For many collectors, the BMW R68 model is the ultimate vintage BMW, guaranteed good for 100-plus MPH, but in the earlier plunger- suspension chassis and teardrop fuel tank that give sleeker, more elegant lines than the later Earles fork models. For true connoisseurs, however, the R68 in ISDT trim is the ultimate collectable postwar BMW, the true forbear of the GS line of adventure machines, with a successful provenance competing in the “Olympics of motorcycles.” The R68 line used BMW’s new 268/1 engine, which had bigger valves, a hotter camshaft, high-compression pistons and bigger carburetors than the rest of its lineup and produced 35 HP at 7,000 RPM, giving a top speed of 105 MPH and making it the fastest road bike BMW had ever produced. It was the last of the line of the plunger-frame models introduced in 1938, and the R68 was produced for only three years, 1952-54, with only 1,452 examples built, making it among the rarest of all BMW flat twins. When BMW displayed its prototype R68 at the Frankfurt motorcycle show in October 1951, it was presented in factory-racer ISDT trim, with a high-level exhaust, quick-release wheels, a shorter rear fender, a 21-inch front wheel, old-style fishtail mufflers, an engine bash plate, wider handlebars and a tiny Bosch tail lamp. BMW did not ultimately sell the R68 in racing trim but used low-level exhausts with cigar mufflers and a deeper rear fender. The factory did offer optional racing accessories, which included most of those parts seen on its factory ISDT racers, and a few riders converted them thus for trials and enduros, although only factory-built R68 racers were used in ISDT competitions. Thus, the R68 in ISDT trim has vexed BMW fans for generations, and it took until 1980 for the factory to get the message: “Build us off-road BMWs!” The company’s answer was the immortal GS series, and this R68 ISDT is their spiritual forbear. This amazing 1952 BMW R68 ISDT was professionally built to concours standards by a BMW expert and racer. It’s a triple- matching-numbers machine, and a previous Best of Show winner with only 245 miles currently on the odometer. S108.1 1952 BMW R68 ISDT
