Look what Mike and Bill found in Sealy

[Bill]

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNHLhy2bOX_w

The owners are James McCanless Jr and Sr.
Their email horexregin@aol.com

Is it true that the Ruskies invented the Boxer Motor? :icon_redface: They did not say this, just wondering!

Bill

[BobFV1]

I think the Soviets reverse-engineered the German Boxer motor - that's what I heard and it sounded right...

[fganger]

The old Soviet Union was not one to let a good idea go by. The Nazi's, who were not able to leave the Eastern Front on their own, were taken care of one way or the other. I'm sure the numbers of casualties will never be known on both sides. One thing is for sure, the German army left lots of gear there, the BMW with sidecar is just one. Bob's "reverse-engineered" comment is right on.

The Ural and the Chinese version were all copied from the German models. In 1973, I was doing some work in the Soviet Union. I was on someone else's bank account, and had money to spare, so I bought one. Mine had the driven sidecar wheel, which could be disengaged if one didn't need the traction and needed speed instead. Traction it had, speed it didn't have. When mine was broken in I could hit 45 m.p.h. But the traction was worth the price of admission to the Ural Owners Club.

Mine was brand new, and stuff was already broken, a royal pain. My plan was to fly it back to the states and put in a BMW engine, transmission, and etc. I got the POS crated up in the Ural Mountains and had it flown to Moscow. There I had yet another example of Soviet paranoia; I couldn't take the rig out of the country because it was a “state secret.”

As I look back at it all now, I was probably saved a lot of money and anguish. Something along the lines of “making a silk purse out of a sows ear,” comes to mind. But beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - I guess.
Frank

[Deans BMW]

My sister and her husband who live in Lufkin, Texas bought a Ural Patrol about 5 or 6 months ago and have a blast with it.

[RiceBurner]

The boxer moter was used in WW1...... ;) (Douglas 2&3/4 hp had a fore-aft boxer engine)

[DarthRider]

The venerable boxer motor design has been used through the years in any number of motorcycles, cars, airplanes, water pumps, and...washing machines!

As this pic of a 20's/30's Maytag washing machine motor will testify. These were marketed to farmers & ranchers before they had electrical service and were actually very efficient. They had a long length of flex-hose exhaust pipe that could be run out the window to prevent asphyxiating the cat and had a kick-starter. The ignition was provided by an Eismann Aircraft Magneto...if you ever want to see where the phrase "fat blue spark" came from, flip one of *these* babies over!

The "carburetor" is an air valve connected to a brass tube that extends into the gasoline sump under the motor. The tube has a foot valve on the end and the gas is pulled up the tube by suction from the turning 2-stroke motor. It hits a little spray orifice and can be throttled by the adjustable air valve. It works very well but I imagine the "mileage" is terrible!

When the farmers & ranchers started getting electrical service in the 30's and 40's, Maytag sold a conversion kit with an electric motor. The still useful gas engines were usually relegated to a dusty corner of the barn and forgotten. That is why these survive today in pretty good numbers...there are always several on eBay and a running example can be had for $200 or so. The first ones I ever saw were ~1950 mounted on home made go-karts that used an old wooden ironing board for a chassis and whatever baby-buggy-type wheels that could be scrounged up. I think those were the first "hot-rods" I ever saw! Re-pop & NOS rebuild parts are easily found. Champion even carries the plug info in their catalog. They were produced in a number of variants including the more common single with the cylinder placed at a 45 deg. angle with horizontal cooling fins. You can see a green one in the background of this image. This twin is not mine but is identical except for the stand, plus I made a dual-exhaust setup for mine, a la Ducati!

They make a great doorstop or cute little toy that you can start up, grab a beer and watch it merrily run for hours!

Yeah, I know I'm a strange cat...my wife reminds me all the time.

Dave

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/44315759-S.jpg

[BobFV1]

They make a great doorstop or cute little toy that you can start up, grab a beer and watch it merrily run for hours!

Brother Dave - unless you are talking about a hooker in the red light district in Amsterdam, I'm not too sure about you... Get out and take several deep breaths of fresh air....

[socalrob]

I had always heard that Russian soldiers stole/liberated the actual industrial machine making parts and plans from BMW factory(s) at the end of WWII, and took them back to the motherland to found their own factory, Ural.

At least its a good story.

[flatheadboxer]

Nice kicking tires with Bill and Mike last Sunday......:028:


James

[Deans BMW]

James, welcome to the Cafe, sit down and have a cup....also fill out your profile, knowing where every one is from and a little bit about them adds to the aroma and flavor.

[Bill]

James, Mike and I did not have much time with you, I know there must be a couple of stories you could tell us about your dad James Sr. Was he a bike racer? wrench? or just one of the guys who got caught up in the exhaust pipe of a British, Check or German bike. We want his story!:eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:

Bill

[1stbeemer]

SocalRob is right on the money. :)


After the WWII was over, Russia officially took a huge chunk of whatever they could find pertaining to technology, industry, machinery, aviation and so on and so forth, including dismantling and carrying out whole factories and plants.

[Mymindsok]

The story as I know it is that The Russians took possesion of theBMW factory works after the war and began producing the bikes for thier own military untill the already obsolete design was useless to them. To say that thier copies were sub standard would be an understatment but thats where the Ural Motorcycles came from.

Later, the Russians sole the tooling and the rights off to theChinese who manufactuerd the same stuff right through at least the 70's.

The Chinese stuff is currently being refurbished and rebuilt both for the domestic market in China as well as for imports to the rest of the world.

Some of the Chinese bikes are really nice but not what you would call perfect.

Interestingly enough, I recently sold some BMW parts to an American business man who's current business is refurbishing and customizing those bikes for export.

Thay are REALLY impressive!

Mymindsok