Мотоцикл Krauser MKM1000 #1
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Мотоцикл Krauser MKM1000 спроектировал немецкий гонщик Михаэль Краузер (Michael Krauser), который использовал передовые компьютерные технологии для разработки рамы. Он сотрудничал с инженерной компанией HPN, основаной Альфредом Хальбфельдом (Alfred Halbfeld), Клаусом Пепперлом (Klaus Pepperl) и Михаэлем Неэром (Michael Neher).
В 1950-х годах Михаэль Краузер прославился долгой карьерой гонщика на сайдкарах BMW. Он выигрывал национальное немецкое первенство в 1955-1958 годах. Завершив карьеру, занялся управлением командой. В 1970-х годах Краузер стал известным проектировщиком и производителем багажных систем для мотоциклов.
Михаэль всегда мечтал изготовить собственный мотоцикл. У него были средства, а также хорошие отношения с BMW, поэтому использовал в качестве основы двигатель и трансмиссию BMW; электрику, тормоза, подвеску от BMW R100RS.
Рама — шедевр Краузера, который хотел развивать технологии немецких рам. В конце 1970-х годов компьютерное проектирование было относительно новым. Михаэль использовал 52 прямые хромомолибденовые трубы, 4 изогнутые. В общей сложности получилось 150 сварных мест. Рама типа «птичья клетка» весила всего 11.6 килограмм (на 6 кг меньше стоковой рамы BMW).
Кроме рамы, были сделаны другие изменения: заниженная на 40 мм вилка, изменён наклон/след вилки, новые подножки, металлический топливный бак, аэродинамический обтекатель, широкий маятник, широкое заднее колесо. Мотоцикл Krauser MKM1000 выделялся хорошим управлением и немецкой надежностью, но стоил слишком дорого — 14 000$. В 1980-1982 годах продали всего 237 мотоциклов.
В наши дни мотоциклы Krauser MKM1000 популярны среди коллекционеров. Ценник обычно колеблется между 30 000 — 50 000 долларов.
На фото представлен Krauser MKM1000, оснащенный 4-клапанным оппозитом BMW R100RS мощностью 72 л.с., 40-мм карбюраторами Dell’Orto PHM, кулачками BMW 336R, глушителями в стиле Ducati-Conti. Мотоцикл будет продан с аукциона Bonhams, который состоится 6-го октября. Ориентировочная стоимость: 35 000 — 45 000 долларов.
Мотоцикл Krauser MKM1000 #1
BMW Krauser MKM 1000
Four stroke, two cylinder horizontally opposed Boxer, pushrod operated 4 valves per cylinder.
Front Wheel Travel
Rear Wheel Travel
Standing ј Mile
There will always be a small number of motorcycle enthusiasts who insist on something different; it is their aim to improve upon excellence. If the prime mover is a German, he will usually pick on his native BMW as a candidate for the treatment. So it was with Mike Krauser, his name already famous for high quality, quickly detachable luggage systems. He looked at the top BMW of the time, the sporting R100RS, and found it wanting.
First thing to go was the frame. Comfortable suspension and plenty of room for two had no place on the super-sporting machine he envisaged; nor did the simple (and inevitably flexible) tubular frame. Krauser commissioned German aircraft engineers to design an alternative, and they came up with a masterpiece of complexity, a veritable bird-cage of short, straight tubes that double- and triple-triangulated one another for maximum rigidity, The BMW suspension was modified to eliminate the mid-corner wallows, then the whole was clothed in compact bodywork that echoed the BMW’s austere styling without the bulk; the petrol tank, seat and rear mudguard were unified in one piece of glass fibre. Krauser then turned to the flat-twin engine. The overall design was excellent, well-balanced and well-cooled, but he wanted more flexibility as well as more urge at high revs. He commissioned a more modern four-valve head to replace the BMW’s two valves, which not only improved the breathing throughout the rev range, but also lifted the rev ceiling.
The MKM1000 was a long time in the making, and all the careful development work has produced a fine bike. To ride, it is essentially a BMW – the familiar Boxer engine and the sensations of the shaft drive see to that. But it is a BMW apart. First, there is the riding position, crouched over the bars in a sporting style. It throws the weight forward rather uncomfortably at lower speeds, but the more the wind lifts the rider, the better control becomes.
The handling is concomitantly sporting, with a far more direct response to the subtleties of control than any standard BMW. Engine modifications perform the same function of tautening up the German luxury bike to release its sporting potential. Curiously, the first sensation of the four-valve engine is of milder manners, since the Krauser pulls smoothly and strongly from below 3,000rpm. It is the crispness higher up Ihe rev range that makes it a 130mph-plus machine. The MKM1000 is exotic, very expensive, and very rare – a special version of a rather special breed.
Source The worlds fastest motorcycles by John Cutts & Michael Scott
Cycle Guide Review
In Germany, motorcycles are meant to be ridden at top speed. You have no choice. The country is laced with high-speed thoroughfares called autobahns that are far twistier than American turnpikes. The speed limit is not 55 mph. The left-hand lane is restricted to highspeed cruising. Unless you keep a reasonable pace, you’re apt to be squashed like a cockroach by Porsche 928s, BMW 645s or Mercedes-Benz 450SLCs hurtling along at 200 kph.
It is the leather-suited weekend motorcyclist who craves this sort of riding who will most appreciate the Krauser MKM1000. Once you tuck behind the Whirlpool-white fairing at 90 mph, the only evidence of the hole the bike punches in the wind is a slight rustle around your ears. With your arms stretched to meet the narrow handlebar, your feet resting on hand-fabricated rearsets and your backside braced against the tailpiece, the MKM carves single-mindedly through high-speed sweepers like a racer, the BMW S-type engine throbbling like an oversize metronome. The Krauser MKM1000 is one of the best bikes for flat-out running ever built.
Motorcycle luggage and accessory manufacturer Mike Krauser had such Sunday adventures in mind when he commissioned the MKM1000 (Mike Krauser Motorcycle) for production. Krauser has sponsored racing sidecars in the past, provided some backing for Freddie Spencer’s European adventures this year and bankrolled Toni Mang’s successful pursuit of the 1980 250cc roadracing world championship, but he has long sought to stamp street riding with his own personal imprint. With this BMW-powered special, Krauser hopes to embody his vision of what a true high-performance road bike should be.
The MKM has its genesis in a development firm called HPN, composed of former endurance racer Alfred Halbfeld, a silent partner named Pepper1 and Michael Neher. In April 1979, the firm began development of a BMW-powered special because, as Neher comments, only BMW owners can afford such bikes. Furthermore, HPN elected to certify the bike as a production motorcycle with the TUV, the hard-nose German counterpart of the DOT and EPA. After $22,000 of certification and a further $115,000 of development, HPN convinced Krauser to fund a 200-unit production run.
Virtually all of the MKM’s running gear comes from BMW parts bins—a move to satisfy the TUV—which insures that the MKM is a high-performance street bike instead of a streetable racer like the Bimota, Motoplast or Behn specials. The S-type BMW engine with its hot cam, 8.2:1 compression ratio and 40mm Bing CV carbs is fitted, and the wheels, exhaust pipes, brakes and shaft drive also come from the 1980 R100S (now called the R100CS). The S-model’s suspension pieces have been modified to provide less travel for greater high-speed stability, however. Stiffer preload springs do the job in front while stiff springs and heavier 10-weight shock oil do the job in the rear. This production-based hardware attests to the MKM’s expected durability and also explains why the bike qualifies as a street-legal bike in the U.S.
The linchpin of the Krauser-bike, though, is its frame. As with many of the specialty bikes these days, the frame has its roots in pre-Honda RCB endurance racing, when engine technology was closely controlled and speed had to come from chassis engineering. The MKM uses a space frame, a design offering plenty of that elusive but valuable quantity, torsional rigidity, for good high-speed handling while minimizing weight. HPN also used computer modeling to develop a space frame that uses many short lengths of small-diameter tubing. This Gitterrohrfarhwerk or birdcage-like design permits an extremely lightweight structure-25.3 pounds—that still offers substantial torsional rigidity.
Surrounding the MKM’s frame is a fiberglass body drawn by Franz Wiedemann, who learned his trade designing BMW’s R100RS and R100RT fairings in the Pininfarina windtunnel. The fairing and the one-piece tank/seat/tailpiece attach to the frame with Dzus-type fasteners. The 5.6-gallon aluminum fuel tank (with a miniscule reserve capacity) lies beneath the fiberglass, nestled among the frame tubes. The simple slab of foam that forms the seat can be removed to reveal a storage area in the tailpiece. A different body with a passenger seat also can be ordered for the MKM if you prefer.
Once you fit yourself into the monoposto riding position and get underway, the feedback the MKM gives you is pure BMW. Yet the Krauser bike manages to refine these sensations, reducing the amplitude of engine vibrations and controlling the rise and fall of the rear end. As a result, the MKM operates with greater precision than any BMW, including the way the rearset shift lever snaps through clunk-free gearchanges.
As the open road beckons, the MKM chassis goes to work like no other BMW as well. Not a trace of high-speed BMW-weave can be detected. A wheelbase one-inch longer than the R100S’s provides part of the reason. Also, the engine has been raised 25mm in the frame for greater ground clearance, which gives the MKM a higher center of gravity for even more straightline stability.
For all its autobahn-calibrated manners, the Krauser bike adapts to scratching in the corners fairly well. The steering in particular is incredibly precise. The narrow handlebar and high cg prevent you from pitching the bike into corners with abandon, but the MKM’s steadiness under all circumstances proves to be a great go-fast asset. The engine complements your roadracing fantasies because the great, fund of torque on hand allows you to concentrate on riding instead of shifting. Meanwhile, the oversize Metzeler tires also are up to the roadholding capabilities of the chassis (the swingarm has been widened to permit the installation of the 130/80V18 rear tire).
Still, there’s rarely any question about how bikes like the MKM1000 react to speed. It’s everyday use that separates the winners from the losers. Because of the use of BMW components, the Krauser bike actually is easier to live with than most one-off machines. Even so, the MKM stumbles when it comes to comfort. Unless you’re cruising at more than 80 mph, there’s not enough wind pressure to help you sustain the riding position, so the narrow R100RS handlebar soon introduces you to wrist wreck. Also, the suspension is simply oversprung. It will pound your joints to powder on any trip over city streets or Interstate. The Europeans unfortunately equate a rocky ride with high performance, thinking that the thumps signal a tautly strung bike that fosters a closer relationship of man and machine. And this classic confusion of stiffness with streetwise road holding will wear you down after an hour of riding.
Despite its comfort limitations, the MKM1000 is indeed the ultimate BMW it set out to be. It’s the sort of motorcycle you’d trailer behind your Audi 5000 Turbo to some Alpine locale for an afternoon run.
It’s difficult to know if the MKM design will prove as significant in the long run as Mike Krauser hopes, however. The space frame does indeed combine stiffness with low weight. Also, the MKM frame actually affords access to the engine, allowing you to pull the top end without removing the engine from the frame—although this feature is largely a function of the engine design rather than the frame. Still, this point could be moot, for engine durability these days is such that removing the engine from the frame is an accepted part of major maintenance—as with the Honda CB750. But the spaceframe’s advantages are all but cancelled by one thing—price. The MKM1000 will cost, $15,000 at various BMW dealers in this country, largely because of the labor cost of building its frame. And for this reason, the Krauserbike will remain one of the world’s best limited production BMWs—but probably not the next full-scale production BMW.—Michael Jordan ■
1982 Krauser MKM1000
In Germany, Sport by Abhi December 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
Post Listing Update: The BIN was lowered to $36,000, but it still got no interest on eBay.
3 decades ago, Krauser was known as the world’s largest manufacturer of detachable luggage for motorcycles, especially for BMWs and Goldwings. Mike Krauser, president of his namesake company, wanted to design a top of the line road bike. The result was an entirely new concept in frame design, and the BMW Krauser MKM1000. Weighing “just” 496 pounds wet, the MKM was lighter than all of its competition, like the Ducati Super Sport and the Moto Guzzi Le Mans. Krauser was a big fan of BMW – he considered them to be the total package at the time in terms of quality, simplicity, and durability. So the base of his $14,000 supersport was the R100S of the time.
Only 100 were built over two years, but the bike was an instant classic due to it’s distinctive style and 70 horsepower – the most powerful stock airhead produced at the time. This extra power was due to optional proprietary Krauser 4 valve heads, that unfortunately weren’t very reliable. Want to learn more? BeemerGarages hosts a great period review from Motorcyclist of the BMW Krauser MKM 1000 back in 1980.
This specific Krauser MKM1000 does not have the proprietary heads, and is number 61 of 100. If it matters to you, it was owned by Malcolm Forbes, and the seller claims it comes with the factory-optional dual seat so that Liz Taylor could sit on the back. It has just 3,800 miles, and comes with the original Krauser rear stand, Build Book, and paperwork from Forbes magazine. Early in 2014, a unnamed classic bike magazine will be featuring this bike in an article. We may never understand why having Malcom Forbes’ ass on the seat in the past makes this bike more valuable, but it’s definitely in excellent condition.
We’ve previously featured another MKM1000, but it was in Australia. Find this Krauser MKM 1000 for sale a bit closer to home for Americans in Burgess, Virginia with a BIN price of $40,000 here on eBay.
The Holy Grail of BMWs: Krauser MKM1000
Motorcycle luggage maker Michael Krauser designed the Krauser MKM1000, using the BMW R100RS as his base.
By Greg Williams
March/April 2014
1982 Krauser MKM1000
Claimed power: 70hp @ 7,500 rpm
Top speed: 140 mph
Engine: 980cc air-cooled OHV flat twin, 94mm x 70.6mm bore and stroke
Weight (wet): 496lb (225kg)
Fuel capacity/MPG: 5.5gal (21ltr)
Price then/now: $11,985/$15,000-$25,000
Here’s a riddle: When is a BMW not really a BMW? When it’s a Krauser MKM1000, of course.
We’ll get to the motorcycle in a moment, but first, some history about Mike Krauser Motorcycle, or MKM as it is better known. German-born Michael Krauser is famous for his motorcycling achievements. In the 1950s, Krauser competed aboard works BMW machines, winning the German sidecar racing championship from 1955 to 1958. In the 1960s he ran a team of Rennsport outfits. In the 1970s Krauser not only introduced a successful line of motorcycle luggage, he also managed BMW factory sidecar racing teams. And then, in the latter part of the decade, he decided to build complete motorcycles.
Krauser’s is a deep and rich history — and the company is still in business today. According to their website, Krauser began in 1924 repairing engines and manufacturing pistons. In 1963, Krauser took over a BMW dealership, selling cars, and providing parts and service. With his background in motorcycles, in 1970 Krauser added two-wheelers to the range.
Tired of modifying luggage to fit motorcycles, in 1972 Krauser developed his first removable, injection-molded plastic side cases. His line of luggage became synonymous with BMW, but the company developed a product range to fit numerous other brands. According to one source, Krauser had 70 employees working to meet demand for the product.
But this success didn’t satisfy Krauser. By all accounts, he was a “motorcyclist’s motorcyclist,” someone who longed to be involved in something much grander in scale. That just happened to be the production of a street legal motorcycle.
Beginnings of the MKM1000
In the mid-1970s, Krauser had designed a race motorcycle featuring a 1,000cc BMW boxer engine surrounded by a much stiffer frame than what would have been stock. The machine was competitive, and the lessons learned, Krauser felt, were too important to simply leave at the track. However, when it came time to design a road-going machine, Krauser didn’t rely solely upon his own experiences. He instead worked with HPN — a development firm with three young engineers including Alfred Halbfeld, Klaus Pepperl and Michael Neher.
“He was in tight with BMW,” says BMW restorer and collector Phil Rose of Mike Krauser. “He had been involved with endurance racing and had always wanted to build his own motorcycle. In the late 1970s, the easiest path for him to do this was to use BMW mechanicals, and BMW got on board and supplied him with components.”
BMW provided all mechanical parts, including stock BMW R100RS engines, transmissions and final drives. Forks, handlebars, switchgear and brakes are BMW. Even the exhaust and mufflers are BMW, but mounted in such a way that they sweep up more sharply than they do on the R100RS.
And here we come back to our earlier riddle. In Germany, the MKM was certified as a production motorcycle. Although so much of the MKM is quite obviously BMW, instead of BMW serial numbers on drive components, for example, all parts are stamped with a “K” and then a Krauser number. As long as the drivetrain components were stock, BMW warrantied them.
The heart of the matter
Yet it’s not really about the running gear, anyway, because it’s the computer-designed space frame that sets the MKM apart. Constructed of regular thin-wall steel tubes, of which there are 52 straight tubes and four curved tubes welded together at 150 points, the entire frame weighs 25.3 pounds. In the early 1980s all of those frame tubes led contemporary bike magazines to dub the chassis “birdcage-like.” Painted magenta (purple) on some bikes (one period reviewer referred to it as “puke purple”), the frame is really what makes the Krauser special.
The fairing, seat cowl and tank cover are fiberglass, while the gas tank is metal. The tank cover and seat cowl are one piece, with the gas tank hiding underneath. The seat pan is held in place with a lock, and a post at the front and two screws at the rear are all that hold the one-piece bodywork to the frame. Dzus-type fasteners secure the lower fairing sections, while the upper fairing is bolted to the frame via a stock R100RS bracket and two other mounting points.
When compared to a stock BMW R100RS, in the MKM frame the 980cc flat twin air-cooled engine was raised by 1 inch. The wheelbase was longer, too, by 1.7 inches. The fork, however, featured shorter stanchions with travel decreased by 1.575 inches. Rake and trail were increased and Krauser designed the special rearsets and foot controls. The distinctive paint was a reflection of Krauser’s racing colors.
To be classified as a production motorcycle Krauser had to obtain German TUV certification, something that wasn’t simple to do. Similar to the DOT, the TUV puts a machine through rigorous testing procedures, and if any single component fails it’s back to the drawing board. A good reason to use proven BMW components.
Production begins
MKM production began in 1980 and ended in 1982, and there are differences between the years. For simplicity, we’ll call the early bikes Generation One and the later machines Generation Two. The Gen One bikes were equipped with ATE single-piston brakes, an aluminum gas tank with a Monza-style filler, a black frame, steel cylinders and a breaker point ignition. The Gen Two machines had a steel gas tank with a stock BMW locking gas cap and were updated with Brembo dual-piston calipers, Nikasil cylinder liners and electronic ignition.
The actual number of MKM1000 motorcycles built varies widely by the source being quoted, but 200 seems to be accurate. “I don’t have a definitive source for this information, but I’d guess there might have been three or four Gen One MKM1000s sold in the U.S.,” Phil says. “They were brought in by San Jose BMW, and they cost $14,000.”
According to Phil, of the entire MKM Generation Two production during the 1982 model year, only 13 were officially sold in the U.S. by BMW North America, and these machines were again sold through San Jose BMW and imported by Krauser USA in Seattle. The Gen Two MKM1000 was slightly less expensive at $12,000, but that was still nearly double the price of a stock BMW R100RS.
“You had to be well-heeled to buy one,” Phil says. And who could be in a better financial situation than Malcolm Forbes, the millionaire publisher of Forbes Magazine? Known for his extravagant tastes in airplanes, art, automobiles and motorcycles, Forbes purchased one of the 13 “Gen Two” MKM1000s — our feature bike — and shipped it to his castle in Morocco, where he put 3,800 miles on the clock. At the time, Forbes was famously friendly with film star Elizabeth Taylor. Who knows, perhaps Elizabeth Taylor’s derriere spent some time on the back of the bi-posto, or two-up, saddle?
Acquiring an MKM — or two
Phil Rose has been motorcycling for some 35 years, starting out aboard a 1974 Honda CB550. He moved on to a Kawasaki GPz750, and then discovered BMWs.
At this point, Phil began working with mechanic Darrell Messerle and they began restoring vintage /2 BMWs. These days, instead of restoring motorcycles Phil tries to buy bikes in good original condition. Currently, he has 26 or 27 machines in his Massachusetts-based collection.
Phil wound up with the ex-Malcolm Forbes MKM1000 in a roundabout way. Nine years ago, Phil looked at three MKM1000s owned by a Long Island collector, but at the time couldn’t afford to buy one of them, let alone all three. Then, in 2011, when a deal fell through on another MKM he was pursuing in Canada, Phil discovered the Long Island MKMs were still for sale.
“I had a lot of cash because I’d sold two bikes to fund the purchase (of the Canadian bike), but he sold that one to someone else,” Phil says.
“On the collector’s website, there was still a picture of an MKM1000. I sent him a note asking if the bike was for sale, and I got a call the next morning at 8:45. I made a deal to go and look, and I took my money and my van.”
It came to pass that this time Phil bought not only one, but all three MKMs — one of which was the Forbes machine. “I was told the collector had bought the MKM from Forbes’ son, and I had the title and Malcolm Forbes’ keychain. There are a lot of high-end bikes that have his name attached to them.” In this case, however, Phil has a New Jersey Certificate of Ownership proving Forbes’ ownership of the bike.
As purchased, the Forbes MKM1000 (no. 061) required a minimal amount of work to return it to roadworthy condition. Phil freed up the brakes, rebuilding the master cylinders and calipers using factory replacement parts, which, he points out, are all still available from any BMW retailer. He dropped the oil pan, cleaned it out, changed the oil filter, added fresh oil and changed all the drivetrain fluids. The 40mm Bing carburetors were stripped and serviced.
Because the machine had such low miles, no bearings needed replacement, and even the Metzeler tires are original to the 18-inch rear and 19-inch front wheels.
Yet while the bike was mechanically sound, cosmetically it needed some TLC. “Of the three MKMs, the Forbes bike was in the worst shape,” Phil says. “He just didn’t seem to care about the bike.”
For example, when a radar detector had been mounted to the fairing, two holes were drilled to bolt it in. “I cleaned it up, filled the holes, and touched up the paint and the decals. It looked 1,000 times better when I was done with it.”
The front footpeg rubbers, which are actually cut-down left-hand Magura handgrips, were the only rubber bits Phil replaced. Phil got the bike back into proper shape, and after adding a couple hundred miles to the odometer he sold the Forbes MKM to the founder of John’s Beemer Garage.
Phil still has the other two MKM1000s in his collection, however, including a 4-valve equipped example.
“It’s typical 1980s BMW,” Phil says of riding the MKM. “On a racetrack it might be different, but on the street it’s like riding an R100RS. But you do notice a difference because you’re in a riding position that cants you more forward, and you definitely feel the change in rake and trail. The Krauser frame is what really grants you exclusivity, and because of it the MKM has become one of the holy grails of BMW collectors.” MC
