Dropsafe

by Alec Muffett

douglas boxer engine

One of my neighbours is a British-Bike aficionado – having ridden most of them since 1950 – and a book from his library surprised me by saying that not merely was the original horizontally-opposed boxer motorbike engine a British design, but it also suggested that the design’s greatest modern exponent – BMW – licensed its first boxer engine from one of the numerous UK motorcycle companies that existed in the 1910s/1920s.

I say this in relation to the image I found at [www.micapeak.com] – which lo! shows an inline boxer driving a chain on an old Douglas…

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Comments

6 responses to “douglas boxer engine”

  1. alecm
    aha! re: douglas boxer engine

    http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/pdfs/heritage/1920.pdf

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    Kurt Hanfland designs the “Kurier” engine, a tiny 2- stoke, 148cc motor. Eventually it is incorporated into a combination bicycle/motorcycle called the “Flink” (a word ironically meaning speedy which the Flink was not). The heavyish bike with its under-powered engine requires vigorous pedaling to start. The Flink flunks and is never sold under the BMW name.

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    Max Friz and Martin Stolle collaborate on the M2B15 the first “flat twin” or “boxer” engine. Based on the British Douglas design, it is manufactured by BMW but used in the motorcycles of other brands like Corona, Heller, Helios and Scheid. In this same year that BMW sells off the assets of the original Otto Flugzenmaschinenefabrik which continues its own manufacture of Flottweg motorcycles. BMW will buy the works back in 1937

    Reply
  2. mrod
    re: douglas boxer engine

    I’m surprised you didn’t know this before.

    I’m sure we had a conversation about this on Bullet last year and as I remember you were on there at the time.

    Reply
  3. alecm
    re: douglas boxer engine

    i did know it before, but lacked proof; it came up in conversation last week, with the other party in mild disbelief – so corobboration is nice.

    Reply
  4. Richard
    re: douglas boxer engine

    Hi,

    Where can I advertise a 1947 Douglas Boxer 350 for sale?

    Regards

    Richard

    Reply
  5. alecm
    re: douglas boxer engine

    Depends. if you are in zimbabwe, and willing to ship, i would examine the classic bike maillists. The UK may be a good market, and there are several magazines which specialise in such. “Classic Bike” for instance.

    Reply
  6. trevor pickett
    re: douglas boxer engine

    did u sell the douglas

    Reply

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