R 17: Evan Bell
1935 BMW R 17 #P1771

736cc M60 Boxer Twin 33 hp @ 5,000 rpm
363 lbs.
Black
Evan Bell
Orange, California
Introduced in 1935, the R 17 was Germany’s fastest motorcycle, with an overhead-valve engine that gave it a top speed of 87 mph. If that wasn’t enough, the R 17 featured the world’s first hydraulically damped telescopic forks, plus a four-speed transmission. Expensive and rare even when new, the R 17 seen here was rough but almost entirely original when it was found in Mexico by Howard Pine in 1987. Over the next ten years, it was restored to as-new condition by Evan Bell for the museum at his Irv Seaver BMW dealership in California.