Friday bike

Back in the 80s I owned a BMW R75/6. This is still the biggest bike I've owned and the first I went abroad on. At the time, the R100Rs was the most desirable of the BMW range, but there was something even more exotic.

Krauser MKM1000

The MKM1000 was built by Krauser, the luggage company, and was a R100 engine with their frame and bodywork. The frame consisted of 56 tubes welded at 150 points, and the saddle and tank cover were a single piece.

Needless to say, all of this was very expensive, and only 100 were built over a 2 year production run. I've only seen one and that was at a bike show in London (possibly on Krauser's stall).

If that wasn't exotic enough, and option was Krauser's 4 valve head conversion. This was a 'bolt on' kit for BMW 1000s that increased the power from 70 to 82 bhp. I had a catalogue from BMW specialists Ultimate Source, and I seem to remember the kit was in the region of £1000 (a LOT of money in the 80s). A neighbour's brother had a standard R100RS, and bought a kit in Germany (where they were about £600). I remember him saying that the greatest improvement to the engine was the spread of power rather than the increased top speed.

As this was the 80s, it was finished in a rather unfortunate paint scheme. I don't know what happened then, but a lot of bikes had rather odd colour schemes then. Mr Combo posted  a picture recently of a BMW he'd seen and asked if it was a standard scheme, I think it was!

It wasn't just bikes. I've got a BMW waterproof suit from that era that's definitely 'of its time'. One of these things you buy cheaply on Ebay, it was one of the first bike suits that used Gore-Tex in its construction, but that doesn't excuse the colour! In that traditional German fashion, the trousers are salopettes, and by modern standards it feels really flimsy – thin material and no body armour. 

Go on, have a laugh!

Further reading on the Krauser MKM1000:

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4