The One Motorcycle Show last night..

[miller6997]

If the mileage is correct, $5000 was a real bargain. The only thing I see wrong is the Harley sign on the wall. ;^}

[FL54]

Yes, Jon it is a sickness and I do have a weakness for "old iron". However, I do find myself gravitating towards the /2 as opposed to the old shovelheads. It's just more nimble to ride.
Is this a better photo looking the other way?

[miller6997]

That is a better photo, and now I'm sure you got a bargain. Congratulations!

Jon

[R68]

...early production BMW, before mid 1957, and if it's an R60, could be a first year!...some folks put a premium on the early bikes. A real pity to part that out?

[R68]

...I think that's a REALLY early bike, maybe an early 1955! Do you see the chrome plated accessory hole round head machine screws on top of rear fender? I think they only used them for a few months in early production, and yer hardly ever see them still in place. As for color, a repaint, isn't that a very popular color for the big Harleys in that era? I don't know what it's called.

[Daves79x]

Nice spot on the chrome-head hole plug screws. My '55 R69 came with two of them. Also, the 4 rear fender to shock tower bolts were chrome on the very early ones (with the solo seat) - I still have two of the originals. Mine had a dual seat, and likely had two of the chrome bolts replaced with black for that seat.

Dave

[Daves79x]

That bike still has the small headlight ears, but has a later front fender. Also the later air cleaner. If it is a true '57, that was certainly in the transition with some early parts and some late parts from the factory.

Dave

[thanson]

Also note the Coffee Can taillight. Although nobody can say for sure....since it seems the factory just used whatever parts they had left over....it seems the coffee can was a mid-late 1957 addition.

I also have a 1957 R60 that has a mix of early and late 57 parts yet still has an early Eber tail light. ( I bought my bike from the original owner and he confirmed he received it from the dealership that way. Some people might try and "correct" mismatched parts on a '57 however it very well may have came that way from the factory!

I honestly don't know what month and day that production started and ended for the 1957 model year but I know that my bike was manufactured on May 13, 1957. Anyone know for sure?

So 1957 is a tough year to figure out if things are "correct" as there was such a mixture of "early" and "late" parts. Also interesting that 1957 was an extremely low production year.

[wa1nca]

My 1955 R50 has the later coffee can tail light,front fender with second brace and later air cleaner
I thought they were not original but now not sure
It does have the single pass spokes on both wheels, and short headlight ears


Tommy

[R68]

If you have your original head plate, it should mention Baujahr and Baureihe, and if it's a 1955 production, both terms will be stamped "1955"...single cross spokes are clearly correct for 1955, but double cross seem to start to show up in 1956 AFAIK, and same applies to front fender brace. It's hard to say anything about the air cleaner since it's so easy to change, but this blue bike under discussion has a chromed aircleaner housing so maybe it's replaced? As for tail lamp, if you have a pre mid-1956 production rear fender that used the small tail lamp, then you'll find a small hole midline just above the license plate bracket that accepted the three bolt small tail lamp (or the MUCH rarer than hens teeth small version coffee can tail light for which I will trade you the sun/moon/stars/date with Bo Derek for). Actually the rear fender on that blue bike may even be the original large valence rear fender, also up there with the hens teeth, but it's hard to tell from the pics? As for chrome front shock bolts, just mill off "Kamax" and re chrome? Finally, the very early bikes seem to have the plunger license bracket, with two mounting holes...trivia.