Kettenkrad - the motorcycle tank
January 13th, 2006 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"
Yesterday’s post about the single tracked all terrain motorcycle designs reminded me of these WWII motorcycle tank hybrids. Very odd vehicles and I’m not really sure of the reasoning behind their construction, why the motorcycle front end was necessary isn’t clear, the one site says it’s for stability at high speeds and you actually could remove it in really rough terrain, but they do look interesting.
Specs say they could get up to 45-50mph with the 4 cylinder, 1478cc gasoline engine sourced from Opel, while the vehicle itself was made by NSU. It was designed to go into mountainous terrain and tow a trailer or small gun.
The web sites say there were about 8400 Kettenkrads produced during the war and over 500 afterwards. Some collectors keep them going and I think they look like a real hoot. I love stuff like this and if you dig around enough, you never know what you might find. Neat.
22 Responses to “Kettenkrad - the motorcycle tank”
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January 15th, 2006 at 4:18 am
It doesn’t seem like that little motorcycle front end would get that thing to turn very well.
January 16th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
As I sure most people realise most tracked vehicles steer by braking on one set of track thus slewing the vehicles, if I remember rightly these tracked bike thingies have a set of brakes activated by the turning of the forks.
Would be cool to turn up in one of these things to a ’strictly motorbikes only’ rally and see what happens on the gate
May 4th, 2006 at 1:04 am
they had diffrentials like a half track truck. the front end was nessasary for stearing. the traction would just follow the front wheel. no need for expensive complex power dividers. They were mainly for pulling flack guns to position.
May 17th, 2006 at 4:15 am
George/Steve,
The SdKfz 2 Kettenkraftrad, or Kettenkrad employs a “Clectrac” braked differential to steer, just like all German WWII halftracks.
Power is supplied by a 1.5ltr Opel car engine, via a 3 speed gearbox with high/low range capability giving 6f and 2r speeds.
The vehicle can be driven without the front wheel, indeed the user manual recomends this on certain terrain types.
In the next few weeks a Kettenkrad that I found in Austria will complete a 24month restoration. And I hope to have it registered and on the road by mid June, just so I can take it to a local “Bike Show”.
David
May 22nd, 2006 at 4:21 am
I’VE SEEN THESE BEFORE! ONE USE WAS TO TOW FIGHTER AIRCRAFT.
I THINK I REMEMBER THEM TOWING ME 262′S OR COMETS.
July 13th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
These things must be a little dicey to operate.Remember in”Saving Private Ryan”The guys nearly flipped it making a fairly simple turn!
September 6th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
I got to sit on one!
Somebody (I think the Patten Museum) brought it to Knob Creek last year…
There are a few decent pics of it here… (as a biker I kinda dug it
)
http://gconsier.smugmug.com/gallery/1809455/5/90294418
September 7th, 2006 at 5:15 am
these things were also known as ‘rabbits’ to the americans during WW2
if you have seen saving private ryan they use on of these to draw the germans into the town
they looked pretty quick considering the time they were built
October 17th, 2006 at 12:35 am
if any one knows where in the us i can buy a kettenkrad half track bike plz email me atjessemahan2793@yahoo.com
October 17th, 2006 at 9:33 am
Jesse, Kettenkrads occasionally appear on ebay. We’ve had two here just in the past couple of weeks. Watch the ebay spotlight in the upper right corner of this page.
October 19th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
The Kettenkrad I mentioned in an earlier post is back from the restoration shop.
I look after it for the owner.
On Sunday I did some work on the carb and took it for a test ride……..
David
November 21st, 2006 at 10:10 am
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April 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
hell i wish i had one to ride on my farm , i’d love it
May 20th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I think that the motorcycle front end is to stop the very front facing part of the tracks from getting stuck/ digging into the bottom of a very steep hill. In other words the motorcycle front end would climb up first then only the bottom of the tracks would take over AND it also serves to stop the front facing part of the tracks from digging in at the bottom of the hill on the other side ! The motorcycle front end would touch first and then by the time the tracks touch , it would be the bottom tracks only. No getting stuck with the pointed end
, Thats my thought any way !!
July 8th, 2007 at 7:55 am
It was designed as a gun tractor that would fit inside a Ju52. It was tracked to provide the most traction and lowest ground pressure in a small unit.
It proved very useful in the Russian mud, and many uses were found for it. Over 8,000 were produced during the war.
July 10th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
The front wheel helped getting the thing over obstacles. Turning the handlebar to either side brakes one track, making the vehicle turn. This could be a problem if the ‘krad stalled going uphill (60 degree inclines possible): Accidentally locking one set of tracks while rolling backwards could find you and your Wehrmacht helmet pushed two feet into the ground with half a ton of hot motorcycle on top of you.
Many years ago I asked the military museum in central Copenhagen (Denmark) if the had any Kettenkrads. “Not anymore, but a while back we junked three of them…”.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I want one those so much - I lust after everything oddball, or rare.
January 27th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
A vehicle with tracks do not dig in, other small full-track vehicles of WW-II like the Brittish Bren Carrier or the American Weasle did not dig in eihter. The German Kettenrad was build to transport 3 man with weapons and ammo. It is designed for fallschirmjager, or in English: for airborne purposes. It was small and light enough to be transported with a glider or to drop it on a parachute. The motorcycle front is just for the motorcycle feel of driving. In those times, in Europe not much people had a car and know how to drive a car or tracked vehicle, but most men know how to drive a motorcycle. A motorcycle was verry common at that time. All the controls of the Kettenrad are in motorcycle style. This made it easy without further education to drive for every soldier.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
it seems kinda pointless, think about it, carries one driver and one passenger the same as a real motorcycle.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:07 am
it carries 1 driver, 2 passengers, and (dependind on purpose) a small trailer or planes or stationary guns.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:13 am
I love this eccentric little contraption, but i’m rather sceptic about it’s uses. Does anyone else here know about the zundapp/bmw KS750. Powered by an almost flat 750cc v-twin. It incorperated a 2 wheel drive system by powering the sidecar wheel through a lockable differential. It was designed to carry three people and all their equipment plus a pintle mounted MG34, and tow a trailer. It seems to me that the Kettenkrad performs many of the duties that the 750 was but where there were only 9000 or so kettenkrad’s built 18000 750’s were built.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Check out Ural Motorcycles they make a 2 wd sidecar rig based on old bmw designs. Looks like a great gas saver for the snowy times.