I'm often asked if the /2 style Hella bar end signals can be used on plunger bikes. Certainly they can be, but if you want to be a little more period correct then this is what you should be looking for. This Hella accessory bar end turn signal is from the early 1950s and would have been used on the early singles and twins (only one shown - there would be one on each side of the handlebar).

After being gone for about 15 years, my old 1937 R17 is back! I found this bike in 1976. I was able to trace its ownership back to the original owner because one of the Vintage BMW club members at that time rode the original buyer over to the shop to pick it up when new! The engine and frame numbers each match the original ID tag. Even the cylinders and heads were stamped with the serial number on the R17, so all these parts are correct.

This is how the R17 looked when I found it in 1976. The original fenders were long gone, an Italian moped seat was bolted on for the rider, and a set of R69S carbs & exhausts completed the list of troubles. The bike DID start though! My Dad's old 1966 Chevy wagon is in the background - I borrowed this to bring the bike home! The core of this bike was solid though, and it was one of the rarer prewar twins, so it was worth the extra work.

With the help of a friend in Belgium I was able to acquire these original fenders for the R17 - and I was so glad to get them. In those days original sheet metal parts were the hardest things to find (they still are - but now many are being reproduced), and a lot of folks would pass up a bike if they were missing. The rusting remains of an NSU Kettenkrad can be seen in the background.

Once the fenders arrived the bike took a major step towards being "right"! The other missing parts were also found over the next few years. I was poking around the bike with some lacquer thinner and discovered that it had been painted white somewhere along the way as well.

This photo was taken in the early 1980s and shows two Rennsport racers owned by a fellow in Germany.

While I had a sample of both fenders here at the house, I thought I should capture the difference between an early and late plunger twin Bell fender. While the twins were coming through with all metal fork gaiters (1951-early 1952) the fenders were straight along the edge from the center brace to either end (see upper half of photo). Early in 1952 BMW switch to rubber fork gaiters, and along the way they changed the Bell fender to have a slight depression (see lower half of photo) just in front of the center brace (and behind the fork leg) to clear the new rubber gaiters better. And once again, these are different than the 1950 R51/2 Bell fender, which had a riveted on front brace unlike the two samples above.

Popular on the R50 and R60 series twins were these accessory exhaust header clamps. They slip over the exhaust header and clamp on to the chrome ring that holds the exhaust pipe to the engine. For a few dollars you can improve the cooling on your bike and (more importantly) make your R50 look like an R69S!

One down - two to go. Of the final three items on my super-unobtainium list, I was finally able to find a Rauch accessory headlight bucket. This is a very rare German aftermarket headlight bucket that holds two full size gauges - usually the original speedo and a full size tach next to it. Rauch also made this (above) THREE gauge bucket which would also hold a third smaller gauge (oil temp, cylinder head temp, etc.). All these Rauch headlights are rare and this is probably the hardest to find. It came to me via a three way trade that finally worked out! This bucket will go on my R50S.

This great looking unrestored red R60US found its way over to Japan from the States a few years ago. I had a chance to buy a similar machine about 8 years ago and foolishly passed it up because I wanted an R69US instead.