Maybe not breaking news nor any interesting spy photos, but seeing Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs riding a beemer has put a grin on our faces. BMW motorcycles stand for German ingenuity, engineering, long distance comfort, durability, understated but elegant designs.
While not as popular in the U.S. as brands like Harley Davidson, BMW Motorrad’s third largest market are represented by American consumers, with 9,168 BMW motorcycles registered in 2009.
Courtesy of Jalopnik, the photo below shows Apple’s then-and-current CEO, Steve Jobs, riding a 1966 BMW R60/2 motorcycle two years before even the original Macintosh was introduced. The picture was featured in the National Geographic Magazine
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| Apple CEO Steve Jobs |
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| Apple CEO Steve Jobs |
The R60 and R60/2 are 600 cc boxer twin BMW motorcycles that were manufactured from 1956 to 1969 in Munich, Germany. Some 20,133 of these 600 cc shaft-drive, opposed twin R60 (1956-1960, 28 hp), R60/2 (1960-1969, 30 hp), and R60US (1968-1969, 30 hp) were built. These models, except for those with the “US” designation, were designed primarily as rugged motorcycles to pull sidecars (mounting points were built in) and had duplex tubular steel frames.
The standard colors for these motorcycles was black with white pin striping, though special colors could be ordered. Indeed, the motorcycles could be ordered in any color that was being used at the time for BMW cars. A special case was Dover white. Michael Bondy, of the U.S.A. BMW importer Butler & Smith, sent BMW a can of that color paint, which was used on his 1942 Packard, and BMW duplicated it. He then ordered 50 motorcycles in that color.
Original prices for an R60/2
U.S. Price: $1,131 (1960) (2008 US$ 8217 after inflation)
U.S. Price: $1,236 (1965) (2008 US$ 8428)
U.S. Price: $1,364 (1969) (2008 US$ 8005)
Engine
* Internal designation 267 / 5
* Type four-stroke, two-cylinder, air-cooled boxer
* Bore/stroke 72 x 73 mm
Cubic capacity 594 cc (34 in.3)
Maximum power 30 HP at 5800 RPM
Compression ratio 7.5 : 1
Valves per cylinder 2
Carburation system 2 Bing 1/24/125-126 od. 1/24/133-134 od. 1/24/151-152
Engine lubrication forced-feed lubrication
Oil pump gear pump
Dimensions and Weights
Length x width x height 84 x 26 x 39 inches (2125 x 660 x 980 mm)
Wheel base 55.7 inch (1415 mm; with sidecar 1450 mm)
Tank capacity 4.5 US gallon (17 l) / optional 6.5 US gallon (24.6 l)
Unladen weight, full tank 430 lb (195 kg; with orig. BMW sidecar 320 kg)
Load rating 360 kg (with orig. BMW sidecaR600 kg)
Performance
Idle/riding noise 81/82 DIN-phon (from June 1967: 74 / 95 dB (A))
Fuel consumption 47.0 MPG (ca. 5.0 l / 100 km)
Oil consumption ca. 0.5 – 1 l / 1000 km
Top speed 90 mph (145 km/h)
