Frame Numbers on BMW Slash-2 Motorcycles

If its a re-paint (at least the frame) the frame number stamped on the steering neck will be covered with paint. From the factory it will be stamped after the paint job and usually by now the numbers will be slightly rusty and clearly stamped after the fact. If the frame number is covered with paint it is repainted. — John

Now, contrast the photo above with those below. These show original frame numbers stamped on two R60/2s, one black (left) and one Dover white (right). Note that it is clear that the stamping was done at the BMW factory after the frames were painted and the original paint was disturbed and some rust has settled into and around the numbers. The blue-gray frame below, left, is an interesting case. Customers could special order BMW motorcycles in the 1960s in any colors in which BMW cars could be ordered. But because they were one-off special orders, it appears likely in this case that BMW simply took a black frame out of inventory and repainted it in the special color that had been ordered. You can see that the frame number here is stamped on the frame after it had been painted blue-gray. But where some of the top paint has chipped away, you can see black paint beneath — the original color the frame had been painted for inventory. Therefore, this frame has original factory blue-gray paint, as evidenced by the rest of the parts on this particular motorcycle. Above, right: This paint on an R27 appears to be factory original, showing a number very similar in condition to that of the black R60/2 above. Below: here is the number from an original 1965 R69S. Number of site visits: