BMW Flat-Twin Pressed-Steel R11 R12 and R16 R17 — The "Pressed-Steel Frame" Generation, Civilian and Military

The side-valve engines of the R11 and R16, along with their sporting versions, would undergo numerous evolutions (5 series) up to the introduction of the telescopic fork fitted to the R12 and R17, with which they would be better exploited through a 4-speed gearbox.

The BMW 750 cc R12 motorcycle is the archetypal German military motorcycle, despite the legendary status of the BMW R75 and Zündapp KS750 sidecars with their driven third wheel. Civilian in origin, this dependable machine served on every front, as far as the gates of Moscow, most often coupled to heavy sidecars. Produced in more than 36,000 units, it surpassed in numbers the complex BMW R75 (20,000 units). While the Wehrmacht claimed near-exclusive rights to its production from 1938 onwards, the German administration — postal services, police — shared the remainder. A few privileged German civilians were able to acquire the equally rare remaining examples.

This book details the BMW 750 R11/12 (side-valve) and R16/17 (overhead-valve) with pressed-steel frames; their numerous evolutions, improvements and variants introduced during their production from 1929 to 1944: 4-speed gearbox, telescopic front fork — all across 393 pages with more than 950 illustrations, period photographs, technical plates and electrical diagrams.