Kreidler

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Kreidler's Metall- und Drahtwerke GmbH

logo
legal form Company with limited liability
founding 1904
resolution 1982
Reason for dissolution bankruptcy
Seat Kornwestheim , Germany
Branch vehicle construction

Kreidler Florett Mokick (1966), three-speed foot control, 40 km / h, 2.6 hp
Kreidler K 50
Kreidler Foil RS

Kreidler's metal and wire Werke GmbH Automotive Kornwestheim near Stuttgart was a German manufacturer of scooters , mopeds , moped , small and light motorcycles from 50 to 80 cc. The company was founded in 1889 as the Stuttgart telegraph wire and cable factory A. Kreidler at Böblinger Strasse 52 in Heslach , in 1903 in Mörikestrasse, and in 1904 relocated to Kornwestheim . With the Model K 50 Kreidler produced the first 50 early-1950s cc - Displacement -Moped. The company went bankrupt in 1982 . Both buildings in Stuttgart-Heslach are still standing today, although the outer facades have been preserved almost true to the original.

Today, the Kreidler brand belongs to the two-wheeler manufacturer Cycle Union GmbH, a company of the Prophete Group, which sells bicycles, scooters, small and light motorcycles in two-wheeler specialist shops under the manufacturer name Kreidler. Production of all series with internal combustion engines was discontinued in 2017.

Company history

Motorcycle production emerged from the metal works founded by Anton Kreidler in Stuttgart in 1904 . In the early 1920s, Alfred Kreidler, the son of the company founder, gained constructive experience in Berlin after completing his studies at the Technical University of Stuttgart, including in the automotive industry. Following a personal inclination, he also designed, built and sold fast motorcycles at that time. They were 350 cm³ machines with a bumper-controlled engine and an output of at least 12 hp. They were branded "Pan" on the tank.

Kreidler set up in the 1980s, mopeds , motorized bicycles , moped , small and light motorcycles of 50 to 80 cc forth. Alfred Kreidler began developing motorcycles under the Kreidler brand in 1949 after taking over the management of the company in 1942. The first Kreidler was an unthrottled motorcycle with a 50 cm³ engine and an output of 2.2 HP, type designation K 50, in 1951.

The last new development, a light motorcycle with 80 cm³ displacement, horizontal cylinder and target design, did not come onto the market after bankruptcy proceedings opened on March 12, 1982 and production was discontinued. Since 1987 the Dutchman John Bos has been selling Kreidler spare parts and restored foils in Goes . He acquired the necessary production machines after the bankruptcy in 1982.

The Kreidler brand continues to exist in the form of the Kreidler-Zweiradgesellschaft. Initially, Garelli mopeds - with tanks from the Kreidler Flory moped - were sold under the Kreidler name. In 1986 the production of Kreidler bicycles began and in 1996 the production of motorized two-wheelers was resumed. The proportion of in-house development in these vehicles is low; it is limited to the compilation of proven components from Asian manufacturers. Kreidler was taken over by the bicycle manufacturer Prophete in the 1990s .

Models

With the K 50, which was produced from 1951, Kreidler, together with Rex, was the first manufacturer to turn the bicycle with an auxiliary engine into a class 50 vehicle, which was later assigned the designation moped . The K 50 had a telescopic spring fork at the front and the rear wheel was unsprung. A special feature was the combination of clutch and transmission into one unit, so that the clutch did not have to be pulled when changing gear. At first the power transmission could not be separated at all, from 1953 an additional clutch including clutch lever was added. The Kreidler thus had two levers on the left end of the handlebar, which is to be regarded as a curiosity. It was followed by the K 51 model (1954–1956); the K 50 was built until 1955. These mopeds had a displacement of 50 cm³, an output of 2–2.2 hp, 2 gears and a top speed of 50–55 km / h. The Kreidler R 50 scooter (1954–57) and various models such as the Amazone were two-speed motorcycles available on the market that were offered by various manufacturers at the time.

Foil 50 cm³

In 1957 the first moped model, the Florett (K 54), appeared, powered by a horizontally installed single-cylinder two-stroke engine with a hard-chrome-plated light metal cylinder and fan cooling; there was also a moped version. In 1960 the power of the moped was increased to 3.6 hp. Based on this, model variants were brought out from 1962, so that three different Florett models were on offer: The Florett with now 4.2 HP and 4-speed footshift, the Florett Super with a little more chrome and accessories, and the Mokick variant with on 2.0 HP throttled engine and 3-speed manual transmission. The moped version was discontinued in 1962. Technically and externally, the models at that time hardly differed, the front wheel guidance by means of a long arm swing arm was carried out with friction-damped struts on the Mokick and hydraulically damped struts on the small motorcycles . In addition, the mopeds had a more powerful ignition light system. Until 1967, all models were always supplied with fan cooling.

The increase in performance in the open mopeds continued unchecked: In 1966 there was the Florett Super TS with 5.2 HP, in 1967 GT and RS models followed with 5.3 HP and from 1972 with 6.25 HP until the last expansion stage before the end of production with 6.8 HP (1980) at the Kreidler Florett RS . In 1967 the front suspension was changed from a long arm swing arm to a telescopic fork.

The type designation Florett (also Amazone) was developed by the then head of the Kreidler press department, Bruno Moravetz , who later became known as an Olympic winter sports reporter through television .

The Florett had a special feature among the several market alternatives: a claw-type gearbox . In the case of competitors such as Hercules , Rixe , Maico and Zündapp , there were draw-key gears with more delicate internal gearshifts. Only the small motorcycles and mopeds from the competition Puch (Austria) as well as the late mopeds and light motorcycles from Zündapp also had claw-type transmissions like the Kreidler Florett.

Foil mokicks were very popular among tuners, because a number of so-called hairdressing kits were available for these machines to increase performance - especially in the Netherlands - the use of which was illegal. The output of the throttled engines was increased considerably: some Kreidlerists drove a blower mock-up with the small insurance number and the engine of the last version of the blower-cooled small motorcycle with 5.8 HP (Florett TM - touring model). It was not visually recognizable when it was forbidden under the sheet metal of the fan cooling, but allowed to drive over 90 km / h instead of 40–45 km / h. The differentiating features were also the front brakes: the fast mopeds had a brake drum diameter of 150 mm (1969 to 1973) or 160 mm (from 1973), while the Mokick versions only had 116 and 120 mm. These tuning measures were popular because of the high liability insurance premiums of approx. 450  DM / year (in 1974, which, taking inflation into account, corresponds to today's purchasing power of around 639 euros) up to approx. 780 DM / year (1982, today corresponds to 767 euros) that would otherwise have to be paid for an unthrottled moped. The high premiums were the result of the high number of accidents, often with serious personal injury to young people. The dangerous over-motorization of open mopeds was finally countered in 1980 with a reform of the driving license law.

Technically modified mokicks (bromfiets) were sold in the Netherlands: The Dutch versions of the Kreidler Florett had the cranks, which were unpopular in Germany, for legal reasons, but were still partially equipped with foot controls and foot brakes.

Kreidler Florett - Moped / Mokick up to 40 km / h

  • (1958-1962) moped

  • (1962–1967) Mokick with swing arm

  • (1968–1976) Mokick LF with fan cooling

  • (1974-1979) Mokick

  • (1979–1982) Mokick with rectangular headlights

Kreidler Florett GT – TM – RS - small motorcycle over 40 km / h

  • GT (1967) with fan cooling

  • RS (1973-76)

  • RS (1977–81) with disc brake

Table Kreidler-Florett (1967-82)
Foil RS Foil TM Foil RM Foil RMC / S Foil LF Foil LH
class Moped Moped Mokick Mokick Mokick Mokick
Construction year 1967-1981 1967-1974 1972-1976 1974-1982 1968-1976 1968-1976
power 5.3-6.8 hp 5.3 hp 2.9 hp 2.9 hp 2.9 hp 2.9 hp
cooling Airstream fan Airstream Airstream fan fan
circuit 5-speed foot switch 5-speed foot switch 4-speed foot switch 4-speed foot switch 3-speed foot switch 3-speed manual transmission
v max 85 km / h 80 km / h 40 km / h 40 km / h 40 km / h 40 km / h

Mustang (50 cm³ and 80 cm³)

From 1974 to 1976 Kreidler launched an Enduro version called the Mustang CROSS , based on the Florett, with longer suspension travel, high handlebars and a 19-inch front wheel. The transmission ratio and the exhaust were also changed, this model was almost 400 DM cheaper.

In 1980, foil variants with a displacement of 80 cm³ appeared for the new driving license class 1b. The cylinder of Mustang and Florett engines of this series was arranged vertically. Due to the complete departure from the typical foil characteristics, they could no longer establish themselves on the market. For about 4000 DM you got a light motorcycle that was well made, but still had various flaws in detail.

Kreidler-Garelli Flory

Kreidler Flory

Kreidler presented the first moped , the MF 4 , in 1969 . The best known was the Kreidler Flory, it was available in different versions: From 1975 the Flory MF 12, as well as the MF 13 . They differed from the MF 23 built from 1977 mainly in a round speedometer instead of a cockpit with a rev counter, and in spoked wheels instead of composite wheels. In addition to the top model MF 23, which had three gears, from 1979 Kreidler also built the Flory MF 22 with a two-speed gearshift, as well as the Flory 2 with the Kreidler-typical two-speed automatic transmission, as already used in the MF 2 and MF 4 came. After Kreidler went bankrupt in 1982, Garelli manufactured the mopeds Flory and Flirt under the name Kreidler until 1985. Garelli wanted to follow in Flory's footsteps in Germany; the moped was basically a Garelli that carried the Flory's tank and side panels.

Kreidler Flott

The sporty 3-speed moped model Kreidler Flott with overhead tank-seat line (model abbreviations MF 24 and MF 25) was Kreidler's answer to, among other things, the direct competing models Zündapp ZD-50-TS and Hercules G3, which had this design (moped in moped optics ) had already anticipated.

In the relatively short time between the start of sales of this model in 1980 and Kreidler's bankruptcy in 1982, only very few copies were sold, so this model is largely unknown today.

Records and successes in racing

In 1965 Kreidler set the speed record for 50 cc motorcycles of over 200 km / h for the first time during a record drive in the Great Salt Lake Desert in the US state of Utah . Rudolf Kunz was measured with a recognized average of 210.634 km / h. In 1977 the Dutchman Henk van Kessel raised it to 221.586 km / h.

European championship title on Kreidler in the 50 cm³ class
World championship title on Kreidler in the 50 cm³ class

literature

  • Frank O. Hrachowy: Kreidler. History - types - technology. Verlag Johann Kleine, Vennekate 2009, ISBN 978-3-935517-45-4 .
  • Andy Schwietzer: Kreidler type compass. Mopeds, mopeds, mopeds. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-613-02032-7 .
  • Frank-Albert Illig: The way to the foil. Types, technology, sports, history. Text & Technik Verlag, Leonberg 1997, ISBN 3-932563-00-X .
  • Gabriele Kreuzberger: Factory buildings in Stuttgart. Their development from the middle of the 19th century to the First World War , Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-608-91629-6 .

Web links

Commons : Kreidler  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gabriele Kreuzberger, pp. 270–278 (see lit.)
  2. ↑ Gabriele Kreuzberger, pp. 274–275.
  3. ↑ Andy Schwietzer: Kreidler? Oh, sob! Article in the world
  4. ↑ Kreidler small motorcycle K 50 . In: Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift . 4/1952, p. 92.
  5. ↑ Changes in motorcycle construction . In: Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift . 10/1953, pp. 276-283; 11/1953, pp. 316-317 and 12/1953, pp. 340-341.
  6. ^ Foil mopeds from Kreidler. In: Automotive Technology . 5/1964, p. 181.
  7. ^ Kreidler Museum
  8. ↑ Where is Behle ?: Bruno Morawetz is 80 years old ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , RP Online , September 8, 2001 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rp-online.de
  9. ↑ Price 1974: 2025.00 DM - based on today's purchasing power: 2,874 euros
  10. ^ Motorcycle catalog 1975/1976, issue No. 6, as of August 15, 1975, Motor-Presse-Verlag, Stuttgart.