Take a perfectly good BMW, add third wheel with a casket and it turns into a beast. Or perhaps I should say, It hardly turns at all.
The sidecar rig means that you have to be aware of the extra 3' hanging off of the right side so that you don't clip cars and pedestrians. There is no leaning into curves, it goes around corners more like an automobile before the invention of power steering.
Yet I have to say that no motorcycle has recently put a smile on my face the way this thing did!
It's a 1940's BMW R75 from the German Army in World War II. Not a replica, it's the real deal. For all I know it may have been part of Rommel's Afrika Korps which were all painted that tan color to blend in with the desert sand. To deal with the desert or the rough country on the Russian front it has 2-wheel drive. The wheel on the sidecar can be engaged by pulling a lever so that both rear wheels push the bike forward. It even has a high and low range like a Jeep. I wish there had been time to try everything out.
For more excitement the transmission has 4 speeds forward and 1 in reverse. Push the button on the tank mounted shift lever, pull it back into R, and backwards you go. Move the lever forward and you have 1, 2, 3, and 4 at your command. There is also a foot shifter but I never got the hang of it. Besides, it was too much fun winding up the engine, pulling in the clutch, and then grabbing the lever to move it to the next notch.
I only got about 10 miles under my belt but I can't wait to try it again. I would love to do a little off-roading with it to see just what it would do. They have quite a reputation as a go anywhere vehicle. If it were mine I would ship it to Tennessee and tackle the TransAmerica Trail again.
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