1946 BMW R-Series

202695

This is an almost mint absolutely gorgeous 1946 BMW R35. This 342cc bike only has 103 miles since full ground up restoration. The restoration was done by the previous owner and I have been very satisfied with the bike. The main reason why I am selling is because it is a stick shift. I have a few bikes and it is hard for me to switch from standard setup to a hand gearshift (like in a car). To shift, you have to release your right hand from the gas and grab the shifter on the right side of the tank, shift gears and grab the gas again. If you are not comfortable with this kind of set up then this bike may not be for you. The bike is absolutely beautiful. Everything works perfectly. It runs and sounds great. It has been garaged kept every day in my possession. It has a new coat of matte army green paint which I'm told is the actual correct color for the german army. It is not a US army green but more of a grey-green. Very striking. I have owned the bike for 2 years and had no problems except with the battery and the generator. When I received the bike the generator was there but it was not restored because the owner could not find anyone in the states who could rewind the coil. After a year of searching, I managed to find someone in Germany to do the job and now it is fixed and charges the battery just fine. The battery that came on the bike died and I could not get it back to life which is a shame because it looks old and matches the bike. I don't know if you can find a replica somewhere but I imagine you must be able to because the battery can't be the original. So in the meantime, I installed a new 6 volt gel battery and a quick connect for a trickle charger (included). It looks a little funny because it's new and I'm use to the old one. At some point the old battery must have leaked or sputtered some battery acid over the engine because there are stains now on the engine right below the battery. (see photos) I tried to clean them off with a towel and soap and could not get them off but I have not tried with more serious cleaning chemicals. It looks to me like it could be cleaned with the right supplies. One other cosmetic note: The timing unit on the front of the bike has lost its cover. It did not have a good clasping system and the vibration of the bike shook it off during a ride. I have not tried to look for this but I imagine that it is not hard to find using the right channels such as Blue Moon Cycles or Max BMW Motorcycles. One thing to note on this bike is the year. The R35 stopped production in 1940 because of the war. They continued again in 1945. The previous owner says this is a 46 and it is registered as such but I did some research and found that the bike's serial number suggests that it is a post-war 1947. For more pictures please visit:http://web.me.com/eliotf/r35/