BMW R65

The BMW R65 was a light touring motorcycle that BMW introduced in 1978 to add a mid-size machine to its range. It had the same sized frame as the larger R series but a shorter swingarm, rear sub-frame and front forks and an 18-inch front wheel, which made it look smaller. Its type 248/1 engine was a version of the 247 airhead, a 648 cc, OHV, two-valve, air-cooled flat-twin with two 32 mm Bing carburettors and a five-speed gearbox with shaft final drive, and a lower-powered 27 hp version was built for the German market. The original model was made until 1984, the R65LS with Hans Muth's triangular fairing was built between 1981 and 1984, and from 1985 the engine went into the monoshock R80 frame, the Monolever version being produced until 1993.