The BMW R69US

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Accessory bar-end turn signals and low-mounted mirrors add to this R69US's sporting looks. Although not stock, our photo bike's Denfield solo saddle and rear passenger pad were both factory accessories.
Accessory bar-end turn signals and low-mounted mirrors add to this R69US's sporting looks. Although not stock, our photo bike's Denfield solo saddle and rear passenger pad were both factory accessories.
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BMW R69US
Years produced:
1967-1969
Total production: 1,000 (approx.)
Claimed power: 42hp @ 7,000rpm
Top speed: 103mph
Engine type: 594cc overhead valve, air-cooled opposed twin
Weight: 205kg (452lb) (w/half-full tank)Price then: $1,712 (1968)
Price now: $6,000-$12,000
MPG: 50 (est.)

Desirable and rare, the BMW R69US was built to be ridden. John Landstrom’s Granada Red 1969 proves the point.

“I got this bike about 20 years ago,” explains Landstrom, owner of Blue Moon Cycle in Norcross, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. “I restored it shortly after I got it, then I sold it to a friend in Germany. I bought it back from him, and then sold it to a friend in Georgia. Then I bought it back from him. At this point, I’ve bought the bike three times.” Needless to say, John is a fan of the BMW R69US. “The steadfast reliability of a 1960s vintage BMW motorcycle allows me to go touring with the same confidence I would have touring on a modern motorcycle,” he says.

Where it all began
Bayerische Motoren-Werke was founded in 1916 as an aircraft engine factory. With the end of World War I came a ban on German aircraft, so BMW looked for other arenas for its output. The company started building motorcycle engines in 1920 or 1921 and complete bikes in 1923. War came again in 1939, and once again BMW found itself on the losing side. After a brief period where the BMW factory, then located in Munich, Germany, was relegated to the manufacture of cooking pots, its first postwar bike, a single, appeared at the 1948 Geneva show. The first postwar flat twin, the R51/2, was initially built for the French police, and wasn’t available to civilians until 1950.

The R51/2 was a 494cc overhead valve design, with split valve covers, plunger rear suspension and new, inclined Bing carburetors. BMW was one of the first to use telescopic forks (starting with the R12 in 1935), and the R51/2 featured new two-way damped telescopics. However, the R51/2 was basically a prewar design, and the engine was replaced in 1951 with the R51/3.

  • Published on Jul 11, 2007
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