1958 BMW R69 with Very Rare Hoske Tank

Offered for auction is this very original and complete 1958 BMW R69. According the BMW Archives. this machine was manufactured on January 15th. 1958. and delivered to Butler & Smith in New York City on May 16th of that year. It came from the factory with the small bench seat that you see on the bike. The original low lip Weinmann rims are still on the bike as well. For almost all of its life. this bike has also be running a Hoske tank. This one is a very rare Hoske model Rennsporttank V (RS 5). The RS 5 was the top of the line Hoske of the period. In viewing the Hoske catalog from the 1960s you can see that this tank has the styling of the more common RS 1 tank. but it is larger at 36 liters total capacity (approximately 9. 5 US gallons) - rivaling the Heinrich tanks of the period. Once you restore this bike back to a gleaming black finish. it will be the center of attention at any bike gathering. This BMW was parked in 1983. and the previous owner removed the front & rear fenders. the headlight & tailight. and had them sandblasted and primed - and that is how it was left sitting for most of the next 30 years. The engine turns over. but it is not currently running (the harness is disconnected from the switch. which was also removed when the headlight was sandblasted - the original switch is included with the bike). This is a matching serial number engine. frame and ID tag. with a matching number title. It also has the correct 1/26/9 & 1/26/10 carbs. The R69 models are finally getting the interest that they deserve from collectors. having been passed over by many for the more common R69S. The R69 is a direct continuation of the original R68. where the engine was lifted out off and dropped into this new double swingarm frame. During its six years in production. only 2. 56 machines were built - which is about the same average rate per year as the R68. People forget that in the late 1950s. motorcycle sales and production were on the decline everywhere. and production numbers on this top of the line R69 were only in the "hundreds" of bikes per year. It was not until the early 1960s that BMW's fortunes started to turn around. So this is your chance to add a very rare machine to your collection. Please ask all questions before bidding. Payment must be received within one week of auction end. and pickup/shipment should be completed within one month of auction end. Personal checks are fine. but this will delay pickup/shipment. Overseas bids are welcome. but I cannot help with shipping estimates. I can deliver this bike to the Oley PA Antique Motorcycle Club meet at the end of April for no-charge if that is of interest to the buyer. but the payment terms remain the same. Sorry but I do not end auctions early. Good luck bidding!

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