BMW presented the R32 to the public for the first time in at the Paris Motorcycle Show in 1923.
It was the first motorcycle made under the BMW name. Designed and manufactured for Victoria Werke AG of Nuremberg, it came with a 494cc air-cooled horizontally-opposed, four stroke engine capable of producing 8hp at 3,200 rpm. Top speed was a nippy 59 mph (95 kph).
Unlike other motorcycle manufacturers, which used a total-loss oiling system, BMW used a a recirculating wet sump oiling system and a major innovation with the use of a driveshaft instead of a chain to drive the rear wheel.
The engine found its way and main use in Victoria motorcycles, although intended as a portable industrial engine (ditch pump, anyone?)
