Nordap auxiliary bike motor, 1950
The Nordap motor transformed a normal bicycle into a motor bike of sorts. The entire front wheel was replaced and a petrol tank and some controls added. The one cylinder, two-stroke motor had an engine volume of 25 cc and delivered 0.9 hp. The petrol tank with a capacity of 1.3 litres of 1:25 mixture provided a range of 100 km. Its weight of 6.5 kg and the significant angular momentum at that location made the bicycle rather tricky to steer and control, but given the choice between that and having to pedal it might still have been considered worth it.
However, not many Nordap auxiliaries were sold. I guess it came just a few years too late. Had it been on the market in 1947 or 1948, when the disposable income of most Germans was too low even for the cheapest motor bike, this might have sold, but after 1949 the post-war economic boom had started and people would have preferred buying a motor bike or even a small car in instalments. From the mid-50s onwards, the entire motor bike market went into a slump because people wanted cars.
The Nordap company made many, mostly automotive components in the town of Ladenburg.
Seen at Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz, Ladenburg, Baden Württemberg, Germany
Camera: Leicaflex SL2 (Leica ID 10022), made in 1975
Lens: Leica Summicron-R-II 50mm (11216), made in 1978
Kodak Portra 800 professional grade colour negative film
Developed and scanned by www.meinfilmlab.de
Nordap auxiliary bike motor, 1950
The Nordap motor transformed a normal bicycle into a motor bike of sorts. The entire front wheel was replaced and a petrol tank and some controls added. The one cylinder, two-stroke motor had an engine volume of 25 cc and delivered 0.9 hp. The petrol tank with a capacity of 1.3 litres of 1:25 mixture provided a range of 100 km. Its weight of 6.5 kg and the significant angular momentum at that location made the bicycle rather tricky to steer and control, but given the choice between that and having to pedal it might still have been considered worth it.
However, not many Nordap auxiliaries were sold. I guess it came just a few years too late. Had it been on the market in 1947 or 1948, when the disposable income of most Germans was too low even for the cheapest motor bike, this might have sold, but after 1949 the post-war economic boom had started and people would have preferred buying a motor bike or even a small car in instalments. From the mid-50s onwards, the entire motor bike market went into a slump because people wanted cars.
The Nordap company made many, mostly automotive components in the town of Ladenburg.
Seen at Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz, Ladenburg, Baden Württemberg, Germany
Camera: Leicaflex SL2 (Leica ID 10022), made in 1975
Lens: Leica Summicron-R-II 50mm (11216), made in 1978
Kodak Portra 800 professional grade colour negative film
Developed and scanned by www.meinfilmlab.de