Do you think motorcycles were better in the scout role than their car or half-track counterparts? Welcome back! If you are new here make sure to hit subscribe to expand your knowledge on Military History and join the growing Premier History Community!
Personally, I love motorcycles and sidecars but boy are you vulnerable. Farmer Joe with his shotgun is gonna clean you up. Not to mention wire across the road. A solo bike would be great for courier work as it is today for home delivery.
As already mentioned the motorbikes failed in the East in ww2. There were nearly no paved roads in Russia. The weather is harsh with plenty of mud in spring and autumn and temperatures far below 0 in winter. German motorbikes broke down after several weeks to month. The main question is why the Wehrmacht did not use that plenty of them in the West 43 - 45?
@@gratefulguy4130 In 1939 the German car industry had not the same performance as today. It was small and fragmented compared to North America. The motor bike was an opportunity in 1939 to motorize significant parts of the Wehrmacht. The German half tracks were complexe and were never built in the quantities as the M3 or as required to motorize large parts of the Wehrmacht.
Good video but Three important points missing. Firstly, the BMW combination had a selectable 2 wheel drive system to aid getting through extreme terrain. Secondly it had a reverse gear to allow a machine gun ambush team to deliver their devastating fire from the MG42 mounted on the sidecar and then reverse fast out of their camouflaged position to escape the return fire once they had given away their position by firing. Thirdly whilst the top speed was around 95KMs per hour, it had a low ratio selector which allowed it to match the speed of marching infantry at just 4 Kms per hour all day without overheating.
I've still got 2 boxed plus the best one 1.6 scale Esci motorcycle and sidecar plus the mg34 of course, Dare not make it in case I ruin it had it many yrs.
The Soviets did more than copy the German motorcycle, they captured an entire factory that produced them in Berlin in 1945 and shipped it entirely to Russia, where they continued to produce the 1945 model BMW (minus any logo) right until the end of the Cold War. Perhaps they’re still making them, if anyone has more recent information, please let us know.
The Chinese copies of the Urals were used in the countryside by farmers as basic transportation all the way to the 2000s. Now they are collectors items.
The R75, copied by the USSR ( captured a factory) and called " Ural" was eventually sold to PRChina, which still produces the R75 today. The "Copy" is so close, that Chinese parts can replace originals on restored WWII BMW R75s.
More BS from an ignoramus. The M-72 was a licensed copy of the R71, BMW did offer the R75 to the Soviets, but the conditions were unacceptable. The PRC built a copy of the 1956 IMZ M-72, a side valve, not OHV motorcycle, lacking sidecar wheel drive. The M-72 was built years before the capture of the Eisenach, and Eisenach continued to produce BMW R35s after the war as well as short run prototypes.
I have read that the German cycles with sidecar and dual rear wheel drive had better over all performance. The firepower of a few well placed MG-34s or MG-42s was nothing to be sneezed at. Many time an entire allied infantry division could be held up for over a day at choke points in the push across France by just a few German MGs. The fuel economy of the motorcycles was prolly important for the petrol poor Reich.
Nimble and quick on rough tracks and off road. They could fan out and really give good feedback on everything. In a vehicle your body is hidden somewhat and protected. On a bike you're highly visible to anyone shooting.
Motorcycles are amazing for adverse terrain, but not immune nor impervious to all obstacles; I grew up being taught that every tool has it's place, but no tool is the "end all, be all"; It's a great thing to have available, but not to completely rely on.
4:23 Because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact the Soviets were given the blueprints of the BMW R75 before the war. Germany itself decided that the Zündapp KS750 was the better bike and forced BMW to build those instead.
1:35 There was a German Triumph started by the German brothers who started Triumph in Coventry. Its insignia was different and they went on to make typewriters after WWII.
My dad and his mate used a captured Zundapp outfit as personal transport in North Africa, it met its end on the Cairo to Alex desert road when they hit a crater in the Dark 🤪
Motorcycles were used as motorised infantry in the Panzer and Motorised divisions until 1942-43 when they were phased out. This was primarily due to the heavy casualities among the battalions. In addition, supplies of armoured half tracks started to improve allowing the expansion of the armoured infantry battalions, although they never completely replaced the truck for transport. The recon battalions of the second half of the war recieved increased supply of Sdkfz 250 light armoured half tracks which were often supplied to recon units, along with the 8 Rad armoured car and the left over Panzer IIs. Motorcycles were left over as supply vehicles, hq units etc for general purpose use.
You are wrong. The Ural and Dnepr motorcyce companies were originally produced under license following the Ribbentrop-Molotov non- aggression pact. After the German attack in June of 1941, Russia stopped paying the licensing fees. Those 2 companies still exist and produce the exact same R75 750 cc motorcycles.
The Dnepr name was first used in 1967 for an OHV motorcycle that shares almost nothing with the original R71. The Ural name was first used in 1961 for an OHV motorcycle still loosely based on the R71. Dnepr went out of production years. Neither motor is based on an R75. The original plans were for the motorcycles to be made in Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov, Taganrog and Penza.
KMZ, which was the manufacturer of Dnepr sidecars, did not produce the M-72 until 1950. Before that it built the Wanderer 100, which was taken in reparations. KMZ went bankrupt well over ten years ago and no longer exists. The motorcycles were never based on the R75. You haven't a clue about this subject. You sprout nonsense out of your arse!
@@hodaka1000 No, even the sidecars are not the same. The original Stoye sidecar (not Steib like idiots keep claiming), had a defect in that the sub axle would break. The Soviets added an over arm to support the axle on both sides. In late 1956 sidecar wheel suspension was added via a torsion bar. Later on the chassis were modified to swingarm and shock absorber suspension. Whilst the Ural and Dnepr sidecar chassis seem the same there are differences in the swingarm mountings. Dnepr also deleted the boot lid, and access to the boot is via the seat back. Dimensions are also slightly different for easier manufacturing, and rear sidecar mounting systems are different.
I guess a question I would ask. Of the countries that used and deployed motorcycles during the war. What country had the best ones? In regards to range and reliability?
I have a restored BMW R12 (Werhmacht version) in my workshop, in top condition and original colour. It's amazing well they were made. In my opinion far better then HD and the English bikes. Especially off-road, topspeed 120 Km/h.
please do a video on these (this is a copy and paste list for a few channels) units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches) like the 82 snd 101 airborne units or infantry tank units, (or when tanks were assigned a infantry unit like i think earlier war Russia then all tanks were formed into there own units wich meant the infantry no longer knew the true strength of there own tanks but alowed tank units to fight more efficiently) the tank doctrine of countries evaluation of tank veiw ports evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries evaluation of aircraft types of different countries, different between navil and army/air force fighters logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2 ww1 estern front tactics Russian Civil war tactics and strategies navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works) evaluation of types of ships or evaluation of navil warfare (or just dedectsded videos on ww1 and ww2 navil doctrine as theres stuff out there on other times of history) air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries) ancient persan ships, ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser) ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic the vernesain republic government all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out) ancient macenean greek and trojan troops 2b9 vasilyok morter tactics used so far in the Ukraine war, better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3, and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks, ancient urban warfare ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war) tactics in the ruso jap war cold war navil tactics, Korean war tactics, strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil how were 17th centry sailing ships build types of bombs lunched by drones comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say) why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations) why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
Pre War, the Germans sold the rights to the Soviet Union to build the BMW R71, a 750cc motorcycle that had side valves, making it a flat-head engine. The R71 was a workhorse, was fitted with a sidecar usually, and was simplistically reliable. The later Russian bikes, the Ural and the Dnepr, came from the R71 design. As with most products in the Communist world, the Soviets sold/shared the BMW R71 with China. China then produced the Chang Jiang 750, a really close copy of a BMW R71. I owned/rode a Chang Jiang for 12 years, and it was one of the best vehicles that I've ever owned. Riding with a sidecar is not fun, so that came off quickly. I would get remarks and compliments everywhere I went. And I eventually transformed it into a BMW R71 with paint and emblems, and remounting the front fender as the Germans had it. I survived two accidents on my Chinese BMW, and so did it. The German designs are brilliant, and they lost WW2 because of production numbers.
The R71 was a POS and it took the Soviets years to make a decent outfit out of it, but the R12 was too primitive and the R75 was not going to be available for years, so the R71 was chosen.
Рік тому
@@peterwilliams2152 You are wrong about the R71. Even Harley Davidson copied the BMW R71 to build it's XA.
@ I'm not wrong. Even BMW stopped making them for 1940, and only resumed production in early 1941 to train Soviet workers. And the Wehrmacht never purchased the R71, the only Government purchasers were the Reichspostministerium, and the Zollgrenzschutz. The R71 only had an 18mm gudgeon pin which broke, a single plate clutch which slipped, a plunger set-up that broke, a final drive ratio that was totally unsuitable etc. The Soviets modified all those flaws and many others. Delco produced a convertible motorcycle/trike based on the R71 in 1939, because GM had purchase licensing rights for BMW in the US. H-D had decided to purchase a R71 in 1939 to basically copy as a civilian model and were well placed to offer the Army a prototype for testing. Indian had purchased a R51, again in 1939, to develop a civilian model, thus plungers appearing on the Chief and Four, and the frame, gearbox and shaft drive of the 841. They also developed a new four engine to fit the 841 frame. H-D also developed an OHV engine from the XA engine, four of which were Supplied to Willys for the WAC (Willys Air Cooled), air droppable Jeep. If you don't know what you are talking about, don't comment.
The R71 was not a workhorse and was rejected by the Wehrmacht. The R75 was a compromise, essentially a copy of the KS750, for BMW to avoid building the Zündapp. The initial model, the R72 was rejected. BMW were permitted to build 20,000 R75 before converting to building the Zündapp. The Soviets refined the refined the R71 as the M-72. In 1956, the M-72M appeared, and in 1957, the IMZ M-72 production line was transferred to the PRC. The Chang Jiang Model 1957 aka M1, was an R71 with all its many defects corrected by IMZ. Anyone with any knowledge of these bikes can easily spot a faux BMW instantly. The R71 was not BMW's finest motorcycle.
The US Army shipped few motorcycles overseas because jeeps were simply better at almost anything a motorcycle could do. The Germans would have been much better off replacing their sidecar motorcycles with kubelwagen, which actually required less skilled labor and fewer labor hours to produce, but they never had the time or the resources to switch production and had to keep building what they could make.
Yes and no. If you get stuck, you can lift a bike out of a ditch with your own hands, and it can go where a Jeep can't. And also, a 4-wheeler is easier to spot from above.
On a bike your hands get cold. Without a proper helmet your face would freeze too. The Americans at least gave the rider the protection of a canvas screen. I can't imagine a Russian winter. Yep. You'de die.
The Soviet copy of the BMW R-71 was the M-72. It's design was licensed to the Russians from the Germans during the period of the "Non aggression pact". Many parts of the Russian machine will interchange with the BMW. After the war, the Soviets continued to build the M-72 series of bikes until the late 1950s. In around 1957 or 1958 they gave the design, and a lot of parts to China, who continued to build them in government factories until 2002. After that date, various "mom and pop" companies continue to produce them for foreign collectors, although the quality is quite poor. In 1985 China began producing an improved version with 12 volt, electric start, (as well as kick start) and reverse gear. These were called the Chang Jiang M1M. The standard 6 volt veeesion is called the M1.
The Britt's captured a BMW early in the war. It was sent to Plumstead where Matchless copied the telescopic forks which then made its way onto the G3L forever known as the teledraulic forks.....BMW won the 1939 IoM TT with Georg Meier.
After seeing how well the German bikes performed in the hot desert climate in Africa, Harley tried to copy the opposed twin in the XA model. Didn't work for them
I've viewed hundreds of WWII film clips and the Germans certainly show motorcycles more often than the allied forces. I believe then, and now, that the military style BMW was superior to other WWII motorcycles. There are still many WWII BMWs for sale now-a-days. To counter, I have only seen one American WWII military motorcycle for sale in the last umpteen years.. WHY? Because more ex GIs had the money to purchase used military bikes? And rode then to junk? I don't know. Right now I know where one BMW WWII military style, w/sidecar is for sale just a couple of hundred miles from me.
After the North Africa campaign, The Allies realized they wouldn't need shaft driven motorcycles to carry on their continental conquest of German occupied Europe.( in My opinion; The BMW R75, Zundapp 750 motorcycles would performed brilliantly for the Allies over chained-driven motorcycles in their re- conquest of Continental Europe...)
The sidecar wheel was a driving wheel and they had high and low ratio giving them 8 forward and 2 reverse gears. They were also shaft driven. Way ahead of their time. In russia they still make them they are called URAL and they are exported all over, or they were before the sanctions and russiaphobia started
Today there are Toyota Technicals, but not Motorcycles with sidecars with rockets, mortars (in the side car seat) and AI controlled forward looking machines guns. 2 Bad.
During 1940s or ww2, Germany had well maintained & modern weapons and Technology than Allied forces & Russian Military.. But the Soviets had Military coars & Hats tgat kept the Soviet soldiers warmer compared to others. Logistics wise, Russian troops were fed poorly compared to Allied & German soldiers.
Do you think motorcycles were better in the scout role than their car or half-track counterparts?
Welcome back! If you are new here make sure to hit subscribe to expand your knowledge on Military History and join the growing Premier History Community!
Welp the US military (include SF/SOF operators) in recent years use motorcycles.
Personally, I love motorcycles and sidecars but boy are you vulnerable. Farmer Joe with his shotgun is gonna clean you up. Not to mention wire across the road.
A solo bike would be great for courier work as it is today for home delivery.
As already mentioned the motorbikes failed in the East in ww2.
There were nearly no paved roads in Russia. The weather is harsh with plenty of mud in spring and autumn and temperatures far below 0 in winter. German motorbikes broke down after several weeks to month.
The main question is why the Wehrmacht did not use that plenty of them in the West 43 - 45?
They both have their niche
@@gratefulguy4130 In 1939 the German car industry had not the same performance as today. It was small and fragmented compared to North America.
The motor bike was an opportunity in 1939 to motorize significant parts of the Wehrmacht. The German half tracks were complexe and were never built in the quantities as the M3 or as required to motorize large parts of the Wehrmacht.
Good video but Three important points missing. Firstly, the BMW combination had a selectable 2 wheel drive system to aid getting through extreme terrain. Secondly it had a reverse gear to allow a machine gun ambush team to deliver their devastating fire from the MG42 mounted on the sidecar and then reverse fast out of their camouflaged position to escape the return fire once they had given away their position by firing. Thirdly whilst the top speed was around 95KMs per hour, it had a low ratio selector which allowed it to match the speed of marching infantry at just 4 Kms per hour all day without overheating.
I had the classic 1:35 BMW R75 model from Tamiya way back and the sidecar mounted machine-gun still fascinates me.
A beautiful machine for sure
Still have mine.And the Zundapp and DKW.
I've still got 2 boxed plus the best one 1.6 scale Esci motorcycle and sidecar plus the mg34 of course, Dare not make it in case I ruin it had it many yrs.
The Soviets did more than copy the German motorcycle, they captured an entire factory that produced them in Berlin in 1945 and shipped it entirely to Russia, where they continued to produce the 1945 model BMW (minus any logo) right until the end of the Cold War. Perhaps they’re still making them, if anyone has more recent information, please let us know.
Urinal cycles still availible new!! Not sure if russian or chineee take away..
The Ural motorcycle has become quite reliable and due to the sidecar wheel also pushing the off road abilities are very good.
They were called Dnepers. I have one in a crate made in ~1981 in Leningrad.
I think the Chinese also copied the Russian copies…
The Chinese copies of the Urals were used in the countryside by farmers as basic transportation all the way to the 2000s. Now they are collectors items.
The R75, copied by the USSR ( captured a factory) and called " Ural" was eventually sold to PRChina, which still produces the R75 today.
The "Copy" is so close, that Chinese parts can replace originals on restored WWII BMW R75s.
More BS from an ignoramus. The M-72 was a licensed copy of the R71, BMW did offer the R75 to the Soviets, but the conditions were unacceptable. The PRC built a copy of the 1956 IMZ M-72, a side valve, not OHV motorcycle, lacking sidecar wheel drive. The M-72 was built years before the capture of the Eisenach, and Eisenach continued to produce BMW R35s after the war as well as short run prototypes.
@@peterwilliams2152Sir that side valve looks strange on a Motorcycle.
It's very bulky and heavy looking.
Great video!
A key point is that a motorcycle is cheap!
You get a lot for the money. Therefore it is likely to find roles where they would work.
Actually, the Zündapp KS750 and its BMW R75 were quite expensive.
Modern motorcycling is not cheap. Factor in maintenance, riding gear, and storage: it adds up quick. Source: daily rider, no car.
Better than horses or walking ;)
Always. 😂
I have read that the German cycles with sidecar and dual rear wheel drive had better over all performance. The firepower of a few well placed MG-34s or MG-42s was nothing to be sneezed at. Many time an entire allied infantry division could be held up for over a day at choke points in the push across France by just a few German MGs. The fuel economy of the motorcycles was prolly important for the petrol poor Reich.
Nimble and quick on rough tracks and off road. They could fan out and really give good feedback on everything.
In a vehicle your body is hidden somewhat and protected. On a bike you're highly visible to anyone shooting.
Its a Zundap 750 cc
Motorcycles are amazing for adverse terrain, but not immune nor impervious to all obstacles;
I grew up being taught that every tool has it's place, but no tool is the "end all, be all";
It's a great thing to have available, but not to completely rely on.
4:23 Because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact the Soviets were given the blueprints of the BMW R75 before the war.
Germany itself decided that the Zündapp KS750 was the better bike and forced BMW to build those instead.
The Soviets were not given the blueprints to the R75, but rather to the R71, which was licensed.
A DKW 350 to radziecki iż 49.Ural K750 Dniepr MW to późniejsze konstrukcję.
1:35 There was a German Triumph started by the German brothers who started Triumph in Coventry. Its insignia was different and they went on to make typewriters after WWII.
Motorcycles make sense in some places but military contractors would prefer to sell larger, more expensive vehicles with better profit margins.
I had a 200cc zundapp back in California in 1969 where i grew up. It was fun while it lasted but eventually broke down.
Yeah, well I had a 50cc Zundapp moped in 1968 in NZ. It was bloody terrible!
My dad and his mate used a captured Zundapp outfit as personal transport in North Africa, it met its end on the Cairo to Alex desert road when they hit a crater in the Dark 🤪
Motorcycles were used as motorised infantry in the Panzer and Motorised divisions until 1942-43 when they were phased out. This was primarily due to the heavy casualities among the battalions. In addition, supplies of armoured half tracks started to improve allowing the expansion of the armoured infantry battalions, although they never completely replaced the truck for transport. The recon battalions of the second half of the war recieved increased supply of Sdkfz 250 light armoured half tracks which were often supplied to recon units, along with the 8 Rad armoured car and the left over Panzer IIs. Motorcycles were left over as supply vehicles, hq units etc for general purpose use.
You are wrong. The Ural and Dnepr motorcyce companies were originally produced under license following the Ribbentrop-Molotov non- aggression pact. After the German attack in June of 1941, Russia stopped paying the licensing fees. Those 2 companies still exist and produce the exact same R75 750 cc motorcycles.
I know of this Ural Motorcycle it has a motor that is strange looking for a motorcycle being very bulky and protruding from the sides.
The Dnepr name was first used in 1967 for an OHV motorcycle that shares almost nothing with the original R71. The Ural name was first used in 1961 for an OHV motorcycle still loosely based on the R71. Dnepr went out of production years. Neither motor is based on an R75. The original plans were for the motorcycles to be made in Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov, Taganrog and Penza.
I wouldn't say they're exactly the same but apparently the sidecars are
KMZ, which was the manufacturer of Dnepr sidecars, did not produce the M-72 until 1950. Before that it built the Wanderer 100, which was taken in reparations.
KMZ went bankrupt well over ten years ago and no longer exists. The motorcycles were never based on the R75. You haven't a clue about this subject. You sprout nonsense out of your arse!
@@hodaka1000 No, even the sidecars are not the same. The original Stoye sidecar (not Steib like idiots keep claiming), had a defect in that the sub axle would break. The Soviets added an over arm to support the axle on both sides. In late 1956 sidecar wheel suspension was added via a torsion bar. Later on the chassis were modified to swingarm and shock absorber suspension. Whilst the Ural and Dnepr sidecar chassis seem the same there are differences in the swingarm mountings. Dnepr also deleted the boot lid, and access to the boot is via the seat back. Dimensions are also slightly different for easier manufacturing, and rear sidecar mounting systems are different.
Absolutely. For scout roles, I don't think the motorcycle could be beaten. They were also great for messenger roles.
Some technical details of the machines would have been interesting!!!
Good machine very beautiful
I guess a question I would ask. Of the countries that used and deployed motorcycles during the war. What country had the best ones? In regards to range and reliability?
As a former Suzuki and Kawasaki mechanic whose brother owned a few different BMW's, I'd say Germany. As far as I know the Allies didn't use sidecars.
@@redtobertshateshandles You don't know much. Try looking up the Norton 16 amongst many others.
@@retiredbore378 The H-D WLA with GAZ/GMZ sidecar was the most common outfit in the Red Army.
I’m a biker and I liked the vid. I do like BMW
Imagine yourself as a ww2 motorized infantryman, covering vast distances on bikes accompanying a huge army 😅
@@Peter-jo6yu yesssssssss
I have a restored BMW R12 (Werhmacht version) in my workshop, in top condition and original colour.
It's amazing well they were made. In my opinion far better then HD and the English bikes.
Especially off-road, topspeed 120 Km/h.
please do a video on these
(this is a copy and paste list for a few channels)
units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches)
like the 82 snd 101 airborne units
or infantry tank units, (or when tanks were assigned a infantry unit like i think earlier war Russia then all tanks were formed into there own units wich meant the infantry no longer knew the true strength of there own tanks but alowed tank units to fight more efficiently)
the tank doctrine of countries
evaluation of tank veiw ports
evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries
evaluation of aircraft types of different countries,
different between navil and army/air force fighters
logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2
ww1 estern front tactics
Russian Civil war tactics and strategies
navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works)
evaluation of types of ships
or evaluation of navil warfare (or just dedectsded videos on ww1 and ww2 navil doctrine as theres stuff out there on other times of history)
air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries)
ancient persan ships,
ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser)
ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic
the vernesain republic government
all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out)
ancient macenean greek and trojan troops
2b9 vasilyok morter
tactics used so far in the Ukraine war,
better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3,
and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal
how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks,
ancient urban warfare
ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war)
tactics in the ruso jap war
cold war navil tactics,
Korean war tactics,
strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil
how were 17th centry sailing ships build
types of bombs lunched by drones
comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say)
why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations)
why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot
alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
Il migliore esercito del mondo!
Pre War, the Germans sold the rights to the Soviet Union to build the BMW R71, a 750cc motorcycle that had side valves, making it a flat-head engine. The R71 was a workhorse, was fitted with a sidecar usually, and was simplistically reliable. The later Russian bikes, the Ural and the Dnepr, came from the R71 design.
As with most products in the Communist world, the Soviets sold/shared the BMW R71 with China. China then produced the Chang Jiang 750, a really close copy of a BMW R71.
I owned/rode a Chang Jiang for 12 years, and it was one of the best vehicles that I've ever owned. Riding with a sidecar is not fun, so that came off quickly. I would get remarks and compliments everywhere I went. And I eventually transformed it into a BMW R71 with paint and emblems, and remounting the front fender as the Germans had it. I survived two accidents on my Chinese BMW, and so did it.
The German designs are brilliant, and they lost WW2 because of production numbers.
The R71 was a POS and it took the Soviets years to make a decent outfit out of it, but the R12 was too primitive and the R75 was not going to be available for years, so the R71 was chosen.
@@peterwilliams2152 You are wrong about the R71. Even Harley Davidson copied the BMW R71 to build it's XA.
@ I'm not wrong. Even BMW stopped making them for 1940, and only resumed production in early 1941 to train Soviet workers. And the Wehrmacht never purchased the R71, the only Government purchasers were the Reichspostministerium, and the Zollgrenzschutz.
The R71 only had an 18mm gudgeon pin which broke, a single plate clutch which slipped, a plunger set-up that broke, a final drive ratio that was totally unsuitable etc. The Soviets modified all those flaws and many others.
Delco produced a convertible motorcycle/trike based on the R71 in 1939, because GM had purchase licensing rights for BMW in the US. H-D had decided to purchase a R71 in 1939 to basically copy as a civilian model and were well placed to offer the Army a prototype for testing. Indian had purchased a R51, again in 1939, to develop a civilian model, thus plungers appearing on the Chief and Four, and the frame, gearbox and shaft drive of the 841. They also developed a new four engine to fit the 841 frame. H-D also developed an OHV engine from the XA engine, four of which were Supplied to Willys for the WAC (Willys Air Cooled), air droppable Jeep.
If you don't know what you are talking about, don't comment.
The R71 was not a workhorse and was rejected by the Wehrmacht. The R75 was a compromise, essentially a copy of the KS750, for BMW to avoid building the Zündapp. The initial model, the R72 was rejected. BMW were permitted to build 20,000 R75 before converting to building the Zündapp. The Soviets refined the refined the R71 as the M-72. In 1956, the M-72M appeared, and in 1957, the IMZ M-72 production line was transferred to the PRC. The Chang Jiang Model 1957 aka M1, was an R71 with all its many defects corrected by IMZ. Anyone with any knowledge of these bikes can easily spot a faux BMW instantly. The R71 was not BMW's finest motorcycle.
This is very interesting especially from a historical point of view facinatingbnever the less
I owned restored R75, great bike
These should be reintroduced to the market, in the exact same way they were made back then.
They are , just go buy a Ural . Brand spanking new 1938 BMW with some important upgrades .
@@chrismclean980 Thank you.👍
@@chrismclean980 Completely unrelated to a 1938 BMW R71. Where do they find fools like you? In a cereal box?
ice presentation. Thank you. Don''t over look the NSU Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 used primarily on the Eastern Front.
The US Army shipped few motorcycles overseas because jeeps were simply better at almost anything a motorcycle could do. The Germans would have been much better off replacing their sidecar motorcycles with kubelwagen, which actually required less skilled labor and fewer labor hours to produce, but they never had the time or the resources to switch production and had to keep building what they could make.
Yes and no. If you get stuck, you can lift a bike out of a ditch with your own hands, and it can go where a Jeep can't. And also, a 4-wheeler is easier to spot from above.
2:25 at 0.25 slow speed view- foreign Wehrmacht ❤
Motorijders altijd een onderschatte eenheid geweest
Thats why they used Triumphs in the film the 'Great Escape' because the german bikes of the era were far to heavy!!!
Was the Kettenkrat an answer to the mudded east condition?
The NSU Kettenkrad was mainly used an destinated for the Gebirgsjäger and the Fallschirmjäger.
The Kubble wagon offered much more protection? Are you insane? Maybe protection from the weather but not small arms fire
On a bike your hands get cold. Without a proper helmet your face would freeze too. The Americans at least gave the rider the protection of a canvas screen.
I can't imagine a Russian winter.
Yep.
You'de die.
Read somewhere the 750cc BMW side car & mgn. 1200 bls. 28 hp.. Not sure if that was crewed.. 😊
The Soviet copy of the BMW R-71 was the M-72. It's design was licensed to the Russians from the Germans during the period of the "Non aggression pact". Many parts of the Russian machine will interchange with the BMW. After the war, the Soviets continued to build the M-72 series of bikes until the late 1950s. In around 1957 or 1958 they gave the design, and a lot of parts to China, who continued to build them in government factories until 2002. After that date, various "mom and pop" companies continue to produce them for foreign collectors, although the quality is quite poor. In 1985 China began producing an improved version with 12 volt, electric start, (as well as kick start) and reverse gear. These were called the Chang Jiang M1M. The standard 6 volt veeesion is called the M1.
Mostly correct, IMZ transferred the M-72 production in 1956, early 1957.
The German BMW motorcycle could be driven in two wheel drive with a low range and a reverse gear.
Only the R75 which was a copy, essentially, of the Zündapp KS750.
The Britt's captured a BMW early in the war. It was sent to Plumstead where Matchless copied the telescopic forks which then made its way onto the G3L forever known as the teledraulic forks.....BMW won the 1939 IoM TT with Georg Meier.
The forks were originally designed by an English man named Earles, so BMW most likely got the design off the Brits instead of the other way round
I think the British had a better vehicle in the universal carrier 👍!
Much more adaptable!
Well, the Universal Carrier isn't exactly a motorcycle, is it? You could perhaps compare it to the Schützenpanzerwagen Sd.Kfz. 251 or 250.
A Jeep is better than the Bren carrier.
Your right! A motorcycle has different uses and attributes, but I still would rather have a Bren carrier then a Jeep 😑.
L armé Allemande c était du lourd de vrais guerriers.
En 1935 elle était la plus grande puissance mondiale.
Those BMWs were shaft drive as well........low maintenance!
After everything that I have learned, the best motorcycle of the second world war was the Harley-Davidson
Do more research.
After seeing how well the German bikes performed in the hot desert climate in Africa, Harley tried to copy the opposed twin in the XA model. Didn't work for them
I've viewed hundreds of WWII film clips and the Germans certainly show motorcycles more often than the allied forces. I believe then, and now, that the military style BMW was superior to other WWII motorcycles. There are still many WWII BMWs for sale now-a-days. To counter, I have only seen one American WWII military motorcycle for sale in the last umpteen years.. WHY? Because more ex GIs had the money to purchase used military bikes? And rode then to junk? I don't know. Right now I know where one BMW WWII military style, w/sidecar is for sale just a couple of hundred miles from me.
For how much ?
It depends on mission type.
They really needed motocross bikes for the mud
Perhaps a few motocross jumps to vault over those pesky river crossings!
Harley Davidson produced a boxer engine motorcycle for the war effort based upon the design of a captured BMW
More stupidity, H-D bought an R71 in 1938 to copy. It's in the 1938 Board of Directors meetings.
P/C carriers were much better. Gave you protection from the weather and small arms fire.
Harley davidson copied them also the XA
One thousand made, shaft drive horizontally opposed twin
Then the war ended
They had plans to copy the BMW design in 1938, read the minutes of the H-D Board of Directors Minutes for 1938.
@@peterwilliams2152 that's interesting
After the North Africa campaign, The Allies realized they wouldn't need shaft driven motorcycles to carry on their continental conquest of German occupied Europe.( in My opinion; The BMW R75, Zundapp 750 motorcycles would performed brilliantly for the Allies over chained-driven motorcycles in their re- conquest of Continental Europe...)
@@timmit3579 yes
NIMBUS motorcyklen havde en maskinkanon mont. på sidevognen model type MADSEN.
it's better than a horse that's for sure .
War is stupid period
The sidecar wheel was a driving wheel and they had high and low ratio giving them 8 forward and 2 reverse gears. They were also shaft driven. Way ahead of their time. In russia they still make them they are called URAL and they are exported all over, or they were before the sanctions and russiaphobia started
Sidecar wheel drive was independently developed in 1926, in the UK by Baughan, and in the Soviet Union by Mozharov.
Where is Zundapp 750
This model of motorcycles was very popular in the USSR, even as police vehicle - up until late 90-ies
ua-cam.com/video/hjilJGNBqD4/v-deo.html
THE German ARMY Back Then HAD IT ALL.!!! BUT Still Relied a GREAT Deal.on SPEED !!!g
Harley Davidson also contributed to the Axis
Today there are Toyota Technicals, but not Motorcycles with sidecars with rockets,
mortars (in the side car seat) and AI controlled forward looking machines guns. 2 Bad.
Royal enfield 500cc is de best
👁👁
During 1940s or ww2, Germany had well maintained & modern weapons and Technology than Allied forces & Russian Military.. But the Soviets had Military coars & Hats tgat kept the Soviet soldiers warmer compared to others. Logistics wise, Russian troops were fed poorly compared to Allied & German soldiers.
Yeah, "brilliant". You said exactly almost nothing at all about those motorcycles.. except they did EXISTED 😂
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