Sunday, September 16, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
BMW R12
BMW R12
This mid-30s BMW,
despite being 80 years old, has earned an enviable reputation for its
capabilities as a touring machine and is still more than capable of
covering vast mileages, just as its maker intended when it was
originally produced
The BMW R26 Motorcycle - 1955
Photo: BMW R26 Instruction Manual (1955) The R26 was the followon to the R24 (1949), BMW's first postwar motorcycle. R26 Specifications: Single cylinder, 245cc, 15 horsepower, 4-stroke, overhead valves. Bing 1/25/46 throttle slide curburetor. 4-speed gear box, positive-stop foot control. Front and rear internal shoe brakes. Curb weight: 158 Kg. Maximum load: 167 Kg. Maximum speed, single passenger: about 128 Km/h. Fuel consumption: 3.5 liters / 100 Km at 90 Km/h (70 mpg at 55 mph). Acceleration: 0-60 in about an hour.
A 1923-1926 R32 The First BMW Motorcycle
 The boxer layout, with the crankshaft longitudinal and two opposed
cylinders, was developed by BMW Engineer Max Friz, and resulted in the 1923 BMW R32 — the first BMW motorcycle (yes, Virginia, BMW made
motorcycles five years before it produced cars).
The boxer engine layout always struck me as being utterly
logical. The cylinders project sideways into the wind and have good
primary balance, and transmission to a shaft final drive
is relatively straight forward (or backward), eliminating any need for a
bothersome chain or belt. Moreover, because the cylinders projected
into the air stream, the engine on the opposed-twin runs much cooler
than the more common V-twins.
The R32 established the boxer-twin, shaft-drive platform layout that BMW would use until the present. BMW used shaft drives in all of its motorcycles until the introduction of the chain-driven F650 in 1993 and continues to use this arrangement on its boxer-twin motorcycles |
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