Balkan was the first motorcycle built in Bulgaria.[1] The first model, the Balkan M1, released in 1957, was built under the open license of DKW, and was identical to the DKW RT250. In 1960 the company started using a design similar to Jawa, and other contemporary motorcycles.
Tragatsch, Erwin (1964), The world´s motorcycles, 1894-1963: a record of 70 years of motorcycle production, Temple Press, p. 18,