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Hercules
From CycleChaos
Having built bicycles for many years, Germany's Hercules produced its first motorbike in 1904. Following the Second World War, Hercules concentrated on smaller two-strokes with engines from Sachs. The firm began to build up a large range of bikes during the 1950s, notable among them its first twin-cylinder model, the 318 (which oddly enough featured a 247cc engine). The 318 was billed at being a luxury tourer, and produced 12 bhp.
In 1969 Sachs took control of the firm and the Hercules name stayed, most notably used in association with the W2000 of the mid 1970s - The world's first commercially built Wankel rotary engined motorcycle. Hercules took on a very Japanese-look in appearance looking much like the venerable Honda CB750K from forks to fuel tank and seat. Its 294cc or 882cc (depending on how you measure) motor produced a claimed 27 bhp at 6,500 rpm and gave a top speed of almost 90 mph. But the rotary, which was marketed under the DKW brand in Britain, did not sell well, and recent production with the marquee has been limited to two-stroke motorcycles smaller than 100cc.
1976
