Sir Limpsalot
02-07-2007, 06:20 AM
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/128143138-L.jpg I was intending to run this as a "mystery bike", but on reflection think it deserves better than a simple guessing game.
Having said that, if I'd deleted the name on the tank I'd bet that most of you would have guessed at "Gilera" or maybe "MV-Agusta" You'd have been bang on the era but in the wrong country. This hails from Germany.
A little history first.
The second war nigh on bancrupted Europe. Transport for the masses neaded to be cheap, not for us the delights(?) of the motor car but scooters and motorcycles filled the need. To increase the motorcycles capacity as "beast of burden" sidecars were often fitted.
The family man would take his wife and kids out in huge contraptions that had two rows of seats attached to dull "plodders", while the more sporting types often used little single seaters attached to a sports model. As always, riders liked to see racing involving machines at least similar to the ones they used on the roads, so sidecar racing was as popular then as it's solo counterpart.
The undisputed kings of World Championship Sidecar racing were the Germans. The BMW RennSport twin dominated the series for years. It's OHC design made it rather too wide for successful use in a solo, causing ground clearance problems, although a few heros did race them that way. As a sidecar racer though it knew no equal.
One BMW driver, Helmut Fath, thought he could do better though and set out to make his own engine. Self financed from his race winnings he set to in a small workshop attatched to his house in the town of Ursenbach. There he designed, built, tested and developed his engine. Most of the developement was actually done in a log cabin he built in nearyby woods so the noise didn't piss off the neighbours. So small scale was his operation that his engines never had numbers in the usual way but were given names like Gustav and Doris.
Although four cylinders are now commonplace back then in the mid sixties to have ridden a "four" you needed to have a name like Hailwood or Agostini or Redman. To take on the might of BMW with a home built special was, at best, considered an unlikely prospect.
To reduce an heroic tale to it's barest essentials in 1968 Helmut Fath driving his home built URS (ursenbach remember?) became World Champion in the 500cc Sidecar class. A "David and Goliath" story that if made into a film would be considered too far fetched!
At last we come to the machine shown here.
After his successful Championship campaign it became obvious that an engine that had the power to haul an outfit and two passengers to race wins (as well as the stamina to do so for four laps of the Isle of Man) would be a sensation if put in a "state of the art" solo. Offers flooded in but Fath resisted untill in 1969 following serious injury in a crash and with finances now low he accepted an offer from the German Munch company.
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/128143132-L.jpg
Housed in a Rickman frame with all the latest equipment including disc brakes, which were still in their infancy in motorcycle racing the "Munch-URS" was created.
It showed considerable promise beating everyone except the Agostini/MV combo, but sadly the project foundered. Fath resigned and then Munch declared bancruptcy.
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/128143135-L.jpg
I had the pleasure of seeing (and even better, hearing!) the URS at the TT in 1970 when Horst Owesle got a creditable 5th place on it.
It sounded a little different to the MV and Honda 4's because the URS ran two crankshafts configured as 90 degree twins, so no two pistons ever reached TDC at the same time.
You can hear it here http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Sounds.htm
turn the volume up, right up, close your eyes and be transported back in time...
Si.
Having said that, if I'd deleted the name on the tank I'd bet that most of you would have guessed at "Gilera" or maybe "MV-Agusta" You'd have been bang on the era but in the wrong country. This hails from Germany.
A little history first.
The second war nigh on bancrupted Europe. Transport for the masses neaded to be cheap, not for us the delights(?) of the motor car but scooters and motorcycles filled the need. To increase the motorcycles capacity as "beast of burden" sidecars were often fitted.
The family man would take his wife and kids out in huge contraptions that had two rows of seats attached to dull "plodders", while the more sporting types often used little single seaters attached to a sports model. As always, riders liked to see racing involving machines at least similar to the ones they used on the roads, so sidecar racing was as popular then as it's solo counterpart.
The undisputed kings of World Championship Sidecar racing were the Germans. The BMW RennSport twin dominated the series for years. It's OHC design made it rather too wide for successful use in a solo, causing ground clearance problems, although a few heros did race them that way. As a sidecar racer though it knew no equal.
One BMW driver, Helmut Fath, thought he could do better though and set out to make his own engine. Self financed from his race winnings he set to in a small workshop attatched to his house in the town of Ursenbach. There he designed, built, tested and developed his engine. Most of the developement was actually done in a log cabin he built in nearyby woods so the noise didn't piss off the neighbours. So small scale was his operation that his engines never had numbers in the usual way but were given names like Gustav and Doris.
Although four cylinders are now commonplace back then in the mid sixties to have ridden a "four" you needed to have a name like Hailwood or Agostini or Redman. To take on the might of BMW with a home built special was, at best, considered an unlikely prospect.
To reduce an heroic tale to it's barest essentials in 1968 Helmut Fath driving his home built URS (ursenbach remember?) became World Champion in the 500cc Sidecar class. A "David and Goliath" story that if made into a film would be considered too far fetched!
At last we come to the machine shown here.
After his successful Championship campaign it became obvious that an engine that had the power to haul an outfit and two passengers to race wins (as well as the stamina to do so for four laps of the Isle of Man) would be a sensation if put in a "state of the art" solo. Offers flooded in but Fath resisted untill in 1969 following serious injury in a crash and with finances now low he accepted an offer from the German Munch company.
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/128143132-L.jpg
Housed in a Rickman frame with all the latest equipment including disc brakes, which were still in their infancy in motorcycle racing the "Munch-URS" was created.
It showed considerable promise beating everyone except the Agostini/MV combo, but sadly the project foundered. Fath resigned and then Munch declared bancruptcy.
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/128143135-L.jpg
I had the pleasure of seeing (and even better, hearing!) the URS at the TT in 1970 when Horst Owesle got a creditable 5th place on it.
It sounded a little different to the MV and Honda 4's because the URS ran two crankshafts configured as 90 degree twins, so no two pistons ever reached TDC at the same time.
You can hear it here http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Sounds.htm
turn the volume up, right up, close your eyes and be transported back in time...
Si.