| |
Manufacturer | BMW Motorrad |
---|---|
Also called | Type 255 RS 500 |
Production | 1935–1939 [1] |
Predecessor | BMW WR 750 |
Class | Street racing |
Engine | 492 cc DOHC supercharged boxer twin with aluminium cylinders; magnesium engine block and supercharger casing
[2] Fuel: gasoline-oil mix |
Bore / stroke | 66×72 mm [1] |
Top speed | c. 220 km/h (140 mph) [2] |
Power | 60 hp (45 kW) [2] |
Transmission | 4-speed, shaft drive [1] |
Frame type | Tubular steel twin cradle |
Suspension | Front: Oil-filled telescopic forks Rear: Rigid (1935–1936) Plunger (after 1936) [1] |
Weight | 138 kg (304 lb) [2] ( wet) |
BMW Type 255 Kompressor (also known as the 500 Kompressor, RS 255, RS255 and Type 255 RS 500) was a supercharged boxer twin race motorcycle from the 1930s. A BMW 255 Kompressor was ridden to victory by Georg Meier in the 1939 Isle of Man TT and the first win by a non-British competitor in the premier 500cc Senior TT class. [3] A similar BMW 255 Kompressor machine was auctioned in 2013 for US$480,000, the second-highest price ever paid at auction for a motorcycle. [4] [5] [6]
A Zoller sliding vane supercharger is bolted to the front of the DOHC engine, driven directly by the crankshaft, and is lubricated by castor oil added to the fuel. [1] [2] [7] It provided c. 15 psi (100 kPa). [1]
The machine set a number of race records, including the first lap over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at a major event, when Georg Meier won the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix in 1939, and Ernst Jakob Henne's capture of the motorcycle land-speed record in 1936 on a model with a streamlined fairing. [1]
An example is on display at the BMW Museum in Munich. [8]
| |
Manufacturer | BMW Motorrad |
---|---|
Also called | Type 255 RS 500 |
Production | 1935–1939 [1] |
Predecessor | BMW WR 750 |
Class | Street racing |
Engine | 492 cc DOHC supercharged boxer twin with aluminium cylinders; magnesium engine block and supercharger casing
[2] Fuel: gasoline-oil mix |
Bore / stroke | 66×72 mm [1] |
Top speed | c. 220 km/h (140 mph) [2] |
Power | 60 hp (45 kW) [2] |
Transmission | 4-speed, shaft drive [1] |
Frame type | Tubular steel twin cradle |
Suspension | Front: Oil-filled telescopic forks Rear: Rigid (1935–1936) Plunger (after 1936) [1] |
Weight | 138 kg (304 lb) [2] ( wet) |
BMW Type 255 Kompressor (also known as the 500 Kompressor, RS 255, RS255 and Type 255 RS 500) was a supercharged boxer twin race motorcycle from the 1930s. A BMW 255 Kompressor was ridden to victory by Georg Meier in the 1939 Isle of Man TT and the first win by a non-British competitor in the premier 500cc Senior TT class. [3] A similar BMW 255 Kompressor machine was auctioned in 2013 for US$480,000, the second-highest price ever paid at auction for a motorcycle. [4] [5] [6]
A Zoller sliding vane supercharger is bolted to the front of the DOHC engine, driven directly by the crankshaft, and is lubricated by castor oil added to the fuel. [1] [2] [7] It provided c. 15 psi (100 kPa). [1]
The machine set a number of race records, including the first lap over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at a major event, when Georg Meier won the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix in 1939, and Ernst Jakob Henne's capture of the motorcycle land-speed record in 1936 on a model with a streamlined fairing. [1]
An example is on display at the BMW Museum in Munich. [8]