NSU Quickly

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NSU Quickly, manufactured in 1956, in the original paint scheme
NSU Quickly S.
NSU Quickly L
NSU Quickly
NSU Quickly (1957/58)
NSU Quickly Cavallino (1957)
NSU 51 ZT Quickly (1954) in the Technik Museum Speyer

The NSU Quickly was a moped that was first presented in 1953 for the International Bicycle and Motorcycle Exhibition (IFMA). It reached large numbers and contributed to mass motorization in the wake of the economic miracle .

history

The NSU Quickly was one of many representatives (u. A. When it was launched at the IFMA '53 HEINKEL Pearl ) of the new type of vehicle "moped" (= "motor and pedal"), which designation naturalized instead of the official term "power-assisted bicycle" should . The name “moped” was already fixed before the presentation of the first vehicles - it can be traced back to the name proposed by the ILO engine factory , which was found in a competition. Despite nominally only 1.4 PS (1 kW), later 1.7 PS (1.25 kW), the Quickly got down to business quickly and, on top of that, would still be with the today with a consumption of less than two liters of petrol per 100 km Most economical way - and in the case of the N models also the lightest way - to be motorized.

The Quickly was a great success and in 1954 NSU had 100,000. Quickly produced. For many people who previously only rode bicycles , it was the epitome of the technical and economic progress of the 1950s: no longer having to pedal. Although with the Quickly - technical feature - the following also worked: When the engine was stopped and the clutch was pulled, the pedals allowed power to be transmitted to the rear wheel via the gearbox. The Quickly had its own small wire bracket to “hold the coupling pulled”, which could be placed in front of the pulled handle to fix the open coupling.

The original model, built from autumn 1953, was further developed and as early as 1956 the Quickly S (= special) was added to the side of the previous model N (= normal). In 1955 the Quickly N cost 465  DM , the Quickly S, however, 515 DM. The Quickly S offered an additional side support, speedometer in the lamp, side splash guards and chrome rims. The 3.1-liter tank was replaced by a 4.45-liter tank, which the N models also received a year later. A three-speed transmission was offered as a technical innovation in 1957. The technical and weight upgrade became possible after the weight limit for mopeds (originally 33 kg) was lifted in 1956.

In order to appeal to even more groups of buyers and to meet the increasing desire for more luxury and accessories, the Quickly L (= luxury) was brought onto the market in 1956 . It should appeal specifically to female buyers and optically follow the trend towards scooters. In addition, the handlebars of the "Luxus" were completely covered (profile handlebars), the rear wheel was given a suspension and a covered rear end. In addition, the luxury versions came in new color combinations and with popular whitewall tires . From this the two-seater model "S 2" was developed up to the appearance of the "S 23/2"; A curiosity here: the only wheel size 25 ″ used on this model. In 1957, the Quickly Cavallino , a model with an Italian-sporty flair , was introduced - made possible by the elimination of the statutory requirement for 26-inch wheels . 1959 came the Quickly T , the “dream” Quickly - clad in sheet metal, fan-cooled and with rear suspension. In 1960 the sporty "TT" appeared. In 1961 the "TT / K" was the only Kickstarter model. At the end of 1961, the model range was streamlined. The "TT" and "TT / K" models were discontinued after only one year of construction. The “S 23” and “S23 / 2”, the “T” model and the basic model “N”, which now also had 23-inch wheels and was called the N23, remained. What they all had in common - whether sports model or "N" version - was the 1.7 hp engine, which was available with a manual two or three-speed gearbox.

Where manufacturers such as Kreidler , Hercules or Zündapp were happy about growing sales, NSU was increasingly losing ground in the 50 cm³ market. NSU's strategy was to turn away from the two-wheeler and turn to the automobile. In 1962, NSU was still developing the Quick 50 , a moped which , with only 4.3 hp and a top speed of 70 km / h, had no chance of competing in the new and hotly contested moped market despite a redesign of the engine (four-speed foot shift!) to enforce the established competition. So only about 9,300 pieces of this model were built until 1966. When exactly the last Quickly was built can no longer be clearly determined, as the NSU archive was flooded several times by the Sulm flood. In any case, the vehicles produced on stockpile were sold until 1969. The NSU Prinz has now finally replaced the two-wheelers in Neckarsulm. The fan-cooled three-speed Quickly motor, modified in the form of the Type 35 built-in motor, lived on as the drive source for a few years in a garden tiller from Agria , the Agriette, which is therefore often referred to by the nickname “herb moped”.

The Quickly part that had been in production the longest was the 4.45-liter Quickly tank, which had been in unchanged shape since 1957 and which Agria mounted on a tiller after the moped was still being built. A total of around 1.5 million NSU Quickly mopeds were built, making this model one of the most successful mopeds.

Type overview

  • Quickly N (standard version, originally only QUICKLY, 26 ″ wheels, 3.1 l tank until 1956)
  • Quickly S (splash guard corners in the mudguards, 4.5 l tank, speedometer in lamp, side support, chrome rims)
  • Quickly S / 2 (25 ″ wheels, 4.5 l tank, speedometer in lamp, chrome rims, larger hubs, double seat bench)
  • Quickly L (26 ″ wheels, sheet metal handlebars, covered rear wheel, rear suspension)
  • Quickly Cavallino (telescopic fork, rear swing arm, 10.8 l tank, seat bench, Italian design)
  • Quickly T (long swing arm in front, 1.7 HP motor with fan cooling, two-seater, drive train swing arm)
  • Quickly TT (long swing arm in front, 11.8 l tank with knee joint, drive train swing arm )
  • Quickly TT / K (like Quickly TT, but with Kickstarter)
  • Quickly N 23 (23 ″ wheels, successor to the Quickly N with similar equipment)
  • Quickly S 23 (23 ″ wheels, knee tank, saddle, chrome rims)
  • Quickly S 2/23 (23 ″ wheels, knee tank, double seat bench, aluminum rims)
  • Quickly F (23 ″ wheels, angular knee tank, double seat bench, aluminum rims, rear suspension)

Advertising, film and television

Advertising slogans by NSU head of advertising Arthur Westrup such as “Well, the one who has a Quickly!” And a broad advertising campaign with the participation of many prominent personalities such as Sophia Loren and Peter Alexander were intended to arouse sympathy for the small two-wheeler.

The saying: “Stop walking, buy quickly!” Also became famous. On the occasion of the visit of the Soviet Prime Minister Bulganin to the Federal Republic of Germany the following (certainly not authentic) saying came up: “When Bulganin saw the Quickly, he stood there deeply impressed. Then he admitted quite frankly: It was not invented by us! ”(Intended as an allusion to the attempts of the Soviets at the time to ascribe all important inventions to Russian inventors).

This slogan also intersects the “sex determination” of a quickly: NSU itself initially pretended that “THE quickly” was correct. Most people, however, addressed the moped as "THE Quickly". In later official sales brochures it is also called DIE Quickly.

In the TV series Irgendwie und Sowieso ( Bayerischer Rundfunk , 1986), Ottfried Fischer played the young farmer Alfons Kerschbaumer, who was called Quickly Sir Quickly because of his passion for the NSU . He drove the NSU Quickly L, the "luxury version".

In a scene from the Crime Scene episode garbage , a Quickly F23 from 1964 with the trailer hitch, which was available as an option at the time, can be seen, whereupon Inspector Freddy Schenk ( Dietmar Bär ) uses the advertising slogan “The mountain is steep, the sun is sharp, the Quickly driver notices it is not quoted.

literature

  • Technical characteristics of a modern moped. In: Motor Vehicle Technology 4/1954, pp. 114–115. (Technical description of the NSU Quickly)
  • Stefan Knittel: NSU Quickly N to Quick 50: NSU's fifties 1953–1965. 1st edition. Schrader, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-87153-X .

Web links

Commons : NSU Quickly  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Facsimile of advertisements in Peter Schneider: The NSU story . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9 , p. 157.