Rare BMW “R69US” Provides An Easter Treat

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Seeing a rare motorcycle is always a treat, and Easter unexpectedly brought such a treat in the form of a very uncommon BMW. Friend Gary Randall and I had taken an early afternoon ride to Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village on Sunday where we ran into Will Paley. He was out testing his Harley Sprint in anticipation of participating in the MotoGiro next month. While we sat chatting at one of the two communal tables inside the cafe, Jeff Parker rode in.

Parker is a Saturday salesman at Max BMW in Brookfield and he was taking a just-restored R69S out for s shakedown ride after having its engine redone. “I’m just putting a few miles on it,” said Parker.

While the rear fender bore the identifier R69S, Paley noticed that what made it special was that it was a U.S. model. “The is a rare bike because of the front end,” he said, noting the telescopic forks instead of the Earles forks that were used on all other versions of the R69.

BMW came out with the 594cc, shaft-driven R69 in 1955. The first version had 35 horsepower was produced through 1960, replaced by the 42-horsepower R69S. The 42-horsepower “R69US” was only made in 1968 and 1969, which was the last year of the R69.

It took a little deductive work to determine whether the bike was a 1968 or 1969, but the inclusion of a red high beam light atop the headlight bucket suggested a 1969. So did the side reflectors.

Only 11,137 of the R69 were ever produced and an Internet search turned up one account that stated that only 20 of the R69US models were imported to the U.S. in 1969.

A “Cycle World” review of the R69S in June 1962 proclaimed the bike “fast enough to handle any encounter, and it has the attributes that are, in touring, infinitely more valuable that mere speed. All things considered, if we were planning a two-wheel style vacation/tour, the BMW would have to be our choice of mount.”

Among the accents that made this bike stand out as we looked it over were the over-sized hard luggage, the integrated tool box in the top of the gas tank and the two fins in the valve covers.

The bike hasn’t been listed for sale yet on Max BMW’s website, but, if memory serves, Parker said the asking price will be $18,000. NADA puts the value of a 1969 R69S in “excellent” condition at $15,725, Either way, that’s too rich for RIDE-CT.com to afford, but it certainly was fun to see it up close.

Here’s what Parker looked like as he rode away: