Heinkel The prince of scooters
Mention Heinkel and most people immediately think of aircraft – specifically, the type that dropped bombs. But the company founded by Ernst Heinkel also produced motor scooters from 1953 to 1965 – 156,610 of them to be precise.
Sold under the model designation of Tourist, the Heinkel scooters quickly developed a reputation for excellent quality and attention to detail. Five models would come out of the German factory in the 13 years of production and many are still in use. Around the world, scooter enthusiasts regard the Tourists as the supreme example of the European scooter. Ernst Heinkel was born in the Swabia province of Germany in 1888. The fledging German aviation industry captured his attention, and in 1910 built his own aeroplane, which unfortunately crashed and left him with serious injuries. During WW1, he worked at Albatross building fighter planes, and later the Brandenburg Aircraft Works where he designed some 30 aircraft. After Germany’s defeat, its aviation industry was shut down until 1922, when it was restarted under strict conditions. It was enough to encourage Heinkel to launch his own company, Heinkel Flugzeugwerke with a factory at Warnemunde on the Baltic Coast, initially building seaplanes which were actually constructed in Sweden to get around the restrictions.
During WW2, Heinkel produced bombers – the He 111 and He 177 – and the very successful He 219 fighter, which featured the world’s first ejection seats on an operational aircraft. Heinkel also built the world’s first jet plane, the He 178 which first flew in March 1937, and the first jet fighter, the He 280 of 1941. Germany’s aviation industry was again dismantled after the war, so Heinkel turned his attention to bicycles and mopeds – as did fellow Axis aircraft manufacturer Enrico Piaggio in Italy. In Germany, NSU gained a licence to produce Lambretta scooters, while another aircraft company, Messerschmitt, began building Vespas under licence. The Heinkel Tourist scooter, first envisaged in 1949 and produced in 1953, set the company on the course to sales success, which continued after Ernst Heinkel died in 1958. Scooter production commenced at the purposebuilt Karlsruhe factory with the Tourist model 101 AO in 1953. This seminal design had exposed bicyclestyle tubular steel chrome-plated handlebars. It also has a kick starter only – all subsequent Tourists had electric starting. Powered by an air-cooled single cylinder overhead valve engine of 149cc, the 101 AO had a three-speed transmission with a hand shifter and chain final drive with the chain in an oil bath. The frame was made in tubular steel with a large diameter spine section, with single-sided swinging arm rear suspension with hydraulic damping, acting on the crankcase, and telescopic front forks. A distinguishing feature was the large, flat cast-alloy floorboard unit, which eliminated one of the bugbears of the Italian scooter – rust. The pressed steel bodywork was distinguished by a double
row front bumper bar in cast aluminium,
steel mudguards, leg shields and rear bodywork. The list of standard or optional equipment was impressive: speedometer, clock, luggage carrier, spare wheel and a steering lock. It ran on 4.00 x 8-inch tyres and had a wheelbase of 1330mm and a dry weight of 129kg. Production began in July 1953 and ran until August 1954 with a production run of 6,500. With a maximum speed of 82 km/h and a miserly appetite for fuel via the Pallas carburettor the official figure was 2.11 litres/100 km), the Tourist had a pay load of 156kg. Almost simultaneous to the release of the Tourist scooter, Heinkel released a moped, the Perle, powered by a 50cc engine. The model 102 A1 featured upgraded electrics – from the original 6 volt to a full 12 volt system, with electric starter – a major selling point. Capacity was increased to 174cc and the carburation was now by a Pallas 20/11P. In other respects, the new model was basically identical to the original, although the dry weight had increased slightly to 133kg. With the extra capacity, top speed was now a healthy 92 km/h. 17,500 of the model were produced until August 1955 before the third Tourist – the 103 AO – was introduced. This later changed to a Bing carburettor and from Ciba ignition to Bosch. This new model, although visibly from the
same family, was a step up in refinement. Now with a four-speed gearbox, the 103 AO used a new front suspension with a single shock absorber on the left side. Ten inch wheels now supported the scooter, which had ballooned in weight to 152kg. Top speed was up to 95km/h but fuel consumption had also increased to 2.81 litres/100 km. The 103 AO remained in production until September 1957, by which time 34,060 had been built. Next came the 103 A1, the first Tourist model to be exported to the USA, which was just starting to discover scooters, although only around 200 were sent to USA. 50,050 of the model rolled off the assembly line until June 1960. A visual change was the enclosure of the handlebars in a steel cover, which also contained the speedometer. In 1956, a new lighter model, the Roller 112, was displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Cycle Show. Powered by a 125cc four-stroke engine, weight had been trimmed to 105kg and larger 12 inch wheels and tyres fitted. Five prototypes were built but the Roller failed to go into production. In 1962 Heinkel made a further effort to get into a different market with a smaller, lighter scooter, the 150, powered by a 150cc two-stroke engine. With less weight (118kg) to propel, the 150 was almost as quick as the Tourist. Aimed squarely at the Italian models, the 150 was not the hoped for success and after 7,000 were built, production ceased in 1964. The final Tourist was the 103 A2, which came in for restyling and featured a pointy rear end which is often referred to as the ‘Cadillac’. The rear section was remodelled to include turn indicators and the front end featured redesigned bumpers. Late in the production run of 55,000, the wheels were changed to a split-rim design, while the telescopic front suspension finally gave way to a swinging arm design similar to that used on Lambrettas. Production continued until December 1965. As well as the scooters, Heinkel also produced a ‘microcar’ – the Kabine – from 1956 to 1958. The Kabine initially used the same 174cc engine that powered the Tourist scooters, which was later enlarged to 204cc and finally reduced to 198cc so qualifying for insurance benefits. Like the famous Isetta ‘bubble car’, occupants entered the vehicle via a hinged front door.
By the mid ‘sixties, the austerity that had followed WW2 was a thing of the past, and the scooter boom was over. Cars were now the preferred mode of transport, and Heinkel made the decision to curtail production of scooters and mopeds. The spare parts inventory and machine tools were purchased by the Heinkel Club Deutschland, and the club’s diligence in providing back up is largely responsible for the marque’s popularity to this day.
Throughout their existence, Heinkel scooters were mainly sold in Europe, with around 350 exported to USA and a similar number to Great Britain. Australia got a few as well, through Capitol Motor Cycles in Campbell Street Sydney, and Stan Evans in Elizabeth Street Melbourne.
In reality, Heinkel’s focus had always been the aircraft industry, and motorised transport was merely a means to support the main aim. When restrictions on German aircraft manufacturing were eased in the mid ‘fifties, Heinkel began building Lockheed Starfighters under licence, supplying these to the German Air Force. In the following decade, many similar German aircraft companies merged, and following Heinkel’s merger into VFM, that corporation itself was merged in 1981 with a group comprising Messerschmidt, Bolkow and Blohm. Today, Heinkel GmbH exists as a make of turbines and chemical processing equipment. Today, Heinkel Tourist scooters are owned and ridden by thousands of enthusiasts around the world, with spares available from a number of outlets including Heinkel Service Nederland and through the Heinkel Club of Germany.
Heinkels Down Under
The Heinkel Tourist enjoys worldwide popularity, more than half a century after production ceased. Heinkel scooters were sold in Sydney by Capitol Motor Cycles in Campbell Street and in Melbourne by Modak in Elizabeth Street. The doyen of the Australian Heinkel scene is Klaus Wolf, who restores Heinkels and other scooters in his home workshop in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the brand, including its unusual beginnings, as he tells. “After the war, Heinkel were not allowed to operate their main business, which was aircraft, but they had lots of materials, particularly aluminium, and out of necessity they decided to make scooters as people wanted cheap transport. They also had stocks of spare parts for aircraft, and the telescopic front forks they used on their first scooter, the 102 AO, is actually the landing gear from the Heinkel He111! Once they had used up all the parts they had to change to the Earles-type forks. They also made light cars; a four-wheeler which had the rear wheels very close together, and licenced production for the Heinkel Trojan in Britain which had three wheels. One of the scooter models was available with the Steib LS200 sidecar.” Klaus immigrated to Australia from his native Germany in 1992, bringing with him the 103 A1 Heinkel on which he had already covered tens of thousands of kilometres, and which has now clocked up 160,000km. His first major journey was a ride from Germany through Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and this was followed by a seven-month expedition that took in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the-then Yugoslavia. In 1992 he opened Retro Scooter Palace in Melbourne, which he operated for ten years. These days, Klaus’ small workshop is crammed with projects as well as complete scooters of various brands. On the bench was a very early example in the process of a complete restoration, while nearby sat restored scooters from the glory days of European manufacture – a Zündapp Bella, two examples of the Dürkopp Diana, a bulbous Maico Mobil, plus a Japanese Rabbit. The shed is adorned with colourful posters, brochures, period riding gear and equipment. On the day of my visit, Klaus had three models on display, while a fourth, owned by John Cameron, joined us later. Klaus was hard at work because the following day he, John and six other scooter enthusiasts were off on a tour of Tasmania. The Vintage Vespa and European Scooter Club of Victoria began in the mid 1980s and Klaus has been the president since 1993. Membership is free, and anyone with a pre-1980 scooter can join. It’s a virtual roll-call of scooter brands, some more well known than others, and despite the name, Japanese and British brands are welcome. Scooter collecting can be addictive, given that the membership of around 50 accounts for more than 1,000 scooters. The club operates an extensive library with manuals for almost any scooter available, as well as technical advice. New members are welcome; just call Klaus on 0417 352833.