1955–1969

Motorcycle sales in Europe plummeted as the 1950s progressed, with three of BMW's major German competitors going out of business in 1967. In 1954, BMW produced 30,000 motorcycles. By 1957, that number was less than 5,500.

In 1955, BMW began introducing a new range of motorcycles with Earles forks and enclosed drive shafts. These were the 19 kW (26 hp) BMW R 50, the 22 kW (30 hp) BMW R 60 and the sporting model BMW R 69 with 35 hp (26 kW). On June 8, 1959, John Penton rode a BMW R 69 from New York to Los Angeles in 53 hours and 11 minutes, slashing over 24 hours from the previous record.

By the late 1950s, the overall BMW company was in financial trouble. The company narrowly avoided a merger with Daimler-Benz through the combination of financing from brothers Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt, increased success of the automobile division and the selling off its aircraft engine division. Changes in the motorcycle market saw BMW's last shaft-driven single-cylinder model, the BMW R 27, end production in 1967. Also, most of BMW's offerings were still designed to be used with sidecars. However, by the late 1960s, sidecars were no longer a consideration of most riders; people were interested in sportier motorcycles instead. The BMW R 50/2, R 60/2, and R 69 S were the last sidecar-capable BMWs, with the latter being the most powerful and desirable model.

In the United States, sales of motorcycles were strong through the 1950s, in contrast to drastically declining sales in Europe. Later, specific "US" models were sold in the United States for the 1968 and 1969 model years: the BMW R 50 US, R 60 US and the R 69 US. These models were sold with telescopic forks (alongside other BMW models which were sold with Earles forks) and without sidecar lugs.