Everybody loves an underdog story, and besides being one of the most influential motorcycles of its kind, this BMW-based sidecar racer is probably the most unlikely hero on three wheels. It was constructed and piloted by a German privateer named Helmut Fath, and spawned the next generation of sidecar racers known as ‘kneelers.’ A holy combination of old parts and new ideas, Helmut Fath’s BMW RS sidecar was pivotal to his rise to prominence in sidecar racing and his historic toppling of BMW’s championship reign
Born in Ursenbach on May 24, 1929, Helmut Fath followed in his father’s footsteps with an immediate interest in motorcycles. A mechanical education at the Max Planck Institute and formative years working for BMW strengthened his fascination, and Fath found his way onto the race track in 1949.…