Thread: KMZ Dnepr MT-11
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Unread 10-18-2014, 04:24 PM
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ByTheLake ByTheLake is offline
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Default KMZ Dnepr MT-11

Today I picked up the 7th bike in the fleet, much to my spouse's displeasure. It's a KMZ Dnepr MT-11, and while it's about 20 years old, it had only 23 kilometers on the clock (around 14 miles). (Dnepr is pronounced 'nyepper', and be sure to roll the 'r')

The KMZ plant in Kiev, Ukraine, was a sister plant to the IMZ plant in Irbit, Russia, where the Ural motorcycles are made. This bike is essentially a descendant of the 1938 BMW R71. The tooling, plans and 5 example BMW R71s were provided to the Soviet Union as a small part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, essentially a non-aggression pact between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's USSR. Stalin's army used these machines during WW2.

These bikes were churned out for decades, but the KMZ plant in Ukraine has since closed. A few bikes made their way to the US in kit form, which is how this bike arrived.

Details:
  • 649cc Boxer Twin Engine
  • Dry Clutch
  • 4-speed transmission with reverse
  • Shaft drive

I've already doubled the mileage on it by simply taking it for a spin to my sister's house in the woods. My mother wants a ride in the sidecar tomorrow.

It will need some work. The electrical system is a mess, but these bikes are known for odd wiring schemes. A warning light comes on stating that the battery is discharging, but I'm sensing that it's a false positive, so I need to track that down. There's not much of a wiring harness - instead, wires just run all over the place. I'll have to clean that up, too.




Last edited by ByTheLake; 10-23-2014 at 05:15 PM.
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