10 Most Iconic Military Motorcycles

Thank you for not putting any annoying electronic music track in the background.

My dad was training on the WLA/XA during WWII in the desert out west. He said that the opposed cylinders would burn the guys legs while riding so they would stick em in the sand and turn up throttle till they burnt out. They hated them. Over in Europe he hit a mine and blew up but lucked out, the frame and seat saved him. Another thing was he had saddle bags on it and one side had frags the other phosphorus. Neither side blew.

1- 00:04 BMW R75 1941-1944 2- 00:55 DKW NZ 350 1938-1943 3- 01:31 Cushman Model 53 1944-1945 4- 02:12 Norton WD16H 1935-1945 5- 02:48 Harley Davidson WLA / XA 1940-1952 6- 03:49 Welbike 1942-1954 7- 04:08 Zündapp KS 750 1940-1948 8- 04:33 Indian 841 1941-1943 9- 05:06 Ural M72 1939-1960 10- 05:31 Royal Enfield WD / RE 'Flying Flea' 1939-1941

For more videos don't forget to subscribe! Thanks m.youtube.com/channel/UCU0XfZ_8fpftqqPGU3HnXug ❌

I'm the proud owner of one of the five DKW NZ-350/1 German WWII motorcycles existing currently in the USA. It is the German military version of the NZ-350, although thousands of NZ-350's also saw service in the Wehrmacht. It has proven reliable, although the 6 volt electrical system requires that you not let the motor idle for 10 minutes or the battery will be drained, and you'll have to push start the bike and recharge it on a ride. Vintage war motorcycles are hard to come by and usually require a long search for parts if you have to restore one, but they are worth it. They are heavy, slow, and low in horsepower, but reliable if you know how to start and maintain them.

The Cushman seems like the mini-bikes of my youth; lawnmower engine powered bikes like the go-carts then too.

The Cushman was somewhat of a joke, underpowered, ridiculously small wheels and far too low to the ground. It is impossible to imagine a more disastrous design for off-road usage. The same can be said about the Harley-Davidson which was abandoned by the thousands in France as soon as a GI was able to latch onto a german bike.

Yes, the Norton 16H was churned out in tens of thousands but it was not the UK's "staple military bike" of WW2. That accolade goes to the BSA WM20 which gets a tiny mention but was in fact the main military machine. BSA made more than 125,000 of them for the Army, RAF and RN. .

the KS750 Zunndapp is the BEST

Royal Enfield is still in production in India. I still drive around in 1965 model Royal Enfield. Nice informative video.

From 1938 to end of war the Germans used BMW R12 and Zundapp KS600 both of which deserve credit for being workhorses thoughout the entire war, not just half way through. Also NSU and little DKW RT, which was made for decades after as MZ , BSA Bantam, Harley etc.

For something like desert warfare the drive-shaft instead of a chain made perfect sense on that Indian 841.

My Grandad was a dispatch rider and He wrote everything down, what he did, I'm trying to find who would turn it into a proper paperback.

Love to see all the old bikes. Love your upload.

BSA M20 was the bike i was introduced to in 1976 as a despatch rider for 3 DIV AIRHEAD (DAOC) at perham down Luggershall, had a lot of fun on that bike alongside my mate Ray (Mabs) we both got our full bike license out of the experience, thanks for the vid!!

What difference does it make if the NZ350 was popular or not? Der Fuhrer says use it, you use it.

That Indian 841 is something I'd sure like to own, what a badass little machine that thing is...

Zundap KS 750 is BY FAR the most beautifull,beautifull sounding,and MASCULINE looking :D . Only problem is you have to make another end tot the drive shaft (so it doesn't have that exit towards the sidecar) and that is has a manual gear shift.

Тиби- дох-дох-дох ! Тиби-дох ! Весёлый движок ! )))

Cool bunch of bikes! Thanks!!