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!

I had the classic 1:35 BMW R75 model from Tamiya way back and the sidecar mounted machine-gun still fascinates me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Great video!

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.

Better than horses or walking ;)

Motorcycles make sense in some places but military contractors would prefer to sell larger, more expensive vehicles with better profit margins.

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 🤪

As an experienced motorcyclist, I'd hate to have to ride bikes of that era off-road. They were so low-slung and had terrible suspensions. I dislike side-cars too. They prevent leaning, which is the best part of motorcycling. They were popular pre-war as they were usually relatively cheap to buy, register and run and as they could take some gear they were produced and used in numbers. However an armoured car was far superior for recon work, IMHO. One hypothetical is that someone designed a real dirtbike. All you need is larger wheels and long travel suspension. I imagine one of those would be very handy for scouting, light transport and communication in rugged terrain.

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.

I had a 200cc zundapp back in California in 1969 where i grew up. It was fun while it lasted but eventually broke down.

This is very interesting especially from a historical point of view facinatingbnever the less

Some technical details of the machines would have been interesting!!!

I owned restored R75, great bike

I’m a biker and I liked the vid. I do like BMW

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.

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 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.

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

ice presentation. Thank you. Don''t over look the NSU Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 used primarily on the Eastern Front.

These should be reintroduced to the market, in the exact same way they were made back then.

Motorijders altijd een onderschatte eenheid geweest

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?

2:25 at 0.25 slow speed view- foreign Wehrmacht ❤

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.

Thats why they used Triumphs in the film the 'Great Escape' because the german bikes of the era were far to heavy!!!

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.

L armé Allemande c était du lourd de vrais guerriers. En 1935 elle était la plus grande puissance mondiale.

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.

The Kubble wagon offered much more protection? Are you insane? Maybe protection from the weather but not small arms fire

The German BMW motorcycle could be driven in two wheel drive with a low range and a reverse gear.

Was the Kettenkrat an answer to the mudded east condition?

Harley Davidson produced a boxer engine motorcycle for the war effort based upon the design of a captured BMW

Those BMWs were shaft drive as well........low maintenance!

It depends on mission type.

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.

They really needed motocross bikes for the mud

it's better than a horse that's for sure .

I think the British had a better vehicle in the universal carrier 👍! Much more adaptable!

NIMBUS motorcyklen havde en maskinkanon mont. på sidevognen model type MADSEN.

After everything that I have learned, the best motorcycle of the second world war was the Harley-Davidson

P/C carriers were much better. Gave you protection from the weather and small arms fire.

Harley Davidson also contributed to the Axis

Harley davidson copied them also the XA One thousand made, shaft drive horizontally opposed twin Then the war ended

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

War is stupid period

Royal enfield 500cc is de best

THE German ARMY Back Then HAD IT ALL.!!! BUT Still Relied a GREAT Deal.on SPEED !!!g

Where is Zundapp 750

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.

This model of motorcycles was very popular in the USSR, even as police vehicle - up until late 90-ies kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntCZn614s6jVdGg.html

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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