BMW R 17

BMW R 17

The BMW R 17 was the fastest purely German street motorcycle before World War II . Only a few sports models with large JAP built -in engines from England, which were built by some other manufacturers (e.g. Brough Superior ), were stronger and faster . The BMW R 17 had the typical BMW longitudinal boxer engine and cardan drive.

History and construction

On February 14, 1935, BMW presented the R 17 together with its sister model R 12 to the public for the first time at the German Motor Show in Berlin as the successor to the R 16 . What was new about these models was the hydraulically damped telescopic fork used for the first time in motorcycle construction instead of the leaf spring fork previously used by BMW .

With 33 HP (24 kW) from 736 cm³ with the rear wheel still unsprung, a street sport model was created that was extremely fast for the time and only manageable by experienced drivers.

The R 17 started with a sales price of 2040 RM, unchanged from the R 16 ; From February 1936, with the introduction of the BMW R 5 , the price was reduced to RM 1975 for only RM 1,550. Production ran out in 1937, and the BMW R 66 with 600 cc and 30 hp with a modern chassis took on the role of the top model in 1938 with a price of 1695 RM. The sales success of the R 17 was low with only 434 units.

The parallel model R 12 was the simpler touring version with a side valve ( SV ) instead of the OHV engine (with overhead valves). The engine was optionally available with one carburetor and an output of 18 hp (13 kW) or two carburetors and 20 hp (15 kW). Just like the R 17 , the R 12 had a double-loop pressed steel frame, the oil-dampened telescopic fork and, as the first two-cylinder model from BMW, had a rear drum brake.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data of the R 17
drilling	83 mm
Hub	68 mm
Displacement	736 cc
Compression ratio	6.5: 1
power	33  hp (24  kW ) at 4500 min -1
Top speed	140 km / h
Empty weight	165 kg
Tank capacity	14 liters

See also

• List of BMW motorcycles

literature

• The innovations on the BMW machines in 1935 . In: BMW (ed.): BMW sheets . 100,000 circulation. No. 22 . Berlin February 1935, p. 12–15 ( bmw-grouparchiv.de [PDF; accessed on December 8, 2015] in-house communications from Bayerische Motoren-Werke AG).

Web links

Commons : BMW R 17  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• BMW R 17. (No longer available online.) In: BMW Geschichte. BMW AG, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on May 30, 2019 (dossier of the BMW Group Archive). 
• Spare parts list for the BMW motorcycles type R 12 (750 ccm touring model) / type R 17 (750 ccm sports model). In: BMW history. BMW AG, May 1935, accessed on December 8, 2015 (spare parts list with pictures, 97 pages). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BMW presents the world's first hydraulic telescopic fork on the R 12 and R 17 models. In: BMW history. BMW AG, February 14, 1935, accessed on December 9, 2015 (text in the BMW Group Archive).  
2. ↑ BMW R 12 sectional drawing of the telescopic fork. In: BMW history. BMW AG, 1935, accessed on December 9, 2015 (drawing in the BMW Group archive): "BMW works drawing"  
3. ↑ Price list No. 56. In: BMW History. BMW AG, January 2, 1935, accessed on December 9, 2015 (document in the BMW Group Archive).  
4. ↑ Price list No. 58. In: BMW History. BMW AG, February 1, 1936, accessed on December 8, 2015 (document in the BMW Group Archive).  
5. ↑ Price list No. 63. In: BMW History. BMW AG, February 10, 1938, accessed on December 9, 2015 (document in the BMW Group Archive).  
6. ↑ Manual for BMW two-cylinder models Type R 12 750 cc touring, Type R 17 750 cc Sport. In: BMW history. BMW AG, March 1935, accessed on December 9, 2015 (manual with pictures, 43 pages).