German Bikes

Think of a German motorcycle brand, and you probably only come up with one name.

BMW Motorrad is today the only conventional motorcycle manufacturer in Germany, but it has not always been so. Just as Britain had many bicycle companies, the German motorcycle industry was huge, with several manufacturers selling bicycles at home and abroad.

Driven by the desire to learn more about these famous (and not-so-famous) past and present brands.

DKW

DKW was the largest engine manufacturer in the World between the two World Wars. They achieved success in off-road racing in the 1930s, innovating with technologies such as front-wheel drive and supercharging.

DK Street was founded by a Dane, R RGEN Skafte Rasmussen, in 1916 and 1932, after the collapse of W.

After the war, the motorcycle division of the DK divenne became MZ, while the small DK RT RT125 two-time pre-war model was widely copied as part of the war repair program. At least for the British knights, the most famous of them was the BSA bantam.

Horex

If the name Horex sounds familiar, it's probably because the brand has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with the exclusive VR6 range featuring six supercharged cylinders.

The original Horex was designed in 1923 by Fritz Kleeman, a driver who built his 250 cc road bike. They then produced high-quality machines before production ceased during the Second World War. They returned in 1948, but by 1960 the brand had been bought by Daimler-Benz, who had discontinued motorcycle production.

IN A BRIEF RENAISSANCE, Friedl MU NCH bought the rights to the name in 1977 and built a 1400 cm3 machine called Hore h 1400 TI. Another revival, supported by Japan, came in 1989, resulting in the Honda Dominator powered Hore.

The current design dates back to 2010 when the VR6 was unveiled by a new company that revived the name. This company went bankrupt in 2014, but the 3C-Carbon Group has acquired the company and continues to produce the VR6 in small quantities.

Kalex

Kalex is not a manufacturer in the traditional sense of the word, but having won the Moto2 world title in each of the last eight years, it certainly deserves a place in German motorcycle history.

Kale Engineering Engineering was founded by Klaus Hirsekorn and Ale Ba Baumg Ba Reel in 2008 and produced their frames for the new Moto2 racing series in 2010. The Championship saw several chassis manufacturers build around the standardized Honda CBR600RR engine. The German Stefan Bradl won the title on his bike in 2011 and has won the world titles of the drivers and constructors every year since 2013.

As of 2019, Kale MOT's Moto2 motorcycle is powered by Street Triple's Triumph 765 three-cylinder engine, and despite the change of control engine, Kale rimasta has remained the dominant power used by most of the grid.

Kreidler

If the bald sono is a success in today's races, Kreidler was one of the great champions of the 1970s and 1980s.

The company started building small motorcycles in 1951 and was very popular in Germany and Northern Europe. Kreidler also made racing engines for the 50cc class and won eight world titles between 1971 and 1983, the final year of the course.

Despite the success of the track, Kreidler went bankrupt in 1982. Today the name is a manufacturer of electric bicycles.

Maico

Another excellent racing brand, but this time in the off-road World.

Although Maico made small road bikes and two-stroke scooters after the war, Motocross is most remembered.

While they can't afford Japanese brands, Maico Riders won the 125cc Grand Prix in the Early s 1970. La, the company, failed in 1986, the Marcos are highly sought after by classic motocross fans.

The brand still exists, a Leverkusen company that builds two-stroke 616 cc off-road bikes in small quantities under Maico. With 76 hp, these are the most potent dirt bikes in the World.

Munch

The Munch Mammoth is one of the most famous motorcycles.

Friedl Munch started working at Horex and produced many unique cars in the Sixties. These specials used a 55 hp, 996 cc NSU four-cylinder engine, and in 1966 a production version was introduced, called Mammoth.

A new version was released two years later, the M. With the latest 88 hp 1177 cm3 four-cylinder engine from the NSU, the 300 kg machine was built by hand and sold in limited quantities.

At the end of production in 1975, a total of less than 500 were built. Later models used fuel injection to increase power to 100 hp, making it a true icon.

MZ

Probably the second most famous motorcycle brand in Germany, after BMW, MZ was born from DK.

When DK transfer moved to West Germany, the plant in Zschopau (Saxony) was renamed Motorenererke Zschopau (or MZ for short), producing low-cost two-stroke production bikes resumed.

In addition to the construction of suburban cars, the MZ plant was a great success in the race. In off-road racing, MZ won the prestigious Six-Day International event six times in 1960, but it is in road racing that MZ is most famous.

The two times of the company were developed by the engineer Ka became a legend when, in 1961, The Knight Ernst Degner defected from the East German Communist to the West, with the secrets of the design of the MZ, in particular the knowledge gained in the understanding of sound waves and the effects of the expansion chambers.

Degner moved to Japan and worked for Suzuki, driving and helping develop his 1960s two-stroke Carri UMe and his championship-winning team.

Between 1955 and 1976, MZ won 13 Grand Prix and achieved 105 podiums. The company also continued to sell its simple road bikes around the World but stopped shortly after communism in 1993.

The company was relaunched with a new single-cylinder Skorpion, powered by a single-cylinder Amaha four-stroke engine, and the 21st century also released a new parallel can of 1000 cm3 in 2009, the company went to the Moto2 World Championship, but the lack of sales led to the final demise of MZ in 2013.

NSU

NSU is best known for its cars, but between 1901 and 1966, it was a major motorcycle manufacturer.

For a short time in the 1950s, NSU was the World's largest motorcycle manufacturer, producing about 350,000 units in 1955.

NSU was famous for its high-performance and racing motorcycles. He participated in the early years of the Isle of Man TT and was active in setting land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the 1950s. The team also competed in the Grand Prix, winning five world titles in 125cc and 250cc between 1953 and 1955.

Despite its sporty pedigree, the NSU's most notable model was the Quick, a step-by-step moped that sold over a million between 1953 and 1965, when the NSU stopped building motorcycles. The Moderna brand Moderna was bought by Volks in 1969, and the NSU brand will disappear as the company evolves into what will become the modern Audi.

Sachs

Sachs made his first motorcycle in 1904. Like many companies, it was not exclusively a motorcycle manufacturer.

Over the years, the company has become better known as a parts manufacturer. The small engines were sold to many other manufacturers, and today Sachs suspension can be found on many motorcycles, including some of the latest Ducati.

Sachs motorcycles have a less glorious recent history. The TC125 was a sports bike, released in 2006. He struggled for sales despite a decent effort, as did the gloriously named Sachs MadAss, who was as crazy as his name suggests.

Zundapp

Best known for its small capacity mopeds, Zundapp.

After the war, the company, like many German reconstruction plants, focused on small economical two-stroke machines, motorcycles, and scooters. The company performed well nationally in the 1960s and 1970s and won the 125cc European Motocross Championship in 1973 and 74.

The demand for mopeds fell in 1980 and 1984.

Today, the name belongs to a Chinese manufacturing company, although a series of Z scooters.