NSU great

NSU Prima D in Mitro Red . It was also available in jade green, blue and black.

Under the name NSU Prima , the NSU works in Neckarsulm built motor scooters that replaced the NSU Lambretta , which had been manufactured under an Innocenti license since 1950, and which were not only sold in Germany, but could also be exported, regardless of the license agreement. The first version, the Prima D, came onto the market in 1956 and was offered for about a year alongside the Lambretta, whose production ended in 1956 after 117,043 units were sold. In early 1956 the NSU in-house magazine said: “Please understand that the NSU-Prima must first be delivered abroad. The Prima will also be available in Germany from April onwards. ”By the end of production in 1964, 160,645 NSU scooters had been manufactured under the name“ Prima ”.

NSU Prima D from 1956 to 1960

Technically, the NSU Prima D largely corresponded to the last version of the Lambretta. It had a torsion-resistant tubular steel frame and an all-steel body on rubber buffers with the free passage typical of scooters, a high front shield and two swing saddles. The rear side panels were easy to loosen and remove with a twist grip. As with the Lambretta, the engine was built into the fairing in front of the rear wheel. The rear wheel was guided on a swing arm with a helical compression spring and hydraulic shock absorber, the front wheel on a drawn short arm swing arm . The wheels were interchangeable so that the standard spare wheel could be installed at the front and rear.

Instead of the tubular handlebar of the Lambretta, the Prima had a profile pressed steel handlebar into which the cables and Bowden cables were hidden, a dashboard with a speedometer, starter light and ignition switch as well as a button for the starter flap and fuel swab operation . There was no time clock like the Lambretta. Furthermore, the Prima differed from the Lambretta in that it had plenty of chrome decorations and a unit of headlight and horn in a chrome frame.

The engine was a fan-cooled single-cylinder two-stroke engine with a displacement of 146 cm³ and an output of 6.2 hp that was permanently installed in the frame. The three-speed gearbox was shifted with a twist grip on the left of the handlebar. The rear wheel was driven via a multi-disc clutch, cardan shaft and bevel gears. The top speed was 80 km / h, the mountaineering ability in first gear was 31.5%

NSU Prima V and III from 1957 to 1964

NSU Prima III

The Prima V (“five-star”) presented in 1957 was a new design with a central tubular frame and drive unit swing arm, that is, the engine and gearbox swung with a pivot point. The front wheel was guided in a pushed swing arm. The engine had a displacement of 175 cm³ and made 9.5 hp. Other improvements included a four-speed transmission with a foot switch. The cardan shaft for power transmission was retained. Also new was the dashboard with a speedometer, control displays for ignition and fuel level and a timer. There was also a flasher and fog lights on the front fender as standard, and a double bench seat was available instead of the swinging saddles. The colors were Sahara beige, dolphin blue, tundra green or brick red.

The Prima III ("Dreistern") offered at the same time was the slightly cheaper version with a 7.4 hp 146 cm³ engine and without fog lights and flasher. With a purchase price of 1,648.00 DM, the savings compared to the Prima V amounted to 147.00 DM.

In November 1959, NSU also brought out the Prima III K and III KL, also with the 146 cm³ engine, but with a kick starter instead of an electric starter and without a dashboard and spare wheel. The III K cost 1,389.00 DM and differed from the III KL for 1,446.00 DM in terms of lower chrome jewelry. The standard color of the III K was ivory, that of the III KL was dolphin blue. The double bench seat was also available for these models.

Technical specifications

NSU great	Great D	Great V	Great III	Prima III K
construction time	1956-1960	1957-1964	1957-1964	1958-1964
engine	Single cylinder two-stroke with fan cooling
Displacement	146 cc	175 cc	146 cc
Bore × stroke	57 mm × 58 mm	62 mm × 57.6 mm	57 mm × 57.6 mm
Compression ratio	6.0: 1	6.35: 1	6.5: 1
power	6.2 HP (4.6 kW) at 5200 rpm	9.5 PS (7.0 kW) at 5200 rpm	7.7 hp (5.7 kW) at 5200 rpm
Carburetor	Bing AJ 1/16/38	Bing 1/24/112	Bing 1/22/105
ignition	Battery, 6 V	Battery, 12 V.	Magnet, 12 V
Starter	electric			Kickstarter
transmission	3-speed with twist grip shift	4-speed with rocker switch
drive	Bevel gears and cardan shaft on rear wheel
frame	Tubular frame
Front suspension	Pulled short arm swing arm with 2 helical compression springs	pushed long arm swing arm with helical spring, hydraulically damped
Rear suspension	Swing arm with 2 helical compression springs, hydraulically dampened	Drive unit swing arm with helical spring, hydraulically damped
Brakes	Drum brakes
wheelbase	1240 mm	1230 mm
Length × width × height	1910 × 680 × 950 mm	1920 × 650 × 965 mm		1780 × 680 × 965 mm
tires	4.00 x 8	3.50 x 10
tank	7.3 liters	12 liters
Empty weight	123 kg	138 kg	131 kg
Top speed	80 km / h	90 km / h	84 km / h
Consumption 100 km	2.7 liters	2.5-3 liters		2.5 liters
price	1,595.00 DM (1956)	1,795.00 DM (1957)	1,648.00 DM (1959)	1,248.00 DM (1962)
number of pieces	76,911	31,518	29,010	23.206

Technical data according to Peter Schneider: The NSU Story , ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9

Planned successor model

As a successor to the NSU Prima, a NSU Maxima was to be introduced in 1960, a scooter with a modified 175 cm³ four-stroke engine from the NSU Maxi motorcycle and drive via a roller chain. The engine output should be 10.5 hp and the top speed 95 km / h. There was no series production.

Individual evidence and explanations

↑ ^a ^b ^c magazine Better to drive . Publication of the NSU works, Neckarsulm 1956, ext. 4004 4000 1611.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Peter Schneider: The NSU story . 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9 .
↑ It was a short shaft with no joints called a cardan shaft.
↑ Qualification based on the award for restaurants, shown on a plaque next to the word “prima” on the front plate
^ ^A ^b ^c Peter Schneider: Type compass NSU motorcycles 1900–1966 . 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02628-5 .

[NSU-Zeitschrift-1] zine Better to drive . Publication of the NSU works, Neckarsulm 1956, ext. 4004 4000 1611.

[NSU-Story-2] Peter Schneider: The NSU story . 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9 .

[3] It was a short shaft with no joints called a cardan shaft.

[4] Qualification based on the award for restaurants, shown on a plaque next to the word “prima” on the front plate

[Typenkompass-5] A ^b ^c Peter Schneider: Type compass NSU motorcycles 1900–1966 . 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02628-5 .