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Camouflage colours for the German Zündapp KS 750 + BMW R 75 motorbikes with sidecars
From
the book “Wehrmachtsgespanne gestern und heute” Page 42 These heavy
sidecar outfits were delivered in four different colours as standard
factory finishes by BMW and Zündapp. Original photos show that the bikes
were often painted in different colours by the troops at the front.
The manufacturers used the following
colours:
RAL is a German
system of paint colour coding which defines the exact colour.
A multicolour camouflage was not used for motor
bikes, because a multicolour camouflage should be effective from 1000
m and beyond. This means a multicolour camouflage would be useless for
small vehicles as it looks like one colour after only a few hundred
meters. The airforce
vehicles were grey because
it was assumed that they would be parked at the airfields in camouflaged
positions. Therefore the grey was intended to imitate shadow under camouflaged
areas. From experience
on the Eastern (Russian) front with vast open spaces and dusty areas
beige was introduced as the
best camouflage for vehicles exposed in open areas. In winter the bikes should have been painted
with a special white camouflage paste. As it was often not available,
the bikes were lime-washed. The first rain in spring washed it off. The bikes
were originally varnished with a pale
synthetic enamel
(which is no longer available).
We (H-P Hommes Ersatzteildienst) produce our paint to match original
RAL colour samples so that it matches the original finish.
We
deliver in 3 kg units. You will need to add 2 to 3 kg of thinner to
make it suitable for spraying. Diluted
like this, the resulting 4 to 6 kg is enough for a complete bike and
side car.
Colours of individual parts
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