Krauser MKM 1000. It's all about the heads

Auto Motor Klassiek » Engines » Krauser MKM 1000. It's all about the heads
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Krauser was founded by former race driver Michael “Gigi” Krauser. Over the years, he was involved in various road racing classes, especially sidecars, 80cc, 250cc and 350cc, both as a constructor, driver and sponsor. He did a lot for and with BMWs, such as developing four-valve heads for the boxer engines and, his dream, a complete motorcycle of his own, the Krauser MKM 1000 (Mike Krauser Munich). The Domani sidecar project did not initially reach the production stage, although several dozen were built.

You could buy the Krauser MKM 1000 completely ready-made for a lot of money.

Or you bought it as a kit where you could tie up your own stock of BMW stuff.

That MKM1000 was a dream project. The magic of the Krauser MKM 1000 would be the frame. In the same way that specialist companies such as Seeley and Rickman had developed lightweight racing frames in Britain, Krauser wanted to develop a suitable advanced German frame for the iconic BMW boxer engine. And surprise the world with it and make his name immortal. And let's face it: he succeeded.

He approached the matter differently from the traditional British artisanal way. It was up to CAD 1.0. The use of computers in frame design was still relatively new in the late 52s, so it was only after much experimentation that a new spatial frame was developed that used 4 straight and 150 slightly bent tubes of chrome-molybdenum steel and had to be welded at XNUMX points.

the birdcage

This new frame, called 'the birdcage' by motorcycle journalists of the time, weighed only 11,6 kilograms – 6 kilograms less than the original BMW frame. A series of other changes were made when integrating the BMW parts. The bike was mounted higher, the front forks were an inch and a half lower, the fork geometry was adjusted and so was the wheelbase. Custom brake and shift kits have been developed as well as the fuel tank which is hidden under the elegant one-piece plastic tank cover. Of course, the seat and side covers were also made in-house. And in one piece with the 'tank cover'. The aerodynamic fairing was developed for the unlimited Autobahn, and a wider swingarm allowed the installation of a wider rear wheel with a wider tire.

The four-valve heads

As icing on the cake, such a Krauser MKM 1000 should also have four-valve heads. That dream has been fulfilled ab Werk 238 (or 237) times.

Such a top Krauser MKM 1000 is equipped with those rare Krauser heads with 4 valves that festivities increase the power to almost 80 hp. It does with a pair of 40mm Dell'Orto PHM carburettors, a BMW 336Rs sports camshaft and Ducati-Conti style stainless steel mufflers. Those four-valve heads were a different story, by the way. Krauser sold the 4-valve sets as racing parts. Many people made the mistake of thinking that the heads were ready to go straight out of the box on the bike; they really weren't. They weren't even half finished yet. But they had to be worked and finished. Quite a few buyers found out the expensive way. Leaks occurred and the works of art often simply broke mechanically. Krauser could have made his communication to the customer a little clearer there.

The Krauser 4-valve head set included Mahle pistons and springs

The Krauser MKM 1000's pistons were machined with cutouts to match the valve layout. Fitting the new pistons was no problem, but the heads had to be milled and polished to fit. There were also short, hollow pushrods that consisted of two parts: the actual rod and a small end cap. If mounted loose, there was a serious possibility that the hollow pushrods would fill with oil. That would change the weight of the valve train and put stress on the valve train. A BMW cam should last about 150D km without any problems. A cam stressed by the bouncing mass, thanks to oil-filled Krauser push rods, would reduce itself to scrap within 50D km. The solution? They must be welded together and machined and polished to seal them. Price and quality gave room for another option: MKM kits therefore often drove carefree with normal - or modified 2 valve heads. Also nice!

Friend Theo Terwel from Vorden once bought such an unassembled MKM construction kit

Theo thinks in German quality terms and was surprised about the Italian-like fits of the plastic parts. With patience and craftsmanship you can get everything to fit. But he expected better. In the end everything worked out. And so as not to ruin your day, we won't tell you what your dream bike would cost you right now. We found the header photo in the private archive and it was made by Chris Pennarts – Chris Pennarts Image Bank: Chris Pennarts www.chrispennarts.nl – I take comfort that I will never have a Krauser MKM 1000. But I did stand behind it!


 

The affordable version

MKM1000. It's all about the headlines
The revenue model: the suitcases

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5 comments

  1. Create your own frames.
    Doesn't Bimota still do that?
    Blocks from someone else in a self-built frame / bicycle Freubben?
    And not bad, since Bimota's are reasonably "at the price".

    And let's not forget Bakker from Heerhugowaard with the QCS (Quick Change System) frames, with unilateral suspension eighth AND front. . ... .
    No idea if it is still produced there.

  2. I was able to admire such an engine at the famous BMW parts supplier in the middle of Limburg. It's amazing how Krauser managed to do that. Unfortunately I never drove one. Whoever has a driving impression can tell

    • Ever screwed heads like that. Was a disaster. From a good and nice running block I got an irregular running bitch due to unequal compression and an enormous oil consumption. Not ridden for a month, but as the weeder go back to the old trusted stuff. Later, much later, I switched to light Woessner pistons, but those are also not good (enough), you get problems with pinging because the shape of the combustion chamber changes. So those pistons adjusted in the lathe, heads flowed, and then you have over 80hp. That Krauser event didn't work for me, and because of Dolf's piece I now know why. Thank you, Dolph!

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