ENGINE 736CC M60 BOXER TWIN
OUTPUT 33 HP @ 5,000 RPM
CURB WEIGHT 363 LBS.
TOP SPEED 87 MPH
PRICE WHEN NEW RM 2,040 ($823)
YEARS PRODUCED 1935-’37
NUMBER BUILT 434
COLOR BLACK
OWNER EVAN BELL (SINCE 1987)
LOCATION ORANGE, CALIFORNIA
#P1771
1935 R 17
Introduced in 1935, the R 17 was Germany’s fastest motorcycle, with an overhead-valve engine that gave it a top speed of 87 mph. If that wasn’t enough, the R 17 featured the world’s first hydraulically damped telescopic forks, plus a four-speed transmission. Expensive and rare even when new, the R 17 seen here was rough but almost entirely original when it was found in Mexico by Howard Pine in 1987. Over the next ten years, it was restored to as-new condition by Evan Bell for the museum at his Irv Seaver BMW dealership in California.