6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Can anyone identify the US Army truck in the photograph ? Bonus marks if you can also identify the super cool looking motorcycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevpol Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 german bike? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 german bike? Mark German designed, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Is it me or is the (radial) engine in the front wheel, I think a little bit of the NSU Quickly is noticeable, maybe the same designer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 Is it me or is the (radial) engine in the front wheel, I think a little bit of the NSU Quickly is noticeable, maybe the same designer? Blimey, this no good at all ! I was hoping to keep this going for weeks. Yes, alright, it is front wheel drive but no connection with NSU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 No idea on the truck but I assume that the bike is a Megola ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Fancy making a babe magnet like that with no pillion seat, no wonder they never cought on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 No idea on the truck but I assume that the bike is a Megola ? Sorry, not a Megola. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 Fancy making a babe magnet like that with no pillion seat, no wonder they never cought on! That may explain why the rider looks a bit p*ssed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Looks to me like George Formbys 'Shuttleworth Snap' from No Limit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 No idea on the truck but I assume that the bike is a Megola ? I though Megola but they ceased production in (I believe)1925 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runflat Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I understand the Megola had a five-cylinder rotary engine, whereas the 'mystery' machine (named after a pair of university students who built this one-off in 1938) has a three-cylinder two-stroke rotary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 (edited) I understand the Megola had a five-cylinder rotary engine, whereas the 'mystery' machine (named after a pair of university students who built this one-off in 1938) has a three-cylinder two-stroke rotary. That's good enough for me. Well done Runflat ! http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r46/Motorbiker_photos/NewsPics2/WWII-Motorcycle-unknown.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/front-wheel-drive-motorcycles-existed-a-long-time-ago.htm&usg=__T3zPqjLLCgJalzO8SazXtQGMxfk=&h=306&w=449&sz=11&hl=en&start=23&sig2=-AADjeB-1Yj4PwjTPebTMw&um=1&tbnid=bKmPbd_jrLuRnM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=127&ei=2ntFSb7RFqbq0ASSi7jVBg&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFront%2Bwheel%2Bdrive%2Bmotorcycle%26start%3D21%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN Edited December 14, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Runflat beat me to it The Killinger and Freund Motorrad (motorcycle) was test-driven after the engine was tested on a test stand. Its total weight was 135 kg (297 lb). [1] This design was intended for civilian production but the start of World War II cancelled those plans. One motorcycle was discovered by the US Army in the spring of 1945 at a German military installation but it is not known if this was the original prototype or another Killinger und Freund Motorrad. The disposition of that captured vehicle is not known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runflat Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 From Wheels & Tracks 35- "The rarity was uncovered in 1945 in Munich, in the Third US Army area. Its fate we do not know but we copied the picture from a contemporary military paper cutting which gave the following description: 'When this motor cycle was discovered the technical officer blinked to make sure that he was not dreaming, for the power unit, a three-cylinder, air-cooled, petrol-driven rotary engine, was tucked away inside the front wheel. The carburettor, mounted on the left side of the hub, does not revolve with the engine, and is fed with petrol by one of two pipes from the petrol tank, which is in its usual place in front of the saddle. 'On further examination the officer found that the ignition system consisted of a six-volt coil hidden inside the head-lamp bracket, with the condenser and points inside the carburettor housing! The points are broken by a cam revolving with the engine, giving an automatic spark advance. The battery is under the rider's seat. Engine lubrication is by oil mixed with the petrol. 'The motor cycle's chief weaknesses are that the engine is subjected to unusual amount of road shock, as the tyre forms the only damper and the front wheel hub is so complex, with its several concentric shafts, that it is easily damaged. 'With a heavy engine in front, steering is difficult and the back wheel is inclined to jump easily. But the position of the engine does keep the rider's trousers free from oil and grease!'" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Runflat beat me to itThe disposition of that captured vehicle is not known. Spot on Gritineye. It's tantalizing to think it may have survived. A very interesting machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 From Wheels & Tracks 35-[/i] Runflat, thank you for taking the trouble to reproduce the 'Wheels & Track' article. Very interesting indeed and much more information there than on the website I linked to on post 13. As I said to Gritineye, I wonder if it's still around. In the basement of a house somewhere in the American midwest having been shipped back by an enterprising US Army officer all those years ago. It's just possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 So what is the truck then ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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