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2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Swanny
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:51 pm

2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Swanny »

Hello! I just listed two 1965 BMWs on Bring A Trailer.

An R27 (was my mom’s) and an R50 (was my dad’s). Super cool old bikes.

Both run well! Ready for cruising and admiring rusty patinas, OR a full cosmetic/aesthetic restoration!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-bmw-r27-5/

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-bmw-r50-2-13/

Daves79x
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Location: Knox, PA. USA
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Daves79x »

I just bought an original Dover White R27, serial number 383731, eight ahead of yours! Mine was built on Sept 1, 1964 and is titled as a '64. Perhaps BMW ran a batch of Dover bikes with consecutive serial numbers. Good luck!

Dave
Dave

Swanny
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Swanny »

That’s amazing, Dave! Do you know how many Dover White R27s were produced or how to figure that out? I had heard there were few produced and even fewer sold in the US.

Very difficult process deciding to sell these bikes after being in the family for so long. Fingers crossed they find a nice home with a wise new owner!

Daves79x
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Daves79x »

Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure how many other-than-black bikes BMW made. Perhaps the archives could run a sort of colors through their records and get some idea. Archives has my R27 as originally Dover White.

Dave
Dave

Dover Rider
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Dover Rider »

Mine is a Dover White 383738 R27

Dover Rider
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Dover Rider »

Archive certified 1964 Dover White R27 delivered to B&S

Daves79x
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Daves79x »

Congrats on the sale, especially the R27! Can't explain the recent surge in R27 prices, but glad you took advantage!

Dave
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oldnslo
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by oldnslo »

This is really a bizarro-world result; how an R 27 could be worth almost twice as much as what looks like a nice rider-quality R 50 is beyond me. I've owned an R 27 (my first bike, Dover white, in 1967) and 2 R 50's including my current 1968, and there's simply no comparison as to which is the better riding machine. Then again, BaT is really becoming somewhat of a cloud-cukoo land

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Slash2
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by Slash2 »

I've been around long enough to remember when the singles were seen as much less desirable and much less valuable than the larger twins of the 60's. That is, because that has always been the case until this year or maybe last. In the midst of the David Lee mania that swept Bring A Trailer in the last 2 years, average bikes across the board were bringing 2, 3x their actual market value and somehow this carried over into the singles. Mr. Lee managed to dupe someone into paying about $26k for a decent original paint R27. For contrast, Barrington Motor Works auctioned their perfectly restored R27 that they had used to write their Barrington Manual and had trouble finding a buyer close to $10k a year before. The benefit that BaT clearly enjoys over eBay is the public format. With BaT, you're bidding in front of a group of mostly anonymous peers who in the best cases engage in a long public debate in the form of comments which either work to push values into the stratosphere, or kneecap otherwise decent offerings with endless criticisms.

The oddity is that buyers and sellers both think that these results indicate market when they almost never do. There have been several /2's which have sold on BaT in the last month or two which I think probably sold under market and then many over the last year which sold far above. The issue is that these extreme prices are ALWAYS the result of at least two ego driven bidders willing to pay any price to win in front of this group of enthusiasts. One such R60/2 reportedly restored by (insert famous name here) was bid up close to $30k last year. This was a granada red bike for those who follow. The new owner clearly sobered on his experience and decided to list it back on BaT this fall. He was shocked to find out that no one was currently suffering from the same level of lunacy as he had fallen victim to the previous year and as a result, the bike sold for nearly half of what he paid. Ouch.

All that said, I'm glad I found my 1966 R27 years ago when they were cheap and I've enjoyed it's quirky nature. She has a place in my stable and is well suited to the back roads where I live. Would I ever pay even close to $16k for one? Not a chance and the reason is that $16k will still get you a well sorted R69S if you know where to look and have some patience. There is simply no comparison between an R27 and any of the twins for that matter and the fact that this seller ended up with this result hopefully balances out the lesser value he received for his R50/2.
Western Pennsylvanian - Airhead Extraordinaire

808Airhead
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Re: 2 bikes for sale - ‘65 R50 and ‘65 R27

Post by 808Airhead »

Slash2.....SPOT ON. I *almost* bought a R27,but when i realized it was similar in cost to restore as a twin, I came to my senses. My R60/2 is about as slow as I want to go.... :lol:
Thomas M.
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69

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