8 July 2019

When the motorcycle legend Helmut Dähne says something, fans listen very precisely. This was also the case at the BMW Motorrad Days last weekend, when the 74-year-old Munich icon related the story of his most successful start out of 26 at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man: victory astride a BMW R 90 S in 1976. Today, this machine is as legendary as its rider – generating power of 67 hp and with a top speed of 200 km/h, BMW was extremely well placed in the trend for very powerful machines during the 1970s.

The concept of “media server” sounds technical and rather mundane. Actually, a name like “treasure trove” would be more appropriate in this case. Thousands of photos and videos (plus accompanying information) of events from past years are available on the download server of BMW Group Classic. There is also information about special topics like the M5 story. Professional images from a number of years of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Goodwood Festival of Speed and other highlights of the classic scene are all available free of charge for editorial purposes. Sometimes you get the best ideas for stories when you’re data mining . . .

The memorable victory ride by Troy Corser at the Goodwood Revival last year is unforgettable. It almost eclipsed a record by the Australian superbike legend astride the BMW R57 from the year 1929. Corser rode the fastest lap of the entire weekend and broke the circuit time record for historic motorcycles. This video allows you to enjoy the highlight once more without any spoken commentary. Instead, you can enjoy the full-blown acoustic impact of a twin-cylinder supercharged Boxer engine.

Clear vision when driving in the dark is also a must for fans of classic vehicles. What a good thing that BMW included a headlamp washer system in its product range for many models at an early stage. One example was the BMW 5 Generation. And if the “light shower” stops working at some point, the Parts Shops of BMW Group Classic has a selection of various authentic replacement parts which provide clean illumination for the classic BMW 5 Series.