Yahoo Finance 
Online Find eBay Edition – Böhmerland Langtouren 600
Last week I found an attainable, but still oddball exotic, this week I found a bike so out there you can hardly believe it was a real production motorcycle at one time. It’s coming out of a museum, and likely going right back into another one at this price. Next week I promise to try really hard to find something more mainstream.
I have loved the look of the Böhmerland bikes ever since first seeing one at the Guggenheim Museum Art of the Motorcycle exhibit in 2001. They look exactly like the sort of thing the art department would cook up to have Professor Fate in The Great Race or Dick Dastardly in the Wacky Racers ride.
MUST READ: Why Your Next Car Will Be an Electric Motorcycle | RideApart
The proportions are seriously cartoonish, and it's so far removed from the conventions of post war motorcycles it might as well have been dropped here from an alternate universe. The Langtouren is the weirdest one of the bunch too, seeing as how it's specifically stretched out to let four men ride it at the same time (five with the jump seat).
Back in 1924, a man named Albin Liebisch began making these motorcycles in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia—all of them with a big 600cc single cylinder engine. They featured advanced cast aluminum wheels which bolted to the drive sprocket and brake drum in such a manner that front and rear are interchangeable, as was the sidecar wheel, when fitted. All of them had dual bullet shaped fuel tanks in the rear, and some had a third tank in the traditional location. The front fork is a unique leading link springer design incorporating adjustable friction dampers. A cargo box is fitted behind the rear wheel. The chassis was also low for the time, as Mr. Liebisch used what surely was one of the earliest perimeter frames to wrap around the outside of the motor.
A 3-speed hand shifted transmission is fitted, often time by Strumey Archer like this one’s. On the longer bikes, a 2nd transmission was fitted behind the first, which gave you a choice of nine speeds and extra low gearing, so 16-24hp could pull 4+ men up and over Tyrolean mountain passes.
These bikes were built from 1924 'til 1939, and sold as the Čechie in Czechoslovakia and the Böhmerland elsewhere in Europe. Over the years several hundred were built in two, three and four seat configurations, which by the way actually could seat five with on top of the rear fender. They were also available with a bespoke sidecar made of bent wood, similar in look to a Watsonian or a Steib. They must be pretty stoutly designed and built because for something so old and rare, a Google image search turns up plenty of them still being ridden to bike events to this day.
MUST READ: How to Buy a New Motorcycle - From our Anonymous Dealer, Part 1 | RideApart
You know this one must be in tip-top condition, as it is coming directly from the Grom motorcycle museum in Slovenia (I imagine they need to make room for more Honda Groms). Here’s what the seller has to say about it:
“1938 Böhmerland Langetouren - 600cc 1 cyl ohv
The Böhmerland that is for sale is from 1938 (serial no. on frame 649). It is restored to our best knowledge and capabilities. This should mean something since our museum just won the first prize at the Villa D'Este Councourse d'Eleganze in the »A« class with our 1912 Puch! The motorcycle is the Langetouren model. The machine was built for the military so that 4 soldiers could be seated. It used two gearboxes, with the rear operated by a passenger, giving 9 ratios. The 'Langtouren' model is notable for having the longest wheelbase of any production motorcycle, 10.5 feet (3.2 m). The short models pop up for sale occasionally (like it did here: eBay item number: 380937665465), but this long model is probably one of the few for sale in the last two decades. If you are looking at this auction than you know how rare it is already. Even Jay Leno »only« owns the short model!
The motorcycle has been fully restored and only minor parts and some sheet metal was replaced. It is in running conditions and you can see that by looking at the video on YOUTUBE:
No! We did not drive it because you need to be a stuntman to do that. But everything from gearbox to engine and all the other mechanical and electrical parts are fully operational. All mechanical parts have been completely restored, damaged parts have been replaced.”
They aren’t kidding about riding this thing, not only would it be hard to get around a corner, look at how many different control levers you have to master, on each side of the bars!
And careful slowing down or going over bumps, because the exposed valve train on that 600cc motor is right there at the end of the seat, gnawing at your crotch.
They are so proud of this bike in the Czech republic they even put it on a stamp. You can see the eBay listing here, with a starting bid at $15,000, which does not include shipping.
MUST READ: Driver Runs into Motorcyclist, After He's Told to Stop Texting | RideApart
Photos courtesy of vintagemotorcyclemuseum via eBay.
Follow RideApart on Facebook and Twitter, along with @RideApart on Instagram.
