A Böhmerland motorcycle is always worthy of a double take. They are rare, eccentric and despite being decades old, resemble a rocket-powered contraption straight out of a sci-fi movie. These wacky machines are one of Czechoslovakia’s most celebrated motorcycles, and rightly so.
The Böhmerland was the brainchild of Albin Liebisch. Liebisch was a practical and inventive sort; in his early life he served as a bicycle mechanic assistant, studied at a technical school, and worked as a mechanic – all of which added to his practical know-how and desire to create.
Liebisch was a petrol head and a two-wheel fanatic, and this combination was to lead to one of the most colourful and innovative bikes of all time. Liebisch had a vision, and an idea of how his ultimate motorcycle would be. Liebisch wanted his machines to be strong and reliable to deal with the local harsh terrain, which would often end motorcycles with broken frames, collapsed wheels and mechanical failures.
After the Great War, Liebisch committed his pencil to the drawing board, and by 1922, he had created his first prototype. The motor was a 600cc overhead-valve lump combined with a three-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox. This engine would be the staple of all Böhmerland motorcycles throughout the production run (albeit they did introduce a 348cc two-stroke model introduced in 1938 just before production ceased). A German Bosch magneto sent in the sparks, and a British Amac carburettor sent in the magic mix.
The Böhmerland was notable for having cast alloy wheels, the first production motorcycle to do so. Liebisch claimed that they were far more durable and superior to the conventional spoked type on the local tracks and roads.
The front forks were a wonder to behold, and extremely complex and creative. All the important bits were contained within a sturdy duplex-loop, tubular frame which was available in two versions:
The shorter wheelbase bike was a compact two-seater Sport model, named the Jubilee. The Jubilee was said to top out at 80mph. Later down the line, it was lightened and enhanced into a competition racer, intended for hill climbing and the like. This machine was said to do 92mph, quite a pace back in the day.
Liebisch understood the need for a motorcycle to simply move people from A to B, and the more people, the better. And so came along the long wheelbase machines. The three-seat Touren was fitted with a dual seat for rider and passenger, plus an auxiliary seat over the rear mudguard for a third person… and then there was the even more remarkable four-seat Langtouren model, which measured 3.2m wheel to wheel. It was nick-named the Dachshund for obvious reasons! If the customer wanted to make his machine that extra bit longer, they could opt for a luggage box located behind the rear wheel, suspended from extensions to the top frame rail. The capacity to convey four people was impressive, but with that came some additional considerations for the rider… cornering, or lack of, needed some forethought, and unless you were a man-mountain, you would not want to drop one of these bikes which weighed up to 180 kilos. As a result of the tall engine mounted in the frame, the Touren and Langtouren models had to have the fuel tanks straddling both sides of the rear wheel – total length of the fuel supply pipe: near on 2 meters!
The first five units were assembled and tested by 1925, and Liebisch then focussed on expansion. A new manufacturing plant was opened up and the orders started to ramp up. The Jubilee was marketed as the Sports model, while the long wheelbase models were presented as a motorcycle for the family. The bikes were advertised in the domestic market as Čechie, but elsewhere it was named for its Bohemian homeland: Böhmerland.
The motorcycles were individually hand-built, and so the specification was liable to alter slightly between machines. Each bike was thoroughly inspected by Liebisch himself and was only released to the customer once he was satisfied with every aspect of the product. Liebisch had no dealer network; every motorcycle was ordered and delivered directly to the customer from his factory.
Liebisch had such faith in his products that he competed regularly and with some success. A prototype military version of the Langtouren was created in the build up to the Second World War, which was fitted with twin Hurth gearboxes (one of them operated by a passenger). It is unknown how far this concept went, and whether any made it into action.
The 600cc engine fitted in the Böhmerland remained pretty much untouched through the lifecycle of the machine. It featured an open valve gear and exposed pushrods – anything but oil-tight. There are many photos of riders that have placed a blanket over front of the motorcycle to minimise the amount of oil transferred onto their trousers!
The 600 was popular, however in a time of austerity, Liebisch understood the need for a more affordable product. A 350cc two-stroke was introduced, which Liebisch dubbed the “People’s Motorcycle”. It was a very capable and economical engine, which in a conventional motorcycle would have been more than viable. The Böhmerland however, was not conventional, and had a very heavy chassis which put the little two-stroke under considerable stress. As a result, very few of these models left the factory.
The production of the quirky Böhmerland ceased with the outbreak of the war in 1938. In total approximately 1600 motorcycles of various modifications were made through the overall production period, and it is believed that only some 30-or-so Böhmerlands exist worldwide today.
Thanks and credit to Václav Novák for the photos and videos which were taken at the annual marque event in Krásná Lípa, Czechia.
an article by The Girder Club
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