Hermann Weber (designer)

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A DKW RT 125 designed by Weber in the Audi museum mobile Ingolstadt , construction period 1940–1941

Hermann Weber (* 11. March 1896 , † 23. February 1948 in Izhevsk ) was a German motorcycle - designer and -rennfahrer .

Weber was chief designer at DKW , the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world at the time , for over 20 years .

Life

In 1922, Hermann Weber was hired as a construction manager at DKW. Weber's first design was the DKW ZL (Zschopauer Leichtmotorrad). This model, built from 1922 to 1924 in around 2000 copies, got 2.25  hp from 148  cm³ and reached a maximum of 65  km / h .

Weber's most successful design is the RT 125 . This model was built around 450,000 times from 1940 to 1965 and copied by other manufacturers after the Second World War due to the lack of patent protection.

As a racing driver, he demonstrated the performance of the machines he developed.

At the Reichsfahrt in October 1922, Hermann Weber achieved by far the highest number of credit points of all two-wheeler classes. He finished the AVUS race in mid-1923 in second place behind Max Hucke . After the third Reichsfahrt he was again the overall winner. At the end of July Weber was also on the podium at the German TT at the Swinemünde bathing race . He won the Hercules hill climb in Kassel and the Marienberger Dreieck . Weber began the 1924 season with triumphs in the hill climb near Prague and a short time later in Kassel. After the race in the 150 cm³ class at the AVUS, Hermann Weber was right at the top of the podium this time. This was followed by victories on the track in Chemnitz and the Inselberg race . In February 1925 he was successful in the winter drive, then won again in the Prague, Kassel and Insel hill climbs . At the end of June he won the class at the 3rd German TT. Output of the season he was the German champion of the DMV determines the smallest engine capacity range. In May 1926 he started the Prague hill climb again. Subsequently, director JS Rasmussen is said to have banned him from racing - his services at the Zschopau plant were too valuable to him.

From 1925 Hermann Weber headed the newly established DKW racing department. In this subdivision of the DKW test department, up to 100 employees were involved in the design, parts production, assembly and testing of racing motorcycles. Small series machines for private racing drivers were also manufactured here. From 1937 the racing department also produced off-road motorcycles .

After the Second World War, Weber and other DKW engineers were brought to the Soviet city of Izhevsk to build the dismantled works in Zschopau . Weber died there in February 1948.

Significant successes as a racing driver

References

literature

  • Steffen Ottinger: DKW motorcycle sport 1920–1939 . From the first victories of the Zschopau two-stroke model at track races to the European championship successes. 1st edition. HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-028611-7 , p. 122 .
  • Siegfried Rauch; Frank Rönicke: Men and motorcycles - a century of German motorcycle development. Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag 2008, ISBN 978-3-613-02947-7 , pp. 222-229

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Weber, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German motorcycle designer and racing driver
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Chemnitz
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1948
Place of death Izhevsk