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:

Date

Colour

Service

Paint code

Until end of 1942

Dunkelgrau- dark grey

Army

RAL  7021

1941 and 1942

Gelbbraun - dark beige

Only for Africa corps

RAL  8000

From end of  1942

Dunkelgelb - beige

Army

No RAL code

1941 - 1945

Grau - grey

Airforce

RAL  7019

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                                                     Datenschutzerklärung

                            

Part

Same colour as the bike

Black heat resistant lacquer

Matt black

Other finishes

Headlamp switch

X

 

 

Black self coloured plastic

Hand levers

X

 

 

Aluminium

Gear shift gate

X (R75)

 

 

Aluminium KS

Brake drum

X

X (from 1943)

 

 

Exhaust heat shield

X

X

 

 

Dynamo cover

 

 

X

 

Fuse box

X

 

X (cover)

 

Horn

X

 

X

 

Dynamo regulator cover

 

 

X

 

Valve covers

 

X (steel covers)

 

Aluminium

Cylinders

 

X

 

 

Oil  sump

 

X

 

 

Air inlet tubes

X (R75)

X (KS 750)

 

 

Oil filler plugs

 

 

 

Red – RAL 3000

 

 NORIS magneto    -    measure the oil level      -     camouflage   

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