General Information

Serial #

480000238

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

ALLOY ENGINE CASE/ STEEL FRAME/ CHROMED FRONT & REAR FENDER, FRONT FORKS, HEADLIGHT CASE EXHAUST PIPES/ RUBBER TIRES, HANDGRIPS/ GLASS HEADLIGHT LENS/ LEATHER SEAT/ SYNTHETIC PARTS

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

210.0 cm

Width

N/A

Height

114.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Motorcycle vehicles

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

HERCULES

Country

Federal Republic of Germany

State/Province

Unknown

City

Nuremberg

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

The Hercules Company was founded in 1886 and began producing motorcycles in 1904. It was merged with Zweirad Union after being purchased by ZF Sachs in 1963. Hercules always showed great interest in smaller machines and they built in the 1930s models from 73 cc to 498 cc. after the Second World War, they focused primarily on two-strokes from 48 cc to 248 cc. In the 1950s and 1960s Sachs was the largest European fabricator of two-stroke motorcycle engines. Many of these engines were used in the Hercules line of small motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. In 1974 Hercules became the first company to offer a Wankel-engined motorcycle for sale to the general public. A prototype was first shown in 1970 at the West Cologne Fall Motorcycle Show to a mixed reception, and the production bike was sold as a Hercules product except in the United Kingdom, where it was marketed as a DKW motorcycle.

Function

TO PROVIDE MEANS OF LAND TRANSPORTATION FOR 1 TO 2 PERSONS.

Technical

FIRST COMMERCIALLY BUILT WANKEL ENGINED MOTORCYCLE/ WANKEL ENGINE OFFERS ADVANTAGE OF LIGHWEIGHT ENGINE WITH HIGH POWER OUTPUT & MINIMAL VIBRATION Since 1903, many proprietary engines were used by this Nuremberg-based factory. Among them Fafnir, JAP, Moser, Villiers, Sachs, Ilo, Bark, Kuchen, and Columbus. The W-2000 had a single-rotor air-cooled engine of 294cc that produced 23 hp, later increased to 32 hp. Cooling was by a large fan placed in front of the engine (and the slipstream breeze while riding) and engine lubrication was by manually adding oil to the fuel in the tank. In 1976 Hercules launched the W-2000 Injection in which engine lubrication was from a separate oil tank via a pump. It had 18-inch wheels, a front disc brake and a rear drum brake. According to a March 1976 review in Cycle World, the handling was good but the bike's low ground clearance limited its cornering ability. That review also declared the W-2000 to be a daily commuting bike, not sport motorcycle.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

MFR. PLATE IN CENTER OF HEADSTOCK READS: `[LOGO] HERCULES/ Nurnberger Hercules-Werke GMbH/ Typ: W2000/ Art: 002/ Fahrg.Mr; 480000238/ Baujahr 1974/ Zul.Ges.Gew. 340Kg.'/ STAMPED INTO HEADSTOCK RIGHT: `48000238'/ MFR PLATE ON LEFT OF ENGINE CASE READS: `FICHTEL & SACHS AG SCHWEINFURT/ Mot.Mr. 7586073 HUB.R. 294cm3 BAUJ/ SACHS KC 24 SYSTEM JSU WANKEL'/ `HERCULES' PLATE ON BOTH SIDES OF FUELTANK/ `WANKEL/ 2000' STICKER ON BOTH FRAME COVERS ?, & BELOW THIS ANOTHER STICKER READS: `OTTAWA CYCLE LTD./ HARLEY DAVIDSON/ YAMAHA-HONDA/ OTTAWA 725 111'/ STICKER ON RIGHT FRONT FRAME SECTION: `MFG.BY: NURNBURGER HERCULES WERKE GMBH/....'

Missing

left handle grip.

Finish

FRAME PAINTED GREY/ RED FUEL TANK WITH BLACK BAND ON IT/ CHROMED FRONT & REAR FENDER, FORKS,HEADLIGHT CASE/ ENGINE & CASE METAL GREY/ SEAT, TIRES, HANDGRIPS BLACK

Decoration

ON FUEL TANK SIDES A BROAD BLACK BAND WITH WHITE TRIM & ONE WHITE LINE WITHIN THE BLACK SWEEPS UP FROM TANK BASE & DIMINISHES IN SIZE AS IT NEARS SEAT