BMW Krauser MKM 1000
The BMW Krauser MKM 1000 was an air-cooled, four-stroke, boxer twin cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder Sport Bike motorcycle produced by BMW in 1981. Max torque was 56.06 ft/lbs (76.0 Nm) @ 5500 RPM. Claimed horsepower was 70.0 HP (52.2 KW) @ 7500 RPM. It could reach a top speed of 222 km/h / 137.9 mph.
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| BMW Krauser MKM 1000 | |
| Manufacturer | |
|---|---|
| Production | 1981 |
| Class | Sport Bike |
| Engine | air-cooled, four-stroke, boxer twin cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder |
| Bore / Stroke | 94.0mm x 94.0mm |
| Compression ratio | 8.2:1 |
| Top Speed | 222 km/h / 137.9 mph |
| Horsepower | 70.0 HP (52.2 KW) @ 7500RPM |
| Torque | 56.06 ft/lbs (76.0 Nm) @ 5500RPM |
| Transmission | Gear box: Gear Final Drive: Chain |
| Suspension | Front: 36mm BMW modified forks Rear: Boge dual shocks |
| Brakes | Front: dual 259mm discs Rear: single disc |
| Front Tire | 3.50xV19 |
| Rear Tire | 130/80xV18 |
| Wheelbase | 59.41 inches (1509 mm) |
| Weight | 212.0 kg (wet) |
| Manuals | Service Manual |
EngineEdit
A 94.0mm bore x 94.0mm stroke result in a displacement of just 980.0 cubic centimeters.
DriveEdit
The bike has a Gear transmission. Power was moderated via the Wet multi plate.
ChassisEdit
It came with a 3.50xV19 front tire and a 130/80xV18 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via dual 259mm discs in the front and a single disc in the rear. The front suspension was a 36mm BMW modified forks while the rear was equipped with a Boge dual shocks. The wheelbase was 59.41 inches (1509 mm) long.
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000Edit
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000
1981 BMW Krauser MKM 1000
The 1981 MY BMW MKM 100 has, at its heart, an air-cooled, four-stroke, 980cc, boxer twin cylinder powerplant paired to a five-speed manual transmission that can produce a claimed 70 horsepower and 75 Nm of torque. It comes with features such as a 36mm telescopic fork, Boge dual shocks as a rear suspension, laced wheels, dual front disc brakes, a small windscreen, a full fairing, a large headlamp, a dual seat and an analogue instrument cluster.
ReviewEdit
There will always be a small number of motorcycle enthusiasts who insist on something different; it is their aim to improve upon excellence. If the prime mover is a German, he will usually pick on his native BMW as a candidate for the treatment. So it was with Mike Krauser, his name already famous for high quality, quickly detachable luggage systems. He looked at the top BMW of the time, the sporting R100RS, and found it wanting.
First thing to go was the frame. Comfortable
suspension and plenty of room for two had no place on the super-sporting
machine he envisaged; nor did the simple (and inevitably flexible) tubular
frame. Krauser commissioned German aircraft engineers to design an
alternative, and they came up with a masterpiece of complexity, a veritable
bird-cage of short, straight tubes that double- and triple-triangulated one
another for maximum rigidity, The BMW suspension was modified to
eliminate the mid-corner wallows, then the whole was clothed in compact
bodywork that echoed the BMW's austere styling without the bulk; the petrol
tank, seat and rear mudguard were unified in one piece of glass fibre.
Krauser then turned to the flat-twin engine. The overall design was
excellent, well-balanced and well-cooled, but he wanted more flexibility as
well as more urge at high revs. He commissioned a more modern four-valve
head to replace the BMW's two valves, which not only improved the breathing
throughout the rev range, but also lifted the rev ceiling.
The MKM1000
was a long time in the making, and all the careful development work has
produced a fine bike. To ride, it is essentially a BMW - the familiar Boxer
engine and the sensations of the shaft drive see to that. But it is a BMW
apart. First, there is the riding position, crouched over the bars in
a sporting style. It throws the weight forward rather uncomfortably at lower
speeds, but the more the wind lifts the rider, the better control becomes.
The handling is concomitantly sporting, with a far more direct response to
the subtleties of control than any standard BMW. Engine modifications
perform the same function of tautening up the German luxury bike to release
its sporting potential. Curiously, the first sensation of the four-valve
engine is of milder manners, since the Krauser pulls smoothly and strongly
from below 3,000rpm. It is the crispness higher up Ihe rev range that makes
it a 130mph-plus machine. The MKM1000 is exotic, very expensive, and
very rare - a special version of a rather special breed.
Source The worlds fastest motorcycles by John Cutts & Michael Scott
Cycle Guide Review In Germany, motorcycles are meant to be ridden at top speed. You have no choice. The country is laced with high-speed thoroughfares called autobahns that are far twistier than American turnpikes. The speed limit is not 55 mph. The left-hand lane is restricted to highspeed cruising. Unless you keep a reasonable pace, you're apt to be squashed like a cockroach by Porsche 928s, BMW 645s or Mercedes-Benz 450SLCs hurtling along at 200 kph. It is the leather-suited weekend motorcyclist who craves this sort of riding who will most appreciate the Krauser MKM1000. Once you tuck behind the Whirlpool-white fairing at 90 mph, the only evidence of the hole the bike punches in the wind is a slight rustle around your ears. With your arms stretched to meet the narrow handlebar, your feet resting on hand-fabricated rearsets and your backside braced against the tailpiece, the MKM carves single-mindedly through high-speed sweepers like a racer, the BMW S-type engine throbbling like an oversize metronome. The Krauser MKM1000 is one of the best bikes for flat-out running ever built. Motorcycle luggage and accessory manufacturer Mike Krauser had such Sunday adventures in mind when he commissioned the MKM1000 (Mike Krauser Motorcycle) for production. Krauser has sponsored racing sidecars in the past, provided some backing for Freddie Spencer's European adventures this year and bankrolled Toni Mang's successful pursuit of the 1980 250cc roadracing world championship, but he has long sought to stamp street riding with his own personal imprint. With this BMW-powered special, Krauser hopes to embody his vision of what a true high-performance road bike should be. The MKM has its genesis in a development firm called HPN, composed of former endurance racer Alfred Halbfeld, a silent partner named Pepper1 and Michael Neher. In April 1979, the firm began development of a BMW-powered special because, as Neher comments, only BMW owners can afford such bikes. Furthermore, HPN elected to certify the bike as a production motorcycle with the TUV, the hard-nose German counterpart of the DOT and EPA. After $22,000 of certification and a further $115,000 of development, HPN convinced Krauser to fund a 200-unit production run.
Virtually all of the MKM's running gear comes from BMW parts binsa move to satisfy the TUVwhich insures that the MKM is a high-performance street bike instead of a streetable racer like the Bimota, Motoplast or Behn specials. The S-type BMW engine with its hot cam, 8.2:1 compression ratio and 40mm Bing CV carbs is fitted, and the wheels, exhaust pipes, brakes and shaft drive also come from the 1980 R100S (now called the R100CS). The S-model's suspension pieces have been modified to provide less travel for greater high-speed stability, however. Stiffer preload springs do the job in front while stiff springs and heavier 10-weight shock oil do the job in the rear. This production-based hardware attests to the MKM's expected durability and also explains why the bike qualifies as a street-legal bike in the U.S. The linchpin of the Krauser-bike, though, is its frame. As with many of the specialty bikes these days, the frame has its roots in pre-Honda RCB endurance racing, when engine technology was closely controlled and speed had to come from chassis engineering. The MKM uses a space frame, a design offering plenty of that elusive but valuable quantity, torsional rigidity, for good high-speed handling while minimizing weight. HPN also used computer modeling to develop a space frame that uses many short lengths of small-diameter tubing. This Gitterrohrfarhwerk or birdcage-like design permits an extremely lightweight structure-25.3 poundsthat still offers substantial torsional rigidity. Surrounding the MKM's frame is a fiberglass body drawn by Franz Wiedemann, who learned his trade designing BMW's R100RS and R100RT fairings in the Pininfarina windtunnel. The fairing and the one-piece tank/seat/tailpiece attach to the frame with Dzus-type fasteners. The 5.6-gallon aluminum fuel tank (with a miniscule reserve capacity) lies beneath the fiberglass, nestled among the frame tubes. The simple slab of foam that forms the seat can be removed to reveal a storage area in the tailpiece. A different body with a passenger seat also can be ordered for the MKM if you prefer. Once you fit yourself into the monoposto riding position and get underway, the feedback the MKM gives you is pure BMW. Yet the Krauser bike manages to refine these sensations, reducing the amplitude of engine vibrations and controlling the rise and fall of the rear end. As a result, the MKM operates with greater precision than any BMW, including the way the rearset shift lever snaps through clunk-free gearchanges.
As the open road beckons, the MKM chassis goes to
work like no other BMW as well. Not a trace of high-speed BMW-weave can be
detected. A wheelbase one-inch longer than the R100S's provides part of the
reason. Also, the engine has been raised 25mm in the frame for greater ground
clearance, which gives the MKM a higher center of gravity for even more
straightline stability.
For all its autobahn-calibrated manners, the
Krauser bike adapts to scratching in the corners fairly well. The steering in
particular is incredibly precise. The narrow handlebar and high cg prevent you
from pitching the bike into corners with abandon, but the MKM's steadiness under
all circumstances proves to be a great go-fast asset. The engine complements
your roadracing fantasies because the great, fund of torque on hand allows you
to concentrate on riding instead of shifting. Meanwhile, the oversize Metzeler
tires also are up to the roadholding capabilities of the chassis (the swingarm
has been widened to permit the installation of the 130/80V18 rear tire).
Still, there's rarely any question about how
bikes like the MKM1000 react to speed. It's everyday use that separates the
winners from the losers. Because of the use of BMW components, the Krauser bike
actually is easier to live with than most one-off machines. Even so, the MKM
stumbles when it comes to comfort. Unless you're cruising at more than 80 mph,
there's not enough wind pressure to help you sustain the riding position, so the
narrow R100RS handlebar soon introduces you to wrist wreck. Also, the suspension
is simply oversprung. It will pound your joints to powder on any trip over city
streets or Interstate. The Europeans unfortunately equate a rocky ride with high
performance, thinking that the thumps signal a tautly strung bike that fosters a
closer relationship of man and machine. And this classic confusion of stiffness
with streetwise road holding will wear you down after an hour of riding.
Despite its comfort limitations, the MKM1000 is
indeed the ultimate BMW it set out to be. It's the sort of motorcycle you'd
trailer behind your Audi 5000 Turbo to some Alpine locale for an afternoon run.
It's difficult to know if the MKM design
will prove as significant in the long run as Mike Krauser hopes, however. The
space frame does indeed combine stiffness with low weight. Also, the MKM frame
actually affords access to the engine, allowing you to pull the top end without
removing the engine from the framealthough this feature is largely a function
of the engine design rather than the frame. Still, this point could be moot, for
engine durability these days is such that removing the engine from the frame is
an accepted part of major maintenanceas with the Honda CB750. But the
spaceframe's advantages are all but cancelled by one thingprice. The MKM1000
will cost, $15,000 at various BMW dealers in this country, largely because of
the labor cost of building its frame. And for this reason, the Krauserbike will
remain one of the world's best limited production BMWsbut probably not the next
full-scale production BMW.Michael Jordan■
SpecificationsEdit
| Make Model | BMW Krauser MKM 1000 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
| Engine Type | Four stroke, two cylinder horizontally opposed Boxer, pushrod operated 4 valves per cylinder. |
| Displacement | 980 cc / 59.8 cu in. |
| Bore X Stroke | 94 x 70.6 mm |
| Cooling System | Air cooled |
| Compression | 8.2:1 |
| Induction | 2 x ∅40mm Bing carburetors. |
| Ignition | Single points, single coil |
| Starting | Electric |
| Max Power | 52.2 kW / 70 hp @ 7500 rpm |
| Max Torque | 75.4 Nm / 7.7 kgf-m / 55.7 ft/lb @ 5500 rpm |
| Transmission | 5 Speed |
| Final Drive | Chain |
| Front Suspension | ∅36mm BMW modified forks |
| Front Wheel Travel | 160 mm / 6.3" |
| Rear Suspension | Boge dual shocks |
| Rear Wheel Travel | 124.5 mm / 4.9" |
| Front Brakes | 2 x ∅259mm discs |
| Rear Brakes | Single disc |
| Front Tire | 3.50-V19 |
| Rear Tire | 130/80 V18 |
| Dry Weight | 212 kg / 467.3 lbs |
| Fuel Capacity | 17.5 Liters / 4.6 US gal |
| Consumption Average | 4.7 L/100 km/ 21.3 km/l / 50 US mpg |
| Standing ¼ Mile | 12.3 sec |
| Top Speed | 222 km/h / 137.9 mph |
| Road Test | BIKE Magazine Krauser MKM 1000 Brochure Superbike Motorcycle Sport Cycle Guide |