In 1955, BMW replaced the “plunger-style” rear suspension with a twin-shock swingarm, and the telescopic forks with Earles forks to give R 50 and R 69 uncommon stability and incomparable ride quality. The bikes were popular for sidecar duty, using a BMW sidecar or a Steib like that on the R 50 seen here. “An R 50 was the first BMW I owned as a teenager in Germany, and I put a Steib 350S sidecar on it so I could ride in winter through snow and ice,” says Lothar Schuettler, who owns and restored the identical outfit seen here.