The BMW F 76 was a small tricycle delivery van made by BMW between 1932 and 1933 at BMW's Eisenach plant. In 1933, the BMW F 79 version, containing a larger engine, was put into production.
History Development The BMW 3/15's van variant did not sell very well; only 435 vehicles were sold from May 1929 to February 1932. Dossier des BMW Group Archivs The success of other manufacturers' three-wheeled commercial vehicles during the Great Depression made BMW Munich develop its own tricycle lorry in 1931. It had a two person bench seat and a single-cylinder motorcycle engine.
A one-seat variant had been tested as well as a passenger car, but both were not put into production.
Marketing In autumn 1932, the F 76'''s production commenced at the BMW Eisenach factory. It had a 200 cc engine, and therefore, could be driven legally without a driving licence. It was priced at RM 1350.
In January 1933, the F 79 version with a 400 cc engine was introduced; it cost RM 1500.
A horn and a speedometer were standard. Windshield, wiper, cab, doors, electric turn indicators, spare wheel, and car jack were available as factory options and cost extra. Various modified versions of the freight compartment were also offered from the factory.
After a total production of just 600 units (250 F 76 and 350 F 79''), the manufacture was in 1934 ceased due to low demand.
Technology
Drive construction The engines used were single-cylinder four-stroke OHV engines that were derived from the BMW R 2 and BMW R 4 motorcycles.
There were at least two variants for engine cooling: a simple solution with a V-belt-driven, four-bladed fan in front of the cylinder, which was only seen on the test vehicles, and a more elaborate design with impeller on the front crankshaft stub and air baffles for cooling air, which was also described in the manuals and spare parts lists. Zeichnung im BMW Group Archiv
The engine was mated with a three-speed gearbox that contained a reverse gear and a propeller shaft to the rear wheel.
Chassis The tricycle had only one single driven rear wheel and two steerable front wheels.
The rigid front axle was suspended by two longitudinally mounted leaf springs. Foto im BMW Group Archiv
The rear wheel had a single control arm and a leaf spring, aligned longitudinally to the prop shaft.
BMW used this groundbreaking design principle again for their 1980's BMW R 80 G/S motorcycles. Zeichnung im BMW Group Archiv
The vehicle has drum brakes.
Construction The engine was mounted underneath the driver's seat.
The permissible total weight was 650 kg (1433 lbs).
Tech specs
ParameterF 76F 79Enginesingle cylinder four-stroke enginecylinder bore63 mm84 mmStroke64 mm78 mmengine displacement198 cc398 ccpower6 hp (4,4 kW) at 3500 rpm12 hp (8,8 kW) at 3500 rpmtop speed40 km/h (25 mph)60 km/h (37 mph)payload345 kg (761 lbs)340 kg (750 lbs)max. permissible mass650 kg (1433 lbs)fuel capacity8 L (2.1 gal)
Competitors
Goliath Rapid/Standard, production period 1926 to 1933 Oscar Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werk: Tempo T1 and T2, production period 1928 to 1930, a very similar motorcycle-based freight cart Rollfix record, also late to the market
Further reading
References
External links