BMW R75

The BMW R75 is a World Warfare II-era motorcycle and sidecar mixture produced by the German company BMW.

Within the 1930s BMW were producing a range of popular and highly effective motorcycles. In 1938 development of the R75 started in response to a submission from the German Military.

Preproduction models of the R75 were run with a 750 cc part valve engine, that was predicated on the R71 engine unit. However it was quickly found essential to design an all-new OHV 750 cc engine motor for the R75 device. This OHV engine unit later became the basis for subsequent post-war twin BMW engines like the R51/3, R67 and R68.

The 3rd side-car wheel was motivated with an axle linked to the trunk wheel of the motorcycle. They were equipped with a locking differential and selectable highway and off-road gear ratios by which all and reverse gears did the trick. This made the R75 highly manoeuvrable and capable of negotiating most surfaces. A few other motorcycle manufactures, like FN and Norton, provided an optional drive to sidecars.

The BMW R75 and its own rival the Z?ndapp KS 750 were both generally employed by the Wehrmacht in Russia and North Africa, though after a period of evaluation it became clear that the Z?ndapp was the superior machine. In August 1942 Z?ndapp and BMW, on the urging of the Army, agreed upon standardization of parts for both machines, with a view of eventually making a Z?ndapp-BMW hybrid (designated the BW 43), when a BMW 286/1 side-car would be grafted onto a Z?ndapp KS 750 motorcycle. They also decided that the make of the R75 would cease once production reached 20,200 systems, and from then on point BMW and Z?ndapp would only produce the Z?ndapp-BMW machine, processing 20,000 each year.

Since the aim for of 20,200 BMW R75's was not reached, it remained in production until the Eisenach manufacturer was so terribly broken by Allied bombing that production ceased in 1944. An additional 98 units were set up by the Soviets in 1946 as reparations.

Related Images with BMW R75

BMW R75/5 Colour Schemes

1975 BMW R75/6 Cafe Custom

BMW R75/5 racer from Ritmo Sereno