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
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