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Motorworld’s newspaper №44
Engine start

The first racing motorcycle of its own design at the Gorky Motorcycle Plant (GMZ) was M-80 that was produced in 1946. It had a 746-cc engine with a compression ratio of 9.5 and 40 hp at 6,000 rpm. The motorcycle mass was 192 kg. The maximum speed was 170 km/h.

One can only guess in this case whether this design was all created at the GMZ or whether Nahum Goodkin, its creator, could use the design of the remaining M-75 engines. It looks as if this second idea is closer to the truth because the centralization of the motorcycle industry in the USSR made it possible to transfer details and the whole constructions from one plant to another.

The M-80 had the same base as М-72, and it was only slightly modified and lightened. The engine had much in common with the M-72 with the only difference being that its cylinders and OHV heads replicated the BMW R75 structure.

М-72 from «Motorworld by V.Sheynov» collection

BMW R75 from «Motorworld by V.Sheynov» collection

Several samples of M-80 were manufactured, and they participated in competitions in the late 1940s (some remaining photographs bear evidence of this fact). In the summer of 1947 a famous racer Yevgueni Gringaut, the USSR Merited Master of Sports, set an absolute record on one of the M-80s: 172 km/h.

Manufacturer Gorky Motorcycle Plant, Gorky (USSR)
Years of manufacture 1946
Quantity produced, units  5
Price
Today’s value
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
Type OHV, horizontally-opposed
Engine capacity, cc 746
Bore and stroke, mm 78 x 78
Engine rating 40 h.p. at 6000 rpm
Sparking Battery type
Carburetor К-37 – 2 units
Battery 6 V
Clutch Dry
Transmission 4-speed
FRAME AND WHEELBASE
Frame type Steel, tubular
Front suspension Telescopic
Rear suspension Sprung
Brakes Spot-type
Wheel size Front wheel: 21 inches
Rear wheel: 20 inches
DIMENSIONS
Length, mm
2 050*
Width, mm
810*
Height, mm
1 000*
Wheelbase, mm
1 400*
Ground clearance, mm
150*
Seat height, mm
750*
Mass, kg
192
Gas tank size, l
Maximum speed, km/h
170
Range, km

* – Data from the results of the measurement of the “Motorworld by V.Sheyanov” exhibit.