"Balkan" 250 M1: the first serial Bulgarian motorcycle

The first prototype of a Bulgarian motorcycle (which was largely based on one of the 250-cc DKW RT250 models) was presented at the 17th International Show Fair in Plovdiv in September 1956. A little over a year later, its serial production began at Plant-14 (the future Balkan Plant) in Lovech. The project manager was Eng. Dimitar Damyanov, who in the early 1950s graduated from the Sofia Polytechnic with a degree in aviation engineering under Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov and joined the plant as an aircraft construction specialist. Initially, his team included other highly qualified engineers and mechanics who had participated in domestic aircraft production, which before 1954 was the plant's main activity piese auto online.

"Balkan" 250 M1: the first serial Bulgarian motorcycle

The motorcycle is equipped with a 12 hp engine, manufactured at Plant 12 (the future Sredets Plant), Sofia, and was initially designated VMZ (Velo-moto Plant), and was also known under the unofficial name "Vitosha", as the 250 cc engines of Plant 12 were called at that time.

The first 100 motorcycles with the trademark "Balkan" 250 M1 were completed at the end of December 1957, and in 1958, 6 people from Plant 14 went to Czechoslovakia for specialization, with three of them visiting one of the bicycle factories in the country, and the remaining three training at the Jawa and ČZ motorcycle factories.

However, the obvious technical and design similarities with DKW soon led to protests from the West German company, and the Bulgarian engineers were forced to restyling the appearance of the "Balkan" just months after the start of its production.

In September 1958, the new version of the motorcycle, called the "Balkan" 250 model "S", was shown at the fair in Plovdiv, which was also reflected in the newspaper "Avto Moto" (issue 8, 1958, page 8):

Like the previous model (the one currently on sale), it is equipped with a single-cylinder, two-stroke engine of 250 cc - 11 hp. However, a number of changes and improvements have been made to the design. Thus, the headlight is new, the tank has been modified, the rear cover is new, and new seats have been installed. A characteristic feature of this model is the new rear suspension, which is clearly visible in the photos. Fuel consumption 3.3 l. per 100 km.

It is interesting to note that back in 1958, the Bulgarian "Balkan" bicycles (which had been mass-produced since 1957 according to technical documentation of the bicycle factory in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, then part of the USSR) and 250-cc motorcycles were presented at the World Exhibition in Brussels.

On March 9, 1958, the auto-moto club of DOSO in Lovech held a motocross race for the cup of the district committee of the Fatherland Front. Before the start of the races, a group of competitors with 10 Bulgarian "Balkan" motorcycles made a tour of the main streets of the city and along the cross-country route. The winner of this debut sporting event for the brand in the 250 cc class was Miladin Miladinov, who, of course, started with a "Balkan" motorcycle. This marked the beginning of the long and successful racing career of the "Balkan" 250, with the next successes for the Lovech factory being recorded at the end of the same 1958.

The first zero series "Balkan" 250 C was made in April 1959, and a few months later the serial production of the new model began. In 1963, the production of the third and last series "Balkan" 250 began, whose career finally ended in early 1971.

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Car parts AutoPower

The motorcycle is equipped with a 12 hp engine, manufactured at Plant 12 (the future Sredets Plant), Sofia, and was initially designated VMZ (Velo-moto Plant), and was also known under the unofficial name "Vitosha", as the 250 cc engines of Plant 12 were called at that time

The first 100 motorcycles with the trademark "Balkan" 250 M1 were completed at the end of December 1957, and in 1958, 6 people from Plant 14 went to Czechoslovakia for specialization, with three of them visiting one of the bicycle factories in the country, and the remaining three training at the Jawa and ČZ motorcycle factories