All people loves an underdog story, and in addition to being probably the most influential bikes of its type, this BMW-based sidecar racer might be essentially the most unlikely hero on three wheels. It was constructed and piloted by a German privateer named Helmut Fath, and spawned the following technology of sidecar racers often called ‘kneelers.’ A holy mixture of previous elements and new concepts, Helmut Fath’s BMW RS sidecar was pivotal to his rise to prominence in sidecar racing and his historic toppling of BMW’s championship reign
Born in Ursenbach on Might 24, 1929, Helmut Fath adopted in his father’s footsteps with a right away curiosity in bikes. A mechanical training on the Max Planck Institute and adolescence working for BMW strengthened his fascination, and Fath discovered his manner onto the race monitor in 1949. It’s mentioned that Fath spun out and wrecked that day Lorsch, subsequently promoting his 250 cc racer. Looks as if a becoming precursor for the person who’d later change into the king of sidecar racing.
Shortly after, Fath borrowed a sidecar rig to get throughout city and located himself smitten after mastering the fundamentals. He quickly bought a rig of his personal and as soon as once more discovered himself on the race monitor, this time with higher success.
Whereas it was apparent to Fath’s mates that he’d discovered his calling, he was unwilling to compete at something aside from a hobbyist stage. Fath spent the 1952 season sustaining a 500 cc BMW race engine for a good friend, and at its conclusion, the engine’s proprietor urged Fath to place the engine to good use. Quickly after, a buyer walked into his store with a body and a racing sidecar and Fath discovered himself recent out of excuses.
Fath’s righthand man (fairly actually on this case) was Alfred Wohlgemuth, the proprietor of the aforementioned sidecar and chassis, they usually discovered success collectively instantly at Lorsch. Regardless of a hefty drawback in tools and expertise, the fledgling privateers piloted their hybrid creation to a third-place end, and a document quickly after on the Nürburgring. Sustained success would qualify the unlikely duo for an knowledgeable competitors license, and pit them towards one of the best factory-backed racers for the 1954 season.
Whereas Fath and Wohlgemuth had a charmed introduction to the game, it was a bridge too far to imagine their first machine might compete with BMW’s works racers, and Fath bankrupted himself shopping for a BMW RS racer from a detailed good friend. It’s right here that Fath’s genius confirmed, as he outfitted the bike with diminutive 16-inch wheels and constructed a low streamlined sidecar to go together with it.
This new rig was modern in a number of methods, most prominently in that the gasoline tank was moved from the bike to the sidecar. With its brief stature and weight as near the pavement as attainable, Fath and Wohlgemuth’s racer pioneered the following technology of ‘kneelers,’ and the bike was instantly aggressive. Within the following years, Fath would develop a proprietary gasoline injection system, be voted Germany’s finest privateer rider and spend his final greenback on a brand new BMW racing engine to switch the worn-out unique.
The items would all come collectively for Fath and Wohlgemuth in 1960, when the duo clinched the rostrum within the French, British, Belgian, and German GP races and have been topped world champions—as privateers, nonetheless. Two males who had met by probability just some years earlier had come up towards one of the best manufacturing facility racers and triumphed on a home-built machine.
Helmut Fath’s story was removed from over, however the subsequent chapter in his story marked a low level. A wreck on the Nürburgring in 1961 claimed the lifetime of Alfred Wohlgemuth and value Fath one in every of his toes. Fath’s restoration spanned 5 years, and in his idle time, he developed a proprietary high-revving four-cylinder engine with the assistance of Dr. Peter Kuhn. With engineer Horst Owesle manning the sidecar, Fath piloted the shed-built bike to a world championship in 1968—marking the primary time a BMW-powered bike didn’t win the title since 1953.
Whereas the ledger of Sidecar World Champions is house to many Germans, together with duos with extra victories to their credit score, the underdog story and legacy of innovation surrounding Helmut Fath makes him probably the most important riders of the game. And that makes Mecum’s Lot S207 a captivating research.
Whereas Mecum printed just a few brief bullet factors on the motorbike, this BMW RS 54 sidecar hails from a momentous interval in Fath’s racing profession. We all know from the bike’s historic passport that it was utilized by Fath from 1958 to 1960, and translating the doc reveals that the chassis is from an earlier Sort R69 (used from 1955 to 1960). This could recommend that Lot S207 is the motorbike that Fath and Wohlgemuth rode of their championship-winning 1960 season, however you’d assume it could be marketed as such.
To get to the reality of the matter, you’d probably should get boots on the bottom at Mecum’s Las Vegas 2025 motorcycle sale to overview the documentation they’ve on file. Regardless, we’re speaking a few racing sidecar of the very best significance, which was displayed on the BMW Automotive Membership of America Basis in 2023.
This priceless piece of sidecar racing historical past is obtainable and not using a pre-auction estimate and can be crossing the block on Saturday, February 1, 2025.
Supply: Mecum
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