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Following my overland trip to Europe in 1974, I often called into Michael Krauser's business in Germering, a suburb of München, then West Germany.

He was the biggest BMW dealer in the area, a former sidecar racer himself and a sponser of GP sidecar racers using BMW Rennsport engines. His workshop was well equiped with an engine dyno and the photo shows a Rennsport engine under test. I've forgotten whose it was.

As well he had on loan the 1939 500cc supercharged Rennsport racer that resided in the BMW museum. This was considered to be the 1939 IOM Senior TT winning machine, ridden by Shorsh Meier, but MLG Motorcycles in London also had one they considered was "the machine" and even had the riding number of Meier , #49, fitted to it...the München version had #1.....interesting...

John Surtees now has the MLG one and he is as adamant as to it's history.

Unsure what BMW's current position is....

Anyhow, it was late April 1974, Krauser was preparing the BMW version of the prewar Renssport for Meier to parade at the forthcoming Vintage races at Salzburgring in Austria. He was going to take it the next day to the BMW test facility, "would I care to come"...would I....

Next day dawned....you guessed it light snow was falling and thus the test was off! We adjourned to his rolling road dynomometer where I had to be content to see it rip the rear C7 Racing Metzeler tyre to shreds on the rollers...must have some torque....

Quite an experience...

Pictured is the engine and the complete machine.

Photos were taken by me.