acotrel said:
The Rennsport BMWs raced in the fifties obviously handled OK. Duke won against Manxs with one. Later model BMWs had the camshaft beneath the crank.
Rennsport BMs had ohc and sodium cooled exhaust valves = more developed than a manx.
So didn't have camshafts above OR below the crank...
You could pay a lot of money for that level of performance.
http://silodrome.com/bmw-rennsport-rs54/
Look at that rev counter....
Very tall gearing to get the speed too - unobtanium for road bikes ?
Assuming the road bikes were similar could require a large leap of faith ?
I had a 1000cc BM for a while - long plush suspension, very pleasant tourer.
And capable of being ridden at a fair clip. But a racer it wasn't.
If you backed off in a fast corner, it could go anywhere - not a nice habit...
Like most BM road bikes, had a low 1st and 2nd gear (gives the clutch a better chance).
Means that even 250cc trail bikes blitz you off the line - and take a fair bit of catching !
Article on Rennsport BMs, prior to Geoff Duke, mentions that while they did well in sidecar events,
few riders, except Walter Zeller, had mastered them in solo events.
Prewar, the supercharged Rennsports had had several goes at the IoM.
Several crashes and the death of one rider had preceded Georg Meiers' win in the 39 TT.
(Oops, Jock West came 2nd, ~2 minutes behind).