DKW

Schüttoff JS 500 - 1930

DKW's only four-stroke

Just as everyone knows that BMW has only made four-strokes, it's also common knowledge that DKWs have always been powered by two-strokes. But historians have a way of letting corporate skeletons out of closets, and they will tell you that BMW built a prototype two-stroke flat twin, the R10 (though it never made series production), and that 610 units were built of the sole four-stroke "Deek," the DKW-Schüttoff.

Financial Problems

Arthur Schüttoff founded his machine tool business in 1910 and his son Herbert diversified into motorcycles in 1924. Like all the German manufacturers of the period, Schüttoff ran into financial problems in the mid-1920s, and DKW took a majority share

in 1928.

Not Just DKW Engineering

DKW not only broadened the Schüttoff range downwards by supplying 200cc and 300cc two-stroke power units, but also extended its own offerings upwards by creating a new model that fit a 500cc Schüttoff four-stroke in a typical DKW pressed steel frame. The DKW- Schüttoff carried the model badge "JS" after the initials of the Danish-born founder of DKW, J6rgen Skafte Rasmussen. The JS 500 was intended to appeal to an entirely new clientele, for the DKW range had previously stopped at 350cc. But the anticipated demand never materialized, and there were still some unsold JS 500s languishing in the DKW factory when war broke out. DKW, which absorbed Schüttoff in 1932 and closed down the marque name, became part of Auto Union the same year.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 496cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 14 hp

Valves: side

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 3-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear)

Wheels: 3.25 inch wire alloy (front & rear)

Weight: 330 lb

Maximum Speed: 68 mph

The only four-stroke ever built by DKW, the JS 500 combined a Schüttoff engine with a pressed-steel DKW frame.