2009 Concours d’Elegance

First in Class Winner

Introduced in 1952, the E95 was a much-redesigned version of the E90 horizontal twin, which was known as the Porcupine due to the spiky finning on the cylinder head.  The original design was drawn pre-WWII when supercharging was legal.  When racing resumed in the 40s, supercharging was banned and the Porcupine was uncompetitive.  With the redesign, cylinders were given a 45° angle to shorten the wheelbase to improve handling. While fast, the machines were not reliable, and in 1954 were abandoned in favor of the G45 twin, a race version of the G9 street bike.

Check out the feature article on the Museum's E95 at Motorcycleclassics.com.
 

Pebble Beach photos courtesy of Bob Stokstap Photography