"The MGA TC was a truly incredible little sports car. And to underline the fact, we found this cracking little Pathé newsreel, which lauds the achievements of the pocket-sized road racer that was designed, built and nurtured in Oxfordshire. We're "
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Twin-Pot Dictatorships
Although Germany is not synonymous with passionate success in biking or motorsport, the fact is that motorcycle knowledge, know-how and technology introduced by German companies has been exported to every corner of the planet. We gathered together fifteen of the most interesting German two wheelers ever produced.
- The new straight six concept from BMW is set to solve structural problems with the in-line six cylinder format
- Franz Langer built this 2000cc single cylinder NSU in 2007: a record-breaking size for a one-pot
- The MZ 125 was ridden to Victory by East German Ernst Degner, who famously defected to the west and introduced Suzuki to the secrets of two stroke technology
- In 1939 Georg Meier was the first non-English rider to win the Senior Tourist Trophy on his BMW compressor machine
- The R32 was the first motorbike to be produced under the BMW brand. It introduced the twin boxer and driveshaft format that survives to this day.
- In the 1950s MZ dominated motorcycle sport in East Germany
- Despite sharing a name with an STD, NSU were a successful manufacturer of motorbikes before and after WW2. This 350 dates from 1939
- Manufacturer DKW produced many military vehicles for the Wehrmacht. This half-tracked ‘kattenkrad’ was in use all over the European theatre
- This Yamaha 250 was, according a variety of sources, copied and manufactured under license from the DKW 350 – another example of Japanese successfully copying german bike tech.
- The twin boxer engine format married to shaft drive has proved a German perennial
- This is the prototype of the R80GS – one of the most successful German motorbikes ever produced
- The paralever rear suspension system is a BMW innovation that produced the characteristic smooth handling of the Motorad’s bikes
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