Which of the bikers - the owners of Uralovs - knows that motorcycles with engines with a working volume of more than 650-750 cubes came out of the gates of the Irbitsky Motor Plant? Probably many people will come to an indescribable delight, having learned that motorcycles with engines with more than a liter of cubicle were produced! Such motorcycles existed, yes. And who knows, maybe one of them is still standing in a barn in the country house of some retired gunner.
In the history of Soviet motorcycle building there are not many cases when the litter of road motorcycle engines crossed the 1,000-cubic metre threshold: Izh-1, Izh-2, BN-1200, TMZ-53 and others. They were created at different times, but remained experimental samples. Only at IMZ in the 60's not only developed, but also released a small series of 1040-cubic model M-100 in a single and wheelchair version - for those serving in the police shoulder straps.
In 1962, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a resolution "On measures to improve the activities of the Soviet police", where the Ministry of Public Order Protection (MEPP) was offered to improve its work, including by increasing the mobility of "wheeled" officers. The MEPF planned to provide the traffic inspectors with full superiority on the roads and formulated the tactical and technical requirements for a motorcycle of special purpose: the speed of 150 km/h for a "single" and 120 - for a "wheelchair".
Additional conditions were put forward: wind, wheel and knee pads to protect the driver from wind, rain and mud. For special motorcycles it was necessary to have special equipment: receiving and transmitting radio station, speech amplifier, siren, special flashing headlights - and other police attributes. It should be noted that the "prescribed" direction indicators, stop-light and on the wheelchair, 12-volt electrical equipment, hydraulic brakes of rear and side wheels, parking brake for a 3-wheeled car in the domestic motor industry were not used as standard then. And the last (though not secondary) requirement: the appearance of a powerful, high-speed motorcycle to make it stand out in the traffic flow.
IMZ's work boiled over. The task was assigned to the sports cars sector, where the experience in creating original motorcycles has already been accumulated. The first two samples (with and without a pram) were collected by the autumn of 63rd, and by January 1964 tested in the run for 10 thousand miles.
The terms were tightened, and the head of the sector V. Konovalov followed the path of least resistance. The chassis from the newly launched M-63 series was used as the basis. The new motorcycle differed by a soft move: the rear pendulum with hydraulic shock absorbers corresponded to conditions. The pendulum itself was swinging on 2-conical bearings - instead of rubber silent blocks.
They installed kneecaps, enlarged wind shield with built-in special lights and lights of turns. The gas tank was left as standard, and the tablet was secured from above. Driver's seat was made leather, like a Harley-like one. Analogue before our eyes - a 1962 police version of the "American" was specially purchased.
The M-100 had a 1040cc engine that deserved special attention. Initially, stud bolting of cylinders and heads was used. At 4500 min-1 and a compression ratio of 6.5 on 72 m gasoline, the engine produced 40 hp. At the summer tests of the Central Committee for Economic Development of the motor industry in Serpukhov the first samples did not reach the expected speed: 132 km/h "single" and 108 - with a pram.
A number of other significant defects were found. The enlarged wind shield on the steering wheel of the "single" created a danger for the driver - especially when driving with oncoming traffic at a speed of "one hundred". The testers noted that due to the "sailing" of the shield there are forces trying to turn the wheel to the side. In addition, special equipment in 2 side boxes of single women pulled 75 kg; overloading of the rear wheel worsened the controllability of the motorcycle even in a straight line. At the speed of a sharp drop of "gas" there was a phenomenon of "shimmy": the stability of the motorcycle was disturbed. After official interdepartmental tests at the plant realized that the simplest way is not always the best. We started to develop new samples. Traction calculations have shown that to achieve a given speed will have to either increase the engine power to 64 hp, or significantly reduce the aerodynamic resistance of the machine.
The search went in both directions. We worked with the camshaft - and "spun" the engine up to 5200 min-1. The combustion chambers became hemispherical - instead of wedge-shaped ones. The piston configuration was changed, piston fingers were lightened. Anchor mounting of cylinders (with leaky joints) was replaced by flange mounting. A new air filter with a working element made of polyurethane foam impregnated with motor oil was developed. The increase in the degree of compression to 8 forced the use of gasoline with an octane number of at least 85. The engines were very successful at that time. Was it a joke, the road vehicle has 50 hp and high torque - from "bottoms" to "tops". Especially with carburettors K-38 with bored up to 34 mm diffuser.