As you know, I wrote The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles a few years ago. One of the things I found interesting was how these motorcycles categorized along national lines. Three nations stood out: The United States, Japan, and Germany. This blog (one of two or three) focuses exclusively on the German bikes and their derivatives.
One of the more interesting military motorcycle applications occurred in the German Wehrmacht during World War II. In most other military motorcycle applications, the motorcycle has been used primarily as an escort or messenger vehicle. The Germans actually used motorcycles as infantry weapons. Each motorcycle in a German motorcycle battalion (that’s right, the Germans organized motorcycle units up to the battalion level!) carried three soldiers: A driver, a rifleman on the back seat, and a machine gunner in the sidecar. The Germans used these motorcycle units when they invaded Russia. By the time the Russian winter rolled around, they figured out this was not such a bright idea.
This is a BMW with a sidecar. This picture came from HP-Hommes in Germany.
The Russians, realizing a war was coming in the late 1930s, purchased a handful of BMWs from a dealer in Sweden and secretly reverse-engineered the German machines in Moscow. The Russians actually fielded a copy of the BMW military motorcycle during World War II, so troops in Russia on both sides of the front lines were fighting atop essentially the same motorcycle.
After the war, the Russians continued to build these machines. The Russians shifted production to the Ural mountains, and the Russian BMW copies became known as Urals. The Russians continued to improve the machines, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the motorcycles were offered for sale to the public. Prior to that time, Russia sold Urals to eastern European and other third world communist nations.
You can buy these machines today in the United States, without the machine gun, and own a brand new World War II-era motorcycle. The Russians also make a civilian version. The civilian versions are available with whitewall tires and with or without the sidecar.
In the past, Ural has not been hesitant in showing their motorcycles in extreme applications. This is another photo from the Ural brochure. Ural has also showed motorcycles with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and the 7.62mm PK machine gun.
I grabbed the next shot on a trip to China in 2001. Note the OHV BMW-clone engine. In 2001, China had several companies making clones of the older BMW-boxer engine bikes, including some with early-1930s-design flathead engines!
I travel to China on business regularly, and I noticed that you don’t see the Chinese BMW clones any more. The companies that manufactured them stopped offering them many years ago or went out of business, but I thought I would still some Chinese boxers plying the streets and alleys Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other spots. Nope. They’re gone.
In China, you can’t register a motor vehicle more than 10 years old, and if you have one and don’t turn it in to the government for destruction, they will come and take it from you. There are, I suppose, advantages and disadvantages to this approach. The disadvantage, obviously, is that there are no classic vehicle collectors or collections in China. The advantages are that it gets vehicles that don’t have the latest emissions control equipment off the street, and it stimulates the economy.
How about the country where the boxers originated? BMW is still going strong, and BMW police bikes (in many variants) are in service in both Germany and other parts of the world. The photos that follow show both vintage and current (in 2001) Beemers.
Back in the early 2000s, German police BMWs were green and white (they may still be; I haven’t been to Germany in a while). The BMW factory provides the bikes in a range of standard colors, and for an additional $400 per motorcycle (early 2000 pricing) they will paint the motorcycle any color already in the BMW system (for either their cars or motorcycles). Based on the research I did for Military and Police Motorcycles, I believed the then-current BMW R1100 RT-P to be the most advanced police motorcycle in the world. It had a range of officer comfort features, a torquey 1100 cc twin cylinder engine, and unlike all other manufacturers’ police motorcycles, an antiskid braking system. Every motor officer I interviewed for Military and Police Motorcycles spoke highly of this machine.
In the early 2000s, the BMW R1100 RT-P, in black and white, was used by the California Highway Patrol and many other U.S. police departments. If Harley-Davidson wasn’t nervous, they should have been. The BMW was a wonderful police motorcycle. BMW later upgraded this motorcycle to the R1150RT-P (with the 1150cc engine), and then the R1200RT-P (with the 1200cc hex head engine).
Here are more early BMW police motor photos…
The photograph above, which came from BMW in Germany, shows the Pope in France a few years ago, accompanied by a group of earlier BMW police twins. BMW has been the dominant police motorcycle in Europe and many other parts of the world.
My friend Ben sent this next photo to me from Paris, France. This is a vintage photo showing the Gendarmerie from the presidential escort group.
This is Ben’s personal bike, a former French police BMW. It’s a 1977 R60/7, in a configuration never made available to civilians.
And folks, that’s a wrap for today. Watch for more in another day or two. This blog is already getting long, and we have enough vintage BMW police motors stuff for another blog or two.
Don’t forget to visit our Police Motors page and check out our other police motorcycle posts!
Hey, there’s more good stuff coming your way. We do our best to blog every day, and we’ve got great stories lined up for you:
A few years ago when visiting the Zongshen plant in Chongqing, I spotted an RX3 set up as a police bike. It caught my eye for several reasons. First and foremost, it was a snappy looking motorcycle. I had written the 
I was still pumped about the police bike, though, and I convinced CSC to bring the RX3-P to the US for a trial marketing period. You can see my enthusiasm in the video we put together on the bike…
We publicized the bike big time on the CSC blog, and I think that got noticed around the world. The RX3-P found a home with several large police departments in Asia and South America. That’s a good thing, because it’s a great bike. I’d still like to see it happen here in America. I imagine Zongshen will introduce a police version of their RX4, and maybe that larger bike will have a better chance at breaking into the US police motorcycle market. Someday. Maybe. We’ll see.
You can see how the public admire Guayasense, a motorcyclist and Lord of the Transit Commission of Guayas Province at that time.
During the beginning 50 years, the Presidential Escort was established with the primary mission of escorting and providing security to the President and Vice-President of the Republic. They lit the alarm sirens, lights flashing resplendent in their motorcycles. The seated gentlemen guards were ordered in strategic caravans taking custody of the Presidential car with professionalism and responsibility.
We appreciate the members of the Presidential Escort’s professionalism and accountability. Here they are with His Excellency, Mr. President of the Republic of Ecuador, Dr. Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra.
Here we can see Vigilante Vicente Alvarado doing acrobatics and practicing on his motorized vehicle (motorcycle) at the start of the Training School of Presidential Escort.
In the 80 years of its existence the Transit Commission has renewed its fleet by acquiring brand new 750 cc Suzuki motorcycles, which were used for the Presidential Escort. Here we see Mr. Transit Chief Mayor Jorge Peñafiel Ball, and Mr. Sub Chief Transit Mayor Carlos Palacios Torres.
In the 1990s, the leading institution for transit renewed its fleet by acquiring 750 cc Honda motorcycles.
In gratitude for the performance of motorcyclists who were part of the Presidential Escort, the department received Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
Festivities in Juliana’s staff. Here is 92 years of motorcycle experience in the Presidential Escort to the President of the Republic Arch Sixto Durán Ballén, from left to right subway. Miguel Leon Czech Subway. Miguel Rosero Huacón, Sgt. Ely Lopez Duran and subway. José Paredes Desiderio (current head of the Department Presidential Escort).
In 2004, the Transit Commission of Guayas Province acquires new motorcycles for the department of the Presidential Escort. These are the 1150 cc BMW brand.
The Escort also received Suzuki Motorcycles of 500cc, which were acquired together with the BMW for the Department of the Presidential Escort CTG.
Here are Motorcyclists who took part in the caravan escorting Mr. Former President of the USA George Bush during his visit to the city of Guayaquil.
Here is the Head of Department (Cap. Jose Paredes Desiderio) planning with the class officers and gentlemen vigilant routes before a shift is going to escort some of the important people who visit the city of Guayaquil and Guayas Province.
This is the Staff of the Presidential Escort doing acrobatics on BMW motorcycles.
Like any other institution in the country and the world, women now form part of this great institution in the GUAYAS transit Commission. These beautiful and distinguished ladies who have the mystique and taste for wearing a uniform have the ability and skill to drive a motor vehicle, which has led them to join the select group of the Presidential Escort of the Province of Guayas.
At present I am trying to communicate with police elsewhere in the world who are interested in training with modern techniques and exchange knowledge. We ask them to share their his knowledge by writing to my mail (jparedesd@ctg.gov.ec). If any groups use Harley Davidson, BMW, Honda, Suzuki, etc. and would like to educate two members of this institution which I represent I ask you to contact me.
I staged one of the photos above to show a couple of San Fernando Valley police officers stopping me on my Triumph Tiger. That was one of the most interesting parts of the research. I interviewed the two SFV officers in the police station and they were regular guys. Joking, telling stories, you know the drill. I was having fun listening to them and trying to capture it all in my notes. One of the officers suggested going outside for more photos, and with that, both of them put on their helmets and sunglasses. The transformation was dramatic. With their helmets off, they were two regular (and different) guys. When the helmets and shades went on, they became RoboCop. They were indistinguishable, all business, no room for nonsense. Serious. Emotionless. No more smoking and joking. The real deal.
Fun times, to be sure. I really enjoyed doing that story, and before we wrap up this blog, here’s another bit of trivia: I first saw “Motors” in print while recovering from a motorcycle accident (I got busted up pretty good and I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading). The first responder on that one was Jim Royal, a La Verne, California, motor officer. Just a few weeks before my crash I shot photos of Jim for this very story. One had Jim holding a radar gun; it’s the photo you see in the article above.