There's no shortage of classic BMWs on British roads. A commitment to good design and engineering and top quality materials means that plenty older Beemers have outlived their contemporaries, and still continue to cover huge mileages in the hands of lucky owners. But almost all classic Beemers seem to be variants on the flat twin engine design, and it's easy to forget that the German factory once had a range of of shaft driven 250cc singles in the catalogue as well. In fact the 250 singles started with the R39 first launched in 1925, and continued until 1967 when the R27 marked the last of the breed.

What you see here is a 1959 R26 owned by Keith Rainbird, who has a remarkable story to tell. Keith's engineer father served in WW2 in what is now southern Iraq. He came home impressed by the quality of the BMW motorcycles he had seen in the desert, and subsequently bought a late model R27 to ride himself. Now this wasn't an easy decision back in 1961 when a new BMW single would set you back some £330, around the same price as a contemporary British 500. But Keith's dad loved the Beemer so much he began to accumulate more bikes for spares and ended up, inevitably, with a shed full of BMW singles and bits. So it was that Keith was presented with this R26 as a seventeenth Birthday present back in 1974. The bike was a non-runner and was in rather a sorry state, so back into the shed it went until Keith had time to devote to putting it back on the road.

Over the years the little BMW was almost forgotten as Keith built a career as a Marine Engineer and re-located to the North. Some two years ago he unearthed the bike once more, and resolved to have it rebuilt so he could at last enjoy the birthday present he had waited so long to ride. Now even as an engineer Keith could tell that specialist attention would be required to get the Beemer up and running again, so he took it along to specialist bike restorer Alfie Noakes.

Alfie completely stripped the bike and subjected it to a close scrutiny to see how much damage had been wrought by the passage of time. Much of the metalwork had suffered, both the petrol tank and rear mudguard peppered with rust holes to such an extent that Alfie says the mudguard resembled "a lace curtain". In addition he found an old brazed repair to a lower frame rail, a known weak spot on the R25 and R26. The 1961-on R27 had a rubber mounted engine, much kinder on both rider and cycle parts. Other than that the parts were in surprisingly good condition, the motor only requiring new gaskets and seals and new rings to fit the first oversize piston fitted in an earlier age.

In fact the whole restoration proved to be a fairly straightforward, if time-consuming, process. Most parts were readily available from specialist dealer John Lawes in Derby (Tel 01332 298523), the only hold up occurring on the replacement gearbox bushes which took almost three months to arrive. Alfie himself took care of paint duties, the quality of his work reflected in the immaculate hand painted coachlines. Access to an original (and remarkably detailed) BMW parts list meant Alfie could even duplicate the original finish on the fasteners, all of which were painstakingly re-finished rather than simply replaced with off the shelf stainless items. Steve Lomas at Five One Wheels (Tel 01507 343313) rebuilt the wheels, and John Lawes took care of reconditioning the dampers.

A new seat, wiring loom, battery and exhaust completed the job, though when I saw the bike the speedo had become temperamental and was to be removed from the bike for servicing. The only deviation from standard spec is in the charging system, where Alfie opted to use a modern solid-state regulator instead of the antiquated mechanical original.

Finally the bike was ready for the road in June 2002, and after a wait of 28 years Keith was at last able to ride his seventeenth birthday present. When I asked him if it had been worth the wait he simply smiled and handed me the keys, insisting I take the bike for a spin around the delightful country lanes deep in the Vale of York.

The BMW 250 singles are known as rather sedate plodders, a reputation in part gained by the post war R25/3 which developed a modest 13 BHP. The R26 has a higher compression engine giving a modest power gain to 15 BHP, sufficient to propel the bike up to a quoted top speed of 75 MPH. It's still no road burner, but Keiths delightful R26 felt quite at home on the country lanes and will cruise all day at 50 - 60 MPH, only steep gradients making the engine work hard.

The R26 was the first model with swinging arm suspension and Earles forks, and I found the front end a little ponderous at low speeds until I got the feel of it. At cruising speeds the bike is reassuringly stable and forgiving, and the sprung saddle is comfortable enough to invite a full days riding without aches and pains. I did find some vibration present (as remarked upon by road testers of the era), mostly thought the footrests, but never enough to cause real discomfort. The later R27 had another power hike to 18 BHP and gained rubber engine mountings, which made it both faster and smoother to ride. In fact the R27 was one of the fastest 250s on British roads in the early sixties, second only to the sporty NSU Max, and hardly the sedate plodder of legend.

The final postscript to this tale involves the other bikes left over in Keith's dad's garage. Keith's two brothers have been so impressed by the restoration that the other two surviving bikes have now made their way into Alfie's workshop fo attention, and next summer should see all three brothers on a fleet of matching restored BMW singles. Like father, like sons!

Specification:

1959 BMW R26
Bore & Stroke: 68 x 68mm BHP: 15 @ 6400 RPM
Compression Ratio: 7.5:1
Wet Sump Lubrication
Tyres: 3.25x18 front & rear.
Brakes: 6" diameter SLS drums
Fuel tank capacity: 15 litres
Seat height: 31"
Wheelbase: 54"
Weight: 348 Lbs
Top Speed: 75 MPH approx
Fuel consumption: 70 - 80 MPG
Price new in 1956: £263

Rod Gibson.