KARU  |  1922-24  |  Germany  :

Karu motorcycles were manufactured by Stockdorfer Motorenwerke AG in Stockdorf, near Munich, from 1922 to 1924. The firm built motorcycles powered by Douglas horizontally-opposed twins produced in Germany under licence, and also BMW boxer engines. The same factory also produced the SMW and KR marques. The Bosch-Douglas side-valve engines of 293cc and 398cc were placed longitudinally in the frame, and the Karü was assembled at the SMW works by Dr. Karl Rühmer. A secondary source indicates that Karü also built a version of the Bosch-Douglas engine supplied to other nearby marques including Astra, Bayern, and Bravis. Later models used the BMW M2B15 engine, as did other marques of the period including Victoria, Corona, and Helle.

The KR, successor to the Karü, was manufactured by Dr. Ing. Karl Rühmer and Co. in Munich from 1924 to 1925, using the early SMW 492cc horizontally-opposed twins and also 998cc MAG V-twin engines with inlet-over-exhaust valves in a duplex cradle frame.