Vic Holt
Because of the
wide range of machines that were developed during this era, I have
split it into two parts, the Continentals and others.
During World War I the motorcycle changed from a plaything to a flexible, rapid form of transport with great mobility,
particularly in battlefield terrain. Thus it was used for dispatch riding, or with a sidecar attached as a lightly armoured
reconnaissance vehicle, an ambulance or fire tender.
In theory most people could be taught to ride a pedal cycle, so teaching them to ride a motorcycle was only one step further.
Being less complex than a car, it was cheaper and easy to produce and maintain, so it was made in large numbers. Triumph alone
produced over thirty thousand and they were only one of several companies involved.
The European war had been fought over a relatively small area of land and therefore the infrastructure was left mostly intact.
Although there was great loss of live in military terms, the civilian population had been largely spared except in the immediate war
zones.
When peace returned the industry looked much different to pre-war. There was the ability to produce on a much larger scale,
due to mass production and mechanisation methods. The knowledge of materials was much better. Whole new technologies had
been developed.
Some of the old manufacturers had disappeared to be replaced by new ones from different backgrounds. Some of these
manufactures changed to making motorcycles because their traditional industry was banned, such as BMW who had made
aircraft engines. Some like Guzzi and Parodi because of their passion for motorcycles and some like George Brough who knew they could make a better and more refined machine.
The motorcycle industry at the start of the 1920s was at the gateway of a golden age. The basic design had been established.
Skills were available to manufacture machines. There was scope for experimentation and development. Over the next two decades there were so many manufactures producing motorcycles it is difficult to keep track of then all. It is said that in
Birmingham alone during this period there were thirty companies directly involved in motorcycle production.
Turning to shaft-drive bikes I shall return firstly to the Belgian FN. This machine was largely unchanged from the pre-war model and only lasted until 1923 as a shaft-drive. During the war FN also produced a single cylinder of 285cc, similar to the larger machine, but of lighter construction. Over three thousand of these light touring machines were produced between 1914 and 1923.
The Danish-built Nimbus BMW’s R75
It could have been a Danish motorcycle and not German which led the way forward. In 1918 Peder Fisker first produced the
Nimbus (Stovepipe model). This machine was loosely based on the FN four, but also had many new features. A 750cc in-line four
with inlet over exhaust valves, the air-cooled engine fed a three-speed gearbox to the final shaft-drive. The frame was of tubular design with swinging arm rear suspension. Because of the air-cooled in-line design overheating was a problem and so to prevent seizure and head distortion performance was limited.
For such a small company this technically advanced but relatively low-powered machine was expensive to produce, consequently demand was not great.
In 1934 a MkII version was offered. This had a 750cc SOHC with inclined valves and hemispherical cylinder head. The frame was of a curious riveted strip steel design. Gone was the rear swinging arm but it had telescopic front forks (several months before BMW).
Because of its soft state of tune, reliability, good fuel economy and its ability to haul a sidecar it found favour with the Danish
tradesmen, the police and military. In all only about 12,000 of the MkIIs were made in a production run from 1934 to 1958.
In 1919 BMW were looking for an alternative to aircraft engine manufacture. The chairman Franz-Josef Popp asked Max Friz,
the head designer, to build a motorcycle engine for sale to other companies. This was the horizontal opposed flat twin that became the BMW icon.
By 1923 BMW had gone into complete motorcycle production for themselves. The R32 was the first of an unbroken line of
shaft-drive bikes. The frame consisted of twin tubes from the top of the headstock to rear wheel, with a twin loop from the
bottom of the headstock under the engine to the rear wheel. The front forks had trailing link and leaf spring suspension.
The engine was of course of boxer type of 494cc side valve producing 8.5bhp at 3300rpm. It had a single plate clutch and
three-speed gearbox and final drive via shaft to a bevelbox. Although not the most sophisticated machine of this type it was reliable and relatively tough. (A year earlier the Bradshaw-designed ABC was an OHV boxer with suspension at both ends, but
with chain-drive).
BMW went on to produce many different models along the same lines, some with side-valve engines and others with OHV.
Capacities ranged from approx. 500 to 750cc. The engines were housed in either tubular or bolted–up pressed metal frames.
Most had trailing link front suspension with a hard tail rear.
Alongside the boxer twins, BMW also produced a series of smaller capacity singles of between 192 and 398cc, all with shaft
final drive.
I am not going to deal with each model as this would make a whole article, if not a book on its own. The model numbering does
not appear to be straightforward on these early machines so I am not attempting to put each model in sequence.
There were several models of note that advanced the motorcycle: The 494cc R5 of 1936 was the first BMW to use telescopic
forks. The R51 had plunger type rear suspension as well as telescopic forks.
The most spectacular model of this time copied by others either with the blessing of BMW or not.
Under the Axis alliance Russia also produced their own version at two factories in the Urals and on the river Dneiper. In some
opinions these Russian machines were developed to be hardier than the BMW original.
Harley Davidson made a copy of the R75 after a captured machine had been shipped to the States in 1943. It came into service at
the very end of the war and very few saw active duty. The Swiss company Condor also made a very close copy of the R75 in 1941. This appears to be a less robust machine.
Paralleling BMW’s rise was another German company – ZunderundApparatebau GmbH-Nurnberg, founded by Fritz Neumeyer, an armaments manufacture. In 1922 they produced a two-stroke engine that was fitted into a Birmingham-built Levis. The company now traded under the name Zundapp and it was not until 1933 that they produced their most well know motorcycles, the K series, the K referring to the Karden shaft drive and/or Kastenrahmen, the box section frame.
The first model was the K600 series, which was a transverse flat twin of 600cc, mounted in a box-section frame with girder type forks and no rear suspension. This series was followed by the K80, a transverse flat four, again mounted in a similar frame to the 600 and was sold as combination with a factory fitted Stoye sidecar.
One of the German Zundapp company’s machines The Wanderer – another German machine
Zundapp, also like BMW, made single-cylinder shaft-drive models. They also supplied bikes to the armed forces. The most
famous of their machines came after World War II.
One last German manufacture requires a mention. Wanderer had been producing motorcycles in Schonau near Chemnitz since 1902. They had resumed production after World War I with a range of technically advanced models. The G200 of 1924 was a 184cc horizontal single, with a four-valve head, good for about 50mph. Their machines were never cheap and often considered to be luxurious.
In an effort to produce a low-priced machine in 1927 they introduced the K500, a vertical single-cylinder 498cc with shaft-drive, mounted in a press steel frame with trailing link forks. The bike was underdeveloped resulting in early teething problems. These were never sorted as the company folded in1929.
One last oddball before I finish this section. I came across a photograph of a bike called Ollearo which looks to be a 350-500cc single OHV with coil ignition and exposed valves and ’Terry’s’ aero springs.
The engine and gearbox are of unit construction with a horizontal split sump running the whole length of the unit. The upper
casing of the gearbox is also horizontally split making access to the internals very easy. The gear change is by heel and toe
rocker pedal. The frame is tubular with a solid rear.
There are two unusual features: the engine unit is clamped directly into the frame by two lugs cast as part of the sump; and the frame tubes at the rear appear to be directly shot into the bevel box, again clamped in place. Because of the sophisticated design I would think it was built in the late 20s to mid 30s. Has anyone knowledge of this machine?
Hopefully in the next piece the British efforts will be exposed, including those that nearly made it and a few that should have
had shaft-drive.
During World War I the motorcycle changed from a plaything to a flexible, rapid form of transport with great mobility,
particularly in battlefield terrain. Thus it was used for dispatch riding, or with a sidecar attached as a lightly armoured
reconnaissance vehicle, an ambulance or fire tender.
In theory most people could be taught to ride a pedal cycle, so teaching them to ride a motorcycle was only one step further.
Being less complex than a car, it was cheaper and easy to produce and maintain, so it was made in large numbers. Triumph alone
produced over thirty thousand and they were only one of several companies involved.
The European war had been fought over a relatively small area of land and therefore the infrastructure was left mostly intact.
Although there was great loss of live in military terms, the civilian population had been largely spared except in the immediate war
zones.
When peace returned the industry looked much different to pre-war. There was the ability to produce on a much larger scale,
due to mass production and mechanisation methods. The knowledge of materials was much better. Whole new technologies had
been developed.
Some of the old manufacturers had disappeared to be replaced by new ones from different backgrounds. Some of these
manufactures changed to making motorcycles because their traditional industry was banned, such as BMW who had made
aircraft engines. Some like Guzzi and Parodi because of their passion for motorcycles and some like George Brough who knew they could make a better and more refined machine.
The motorcycle industry at the start of the 1920s was at the gateway of a golden age. The basic design had been established.
Skills were available to manufacture machines. There was scope for experimentation and development. Over the next two decades there were so many manufactures producing motorcycles it is difficult to keep track of then all. It is said that in
Birmingham alone during this period there were thirty companies directly involved in motorcycle production.
Turning to shaft-drive bikes I shall return firstly to the Belgian FN. This machine was largely unchanged from the pre-war model and only lasted until 1923 as a shaft-drive. During the war FN also produced a single cylinder of 285cc, similar to the larger machine, but of lighter construction. Over three thousand of these light touring machines were produced between 1914 and 1923.
The Danish-built Nimbus BMW’s R75
It could have been a Danish motorcycle and not German which led the way forward. In 1918 Peder Fisker first produced the
Nimbus (Stovepipe model). This machine was loosely based on the FN four, but also had many new features. A 750cc in-line four
with inlet over exhaust valves, the air-cooled engine fed a three-speed gearbox to the final shaft-drive. The frame was of tubular design with swinging arm rear suspension. Because of the air-cooled in-line design overheating was a problem and so to prevent seizure and head distortion performance was limited.
For such a small company this technically advanced but relatively low-powered machine was expensive to produce, consequently demand was not great.
In 1934 a MkII version was offered. This had a 750cc SOHC with inclined valves and hemispherical cylinder head. The frame was of a curious riveted strip steel design. Gone was the rear swinging arm but it had telescopic front forks (several months before BMW).
Because of its soft state of tune, reliability, good fuel economy and its ability to haul a sidecar it found favour with the Danish
tradesmen, the police and military. In all only about 12,000 of the MkIIs were made in a production run from 1934 to 1958.
In 1919 BMW were looking for an alternative to aircraft engine manufacture. The chairman Franz-Josef Popp asked Max Friz,
the head designer, to build a motorcycle engine for sale to other companies. This was the horizontal opposed flat twin that became the BMW icon.
By 1923 BMW had gone into complete motorcycle production for themselves. The R32 was the first of an unbroken line of
shaft-drive bikes. The frame consisted of twin tubes from the top of the headstock to rear wheel, with a twin loop from the
bottom of the headstock under the engine to the rear wheel. The front forks had trailing link and leaf spring suspension.
The engine was of course of boxer type of 494cc side valve producing 8.5bhp at 3300rpm. It had a single plate clutch and
three-speed gearbox and final drive via shaft to a bevelbox. Although not the most sophisticated machine of this type it was reliable and relatively tough. (A year earlier the Bradshaw-designed ABC was an OHV boxer with suspension at both ends, but
with chain-drive).
BMW went on to produce many different models along the same lines, some with side-valve engines and others with OHV.
Capacities ranged from approx. 500 to 750cc. The engines were housed in either tubular or bolted–up pressed metal frames.
Most had trailing link front suspension with a hard tail rear.
Alongside the boxer twins, BMW also produced a series of smaller capacity singles of between 192 and 398cc, all with shaft
final drive.
I am not going to deal with each model as this would make a whole article, if not a book on its own. The model numbering does
not appear to be straightforward on these early machines so I am not attempting to put each model in sequence.
There were several models of note that advanced the motorcycle: The 494cc R5 of 1936 was the first BMW to use telescopic
forks. The R51 had plunger type rear suspension as well as telescopic forks.
The most spectacular model of this time copied by others either with the blessing of BMW or not.
Under the Axis alliance Russia also produced their own version at two factories in the Urals and on the river Dneiper. In some
opinions these Russian machines were developed to be hardier than the BMW original.
Harley Davidson made a copy of the R75 after a captured machine had been shipped to the States in 1943. It came into service at
the very end of the war and very few saw active duty. The Swiss company Condor also made a very close copy of the R75 in 1941. This appears to be a less robust machine.
Paralleling BMW’s rise was another German company – ZunderundApparatebau GmbH-Nurnberg, founded by Fritz Neumeyer, an armaments manufacture. In 1922 they produced a two-stroke engine that was fitted into a Birmingham-built Levis. The company now traded under the name Zundapp and it was not until 1933 that they produced their most well know motorcycles, the K series, the K referring to the Karden shaft drive and/or Kastenrahmen, the box section frame.
The first model was the K600 series, which was a transverse flat twin of 600cc, mounted in a box-section frame with girder type forks and no rear suspension. This series was followed by the K80, a transverse flat four, again mounted in a similar frame to the 600 and was sold as combination with a factory fitted Stoye sidecar.
One of the German Zundapp company’s machines The Wanderer – another German machine
Zundapp, also like BMW, made single-cylinder shaft-drive models. They also supplied bikes to the armed forces. The most
famous of their machines came after World War II.
One last German manufacture requires a mention. Wanderer had been producing motorcycles in Schonau near Chemnitz since 1902. They had resumed production after World War I with a range of technically advanced models. The G200 of 1924 was a 184cc horizontal single, with a four-valve head, good for about 50mph. Their machines were never cheap and often considered to be luxurious.
In an effort to produce a low-priced machine in 1927 they introduced the K500, a vertical single-cylinder 498cc with shaft-drive, mounted in a press steel frame with trailing link forks. The bike was underdeveloped resulting in early teething problems. These were never sorted as the company folded in1929.
One last oddball before I finish this section. I came across a photograph of a bike called Ollearo which looks to be a 350-500cc single OHV with coil ignition and exposed valves and ’Terry’s’ aero springs.
The engine and gearbox are of unit construction with a horizontal split sump running the whole length of the unit. The upper
casing of the gearbox is also horizontally split making access to the internals very easy. The gear change is by heel and toe
rocker pedal. The frame is tubular with a solid rear.
There are two unusual features: the engine unit is clamped directly into the frame by two lugs cast as part of the sump; and the frame tubes at the rear appear to be directly shot into the bevel box, again clamped in place. Because of the sophisticated design I would think it was built in the late 20s to mid 30s. Has anyone knowledge of this machine?
Hopefully in the next piece the British efforts will be exposed, including those that nearly made it and a few that should have
had shaft-drive.