10 Two Wheeled War Machines | A Brief History of Ten Military Motorcycles

[@Rapidfireblade]

I have recently restored an m20. During VE Day I displayed it outside my house. I was quite surprised at the amount of attention it got,

[@maxasaurus3008]

You guys still celebrate Victory in Europe Day? Hell yeah 🎉.

[@therealrobertbirchall]

My grandad, a dispatch rider in the North Staffs during ww2 said the Beezzers (M20s) were over rated. He preferred the matchless G3/L, it was more reliable as fast as as a 350 used less gasoline and was lighter for x country work.

[@EpicAdamMotovlogs]

I've been offered a test ride on the military electric motorcycles. They charge them on the back of lorries & use them for recon missions. Top speed is only 50mph though

[@TheHistoryEngine]

Nice! Is that the one's made by Zero?

[@EpicAdamMotovlogs]

@@TheHistoryEngine I have no idea tbh. I haven't seen them yet & I was given little information.

[@bryn494]

The military version includes IR lighting and, probably, other stuff we don't know about. The police version, however, is street legal. They do up to 90 mph and if you can get your hands on one you'd get an awfully large number of dollars for it. The following article's 2 years old... :D www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/01/this-silent-all-electric-dirt-bike-could-soon-drive-special-operators-into-battle/

[@DARIVSARCHITECTVS]

I still ride a 1944 DKW NZ-350/1 from Nazi Germany.

[@AbJEDAaZYSJO]

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE STARTER INN MIDDLE TOWN CONNECTICUT AT THE WORSTER BYCLE COMOPONY

[@bryn494]

Those 5 BMWs the Soviets 'acquired' in Sweden were actually a cover story. The tech. (and most likely the tools too) were given to them as a secret part of the Ribbentrop pact.

[@refard5]

next one you'd have to mention the KLR 650 and it's diesel counterpart.

[@joeernst1836]

My first thought as well

[@paulformaioni37]

it comes in a diesel?

[@refard5]

@@paulformaioni37 US militarry only

[@southronjr1570]

@@paulformaioni37 There are also several builders doing custom conversions, iirc the same company doing the conversions for the Army sell or did sell versions to the civilian market

[@terencequinn2682]

Love how he starts with an English accent then gradually becomes quite distinctly Scottish. In a very charming way!

[@celtisafricana4984]

He HAS to be Scottish with that beard. Now, anyone care to weigh in on the Nut Sack in the background?

[@crouchingwombathiddenquoll5641]

Bilingual ?

[@johncasor9698]

i had a CZ it was a 125cc dirt bike just loved it. it was a 1976 and in san diego, ca and in school everyone was talking how great it was and only one kid had one it was a 250cc... so i did get one 2 years later... i never really saw many of these bikes only a few...

[@garypeatling7927]

I had 250 twin in 1975 lasted for ever clutch cable only real problem

[@southronjr1570]

Only the French could have the balls to come up with a antitank scooter and keep a straight face. They planned for it only be dropped once anyhow so performance wasn't an issue

[@markzimmerman7279]

I want one ,perfect way to deal with asshole drivers..🚛💥🔥🛵

[@1965vw]

Great list! I have never heard of many of these bikes, so thanks for sharing. That Vespa 150 TAP is hilarious and probably my favorite! I just imagine it taking on a tank... talk about David vs. Goliath. I'd love to ride one of those around town with a replica of the gun/ammo and see the looks on people's faces!

[@obelic71]

the Vespa is perfect for comute. Honey how was your work today. mwoa heavy armoured traffic as always got 2 of them today 😁

[@pauld6102]

A couple good ones to feature on your next military bike show is the Maico 490 used by Argentina against the Brits in the Falkland Island war of '82, and the Husqvarna 420/470 OR automatic bikes in Sweden's military snow service patrols.

[@jeronimomurruni]

The fliying flea was on sale on 2019, it was a coustomized bullet 500 with canvas saddle bags and a "military" looking paintjob.

[@McRcFly]

Are you referring to the pegasus model? If so I had one. It was a classic 500

[@beowulf5982]

I loved this video. Full of facts and well presented. Thank you Sir.

[@DR_Neal_Rigger]

The Zundap is criminally underrated, and might be the most reliable bike of the era..

[@AlanMydland-fq2vs]

i think u may be right

[@telescopereplicator]

Great item. Great history. Great images. You nailed it again, Paul !!!

[@TheHistoryEngine]

Haha thanks dude, much appreciated!

[@telescopereplicator]

@@TheHistoryEngine Great photographs. Where do you find things like that ? And forget those new bikes. I want one of those old ones, for sure !! MUCH more character.

[@lllllREDACTEDlllll]

While in Iraq in 2003-4 I took a few pictures of motorcycles mounted with recoilless rifles that we fought against. I'll see if I can dig up the pictures if anyone interested.

[@mr.shannon6137]

The United States, Marine KLR should be #1. The USMC uses a modified Kawasaki KLR 650 that runs on JP-8. The absolute coolest military motorcycle ever made. Check it out.

[@carlclifford64]

I once owned a BSA M21 and a BSA 350 Don R. They wereright beasts.

[@eh74nq]

Fantastic wee video. If you're ever in Edinburgh, happy to let you take my ex Dutch army Moto Guzzi V50 Nato for a spin :-)

[@tappedout300xc]

The great sport of Motocross was born from the WW1 Dispatch riders.

[@663rainmaker]

Makes my 1984 Honda GL1200 look 👀 super Modern

[@unfortunately_fortunate2000]

Paul Ayers super modern obsolescent machinery*, rather! However yes, compared to what they had, you may as well be a the proud owner of a hover bike!!! However I think you’d be surprised just how good these early dirt bikes/motocross bike were and still are, if you were to upgrade the power plant to something more modern and, of course, efficient in its power production, incredibly capable today. They’d keep up with a lot of the 100-125cc motocross bikes out there today, shit, they’d probably best a lot of the more economic motocross bikes out there!!! And goddamn do they look Great War good! Idk what it is, something about that era of motor vehicles just looks awesome. Same with the artillery of the era, it just looks better than today’s howitzer cannons and guns. Plus they’re sucksqueeze bangblow rather than the engulfing four strokes of today. ;) Ahhhh, ahhhhh!?!? See what I did there??!??!?!??

[@centralcoastcamper9631]

I would have thought Indian would have made the list.

[@steveaustin62]

Just spotted your comment, do you know where they were used?

[@hendrikvanleeuwen9110]

Yeah, first make I thought of when I saw 'military bikes'.

[@marksanto1086]

@@steveaustin62 they were used primarily in the European theater. First supplied to France, then the Americans. All production went to the military - ironically, that lead to the company's demise in 1953, as there were so many surplus Indians available that hardly any one bought a new one.

[@glenn5ft19]

The Japanese copy of the Harley Davidson was used by the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands campaign. In fact my Father brought home a piston and steering damper knob from one, which are now in my bottom dresser drawer.

I've a theory that if the Americans depended on the Harley...it would account for them arriving 'late' in the war........

[@melangeken]

I really like your channel man, I got hooked since the murderdrome episode!

[@boarders9407]

melangeken agreed

[@dotmargrave]

My father rode an M20 during the Second World War as a dispatch rider he used to tell me he loved it, he tried a Matchless at the time and didn’t like it at all.

[@CaptHollister]

11:26 That WLA is more likely a WLC (C for Canada) since it was filmed alongside a Canadian Military Pattern truck, as used by all the Commonwealth armies in WW2

[@henrya3530]

According to the founder of the company the correct pronunciation of Rokon is "Rock on". Unable to fulfil a contract to supply motorcycles to the Indian army in 1955 Royal Enfield sold the plans and tooling to an Indian company to make the bikes there. Thus the Indian Enfield Bullet came into existence and while the English company has faded into history the Indian company continues to grow. Armoured motorcycles are something of a rarity. In UK Triumph had a go with an armoured version of the 350cc 3SW in 1940. Carrying a Bren gun it had armour on one side only which may seem a bit daft. The idea seems to be that the armour would be used as a shield when firing the Bren while the machine was stationary. Sweden also produced several prototype armoured sidecar outfits from 1930 to 1932. The first, Landsverk-190fm/30, would not have looked out of place on a WW1 battlefield. Two years later the Improved Landsverk-210 had sloped armour all round and a Madsen machine gun. The "improvement" was a reduction in total weight to 650kg - earlier versions were too heavy to steer easily. Records show that none were sold until in 1938 Baron Friedrich Karl Johannes von Schlebrügge purchased one. (Fun fact: his granddaughter is the actress Uma Thurman.)

[@TheHistoryEngine]

Great knowledge there, Henry!

[@375GTB]

CHINA would inherit the Russian R71 BMW clone! Whilst having both American AND Japanese Harley's BSA's and RE's From Hong Kong, Shanghai and elsewhere Some flown over The Hump... Others even from Singapore via the Japanese connection... Imagine the parts problems in the PRC Army!! Some/All of the above could be found in Vietnam... And the rest of SE Asia... As with weapons from EVERYWHERE! Another chapter could be India/Afghanistan motor bikes from WWI on... Mechanics delights! J.C.

[@thomasbroger8343]

In Vietnam you could also find Harley Davidson Electro Glide’s and Honda 450 Black Bomber’s from the GI’s, left behind after the fall of Saigon, they still around and some in good shape!

[@peroduanippa]

I have an interesting military bike, a Moto Guzzi Superalce, 500cc single with rear handlebars.

[@darrinwright6758]

I would love to see a picture of it. I love the Guzzi. That was one of my most favorite bikes.

[@Gizmomadug]

@@darrinwright6758 I think the bike is related to the famed Italian tanks of WWII, that had one forward gear and five reverse...

[@goodnightcharly5135]

Lucky man moto fuzzies are pride and Joy's every last one

[@SebastianSikano]

@John Barber are 2 handles in the form of a handlebar, to allow the passenger on the rear seat not to cling to the driver

[@peroduanippa]

@@SebastianSikano Check out Moto Guzzi Superalce on youtube.

[@janwoodworth5072]

Hi paul mike here are you still with craig you didnt fall out with him did you mate life is to short for that brother, be nice to see you in the shed again bro stay safe brother cheers mike, ;-)

[@raysilver2b]

HELP. My dad was a dispatch rider in the second war. He fought in North Africa Italy and France. He had 5 campaign meddles. Can you tell me anything about that time? He died when I was 15 and like many men of that time he didn't say too much. My Uncle told me he was a sole survivor of the six riders.

[@onlybugwit]

I used to ride an M21 combination when I was 16. Great bike 👍

[@danielmccarthy1982]

Another great vid Paul. Could I suggest you look at the -Swiss made Condor A580 if you're doing another look at military vehicles? A very capable bike, heavily over-engineered with a hi/lo ratio gearbox and frame lugs for carrying rifles. Being Swiss of course means it never saw combat!

[@cybair9341]

I've got good memories of my Triumph TRW.

[@himatic7]

Three to add: the Vickers Clyno, the "trusty" Triumph model H, and the Chang Jiang CJ750 and it's variants. The latter was a descendent of the R71, via the Ural, but eventually spawned a whole family of military and paramilitary vehicles.

[@wascalywabbit]

My grandfather in WW2 was stationed in Pontiac,and they got him to join the motorcycle outfit,he told me several stories,like how they would mess with each other,like using a coat hanger somehow so it would take off once started,and one night a pile of coal was in his spot and rode into it... But his final straw was on a cobblestone rd and was near a farm,where he ran over sheep shit and slid 50ft on his hip... His flashlight saved him on that one... After that... He said to hell with it and signed in with the 1st division infantry because it was safer..lol... I still have brownie cam photos of him on that old Harley...but he never rode again after the war

[@anihtgenga4096]

This is better than porn. I'm gettin' old . . .

[@ericscaillet2232]

It's a normal progression...

[@cerealtiller]

I piloted a BSA m21 combination for Motorcycle deliveries and collections the Side car had a rear loading Ramp on a few occasions the piston melted while idling in Traffic. It was upgraded to a BSA A65 which was much better.

[@captnodge]

Wow what a great film well done Love the title music Was expecting smcqueen at some point

[@Cabooseified]

No M1030 M1 😞

[@motopatisserie2398]

Another winner!, informative and easy to watch.

[@marcbrasse747]

Nice! I have always been fascinated by the Hägglund motorcycle designed for the swedish forces. It never actually went into large scale production but was a very advanced design, with cast wheels, a monocoque frame and a variomatic drive. The engine even kept running when it lay upside down in a ditch! kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2PWf5WPeZxmo7s. I would have ordered mine with an accompanying Hägglund tracked vehicle.

[@NickRatnieks]

My brother bought an M20 for £10 in 1971. In the summer of 1972- this was in Portsmouth he got a job putting up some kind of exhibition for the Royal Navy. He said that there were some M20s in the workshops- still being used and he was given a few tips by the mechanics regarding their maintenance and use. I got an 1959 M21- an ex-AA bike for £6 the following year and we did a swap.

[@steveaustin62]

What about the 'Army Indian'. 500cc sidevalve, we had heaps of army surplus ones here in NZ as late as 1970. Anyone know if they were used elsewhere?

[@armedhippie]

741 Indians were used everywhere. Your country had so many due to the lend lease program. They were dispatch only, not combat use as some might say. It is the smallest American made v twin, at 500cc.

[@hodaka1000]

I heard years ago that when the Japanese nationalised the Harley factory they increased the bike's dimensions by 30 or it could've been 33 percent, even the diameter and thickness of the tubing was increased, this increase in dimensions wasn't just for motorbikes but for all vehicles built in their nationalised factories for military use So the bikes were huge and would not have been intended to be used without a sidecar And they were the worlds first Harleys to have metric speedometers My father was WWII veteran who was captured in Singapore and was sent to the POW camp at Sandakan in North Borneo he was one of six survivors from more than two thousand four hundred British and Australians originally held at Sandakan He testified at the war crimes tribunals at Rabaul and Tokyo, when he was at Rabaul he bought a Chevrolet sedan with bullet holes in the doors for five pounds to run around in and he bought a brand new Jeep wrapped in greasy paper for five pound I don't know what an American Harley would've cost there if you could get a new Jeep for five quid but the Japanese Harleys were worthless and the fellas involved in the disposal of equipment would "take them swimming" by ridding them off the end of a jetty As for the Jeep my father had organised with a ships captain to bring it back to Australia as deck cargo but the ship had to sail before the jeep could be delivered to the harbour and it was left on the wharf

[@tinkertime7165]

What about the Bombardier, or was it the Armstrong? Used in the UK army, maybe still being used. I think the KLR 650 took over.

[@alancsalt]

Rikuo and Kurogane "Harleys" were used in the Pacific in WW2.

[@paulbusek7265]

Awesome and interesting video! Great job!

[@armedhippie]

I have owned 3 m20s, I flying flea, 3 welbikes, a couple wla,'s, 2 model 16h Nortons, and a few more. Great memories.

[@peterwilliams2152]

Many errors and ommissions The BMW R71 was an abject failure and BMW stopped production in 1940 after only 2195 units Almost none were supplied to the Wehrmacht which used the R12 R75 and KS750 in lieu. The R71 was supplied to the Reichspost and Zollgrenzschutz. The Central Committee of CPSU resolved on March 4 1941 to build the M-72 in Taganrog, Leningrad, Kharkov and Penza. In early 1941, BMW recommenced production of the R71 and produced 511 units, presumably to train Soviet workers. The tale of the 5 Swedish sourced R71 is just that a tale. There were however 5 motorcycles used as reference units for production. One of those motorcycles still exists and is on display at the Irbit State Motorcycle Museum, along with the R12 and R75 motorcycles that were also offered to the Soviet Union. Almost all Soviet WLA were fitted with a Stoye sidecar made by GAZ. Both Indian and H-D were designing shaft driven bikes in 1939 with H-D copying the R71 and Indian the R51 Delco licenced the R71 from BMW in 1939 and offered the US Army a two wheeler that could be converted into a trike. Photos of the trike show a BMW R71 minus the tank badges, but with an air filter. The reason for interest in a shaft drive bike was extreme chain wear, and the interest in HO engines was the short engine life of the WLA, which was actually due to the army ordering bikes without air filters. Both Zündapp and BMW were commissioned in November, 1937 to develop motorcycles with the following specifications. 1. the VOLKSWAGEN tire-size 4,50 x 16" had to be used 2. front and rear mudguards had to have ample clearance, enough to be fitted with sliding-chains 3. tank to hold gasoline for a minimum of 350 km driving distance 4. top speed under full load to reach 95 km/h - sustained speed 80 km/h at “Autobahn”condition 5. minimum ground clearance to be 150 mm 6. total pay-load 500 kilograms, of which 250 Kg (rider, co-rider, bags) for the motorcycle, and 250 Kg pay-load for the side-car. In 1939 the German-Army-Administration requested a report of developments. BMW presented a practical proposal. A sidecar prototype of 1934, designed for winter driving under extreme conditions, using a driven sidecar wheel, caught the attention of the army experts. Years of experimental research made this system ready for production. However, the bike presented was the R72 and it was based on the R71 and quite inferior to Zündapp’s offering. The Army wanted BMW to build the Zündapp KS750 and BMW quickly cobbled together the R75 as a face-saving means to avoid building the KS750. They were permitted to build 20,000 R75 before building the unified KS750.

[@Kimjong-k4f]

ZUNDAPP,BMW,HARLEY DAVIDSON, INDIAN MOTORCYCLE,URAL,VESPA,JAWA , NORTON ,BSA,MOTO GUZZI ARE ICONIC MILITARY MOTORCYCLES

[@williamnethercott4364]

Matchless and Ariel 350s, Norton Big 4 and Douglas (WW1) spring to mind.

[@Eclispestar]

I vote for the development of the Honda Valkyrie. And Gold wing

[@nick4506]

what is the song at 14:14?

[@lostbear53]

In '68 I had a 1942 Cushman Eagle 125cc w/sidecar that was in the Army till 46... still running!!!

[@foxyroxstar]

Well Ain't We Saved By GRACE In Pulp Fiction! Yeah I'd of Thought INDIAN Could'ave Found a Spot Too! On Yer Feet Soldier!

[@tharindufernandokotiyaofficial]

You missing triumph 3hw and northon 16h

[@markrowland1366]

BSA army riders in north Africa, Australians and New Zealanders, raced each other. That is now called motor cross. Modern bikes have suspension ranges of a foot orore. Hard tailed M20 BSA bikes three inches only at the front. Standing on the peddles all the way.

[@unfortunately_fortunate2000]

does the german bicycle (pedal bike like a bicycle bicycle not a motorcycle bicycle lol) that had an MG-34 & later an MG42 mounted on the handlebars as a mobile patrolling MG/MGplatform count? or are we specifically talking motorcycle's here!?!?!!? ;-]

[@umvhu]

I'm not 100% sure but it's quite likely that Douglas produced the largest number of military motorbikes ever during WW1, where the radio did not exist and vast numbers of couriers were required. Definitely worth looking into.

[@NoamRabbit]

Love my Harley and motorcycles , great to watch the history, hope we can be friends

[@silktvPDR1]

Very enjoyable video... TRW sidevalve twin lovely bike

I expected to see a TRW here as well?

[@SwingEzzZZ]

What about Zundapp? Oh he mentioned near the end of the video that Zundapp will be in the future video. Thanks for sharing this video. There were some BMW knock off made in Japan as well I don't remember the name of those.

[@obelic71]

I know that BMW knock offs were made in China in the early 30's and are still being made there. Japan i didn't know. makes it very odd that those met each other on the battlefield in China.

[@SwingEzzZZ]

@@obelic71 Oh I just found the book. The Japanese one was not made during WW II. It was a "Marusho Magnum 500". I guess it was made around the '80's. The picture of this bike is on page 130 of a book by Bruce Preston titled " BMW The Complete Story". Published by The Crowood Press. Funny thing is I bought this book when I was in Tokyo May 1991.

[@SwingEzzZZ]

Here is a Marusho Magnum 500. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnTOanmApL1rp8k

[@SwingEzzZZ]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mobWiH-mndJjeNE Another example of the Marusho.

[@SwingEzzZZ]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIDOlKqbfM2qhc0 A 250?

[@johnmargetts5431]

BSA M21 for me. Ultimate beauty. In a house fire would I save the missis or the Beeza - mmmm?

[@curtforeman9014]

Thank you sir for this video! Well done sir!

[@thetreblerebel]

ROKON this is now a modernized bike for the outdoorsman with fuel or water stored in the wheel...good stuff

[@AndySjostrom]

among the many I noticed you didn't mention for some odd reason was the Indian or the Royal enfield Indian a British reverse engineer version of the American Indian motorcycle.

[@Heinrich99]

Always think of the bike Chase from The Great escape, or from Indiana Jones and the last crusade.

[@edgeyt1]

My dad was told to ride around a field near Sheffield in 1939, if you didn't fall off you passed the army test. At the end of the war he watched a long line of army motorbikes being lined up on a beach in Ceylon ( re named Sri Lanka), a half track was then deliberately driven over them. My dad was disgusted by this waste and complained - he was told that the army had no use for them anymore, there was no way they were going to be shipped back home and leaving them in working order would skew the local economy. Norton, Triumph, BSA etc if you need spares take a metal detector to the beaches of Ceylon (as was) lol.

[@TheHistoryEngine]

Ouch. I had heard stories of such things happening after the war. I recall a story of how the U.S army dumped loads of Jeeps, heavy machinery etc in to the Pacific for the same reason.

[@custodialmark]

Our dad, J Ferd. wud be recovering on this day in history, as hands nearly blown off one week after landing Utah beach. of few stories, He had rode some early bikes as worked garage in Norristown, an as war prepared vehices for water landings. when let chance to test ride the new biger bike,?harley, he near imediatly got bucked off frum its frist throttle. he guarded some pow on beach or towns, shot possible sniper behined parachoot ,as seen in movie. but by time i got to re connect with him, too old to ride bicycle to Philly by canal.

[@indianfred]

At 10:37 the "Harley" with a side car is in fact a 1916-1917 Indian Powerplus.

[@GravityXheavy]

I see no reason a high caliber automatic weapon can't be mounted on a motorcycle as long as it has brakes.

[@trentdawg2832]

I want a Japanese road king........it would go great next to my American road king

[@napadaanlng69]

of all the mentioned motorcycles, do they ever use headlight visor or fairings?

[@CharlesAnderson-q6u]

Great beard, but a number of mistakes in the information you provided.

[@curatorartium]

Like it or not, the 350 Matchless G3LS had the best front fork in the business.

[@ДобрыйКот-л6у]

Hello! Harley Davidson Wla 42 army cccр 1942😊👍

[@nunyabeeswax3936]

Did Indian Norton or Triumph ever do any such? Thanks....

[@jez6208]

Lieutenant is pronounced Leftenant in the British Army mate.

[@ericdoe2318]

yeh a ride a vespa, but it does have a ati-tank gun sticking out the knee shield.

[@onerider808]

The KLR 650 is the only bike that has a current US military part number (NSN), and sees active use by special operations. Seems like a big oversight to show old, useless bikes and skip active, performing bikes. Still, an interesting episode..thanks!

[@armedhippie]

Useless old bikes ? You smoke too much crack.

[@ffrankenstein3]

Imz m72 was a side valve right ? You have mentioned ohv

[@josephkerkau2520]

Please do an article on the life of the Indian Motorcycle I own a 2018 and I love it

[@kylejohnstone9044]

the History of ... is great plz make more

[@kevinstreet5709]

Though they might have fitted knobblys on the vespa

[@larryedwards1591]

Love it i was a cav scout love the bike history 🤘🤘🤘

[@cloudstrifelv]

Could you do a video on Meguro motorcycles from japan? They have ties to keeping harley alive during the depression

[@chrishereford5969]

If love to see the twins like the BSA Golden Flash. Thank you for sharing.

[@72chickensoup]

A Vespa with a recoil-less pazuka that could be fired while in motion. That I would like to see. I'd probably fall around the place laughing after seeing it happen. Madness.

[@grizmt7779]

Wow, how many adds can you put into one video?

[@BanjoLuke1]

What a nice collection of histories. When I was a boy my father mentioned a motorcycle he had taken around Falaise after it was left by retreating Axis forces. He was a field gunner supporting 53rd (Welsh) Div and used this motorcycle he found until just before the final push into northern Germany. It was a 2wd combination with a differential gear and had small pipes running up to the handlebars from the exhausts to keep the rider's hands warm. He had assumed it was transferred with a unit who had come from the Eastern Front. He spoke of the great boon of having hand warmers in the very.cold Winter of 1944 going up through Belgium. He thought it a most precious and capable vehicle but had to give it up when his regiment got a new CO near the end of hostilities who demanded that all German equipment be abandoned, as it might give the men the impression that it was superior. In my father's view (he was very.yoing at the time) this was a fatuous statement as most of the German equipment was clearly superior. This meant that the German motorcycle and the German pistol had to go.... the latter to be replaced with what he called "a bloody useless Smith & Wesson". I do not know what his gripe with the pistol was, but he clearly preferred the German one. His boss also gave up using a German half-track he had had repainted green. But the 2wd motorcycle combination with the hand warmers featured in many of the tales of my childhood. Apparently it was quite tricky to ride in a straight line over rough country.

[@jeanpaulcomeau8131]

Great video that won my subscription to your channel. Thank you from Malaysia

[@stuartliddle7228]

My stepgrandad gawd bless him, worked for triumph during the war. He always said he left to join the paras (as a medic) because he couldnt do with the ladies wittering and gossiping in the factory! He claimed to have had a 100 mph+ factory bitsa special, that he rode at night with no idea where he was as all the roadsigns had been taken down,,,, He was at Pegasus Bridge and went on through Germany. He nabbed a BMW sidecar and got rid when he found reverse by accident and found a ditch! said the bmws were the best he rode though..... Good work fella, keep it up!

[@karlkimball9110]

Shaft drive Harley used in Africa

[@prankmonkeyxs650]

Great vid brah, I'm super into motorcycles and military firearms now I'm into military cycles! The perfect evolution of wasting my money!

[@dct124]

Lol C.O.D. needs to see your video 😅

[@victormuckleston]

DKW RT200VS ?just for the love

[@Bikerbob59]

I remember my dad and a friend getting a deal on 10 surplus BSA army bikes in the 60s.

[@kieronwheeler3087]

I think you need to mention the Triumph TR7T, as a training and display bike used by the British army.

[@NBZW]

Owned a 56, B33. Loved that thumper!