In 1941, production was modified to meet the needs of the German Armed Forces, and the manufacture of civilian motorcycles was discontinued. In Munich, the first BMW R 75 sidecar combinations rolled off the assembly line. This was easy to ride on any surface and was intended to be low-maintenance. The machine had a split frame, powered sidecar, a range of gear ratios for off-road and road use, and a reverse gear, and it was the most complex BMW motorcycle of the time. Production was transferred to Eisenach to assist aero-engine manufacture in October 1942 and was eventually discontinued in 1944 after around 18,000 motorcycles had been produced.