1950 BMW R 24

Established in 1917 by three companies, BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke: the Bavarian Engine Factory) reached its current form when one of the partners, BFW (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke: the Bavarian Aeroplane Works), turned to the production of motorcycle engines due to the Allied ban on the production of planes in Germany after World War I.

Establishing a partnership with another Bavarian company, Rapp Motorenwerke, and with the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach from Thuringia, and producing 4-stroke engines, the partnership of BFW began to manufacture a two-cylinder (Flat-Twin) 30.5 cu.in. engine, called the M2B15. The chief designer Max Friz produced the first BMW motorcycle with 8.5 bhp, the classic boxer-twin engine and shaft-drive. This became the R 32 of  1923.

Of the four different models of BMW motorcycles in our Museum, the oldest one, an R 24, is a copy of the R 23, which was manufactured in great numbers before the war. It is economical and has good performance. The first post-WWII model, the R 24 was also the only post-war model without rear suspension. Its 11.96 bhp vertical single-cylinder engine is of 15.1 cu.in., and it can reach 59 mph. With 12,020 numbers produced from 1948 to 1950, the 1950 R 24 has parts in common with the next model, the two-cylinder R 51/2. Sold for 1,750 DM in the first year of its production, the R 24s in very good condition can be sold for up to 7,560 Dollars.