Although this 1941 BMW R12 isn’t painted in traditional military colors, owner John Covington, Fullerton, California, assures it is indeed a military model, pointing to a Wehrmacht logo, a stylized war bird gripping a swastika, adorning the bike. The R12 has a stamped-steel frame, single carburetor and is also the first production motorcycle with a hydraulically damped fork.
After 10 years of searching, Covington found the bike on eBay in late 2001 for $5,000; it was largely stock except for its reproduction fenders. He’s had the crank rechromed and the cylinders Nikasil plated, installed new pistons, replaced the connecting rods and rebuilt the transmission, hubs and final drive. He also replaced the seals and relined the brakes. “Most BMWs of this era have bullet holes,” Covington tells me, as any…