BMW RS 54

The BMW RS 54 was a racing motorcycle that BMW offered from 1953 in small numbers to privateers, while 24 examples went from the factory to selected riders. Alexander von Falkenhausen and Rudolf Schleicher led the development of its air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine in 1951 and 1952, and BMW showed the machine at the 1953 IAA. The 493 cubic centimetre engine had two overhead camshafts per cylinder driven by king shafts and made about 45 PS (33 kW) in its first version, with works machines reaching 58 PS and fuel-injected versions for fast circuits 60 PS. The frame used Earles long-arm front forks and a shaft drive, dry weight was given as 132 or 135 kilograms, and top speed was over 220 kilometres an hour. Walter Zeller finished second in the 1956 world championship on one, and its engine carried BMW to the sidecar constructors title every year from 1954 to 1974.