Classic motorcycles attain desirability for any number of reasons, but every once in a while we come across one that checks every conceivable box?in this case?the BMW RS M255 Kompressor. At its core, we?re talking about a Grand Prix-winning motorcycle of staggering mechanical specification?designed with lightweight magnesium hubs and engine cases, and a vane-type supercharger delivering 15 psi. It?s also a witness to one of the most tumultuous periods in history, having been developed and raced in the late 1930s, and surviving the subsequent chaos of the Second World War. Rare from day one, BMW estimates no more than 10 were produced, and just seven are believed to exist today.
BMW has always enjoyed a reputation for technological innovation, and considering the firm started experimenting with forced induction on motorcycles as early as the 1920s, it?s safe to say they?ve earned it. BMW Motorrad was still in its infancy during these days, having pivoted from aircraft engines to motorcycles after World War One and the resulting merger with Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFw) in 1922.
While BMW was still learning how to make road racing bikes that could compete with the Brits, they weren?t wasting time elsewhere and looked to flat-out speed records to put BMW on the map. Just seven short years after BMW built their first motorcycle, Ernst Jakob Henne set a world speed record on a supercharged 750 cc BMW at 134.6 mph (216.7 km/h), and by 1937, he?d set new records as fast as 17...