Merkblätter zur Restaurierung der überschweren Kräder BMW R75 und Zündapp KS 750.
 

Herausgeber:  ERSATZTEIL    DIENST       Hans-Peter HOMMES       41363 Jüchen Kamphausen 156 C/            www.wehrmachtsgespann.de
 

Camouflage colours for the German Zündapp KS 750 + BMW R 75 motorbikes with sidecars

From the book    “Wehrmachtsgespanne  gestern und heute”       Page 42                            H-P Hommes                 Datenschutzerklärung

 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.   

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