R75 & KS750 ONLY!

Do you enjoy the military BMW R75 or the Zundapp KS750? Do you need to see more photos of them?  Well, you're in the right place! I didn't want to chase the other folks away with too many of these pictures in the main photo section, but now that's it's just "us", let me share a few  more photos with you.  No /2's, no K bikes, just the GOOD stuff. jl

A good view of a very nice correct sidecar body. The remains of the original tan paint can be seen clearly in this photo. From this view it's very easy to see some of the detail differences between the correct R75 & KS750 sidecar body, and the type found on other military bikes such as the R12, which resemble a Ural. This sidecar was just removed from a KS750.

Ever wonder what the little hole in the spare tire carrier center bolt is for? To slip a lock inside so no one steals your spare! A fully-secured bike would have up to 4 of these locks on the bike: One on the spare, and one on each saddlebag (so they can't be opened). A nice shot of the reprodution tires being made for the R75 & KS750, and available in the USA from Coker Tire.

There were three different companies that supplied sidecar bodies for the R75 & KS750, these were Steib, Stoye, and Royal. The Steib is the easiest one to identify, as their logo is proudly stamped into the side of the nose of the sidecar. If there's no Steib stamp, check inside the sidecar body, on top of the small hump just in front of the passenger seat. A Royal sidecar body will have a serial number stamped into the top of the hump, which will start with an "R". Assuming that you still have an original floor, and you can't find either the Steib logo or the Royal serial number, then you probably have a Stoye body. This might not sound very scientific, but it's the best we have. This is a photo of my 1942 Zundapp KS750 sidecar body while undergoing restoration. Note traces of the old "Panzer gray" paint.

An original early R75 oil bath air filter. These were mounted on top of the transmission, and used a metal mesh filter in addition to the oil in the bottom to capture dirt that passes through. While typical of 1930's technology, these air filters were quickly overwhelmed when forced to deal with the harsh environments of the Soviet Union and North Africa. The small T bolt screws into the trans case, and is used to hold the filter on to the trans. The filter housing is built-up of sheet metal stampings.

A good days work. I was able to trade a few things around, and ended up with most of an R75 solo machine, plus a spare engine.

Another view of my 1942 KS750. In this photo you can clearly see the MG34 mount on the nose of the sidecar, and also the rarely seen MG34 side rest assembly. The side rest was used to carry the machine gun while not in use.

A 1942 R75 that I found for sale in Italy. Overall a very nice example. To be 100% correct you'd have to get the proper pillion seat, tail light, air tubes, battery box, and then ditch some of the extra chrome. Still, I'd move my truck out of the garage any day of the week to have this one in there.

Typical of the R75s that came out of Spain in the 1960s & early 1970s is this example. Most have the air filter element in the gas tank gutted out, and replaced by an oversize tool box lid. Also, somewhere under the welded on valance is an original 180mm rear fender. The front fender on this machine is from a 1930s Harley. With the excellent reproduction fenders that are available today, this would be a an easy restoration.

A gathering of military bikes in Czechoslovakia in 1991. Seen here are 3 R75s and 3 KS750s, parked in front of a castle gate.

Ah the good old days... circa 1988. Two KS750s with sidecars, and a solo R75 in the background. Life in the garage was good!