Victoria Classic Motorcycles
Founded in 1886, Victoria built
bicycles and began motorcycle manufacture in
Nürnberg (Germany) in 1901. During the
very early part of the 20th. century they even
produced automobiles, though without success.
During WWI they produced mostly small bikes
and bicycles, but the business blossomed in
the 1920s.
The first Victoria model that
became popular was presented in 1921 and had
a BMW 494cc 2-cyl. sv-flat engine with 6.5
HP, later 8.5 HP. They used a variety of engines,
including those of FN (Belgium) and Columbus.
In the early 1930s they presented
a unique machine which was quite advanced
for the day, featuring a totally enclosed
body which afforded protection to the rider
in inclement weather and protected the mechanicals
of the bike from damage from road debris,
a common problem in those days. It was powered
by a 500-cc 4-stroke twin.
In April 1945 the Victoria works
were almost totally destroyed. In 1947 work
was started by rebuilding the bombed out factory
and soon the production lines were again humming.
The initial production consisted of upgraded
pre-war models.
After Worldwar II the first
model was a 38cc bicycle engine which was
a great success. Its fuel tank was situated
underneath the luggage carrier. Then came
the KR 25 model in 1950, which had a 247cc
1-cyl. twostroke engine. In 1951 Victoria
had these models: a 99cc twostroker, the 248cc
KR 25 AERO and the 38cc bicycle engine.
The end of the fifties also
brought the end of Victoria: it joined the
ZWEIRAD-UNION group and was swallowed by Fichtel
and Sachs. Financial problems which apparently
had no solution stopped production of this
promising lovely little roadster before it
really got started. Some mopeds and 50cc motorcycles
were the last Victoria models in the sixties.
The brand vanished in 1968.
| Bike |
Image |
Description |
1930 Victoria KR50 |
 |
|
1934 Victoria onbekend |
 |
|
| 1938 Victoria |
 |
250cc Aero. |
| 1939 Victoria KR20 |
 |
|
1950 Victoria KR 250 Aero |
 |
|
| 1951 Victoria |
 |
Bergeister 350cc. |
| 1952 Victoria Vicky FM 38 Hilfsmotor |
 |
The 38cc Victoria FM 38 cycle-attachment
engine was made between 1946 and 1954.
Although the vast majority of FM 38's
were sold as a kit to mount onto the purchaser's
own bicycle, some were also sold as a
complete unit already mounted onto a Victoria
cycle frame.
The FM 38 was a very popular unit, with
a total production run of 40,000.
Image provided by www.BuyVintage.co.uk.
|
| 1952 Victoria Vicky FM 38 Hilfsmotor |
 |
The 38cc Victoria FM 38 cycle-attachment
engine was made between 1946 and 1954.
Although the vast majority of FM 38's
were sold as a kit to mount onto the purchaser's
own bicycle, some were also sold as a
complete unit already mounted onto a Victoria
cycle frame.
The FM 38 was a very popular unit, with
a total production run of 40,000. It was
one of the first postwar cycle-attachments
to be made in Europe although Velosolex
had also started production in 1946 in
France, Great Britain was several years
behind.
Most German factories had, of course,
been destroyed in the War. Motorcycles
over 350cc were now prohibited by the
Allies, and the manufacture of only 10,000
machines with engines between 60cc - 350cc
were allowed. There was obviously a major
motivation to start tooling up for cyclemotors
and getting them out of the factories. |
| 1953 Victoria KR26 |
 |
|
1954 Victoria KR26 N Aero |
 |
|
1954 Victoria Nikki, 48cc |
 |
|
| 1955 Victoria |
 |
Kr21 swing. |
| 1961 Victoria 115 |
 |
|
| 1968 Victoria 503 |
 |
|
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