BMW R75/6 Photos

The BMW R75 is a global Conflict II-era motorcycle and sidecar blend made by the German company BMW.

In the 1930s BMW were creating a variety of popular and impressive motorcycles. In 1938 development of the R75 were only available in reaction to a request from the German Army.

Preproduction types of the R75 were powered by a 750 cc area valve engine, which was based on the R71 engine unit. However it was quickly found necessary to design an all-new OHV 750 cc engine motor for the R75 unit. This OHV engine later became the foundation for subsequent post-war twin BMW engines like the R51/3, R67 and R68.

The third side-car wheel was powered with an axle linked to the rear wheel of the motorcycle. They were fitted with a locking differential and selectable street and off-road equipment ratios through which all four and reverse gears proved helpful. This made the R75 highly manoeuvrable and capable of negotiating most areas. Additional motorcycle manufactures, like FN and Norton, provided an optional drive to sidecars.

The BMW R75 and its own competitor the Z?ndapp KS 750 were both extensively utilized by the Wehrmacht in Russia and North Africa, though after a period of analysis it became clear that the Z?ndapp was the superior machine. In August 1942 Z?ndapp and BMW, on the urging of the Military, agreed after standardization of parts for both machines, with a view of eventually developing a Z?ndapp-BMW hybrid (chosen the BW 43), when a BMW 286/1 side-car would be grafted onto a Z?ndapp KS 750 motorcycle. They also agreed that the manufacture of the R75 would cease once production come to 20,200 devices, and from then on point BMW and Z?ndapp would only produce the Z?ndapp-BMW machine, manufacturing 20,000 each year.

Since the focus on of 20,200 BMW R75's was not reached, it continued to be in production before Eisenach factory was so terribly destroyed by Allied bombing that production ceased in 1944. An additional 98 units were assembled by the Soviets in 1946 as reparations.

Related Images with BMW R75/6 Photos

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BMW R75 With Sidecar