of the finest seen in WWI. At a time when single-cylinder and v-twin engines were the norm, BMW, along with Douglas, 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 a huge success with approximately 36,000 produced up to 1938, and was used by the Wehrmacht in the War's early years before the introduction of the purpose-built military R75. Factory records list this particular R12 combination as delivered to military authorities in Luftpark Paderborn on 20th September 1940. The machine is finished in Luftwaffe blue and displays a total of only 106 kilometres on the odometer, which, presumably, is the distance covered since restoration. Laut Werksunterlagen wurde die R12 am 20. September 1940 an die Militärbehörden von Paderborn ausgeliefert. Sie ist in Luftwaffe-Blau lackiert und die Tachoanzeige beträgt nur 106 km. Wahrscheinlich die zurückgelegte Distanz seit der Restauration
A company with its roots in the aero engine business, BMW brought the same spirit of innovation to its cars and motorcycles that had made its aircraft engines some of the finest seen in WWI. At a time when single-cylinder and v-twin engines were the norm, BMW, along with Douglas, 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 a huge success with approximately 36,000 produced up to 1938, and was used by the Wehrmacht in the War's early years before the introduction of the purpose-built military R75. Factory records list this particular R12 combination as delivered to military authorities in Luftpark Paderborn on 20th September 1940. The machine is finished in Luftwaffe blue and displays a total of only 106 kilometres on the odometer, which, presumably, is the distance covered since restoration. Laut Werksunterlagen wurde die R12 am 20. September 1940 an die Militärbehörden von Paderborn ausgeliefert. Sie ist in Luftwaffe-Blau lackiert und die Tachoanzeige beträgt nur 106 km. Wahrscheinlich die zurückgelegte Distanz seit der Restauration
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
