Talk:Cossack motorcycle

Eisenach
Two versions by anons:


 * 1) Moretheless it must have been the comlete BMW factory in Eisenach (former East Germany) that went to Russia for reparation payment after the second WW that gave the "know how" to build this sidecar motorcycle in Russia.
 * 2) Despite many accusations the comlete BMW factory in Eisenach (former East Germany) never went to Russia for reparation payment after the second WW as it remained in East Germany producucing R-35 motorcycles.

Which? mikka (t) 22:25, 8 October 2005 (UTC) In Eisenach the EMW (Eisenacher Motorrad Werke) was produced, the R-35 with Single cylinder engine. ++Scooterman 23:34, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

The story I've heard (from many different sources) is that the Russian army wanted a motorcycle and tested several and found that the BMW was the most suitable. However at that time Russia and germany were at war so they bought five BMW motorcycles via a third part in Sweden. Then the motorcycles were reverse engineered and "russified". // Liftarn


 * Why would it have to be the complete factory? The Chinese CJ750, a bike built on the Russian tech, has a more involved history for this than either of the alternatives offered above. http://www.sidecar.co.za/history_of_the_cj750.html See what you think. Seasalt 14:36, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Eisenach has NO place in Cossack motorcycle. The HO OHV flat twins sold under the Cossack name were first built 22years after the capture of Eisenach. They were swingarm framed bikes NOT rigid like ALL the bikes built at Eisenach during the war. The Dnepr OHV design owes more to the Zündapp KS750 than any BMW. (And don't forget that BMW copied the KS750 to make the R75). The Soviets purchased a vast range of OHV bikes to disassemble and study prior to, and during, the production of their OHV bikes. So saying that IMZ "copied" the R75 is like saying that Honda "copied" BMW to produce the shaft drive GL1000! (There ARE photos of the early six cylinder variant with a BMW transmission and FD - Proof!)

Discussion as to the origins of the KMZ flat twin (KMZ/Kiev/Dnepr) and IMZ flat twin (IMZ/Irbit/Ural) belongs on their respective pages and NOT here. M-72 05:28, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

In Australia in the Seventies, the flat twins were marketed at different times with Ural, Cossack, Dnieper (English spelling of time) and also with "M-series" badges? Seasalt 12:25, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

IMZ Ural (M-Series) and KMZ Dnepr (K-Series) and the Chinese versions of M-72 (X-Series) are all "cousins" from the BMW and Zundapp families.

Generally speaking, despite all the badge names used over the years, the name "Cossack" is still widely accepted as a general name for a motorcycle built in Russia, Ukraine, or the former U.S.S.R.