Stephen Wiggins
at
Ural Australia
sent this
additional information regarding the Soviet bikes:
The M in M72
stands for mototsikl which equates to the
German R for Rad as in Motorrad. There were two plants to build the M72,
one in Moscow and one in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). The Moscow plant
moved to Irbit and the Leningrad plant to Gorky (Nizhny Novogorod).
Production commenced in 1941 but due to war chaos and difficulties in
obtaining supplies no bikes were completed until 1942. All sidecar
bodies and chassis were built in Gorky near the GAZ factory until 1956.
In 1957 military
production was shifted to Kiev. At the same time the Gorky plant was
closed and tooling was offered to the Chinese. It is probable that plans
for the K750 had been finalised and transfer of the now obsolescent M72
line could go ahead. The Chinese have admitted that it took them
until 1961 to build complete motorcycles.
It is often
forgotten that the Chinese were building a small number of Zundapp
KS600-inspired bikes prior to the transfer of the M72 technology.
Also, despite what
many people assert, the R71 was never built in great
numbers and was not an official Wehrmacht bike. In fact the M71 was an
appalling military bike until the changes brought in for the M72 in
1942. That being higher mudguards, dual clutch plates, 4.62 final drive
and frame reinforcements. In reality the M72 is an improved military
version of the civilian R71.
Another point to
note is that the R71 is not really related to the R75 other than being
made by BMW. The R75 is more closely related to the Zundapp KS750 than
to any earlier BMW. In competition to build the Wehrmacht's bikes, BMW
offered the R71 which they viewed as an improved R12, and Zundapp the
KS750. So impressed were the Wehrmacht with the KS750, they wanted BMW
to also build it. The R75 is the face-saving compromise that BMW
developed.
As to what the
M in M72 stands for - the myth that it stands for
Molotov probably derives from the fact that the K in AK-47 stands for
Kalashnikov, the designer. However, General Kalashnikov was a highly
decorated officer, Hero of the Soviet Union, and a soldier NOT a
politician. Stalin would never have allowed a model number to
commemorate any potential political threat. If the M stood for Moscow
then logic would dictate that the Leningrad plant would be building L71s
and L72s, Irbit I72s, Gorky G72s and Kiev K72s. The K750 series may be
the only example of this. The M in the MV series clearly stands for
Motorcycle Army. Ural continued with the M designation all the way
through to the M67 (and prototypes) until the adoption of the GOSTandart
numerical identifying system used by ALL Soviet manufacturers.
References:
Origins of the Just Pre-WWII Soviet Motorcycles by P. J. Ballard, Feb
2002
M72 Origins
Molotov/Ribbentrop
Historie der
M72 und ihrer Nachfolger.
Mit der BMW R71
fand die Entwicklung seitengesteuerter
Tourenmaschinen
ihren H_hepunkt und zugleich Abschluss. Die Geschichte der R 71 setzte
sich aber in Russland fort. Eine Ver_ffentlichung der Motorrad-Classic
Heft 2/2000
VON J.PEVSNER
UND R. RODENKIRCHEN; FOTOS: PEVSNER, RODENKIRCHENI M. MOESCH
Personal
conversations with Irbitski.
Even in these
sources there are contradictions, though mostly over dates. For example
the M72 was first assembled in Kiev in 1951 and more and more of the
motorcycle was manufactured there until the introduction of the M72-N in
1956 which was completely made in Kiev, including the sidecar. At what
point do you determine the M72 to be made in Kiev? 25%, 50% or 75%?
Differing people take a differing viewpoint.
