Schweres Kraftrad 750cm3 mit Seitenwagen (angetrieben) - Zündapp Typ KS 750 - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

As the war progressed and the demands on German industry increased, several parts were deleted, or materials changed. The acute shortage of rubber meant that inessential parts such as the rubber knee grips on the BMW petrol tank disappeared as did the rubber cover on the kickstart. The forks were modified by 10mm to give more clearance for mud between the wheel and the mudguard and the aluminium cast caps on the forks were replaced with pressed tin and the alloy finned rocker covers were replaced with pressed tin. On the BMW R75, the air cleaner was moved from on top of the rear of the gearbox to a device on the top of the fuel tank which to this day many people mistake for a German helmet. This fitting contains a large felt filter which surrounds a central choke device attached to breathing tubes which go through the petrol tank and down to the throat of the left- and right-hand float-bowled carburettors on each cylinder. Improvements were also introduced. The forks on the BMW R75 were fitted with rubber gaiters over the exposed sliders to prevent the fine sand eroding the fork seals. The forks were modified by 10mm to give more clearance for mud between the wheel and the mudguard. For extreme cold starting on the Zündapp, a small tin with a slim spout was mounted on the frame just below the rider’s saddle. This was filled with very high-octane aviation spirit to be squirted directly into the air cleaner. The Schweres Kraftrad were usually issued with one in five sidecars fitted with a machine gun mount to be operated by the sidecar passenger on the move if required. The other four bikes were to back-up to the MG carrier providing ammunition or heavy tripod (s.MG Lafette), anti-aircraft tripod, spare parts and more ammunition plus the men’s kit and personal weapons. With three men, a machine gun, ammunition, other kit, the weight was considerable, and the gearbox would have struggled to move the machine through the countryside. To circumvent this, a lower ratio was selectable in the gearbox thus effectively giving 8 forward gears as well as 2 speeds of reverse gear. The 450 x 16in tyres with a very aggressive tread pattern gave vastly improved traction over the previous motorcycle tyres, which were a nearly half the width and operating solely on the rear wheel for drive. Compared to the BMW R75, the Zündapp KS 750 was a considerably more rugged machine and its long stroke engine gave enormous low speed torque combined with cylinders being angled up 5 degrees from horizontal to give better ground clearance. However, the straight cut gears in the Zündapp gearbox gave it a distinctly noisy howl and announced its presence much earlier than the relatively quiet BMW R75. The pressed steel frame gives enormous strength (though not exclusive to Zündapp as both manufacturers had produced pressed steel frames in the 1930’s) but care has to be taken with restoration to make sure that all sand/bead particles are cleared from the inside of the frame as left untouched, they harbour damp and eventually rust which can rot through from the inside which may not appear in view until the rot is set in and structural integrity is compromised making the machine potentially very dangerous to ride. So that is a bit of potted history on the Weald’s Zündapp Typ KS 750. Now we are progressing with what we hope will become the final rebuild to the standard the Weald targets. This is to have a bike comprised of almost exclusively original parts (apart from mechanical internals, tyres and batteries, bulbs etc) that can be added to the ‘properly’ restored fleet of vehicles in the collection.

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