"There's probably no other more powerful collaboration in the world of car culture than that which has existed between Pininfarina and Ferrari. For 60 years the design company has been responsible for the majority of the Ferraris we know and love "
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.
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- The new straight six concept from BMW is set to solve structural problems with the in-line six cylinder format
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- Franz Langer built this 2000cc single cylinder NSU in 2007: a record-breaking size for a one-pot
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- 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
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- In 1939 Georg Meier was the first non-English rider to win the Senior Tourist Trophy on his BMW compressor machine
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- 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.
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- In the 1950s MZ dominated motorcycle sport in East Germany
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- Despite sharing a name with an STD, NSU were a successful manufacturer of motorbikes before and after WW2. This 350 dates from 1939
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- Manufacturer DKW produced many military vehicles for the Wehrmacht. This half-tracked ‘kattenkrad’ was in use all over the European theatre
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- 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.
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- The twin boxer engine format married to shaft drive has proved a German perennial
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- This is the prototype of the R80GS – one of the most successful German motorbikes ever produced
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- The paralever rear suspension system is a BMW innovation that produced the characteristic smooth handling of the Motorad’s bikes
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