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1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
I have over 600,000 BMW miles, but all on BMW bikes newer than 1996. This is my first vintage BMW 500cc bike, with all other bikes over 1100cc. At 60 mph, the bikes at a comfortable RPM. Over 60, its running at rpms faster than I like.
My question is since it has no tachometer, what is a good safe highway speed for the motor with my transmission and rear drive? Is there a rear drive better suited for faster speeds? The carburetors are the original Bing 1/24/45 &46.
- therealkennyboy
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Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
These are 60+ year old bikes and are not equivalent to modern bikes in terms of performance and capability--as your experience has made clear. Use your big bikes for the highway and save the R50 for local cruising--enjoy it for what it is.
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
1960 R60 (currently), 1974 R75/6 (past), 1981 R100CS (currently), 1984 R100RS (past), 1989 K100RS (past)
Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
Barre, MA USA
1963 R60/2 w/ 1955 Steib S500
1973 R75/5
- schrader7032
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Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
- schrader7032
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Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
Dave
Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
Again, what Bill stated seems to be true for my R50. The weight of the bike with rider and low horsepower won't allow the bike to get near rev limits for this bike.
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Re: 1959 BMW R50 Top Speed
A number of decades ago, I had an R51/3 that I used for touring. I put 30-40000 miles on it over the course of about three years before I decided to restore it. For the purposes here, it had about the same engine, carbs, etc. that you have in your R50. When riding on the interstate fully loaded, I mostly just held the throttle wide open for hours on end unless I was going down hill. It would cruise at 70-75 on the flat and drop into the 50's on hills, but it never missed a beat in all that time. These engines are limited by their small carbs, ports, valves, cams, etc. As long as you have a load on it, it is hard to "over rev" them into a dangerous condition. So, I'd ride it like you stole it, and enjoy it at its limits. Or just cruise where you're happy. They're hard to break.
Just one guys thoughts...
Chuck S