Flanders Company accessory catalog for the /2 (slash 2) BMW motorcycle
Flanders Company, Accessories for /2 BMW Motorcycles
These are scans of a Flanders Company catalog from 1968 or 69. Flanders Co. was owned by Earl Flanders, and his firm was the distributor for the West Coast. Butler and Smith was the importer, and they contracted Flanders for distribution to the Rocky Mountains and west. In 1972 B & S took over the entire USA market. I hope that you will learn about the products for BMW Motorcycles and note the prices. Current Flanders Products. For faster loading, I have thumbnailed all of the pages.
Front page showing the new telescopic forks (Teledraulic Fork) that are denoted by the suffix, US.
Pg. 2 Table of contents
Pg. 3 patches, decals, pins, button, key fob, Zippo lighter
Pg. 4 BMW posters, and tank badge (emblem or logo)
Pg. 5 Seats (not all of them were available) More about seats on this page https://w6rec.com/746-2/. Seats, and parts for seats on S. Meyer’s site
Pg. 6 shows the Flandershield R-400 (handlebar fairing, windshield). I sold them for Earles forks, but never once heard them referred to as a Flandershield. We did not sell them for the telescopic fork models, as they caused them to wobble.
Pg. 7 Fairing parts. This is scanned larger to give details.
Pg. 8 Saddlebags, The upper left were the most common. The other 3 were rare, or not sold in the USA. More about period saddlebags on this page.
Pg. 9 shows luggage racks and safety bars. All forms of crash bar are unsafe on a BMW motorcycle. The least risky was the upper left type, but they were a pain to swing out of the way for valve adjustments. The most dangerous was the upper right loop type. The lower left was “in-between” in safety. I saw very few of the lower right type. You are invited to read my page on crash bars.
Pg. 10 shows mirrors, footpegs, headlight rim, and guard, hub cover, and nut. The chrome hub cover and nut are not from BMW but done just for Butler and Smith. Notice the suffix “a” on the part number.
Pg. 11 Control cables (Bowden) and handgrips.
Pg. 12 Gas tanks. Chrome sided small tank sometimes called a “Parade tank.” I don’t recall ever seeing one on a bike.
Pg. 13 Handlebars, toolkit More info about toolkits on this page.
Pg. 14 shows luggage straps, gas cap, registration holder (required for California in those days)
Pg. 15 shows a Bulb kit, Drive Shaft Boot, Exhaust Flanges. These were the fake finned castings that clamped over the plain exhaust nuts of the R50 and R60. It gave the lower end models the “look” of the R69S. It did nothing for increased cooling.
Pg. 16 Air filters, spark plugs, and sponge ring. The sponge ring was to soak up the gas that commonly leaked out of the gas cap. The collected fuel would ruin the paint on the tank for about 1″ around the cap. I always suggested removal of the ring and, instead, use a blue rubber gasket from a VW because they sealed.
Pg. 17 Flanders side stand, lock kit, tires. This is the ugly stand made by Flanders. It was somewhat better than the stock one. The best of that era was the Hall Bracket stand. Now it is duplicated and sold as the Brown Stand.
Pg. 18 Workshop, flat rate, and rider manuals.
Pg. 19 Information ( I included it just to have it all displayed)
Back page
Updated 13 Nov. 2019