BMW R69S
Back in 1961, a BMW motorcycle dealer in West London loaded up their van and travelled to the Montlhéry circuit in France. Their cargo? A 594cc flat-twin motorcycle, carefully prepared and fitted with a Peel full fairing. The objective? To break the 24-hour record, set just a week before by Velocette.
The team from MLG proceeded to steer the boxer twin round the circuit for the next planetary rotation, shattering both the 12-hour record as well as the main target. The BMW raised the average speed from the recently set 100.05mph of the Velocette to staggering 109.24mph, and at a 34mpg.
This record remained unbroken for nearlt a decade, requiring the best efforts of the mighty Kawasaki Z1 to nudge it to 109.64mph on the banked circuit of Daytona in 1972. The BMW also proved itself to be utterly dominant in endurance racing, winning both the 1961 24-hour race in Montjuic, as well as the Silverstone 600-mile event.
OK, we get it; BMW boxers are as reliable as the tides. But are they exciting? Can they even be, dare I saytime to add a little context. This‘Living with Legends'series is all about using a bike on a regular basis for at least 1000 miles, as opposed to a quick whizz up and down the nearest twisty road.
