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 Hercules - 300 2000
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Hercules 2000  motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
804

Capacity : 300
Model : 2000
Production : 1973 - 1978
Category : (R) Street Bike

HERCULES

Wankel-Sachs W 2000 - 1973

The fistst production rotary

No more conrods or valves, fewer moving parts, and freedom from vibration! The idea of the rotary engine, developed by Dr. Felix Wankel, proved irresistible to manufacturer the world over. Many of them invested heavily in research programs that never got to production. Sachs-Hercules pulled it off, however, and managed to put a rotary-engined bike on the market.

Shaft-Drive Prototypes

The 1970 prototypes had shaft drive, but the W 2000 offered for public sale in 1973 had chain transmission. It cost some 10,300 francs at a time when a four-cylinder Honda 350 could be bought for 9,600. In 1975, a front disk brake was added, but production was halted in 1978. But Sachs was one of Europe's biggest engine manufacturers and lost no time investigating new opportunities. The rotary proved to be a triumph of hope over experience. Still, the radical bike raised the whole industry's standards.

Spiraling Costs

Eventually, production costs of the complex hypocycloidal combustion chamber spiralled out of control, and the problems of achieving gas-tight seals at the three tips of the trilobite rotor proved intractable. Wonderful in theory, the rotary engine proved unsatisfactory in practice, and the venture was abandoned before the Eighties.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: Air-cooled Wankel Monorotor equivalent to 300 cc

Power Rating: 20 hp @ 6000 rpm

Transmission: 4-speed, chain drive

Brakes: telescopic fork (front); swinging fork (rear)

Wheels: 18in wire

Maximum Speed: 80 mph

Higher than expected fuel consumption combined with the advent of anti-pollution laws brought this bold venture at marketing a rotary engine to a sudden end.





Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.