BMW R 57

The BMW R 57 was a boxer-twin motorcycle built by BMW from 1928 to 1929 with shaft drive, the sporting overhead-valve sister model of the touring R 52. BMW began producing it in July 1928 as a sporting machine for the 500 cc class, together with the largely identical R 63 for 750 cc. The launch was modest, because the new pressed-steel frame models were already being shown at the Berlin motor show in November 1928, and BMW also exhibited the tubular-frame models at the Paris salon in October. The frame was welded steel tube and suited sidecar use, the three-speed gearbox was hand shifted, and the whole drive train was enclosed against dirt and moisture, unlike most machines of the time.