Quote:
Originally posted by Steve Carlton
I'm talking about historically; the roots of our powerplant. How much does our motorcycle engine have in common with BMW's engines from the beginning through WWII?
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Actually, there is a great show on The History Channel about the History of Motorcycles. (I didn't sleep at Holiday Inn, but I do watch TV
) the first half hour of the show featured the first BMW motorcycle. During WWI, BMW made airplane engines, but as a part of the Treaty of Versaille (sp?) BMW was specifically prohibited from building anything else for airplanes. The former aircraft engineers decided to design a motorcycle. It was radical for its day with an opposed twin cylinder engine and shaft drive! Sound familiar? Our bike hasn't changed in over 80 years.