Setter (company)
| setter | |
|---|---|
| legal form | SL |
| founding | 1951 |
| Seat | Moose |
| management | Miguel Santonja Santonja; later Miguel Santonja Pascual; since 2017 José Sánchez Santonja |
| Branch | Motorbike and engine construction , mechanical engineering |
Setter was a Spanish motorcycle and later mechanical engineering company based in Elche , which manufactured mopeds and light motorcycles from 1951 to 1970 and, from 1971, machines for the leather and textile industry. Since 2017 motorcycle models have been produced again under the Setter brand.
Company history
Miguel Santonja Santonja, a two-wheel mechanic born in Alcoy , settled in Elche to sell and repair bicycles. The demand for bicycles and mopeds grew so rapidly in the early 1950s that he decided to convert bicycles with a roller-driven auxiliary motor into mopeds .
Motorcycle and engine production (1951–1970)
In 1951 he had completed his first 55 cc roller motor for this purpose. Thereupon, in Miguel Santonja's workshop, the Taller electro mecánico Miguel S. Santonja on Calle Maximiliano Thous 31 ( 38 ° 12 ′ 30.2 ″ N, 0 ° 34 ′ 6.5 ″ W ), the production of own motorcycles began. In September 1952, the first self-made 60-cm³- was motor bike with motor input on the route Seville - Barcelona subjected to an endurance test to demonstrate the reliability. The first 60 cm³ mopeds were delivered in 1952 under the name Santonja . The prototype "Santonia", also built in 1952, with a 125 cm³ engine and 3-speed footshift did not go into series production.
The main competitors of the model on the Spanish market were the mopeds of the competitor GAC (Garate, Anitua y Compañía) in Eibar , which offered a 63 cm³ license of the successful “ Mobylette ” from Motobécane on the Spanish market. When, according to tradition, a sales partner Santonja, who pronounced the “C” unclearly, said in Valencian : “Tenim que acabar amb els de GAT” (in German “We have to put an end to those from GAT” - GAC was meant), it sounded due to the bad pronunciation similar to: "We have to put an end to your cat (span. gato )." This funny ambiguity led to a breed of dog being chosen as the brand name for the motorcycles, because the dog is generally the enemy of the cat. Santonja decided on the breed of his house dog, the setter . From 1953, the company's own vehicle models were sold under the new brand name, starting with the 60 cm³ moped from 1952, which was still produced in 1953 as a 60 cm³ setter.
In the early 1950s, the workshop had around 30 workers. Were manufactured in the following years own two-stroke - single cylinder -Mopeds with displacements of 45, 49, 60, 74 and 125 cc. Some setter engines were also installed in Ducson motorcycles in Barcelona, founded in 1950 by Vicente Solá as Industria Ciclista Vicente Solá . For RMH (Rafael Mira e Hijos) in Avenida de José Antonio 8 in Valencia , Setter manufactured complete basic motorcycle models from February 1963 to February 1965, which were completed there with 122 and 197 cm³ engines from the Spanish manufacturer Hispano Villiers and sold under their own brand name were. Up until 1958, 250 to 400 vehicles were produced per year. Settler motorcycles participated in several competitions at events on the Levant in the moped class. The most successful were the 74 cm³ models "M-59 E" (1959–1961), which were driven by Ramiro Blanco , César Gracia, Enrique Escuder and José Pascual, the official house driver, among others .
The further developed 74-cm³ successor model, the Setter "F" (1961–1966) with 1.6 HP and 3-speed footshift, was available in two model variants, one with a racing saddle, wide tires and a modern frame and a second with narrow tires, spring seat and a revised M-59 frame. The setter "H", produced from 1961 to 1966, with its 125 cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine and 1.95 hp and also with a 3-speed foot switch, was the brand's most powerful model. 509 vehicles were manufactured by it. The frame design also formed the basis for the RMH motorcycles, which were therefore almost identical except for the engines. The setter "G" (1961–1965) with its 49 cm³ engine also got a 3-speed foot switch and a modern double swing frame . 1489 units of this model were produced. The 49 cm³ successor model was only produced 868 times from 1965 to 1970. In total, Setter manufactured almost 7,000 of its own motorcycles, plus the 782 basic models for RMH and an indefinite number of engines for Ducson .
Since the end of 1963 the company was registered as Miguel Santonja y Hijos SL (Miguel Santonja & Sö.). A setter 49 from 1960 is in the Museo Vehículos Históricos Valle de Guadalest in Guadalest .
Mechanical engineering (from 1971)
After the demand in the motorcycle sector had fallen sharply at the end of the 1960s due to the spread of the Seat 600 , Miguel Santonja and Sons did not pursue motorcycle production any further and switched to the production of machines for the leather and shoe industry in 1971 with the aim of doing so to be able to supply the domestic and foreign markets in Europe, America and North Africa. These machines continued to be sold under the Setter brand.
In 2015, Miguel Santonja Pascual (* December 18, 1932 in Elche; † August 18, 2015 there), the son of the founder, who was responsible for Setter for many years, died.
The headquarters of Miguel Santonja y Hijos SL was most recently at Ladera este del Vinalopo 6 in Elche.
Setter Motors SL (since 2017)
In 2017, his nephew José Sánchez Santonja started again with the production of motorcycles with the brand name Setter, but under a new logo. Setter Motors SL has had its headquarters at Calle Mariano Luiña 33 ( 38 ° 16 ′ 8.4 ″ N, 0 ° 42 ′ 15.8 ″ W ) since 2017 and also sells motorcycle clothing and accessories.
The model " Fénix 125 " (in German Phönix 125), which has been available since September 2017, is not produced in-house, but the basic elements, motor and electronics are sourced from China and the classic-looking machine with the external elements is completed in Elche. The model has a 125 cc four-stroke engine with 11 hp, 5-speed footshift and meets the Euro 4 emissions standard . Setter presented the "Fénix 125" in April 2018 at FIRAUTO & S2R on the premises of the Institución Ferial Alicantina (IFA) .
Web links
References and footnotes
- ^ Vuelve la marca setter. CYA Motor, April 11, 2018.
- ↑ Entre ceja y ceja. composi.info, March 30, 2018.
- ^ Gema Rubio Navarro: Santonja Santonja, Miguel. In: Memoria digital de Elche , Cátedra Pedro Ibarra, May 8, 2013.
- ^ Taller electro mecánico Miguel S. Santonja. Cátedra Pedro Ibarra.
- ↑ a b Historia. Setter motors SL; accessed on May 26, 2018.
- ↑ Setter: la Dama de Elche. In: Motos para el recuerdo de los españoles. forokeys.com, February 6, 2008.
- ↑ RMH produced 585 motorcycles with 122 cm³ setter engines (chassis numbers A-484 to A-1.069) and 189 motorcycles with 197 cm³ setter engines (chassis numbers M2-5068 to M2-5257).
- ↑ a b Miguel Santonja y Hijos SL. universia.es; accessed on May 26, 2018.
- ↑ Listado de Vehículos - Motocicletas Nacionales. Museo Colección de Vehículos Históricos Valle de Guadalest.
- ^ Miguel Ors Montenegro: Santonja Pascual, Miguel. In: Memoria digital de Elche , Cátedra Pedro Ibarra, March 5, 2016.
- ↑ Setter Motors Sl. - Elche / Elx. Entry at elEconomista.es.
- ↑ S2R: "Sobre 2 Ruedas"
- ↑ Full throttle out of the ashes. Costa News, May 24, 2018.
- ↑ Expositores. In: FIRAUTO & S2R April 2018. Feria del Automóvil Nuevo, Salón del Automóvil de Ocasión y Feria de la Motocicleta , Institución Ferial Alicantina, April 2018.
