1938 BMW R71

This beautiful 1938 BMW R71 is available from MAX BMW Motorcycles.   This piece of BMW history comes from us from a great friend of the shop with an extensive BMW collection that spans BMW Motorrad's history from 1923 to the 1980s.

This R71 comes from one of his friends he met through racing.  Walter Hanns, a BMW racer, enthusiast and bike builder kept this R71 in his living room.   

1938 BMW R71: A Timeless Classic 

Offered by MAX BMW Motorcycles, this 1938 BMW R71 is a pristine example of pre-war BMW Motorrad engineering, steeped in history and collector appeal. Sourced from a close friend of the shop with an extensive BMW collection spanning from 1923 to the 1980s, this R71 carries a unique provenance, tied to a German motorcycle racer and enthusiast named Walter Hanns, who is said to have cherished it enough to display it in his living room. 

Introduced at the Berlin Motor Show on February 18, 1938, the BMW R71 was the last in BMW’s 750cc class to feature a side-valve engine, marking a transitional moment in the company’s motorcycle lineage. With only approximately 3,458 units produced from 1938 to 1941, the R71 is a rare find today, as many were destroyed during World War II. Its design was a milestone, introducing a welded tubular steel frame—a departure from the pressed steel frames of earlier models like the R12—and a plunger-type rear suspension, first proven in the 1937 Six Day Race.

The 1938 BMW R71 is powered by a 746cc, air-cooled, four-stroke, boxer twin-cylinder engine with a side-valve configuration, producing 22 hp at 4,600 rpm and a top speed of 125 km/h (78 mph). Its 5.5:1 compression ratio, fed by two Graetzin G24 carburetors, delivered torquey performance ideal for long-distance travel and military applications. The engine, derived from the earlier R12, was paired with a four-speed manual gearbox and a dry, single-plate clutch, driving the rear wheel via a shaft final drive—a BMW hallmark

This R71 offers a rare opportunity to own a piece of Motorrad history.