This motorcycle model belonged to the Guardia Civil. "Wanderlust", a word meaning passion for travel, was the word that best defined these German machines in the English-speaking world. Safety, reliability and dedication to comfort made BMW motorcycles especially attractive to drivers all over the world who were fans of long distance travel.

R was the letter that BMW used to designate motorcycles. This letter meant ”Rad”, the German abbreviation for “Motorrad”, or motorcycle. The BMW R / 50 began production in 1955 and ended in 1969.

The revolutionary Earles front fork gives character to these machines.This fork, developed by the Englishman Ernie Earles, permitted  the use of a system of suspension arms on both the front and rear of the machine. The system gave these vehicles extreme stability and avoided the fall of the front fork when braking. BMW managed to eliminate transmission by chain and sprockets, which was a source of noise, buzzing and dirt, and engineers chose an almost equal system to the automobile, a drive shaft connected to a pinion and a bevel gear on the rear wheel., BMW has installed this system on their motorbikes for over100 years. Few products in the world can boast a tradition that has lasted so long.