The Welbike was one of a number of items produced for Special Operations Executive (later to become MI6), at the their factory in Welwyn Garden City just outside north London, during WWII. Almost all their products had the "Wel-" prefix, as in the Welrod, which was a very simple, primitive hand gun.
thank you for posting. in the mid-to-late 60s, i rode a late 40s civilian version of the cushman scooter shown in this video. in place of the single seat n exposed motor, etc, it had a bulky, wrap-around sheet metal body/seat. huge, ugly, slow, n noisy. i loved it. wish i still had it.
The German army demanded the Zundapp 750cc and BMW 750cc to share as many parts as possible (standardization) because the 2 companies obviously liked to use their own parts.
Used to see lots of surplus WLAs in Australia in the 1960s. They sold for as little as $40 AU, with better examples around $100. They weren't seen as very desirable in those days, but you'd probably get several thousand for a good example now. If you wanted class back then, you rode a British bike – Vincent, Norton, Triumph or BSA in that order. Even Japanese bikes were considered to have more class than a Harley! How times have changed. Personally, I always wanted a BMW R69S. Rumour has it that the US Army used WLAs to pull bogged Sherman tanks out of the mud (LOL).
At my first job I worked with an Austrian who at 16/17yo in 1945 was part of the last manpower called up to serve in the German army. As he was experienced at riding a motorcycle they made him a courier and he was issued an army motorcycle. Within 6 weeks the German Government and army collapsed. He had a motor cycle with enough petrol to get home which was fairly close. His village was in the soviet zone so he dismantled the bike,wrapped it in oily rags, loaded it into wooden crates and buried them inside a barn to keep it dry. After the allied occupation ended he dug it up, painted it red to disguise it's military origin, reassembled it and had a nice motorcycle. He sold it when he emigrated to Australia.
My first motorized bike was this cushman, 35 bikes since, now another collectable 1998 1200 xls. my love i've had larger and smaller but this is my last at 66yrs old it's the BALLS.
I suspect soldiers would tell you the bicycles they used at Normandy were better than the Welbike – quiet, just as fast and probably more reliable. 3:30 – A Hardly that's "reliable"? I doubt it, and if it were true, they forgot how to do that. 7:57 – The Enfield is the most desirable for me, small and good power/weight.
Great video and I never knew there were so many different companies supplying motorcycles during the wars. Very interesting indeed. Thanks for the show.
Also Bull shit. The USA captured BMW and Moto Guzzi and due to the shaft drive were made to copy. Examples are in the Trev Deeley motor collection in Vancouver B.C. They also have the Great Escape Steve McQueen bike that was dressed up to look German but was British with paint 🇬🇧
47 Comments
…so the target market for a first scooter was the military? 😂
Funny how these bikes had less horsepower than my humble T150 😂😜
The first one is basically a motocompo of the ww2
The idles sound amazing
Bro I think the bike at 4:00 doesn't seem to be a harley
I love Ural motorbike. Is very good to drive off of road, yes
3:14 "boxbike" you could order these in a box from boy's life mag. put them together yourself. back in the day.
Fes talk to me mate
I just woke up and look up something on my phone and you started texting me
This guy needs to pull the turd out of his mouth and re-do the voice-over on this video.
4:51 i thought he was doing a burnout, looks like it was just the smokey exhaust
I never could figure out why they wanted these noisy things in a war zone ….. Just tell them where your at why don't you lol
1:43 a bike with a locking differential?
that DKW NZ 350 sounded like a Trabant engine lol
The Welbike was one of a number of items produced for Special Operations Executive (later to become MI6), at the their factory in Welwyn Garden City just outside north London, during WWII. Almost all their products had the "Wel-" prefix, as in the Welrod, which was a very simple, primitive hand gun.
flying flea royal enfield
I vant to suck ya blood
I'd love to own one of those Indian 841's, that bike is just a badass….
thank you for posting. in the mid-to-late 60s, i rode a late 40s civilian version of the cushman scooter shown in this video. in place of the single seat n exposed motor, etc, it had a bulky, wrap-around sheet metal body/seat. huge, ugly, slow, n noisy. i loved it. wish i still had it.
Imagine defending your city just for a Welbike to run you down
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/EXF5HA/peugeot-motorbike-ww2-army-motorcycle-bike-colors-colours-gun-weapon-EXF5HA.jpg
You should have had the Husqvarna military bike
Triumph Tiger Cub was not included in this video.
Zündapp KS 750 I really want to have it
0:51 doktor kosmos omegalul
I can see where Harley Davidsons come from.
DKW NZ-350 end Russian ИЖ-350 andÂ
tooas well.
welbike moto
threw off with a parachute in a special container vdv motors
But, his accent…
Arrgghhhhh… The accent…..
The German army demanded the Zundapp 750cc and BMW 750cc to share as many parts as possible (standardization) because the 2 companies obviously liked to use their own parts.
I really loved this video. Thank you.
Used to see lots of surplus WLAs in Australia in the 1960s. They sold for as little as $40 AU, with better examples around $100. They weren't seen as very desirable in those days, but you'd probably get several thousand for a good example now. If you wanted class back then, you rode a British bike – Vincent, Norton, Triumph or BSA in that order. Even Japanese bikes were considered to have more class than a Harley! How times have changed.
Personally, I always wanted a BMW R69S.
Rumour has it that the US Army used WLAs to pull bogged Sherman tanks out of the mud (LOL).
You left out the most produced motorcycle of WW2 the BSA M20
At my first job I worked with an Austrian who at 16/17yo in 1945 was part of the last manpower called up to serve in the German army. As he was experienced at riding a motorcycle they made him a courier and he was issued an army motorcycle. Within 6 weeks the German Government and army collapsed. He had a motor cycle with enough petrol to get home which was fairly close. His village was in the soviet zone so he dismantled the bike,wrapped it in oily rags, loaded it into wooden crates and buried them inside a barn to keep it dry. After the allied occupation ended he dug it up, painted it red to disguise it's military origin, reassembled it and had a nice motorcycle. He sold it when he emigrated to Australia.
Your English is poor, maybe find a different narrator?.
My first motorized bike was this cushman, 35 bikes since, now another collectable 1998 1200 xls. my love i've had larger and smaller but this is my last at 66yrs old it's the BALLS.
I just love these old war time motorcycles!
I think it would be noteworthy to mention where/from which army bike the Germans took the design for their boxer-motorcycles from..
I suspect soldiers would tell you the bicycles they used at Normandy were better than the Welbike – quiet, just as fast and probably more reliable.
3:30 – A Hardly that's "reliable"? I doubt it, and if it were true, they forgot how to do that.
7:57 – The Enfield is the most desirable for me, small and good power/weight.
NSU Kettenkraftrad
Great video and I never knew there were so many different companies supplying motorcycles during the wars. Very interesting indeed. Thanks for the show.
More reliable then a Harley 😂😂😂
Why they use strait pipes for military bikes? Wouldn't this be loud enough to expose bikers
"Awesome", no.. But interesting, yes, nice presentation, well done.
Also Bull shit. The USA captured BMW and Moto Guzzi and due to the shaft drive were made to copy. Examples are in the Trev Deeley motor collection in Vancouver B.C. They also have the Great Escape Steve McQueen bike that was dressed up to look German but was British with paint 🇬🇧
The bike ,dumb nut ,was called the corgi. Was dropped
In a capsule by parachute by the British
Fes from that 70s show