1937 BMW R17

---

Between 1935 and 1937, only 434 BMW R17's were manufactured, with just 106 produced in its final year. This example was imported by Emil Recke, BMW’s official motorcycle importer and dealer in New York City. Recke was a major sponsor of BMW racing in the United States; the factory at one point entrusted him with an R51RS — one of only seventeen ever built. This R17 could be the only example sold new in the United States.

BMW was the first manufacturer to introduce oil-dampened telescopic forks on a production motorcycle. This groundbreaking design debuted with the 1935 R12 and R17 models, which were unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1935.

The R17 is BMW's 2nd lowest production model behind the R37 which had a total production of 152 units. 

This R17 is a triple matching numbers motorcycle. Motor, head & cylinder numbers match. Motor halve numbers match. Frame and motor numbers match the original ID tag. 

This R17 was featured in the Deutsches Motorrad Register in December 2000 and Classic Cycle Review magazine, Vol. 3, No. 2