BMW R 50 S

The BMW R 50 S was the higher-powered sporting variant of the basic R 50, a boxer-twin motorcycle that BMW built 1634 times between 1960 and 1962, a commercially difficult time for the company. Technically it matched the standard R 50, with a double-loop tubular frame, a leading-link fork and a rear swinging arm on two shock absorbers, and added a hydraulic steering damper in place of the mechanical one. The 500 cc engine rose from 26 to 35 horsepower mainly through higher compression, higher revs and larger 26 mm carburettors. The R 69 S appeared in the same year and ran to 1969. Production of the R 50 S ended after little more than a year.