The most beautiful motorcycle made.

Designed in 1934, the BMW R7 was a ‘one off’ show bike. BMW decided not to manufacture it as the Great Depression was sweeping across Europe and it would have been unaffordable to most.

The very height of Art Deco design, the bike came with an 800cc horizontally opposed twin engine, the forerunner of the 900cc unit in my 1975 R90/6. BMW last sold Airheads – air cooled, horizontally opposed twins as they are commonly known – in 1995. A sad day.

The hand shift gear lever connects to the gearbox with rod linkages.
Control cables are mostly hidden.

The white pinstripe provides relief for the black and silver livery.

This is a ‘hardtail’ design, with rear suspension provided by the sprung seat.

The left panel opens providing access to the fuel petcock and the tool roll.
The air cleaner is in the chrome cylindrical housing. Cloisonné tank badge.

The kickstarter kick rod folds out for easy operation for a seated rider.
Note the locking lever on the rear fender to allow it to be raised for ease of wheel removal.

All the above images taken by my friend Jared RL on his visit to the ‘Shape of Speed‘ exhibit in the Portland, Oregon Art Museum in 2018 (slow link, be patient).

Plain, unadorned valve covers are in keeping with the overall design.

You do not have to love motorcycles to revel in the beauty of this design, nor to fight nausea when you look at the modern incarnation.