BUYING AND SELLING
Renowned as superlative long distance tourers back in the day, BMW’S /5 and /6 boxer twins can still do the business today
BMW boxers for sale and Chris Bunce on the classic bike market
In the ’70s, we used to dismiss BMWS as ‘old men’s bikes’. Of course, back then, BMW hadn’t reinvented itself as a manufacturer of cool overland adventure machines and blisteringly quick sports bikes. No, at that time you got the basic boxer-twin package in a variety of sizes – but all aimed at the more mature and affluent rider (or ‘Old Bill’). Everyone knew you could lope along across continents on a Beemer without a problem.
But who would want to? Somehow, though, things have changed. For a start, the cool kids tearing up the ring road in the late ’70s (well, we thought we were cool anyway) have grown older. Now the idea of a little comfort on a long ride doesn’t seem so unreasonable. And anyway, over the years, the classic styling of BMW’S early and mid-’70s boxer twins seems, somehow, to have become more attractive. And it’s not just me that thinks so. A little research on bikes for sale recently has revealed a surprisingly fast turnover of midrange /5 and /6 BMWS.
Maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise, though. BMW have always enjoyed a great name for the quality of their engineering and build. And even that arbiter of motorcycling quality and cool, Bike magazine reckoned BMW’S flat-twins (well, the 1976 R90S specifically) ‘handles and stops almost as well as the best Italian sportster, is almost as fast as the fastest Japanese road
burner, is almost as uncomplicated as the good old British twin and almost as smooth as the best multi’. In other words, the R90S was arguably the best all-round package. Can the /5 and /6 be that far behind the S?
This 1974 R75/6 is on sale at Godin Sporting Cars and Bikes in Mereworth, Kent (anthonygodin. co.uk) for £3195. It’s a typical example showing 41,350 miles on the odometer and is in tidy, rather than immaculate, condition. That said, BMW’S flat-twin engine is famously robust, with few known failings; this one has only covered around 1000 miles since 2010 and apparently had a top-end overhaul and a major service in 2016, so it should be ready for many more. It does need a repair to the front mudguard (or a replacement ’guard), but comes with genuine BMW panniers and pannier frames – just the job for a trip this summer.