Kreidler 50cc

KREIDLER 50CC

Report From Germany,

Sloniger

GERMANY'S Kreidler factory is riding the crest of the moped racing wave and will have last year's winner back in the saddle and a few new tricks to help him (hopefully) win another Coupe d' Europe for the 50cc two-wheelers. The man is Hans-Georg Anscheidt, one of the few riders to ride so few cubic inches so fast, i.e., at the "ton" (100 mph) on the proper straights.

The Kreidler machines for this season were wind-tunnel-tested and they claim a cut in wind resistance of 25% over a bare machine. The accompanying photographs indicated that this only comes into being when the rider stays well tucked in. The machine in the photos is equipped with a test fairing as there is no transparent forward section in it. The 1962 Kreidler engine has a crankshaft output of 8 hp, solid Teutonic variety, and turns over 11,000 rpm to do it. They use a horizontally ribbed cylinder with deep, deep flutes and a radially ribbed head. The fuel mix is delivered through dual carburetors, feeding twin rotary slide valves to give the proper “overlap”, or the nearest thing to it.

To keep the rider inside his nice and tight rev range they give him four footoperated speeds, and two intermediate gears controlled by a hand lever, calling it a “sort of overdrive” arrangement. These incredible mini-motorcycles are getting as specialized as the bigger machines and so far the Kreidler is still King, until somebody begins toying with dime-size multicylinder jobs perhaps?