Now THIS is an interesting motorcycle.

[Snagg]

Art Deco, eat your heart out: http://www.knucklebusterinc.com/features/2010/07/15/1930-art-deco-h...

[TeeBubbaDee]

Of course they had cameras Snagg.

[TeeBubbaDee]

BMW R7. A single copy was crafted in 1934 by design engineer Alfred Böning. His vision was a departure from the "bicycle with motor" design still prevalent in the 1930s. The R7 incorporated sweeping enclosed bodywork, a pressed steel frame, valanced mudguards and then-innovative telescopic front forks.

The R7's beauty was more than skin deep, however. The transmission featured an 'H' pattern hand shifter and the 800c Boxer engine crafted by Leonhard Ischinger was decades ahead of its time. The revolutionary engine includes a forged, single piece crankshaft. The cylinder housing is a monoblock with a hemispherical combustion chamber, eliminating the need for a troublesome head gasket and the camshaft is positioned below the crank (allowing more convenient plug placement).

Alas, the R7 was deemed too extravagant and expensive to produce in the harsh economic and political climate of the mid-1930s. The roadworthy prototype was stripped of useful parts, crated and largely forgotten until 2005. When the box was finally opened, the R7 was found to be 70% complete but in disastrous condition. Many components were severely rusted and a long-forgotten battery had ruptured and corroded the machine even further.

Luckily, the original design drawings were located in the BMW Archives and BMW Classic undertook a comprehensive restoration. A team of specialists rebuilt the frame, bodywork, transmission and one-of-a-kind motor. By the end of 2008, the machine looked like it must have when Alfred Böning first rolled it out of his Munich workshop. It performed flawlessly on its first road test in over 70 years and

[darroll]

I'm going to Russia to take a motorcycle driving course.


http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/27/video-moscow-motorcyclists-crazy...

[TeeBubbaDee]

darroll, That was insane! OK, I have to admit back in the day I used to ride, and ride fast, but nothing like that. I had a 900 Z1 Kawasaki that was wicked fast. I found that a 100 mile an hour ride to work woke me uo much faster than a cup of coffee ever could. I could never look down fast enough at the speedo coming out of first gear because it happened so fast, but that bike would come out of second gear at 82 miles an hour. The last day I rode it, I took it out on a nice steetch og highway. At about 130 the speedo started "jiggling" a little, so don't know exactly what top speed was, but somewhere between 143 and 148. The bike hadn't been tuned forever, but I think if it had been, it would have done well over 150.

[darroll]

That guy knew what he was doing, he slowed down in a problem area.
The Cops would love to get their lunch hooks on him.

[TeeBubbaDee]

In 1937 the French military thought that they might need some motorcycles that were also half tanks as well. And one of these very rare 350cc engined half-track Merciers actually still exists as a museum piece.

This technological mess even featured front wheel drive. But like all crazy half-track designs, this vehicle sacrifices the speed and maneuverability of motorcycles as well as the true off-road ability of a real tank, offering the best of neither design.

[TeeBubbaDee]

Thank You B A F, I gotta be good for something.

[TeeBubbaDee]

I found one for Robbie.