1956 bmw r50

[T. Cotten]

... but lets face it, as fun and cool as they are sidecars are ill conceived.

We enjoy our own opinions, Grease!

After campaigning for decades on both two and three wheels, I must credit my hacks with not only great utilitarian enjoyment, they undoubtedly kept me alive on many occasions.

Although delightfully absurd, they are no more ill conceived than out-rigger canoes.

.....Cotten
PS:

Canoe hack.jpg
canoe3a.jpg
Canoehack.jpg
Canoe2.jpg

canoefloat.jpg

[grease monkey]

Nothing wrong with a Velorex after you spend a week or 2 experimenting with the toe in, lean out etc etc .! A few of them have been running around here for decades. One chap uses his all year round. I borrowed a friend's R60 with Steib like mine pictured above and was amazed at how beautifully it handled compared with the 39 UL outfit I restored years earlier I think mostly due to the light weight . I imagine that lovely little job that Peter sent to Canada handled even better eh ? I do have 2 other sidecars, one a Brough which I will never hook up and the other on my 27 Henderson which actually is a lot of fun as it has reverse and is not too fast., but lets face it, as fun and cool as they are sidecars are ill conceived. The handling of a Mack truck with the vulnerability of a motorcycle.

[frichie68]

Well howdy Barry!

Just as I got thoroughly distracted with old Vespas and let open fender Indian Chiefs double in price and get out of hand, in the meantime, so with beloved Broughs, and at the link below was one of those distractions. Picture captions tell the story.
https://petergz.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...02-Steib-LS200

Steibs are so beautiful, just wouldn't look proper on my crusty R50. I had an old Velorex on it briefly but handling was horrible-probably due to soft springs in both the bike and the car.
r50 sc 30.jpg r50 sc 29.jpg

[PRG]

Well howdy Barry!

Just as I got thoroughly distracted with old Vespas and let open fender Indian Chiefs double in price and get out of hand, in the meantime, so with beloved Broughs, and at the link below was one of those distractions. Picture captions tell the story.

https://petergz.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/BMW/R502-Steib-LS200

[grease monkey]

Finally a thread worth reading . Ha, ha, just joking but I do love classic Beemers. Last year I picked up a 1964 R60 with the rare /2 -12 volt option (usually for police bikes) I have yet to investigate how BMW engineered that, most likely nowhere as elegantly as Peter's BTH conversion however it seems to be functioning well. The previous owner fitted a nice Steib s501 but did not attend to the bike's requirements as the bike has alloy rims and solo gearing. The sidecar will be sold. My favourite thing about the bike is the Avonaire fairing. Thanks Peter for posting all that great in depth info on your beautiful R69S. Did I ever mention to you that I did eventually acquire that front number plate for my ss100 ? Thanks for the alert on that as well. IMG_7314.jpeg

[Rubone]

I know nothing special only 1980 year but when I bought it I Mannheim in Veterama it was in very bad condition .
After renovation I traveling cross the Europe - my the best bike for the long trips P1150511.JPG

Hi Jarek,
Here is my 1980 R100RS on a trip across the USA, waiting for a ferry from Bar Harbor ME to Nova Scotia CN. We are standing behind my wife's Honda VFR 800.
DCP_0189.JPG

[Jarek]

I know nothing special only 1980 year but when I bought it I Mannheim in Veterama it was in very bad condition .
After renovation I traveling cross the Europe - my the best bike for the long trips P1150511.JPG

[frichie68]

Let me know if you come across a pair of correct carbs for R50 or R60, will swap my Type 53 Bings!
Rich

[Rubone]

Some sexy bits awaiting a future build..
DCP_2810.JPG

[frichie68]

PRG, beautiful photos, thanks for posting!

Growing up in the 50s &60s, it seemed to me that BMWs were the only bikes the Harley guys didn't bad-mouth, but often commented that "Those guys are nuts, they run at 100 mph all day!" Now that I'm a bit older (OK, WAY older) I realize the bikes they were talking about were only 500 or 600cc!
Rich

[PRG]

Howdy chaps,

Have owned/restored various /2’s since 1991 and properly set up ones are lovely, from an AMCA Road Run perspective, too lovely. As a younger participant it was all about the challenge and these were “too easy”. Years ago, Mort and Dotty Wood routinely showed up with late 20’s Sport Scouts to tackle formidable terrain, more memorably, the Rockies. One year they arrived with matching R/60/2’s. This was a rare opportunity to bust Mort’s chops as he historically had the upper hand with me in most situations, I reminded …actually harassed them for the duration of the event that they “had given up.” Fast forward 25 years and we are signed up for 3 Road Runs and right out of the gate is Kanab, Grand Canyon, Bryce, etc…. At this stage the missus had now endured these events on a thin pad mounted to the fender rack of a hard tailed Knuckle. Now in our 60’s, me thinks we have bought a little slack. Pulled the R69S out of the back of the shop and went through from stem to stern, now aided by (pricey) factory parts from the BMW Heritage division. The Utah ride was a revelation, we haven’t ridden anything of distance since. Mort, you were right! Besides the ignition/charging illustrated in this gallery the best improvements one can make for confidence at the helm for larger heavier riders; side car springs front/rear and slightly wider side car bars.

https://petergz.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/BMW/My-R69S

[micmac]

Nice bikes I’m an Indian guy but I enjoyed learning able other brands, especially BMW.

[1939wl]

Nice R50, I've had several of them from the '60s. Here is my '55 R69, it is the 257th R69 ever built. The Enduro bags actually belong on my '65 R69S but I had borrowed them for an AMCA road run when these pics were taken.
DCP_2727.JPG DCP_2726.JPG

That is a beautiful R69 Robbie, nice to see some vintage Beemers featured here.

[Rubone]

My R69 as found...There was also a chopped R60 in the mix with a Brit fork on it. Other odd bits and pieces.

[Austy]

Yes, it was nice but still had patina on certain parts of the bike that were untouched. The tanks had been repainted and hand pin striped after my father was run off the road in his last motorcycle accident in the 90's when he was in his late 60's. Beautiful R50