This 1934 BMW R7 prototype is one of the most talked about and best-loved motorcycles of the 1930s, yet it never left the factory, and was known only through a single, mysterious photo for over 70 years.
When completed in 1934, the R7 wasn’t exhibited of press-released and appears to have been shelved immediately. Complicated forces worked against the R7. While the prototype is a hand fabricated one-off, actual production would require huge investment in tooling for the metal pressings, new casting for the engine, gearbox, and cylinders, plus set-up for the unique internal parts. Internal factory politics certainly played a hand as well. The BMW team saw the R7 as impractical in the owners would need specialist mechanics.
Clamor arose in the 1980s to revive the R7; it wasn’t until 2005 the task was handed to two legendary restorers: Armin Frey undertook to mechanicals, while Hans Keckeisen massaged the sheet metal.
The 1934 R7 prototype is an unquestioned design success – a graceful and beautiful study of flowing line, curves, and feminine masses.
