$9,900
Lyons, Indiana
Category
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Engine
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Posted Over 1 Month
For sale or trade beautiful vintage 1964 BMW R27 "Thumper". One of only 50 Dover White R27's that have ever hit the States. This model with triple matching vin# and in Dover White color is getting constantly rare and is believed to be one of the best vintage single cylinder machine produced by the BMW. This numbers matching, cosmetically original ( still has pinstriper initial under the tank), totally mechanically serviced, and sound BMW R27 clocks only 9K original miles. This cycle has had only 2 owners from new, has been garaged kept and cared for it's whole life. Motorcycle is in Fair cosmetical condition as it has never been restored in any way except some small touch-ups here and there. Matching serial numbers, Low Euro Handlebars, Original Paint, Denfeld Dual Seats and more......... This particular example is beautiful with many additions a real BMW enthusiast will appreciate. Bike has been extensively gone through just recently by best Vintage BMW mechanic around, top end was sealed with all new base, head, and pushrod gaskets. timing was set, carb was rebuilt, oils all changed. Starts in one kick, runs awesome, quiet and rides like a dream. I purchased a new rear tire and will install it to match the front tire as soon as it arrives.
Some history of the above mentioned motorcycle: The BMW R 27 was manufactured on Sept. 1st of 1964 and was delivered to Butler & Smith in New York on the 21st of December 1964. The bike was equipped with a bench seat.
Based largely on the R26, in 1960 the R27 added rubber mounts for the engine and boosted power to 18 hp (13 kW). The R27's 250 cc vertical single was the only rubber-mounted thumper engine BMW ever produced, and was their last shaft drive single-cylinder motorcycle. The engine pumped out 18 hp (13 kW), the highest ever for a shaft-drive BMW single. BMW manufactured 15,364 R27 models (engine numbers 372 001 -- 387 566 ) over the production years of 1960 to 1966. Some of the 1966 R27 models were sold as 1967 models because dealers in those years often would assign dates to BMW motorcycles when they sold them, and not necessarily when they were manufactured. The vast majority of R27 motorcycles exported to the United States by BMW were black with white pinstriping. A few, however, were brought in by importer Butler & Smith in a color called Dover white, with black pinstriping. Why "Dover white?" Butler & Smith head honcho, Michael Bondy, had a 1942 Packard automobile in an off-white color called dover white. Bondy sent a sample of this color to BMW AG in Munich and asked that it be duplicated. BMW did copy the color, and Bondy ordered fifty motorcycles in that color. Today, BMW motorcycles in original dover white are a sought-after rarity. BMW did things differently from other manufacturers. This is evident in the R27. Its enclosed shaft final drive is rare for a single cylinder motorcycle. But it also had a triangulated Earles front fork (named after English designer Ernest Earles); so the motorcycle had a front swingarm as well as a rear swingarm. When you squeezed the front brake lever hard not only did the front end not dive, it actually rose slightly. Thus, braking was a very steady activity, though the brakes were weak by today's standards. The engines crankshaft was laid out fore-to-aft, not side- to-side; also a rare feature. This way, the crank and the final shaft were in line, and drive forces did not have to be run through a set of 90-degree gears. Also, the kick starter swung out sideways instead of parallel to the frame, so kick starting an R27 is a rather easy and danger-free affair.
