Retro: 1934 BMW R7

August 21, 2009

We’ve wanted to bring you shots of the 1934 BMW R7 since we first heard about it a couple of months back, but until now we weren’t able to find any high-res images. The bike was found in a crate in June, 2005, where it’d lain neglected since the second world war. Now restored to as-new condition, the R7 is traveling to bike shows across Europe. The full story is really interesting, you can read about it over on BM Bikes.

nick r

This thing is… if only you could use the words “stunningly graceful” in an exclamation…
so yeah its ‘effin’ sweet.

“BM Bikes” what an unfortunate name for a motorcycle blog. Funny though, I thought its would be a Harley blog, or some CRAP like that.
kawalser

stunning.

very art deco. would look at home parked in front of the chrysler building.
http://cohobot.blogspot.com/ coho

That’s damn sexy.
Robert

Oh fuck.
s0crates82

i want that bike in my life.
http://my68flh.com ElectraGlideInBlue

That is art on wheels. I bet riding that, would be like a magic carpet ride.
http://ohoh2.blogspot.com/ DoubleOhTwo

Hey BMW! Time for a re-issue!
- http://hellforleathermagazine.com Grant Ray
  
  Sadly, I don’t see BMW going the vintage route any time soon.
  - http://f800gs002.blogspot.com/ doubleoh2
    
    Pity there aren’t more hi-re pics around. I tried dropping in an R1200R engine underneath the fairing on the available shots but it looked like shit. Just for fun, you know.
Stephen

I’d love to see this bike in person and not just at a show. Maybe at a vintage bike rally?
uberbox

grandpa, tell me that story again about when BMWs looked cool..
General Apathy

Be the envy of every Nazi on your block!
- http://ridethetorquecurve.blogspot.com hoyt
  
  wtf is that supposed to mean?
  - General Apathy
    
    Umm it was designed and built in Nazi Germany? I was referencing that… Who says they didn’t have style, right?
http://ridethetorquecurve.blogspot.com hoyt

“Umm”

Nazis took over a mere year before the above bike was built, long before the atrocities of Hitler were realized. Your comment linking Nazis to this design is a lame reach.
- General Apathy
  
  I didn’t mention Hitler or Atrocities… Rumor has it that Nazi Germany did more than just kill a lot of people and chase Indiana Jones around. (invented the Jet Engine, Synthetic oil, first to link smoking to lung cancer etc.) I would put this in the class of their best inventions and propose my original post as a satirical marketing slogan.
  - Mike
    
    Nazi Gemany did NOT invent the jet engine. RAF officer Frank Whittle did. Its a British invention.
    - Serge
      
      And so what? It was also a Brit who invented the Boxer engine. But BMW put it on the map. And into a genuine masterpiece like this one.
http://ridethetorquecurve.blogspot.com hoyt

“Be the envy of every Nazi on your block!” on its own does not sound satirical.

Just about every reference to “Nazi” conjures up (first & foremost) Hitler and his atrocities in/out of history buff circles.
LADucSP

gorgeous.
NotSteve

alrighty BMW, you’ve got the original, time to make a sweet replica for mass consumption! please do your best to maintain the looks of that masterpiece
Matthias

“The envy of every Nazi on your block!”
I think this is a good joke, and even if it were not, it has to be possible to make it.

Indeed, some Nazi ideals were as wrong and un-human as you can get, but perhaps this same ‘not-being-bound-to-what-should’ is the reason they also made innovative and beautiful things!

Nazi’s wanted to leap forward in time, and make the future reality.
Unfortunately, they leapt in the wrong direction!
Thus, it was a good try that went horribly wrong. This is also the reason many germans did believe in nazi ideals at the time.

Maybe someday, mankind will leap again, and this time in the right direction! Hopefully equally beautifull objects will be created then.

Conclusion: this thing is stunningly beautiful, and created in a nazi environment. This does not have to be contradictory.