Hercules W 2000

Hercules
Hercules Wankel 2000 Injection
W 2000
Manufacturer	Hercules
Sales description	W 2000
Production period	1974 to 1979
class	motorcycle
design type	Naked bike
Motor data
Fan-cooled rotary engine
Power (kW / PS )	20/27 at 6500 rpm
Torque ( N m )	35 at 4500 rpm
Top speed ( km / h)	138

transmission	6 courses
drive	Chain drive
Brakes	300mm front disc brakes 180mm rear drum brake
Empty weight (kg)	176

The Hercules Wankel W 2000 is a Wankel engine powered motorcycle by the two-wheeler manufacturer Hercules , which was manufactured from 1974 to 1979.

history

W 2000 in the Ibbenbüren motorcycle museum

Engine of the Hercules Wankel 2000, Museum Autovision , Altlußheim

Hercules Wankel 2000 from 1975 in the Neckarsulm Two-Wheeler Museum

Hercules, the oldest German bicycle, moped and motorcycle factory (founded in 1886), was incorporated into the Fichtel & Sachs Group from the mid-1960s , after many years of intensive cooperation with what was then the largest German supplier of two-stroke built-in engines. Fichtel & Sachs had already acquired the license rights to manufacture rotary engines from NSU in the early 1960s , originally for stationary engines with a maximum output of 22 kW (30 hp). Trials with a motorcycle drive began in the late 1960s, after Sachs rotary engines had already proven themselves tens of thousands of times in snowmobiles and for stationary applications.

For example, at the 27th International Bicycle and Motorcycle Exhibition ( IFMA ) in Cologne in 1970, a model study by Hercules was published in which a Sachs snowmobile Wankel engine in a slightly modified form with a four-speed gearbox and a cardan drive was converted from a BMW R 27 longitudinally to the direction of travel motorcycle frame developed by Hercules.

The general great interest of the trade press and also of the IFMA visitors in this machine ultimately led to the entrepreneurial decision of Sachs / Hercules to manufacture a rotary motorcycle in series. In the next step, a pre-series test series of 50 machines was launched and delivered to selected Sachs / Hercules dealers in 1973. The experiences from this field test should then be taken into account in the subsequent series production.

Series production of the Hercules W 2000 began in 1974. The 176 kg machine initially had a nominal output of 25 hp, later 20 kW (27 hp) with a single chamber volume of 294 cm³. The fan-cooled three-chamber, single-disc rotary piston engine generates a maximum torque of 35 Nm at a speed of 4000 min ⁻¹ . The motorcycle accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 7.8 s and reaches a top speed of 138 km / h. The first series was delivered to customers from September 1974.

Since other motorcycle manufacturers (Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and MZ ) were also experimenting with the rotary drive at the same time , Hercules set itself the goal of being the first manufacturer in the world to start series production. This goal was achieved. However, the early start of series production led to design weaknesses and corresponding customer complaints.

The sales figures remained low. This was primarily due to the high sales price (4550 DM compared to around DM 2500 for a 250 Honda) and also the high fuel consumption of 7.2 liters per 100 km (test value). In addition, the W 2000 was reminiscent of the Hercules mopeds in a few details (cockpit, ignition key).

At the IFMA 1976 a modified variant was presented under the name "Hercules Wankel 2000 Injection". It contained some technical improvements, above all a separate lubrication with a separate oil tank and oil metering pump. This eliminates the hassle of adding oil when refueling.

A total of almost 1,800 motorcycles of the two series were manufactured. The last machines were delivered to specialist dealers by the end of the 1970s. On January 1, 2012, 128 motorcycles were still registered in Germany. A few specimens “survived” in dealer warehouses until the turn of the millennium without ever being approved for road use. They are sought-after collector's items today. Because of the large cooling air fan in front of the engine, the motorcycle was also called a "vacuum cleaner".

criticism

“In general, the W 2000 is bursting with compromises from front to back. It doesn't help if the Hercules ads headline: “The sovereign. You have the future ahead of you. ”Because nothing looks like the future here, just a somewhat homely styled motorcycle from the early seventies. With bulky switches, moped fittings in the water clock look, a curious drive that is anything but a feast for the eyes, and in the pilot series even with a drum brake in the front wheel. "

- Christoph Driesen : Touring driver

swell

↑ Dieter Klauke: Wankel engine - wasn't there something? 2019th edition. BoD, ISBN 978-3-7460-2665-7 .
↑ Das Motorrad , Issue 13/1975, Motor-Presse-Verlag, Stuttgart.
↑ ^a ^b Christoph Driesen: The vacuum cleaner. In: Touring Driver. Edition December 2012, p. 104.

Web links

Commons : Hercules W2000 - collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Dieter Klauke: Wankel engine - wasn't there something? 2019th edition. BoD, ISBN 978-3-7460-2665-7 .

[2] Das Motorrad , Issue 13/1975, Motor-Presse-Verlag, Stuttgart.

[TF-3] Christoph Driesen: The vacuum cleaner. In: Touring Driver. Edition December 2012, p. 104.