In the early 70s, Suzuki, Norton, and DKW all brought rotary-powered bikes to the market, but DKW was the first. Outside of the UK, it was sold as the Hercules Wankel 2000 (W2000), and while the engine was unconventional, everything else was as you’d expect. Bike magazine called it “an outstanding machine in its own right”, even ignoring the novel powerplant. Now we know that rotary power barely went anywhere, but this was a real breakthrough in the industry at the time. You’ve seen David N. many times here on Bike-urious, but this time he’s in front of the camera with a great video about one of the interesting motorcycles at his shop, Bullpen Cycles – a Hercules W2000 that’s still in the crate!
Watch as David walks you through a cutaway of a Sachs Wankel engine, shows you the feature bike, and takes you on a ride with a different Hercules – there’s a lot of cool history here:
Nice job, David!