Old Bike Australasia: Good things from Bad Homburg - OBA 45 Horex
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Old Bike Australasia: Good things from Bad Homburg - OBA 45 Horex

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By OldBike - 18 May 2015
250cc Horex follows the family lines.

In 1920 Fritz Kleeman began to install single horsepower 63cc Gnom engines, made by Columbus-Motoenbau AG, into bicycle frames. By a happy coincidence, the Columbus company was owned by Fritz’s father Friedrich and produced glassware, particularly bottles and jars, under the Rex name. By combing the first two letters of Bad Homburg, the town where the bikes were assembled, and Rex, the name Horex came into being, or more precisely Horex Fahrzeugbau AG. The range quickly expanded and by 1924 248cc ohv Columbus engines were being built into a tubular steel chassis made by the Stein company, with a 3-speed hand-change gearbox. In 1925 the marriage was complete after Horex and Columbus merged.

The badge of office.

Fritz was keen on motor sport of all kinds and the new 250 was quickly entered into competition, winning several major events.  However it was the comparatively simple 350 OHV unit that was to really put Horex on the map as a volume producer of quality, dependable motorcycles. The Regina story began pre-war with the Reeb-designed SB 35, a 342cc long-stroke workhorse with massively under-square 69mm x 91.5 mm bore and stroke, with twin exhaust ports. The Regina range was launched in 1949 and included 250cc (65 x 75mm) and 400cc (74.5 x 91.5mm) as well as the 350, each with a four-speed, foot-change gearbox built in-unit with the engine. The 250 used steel rims (alloy on the 350) and had a single exhaust port and pipe.

The Regina range used a tubular steel frame with the engine suspended at the crankcase, Ariel-style, with hydraulically-damped telescopic forks and plunder rear suspension. The rear chain ran in a sealed enclosure, full width alloy hubs were used front and rear, and the whole motorcycle was extremely neat and lean, weighing just 160 kg for the 350.

Regina at the Australian Motorcycle Museum, Haigslea, Queensland.

Later 392cc and 452cc road-going Imperator twins appeared, and fine looking motorcycles they were. Breaking tradition, the unit construction engine and four-speed gearbox were mounted in a twin-loop cradle frame with swinging arm rear suspension. Of the two models, the 400 was the biggest seller, putting out 24hp at 5,650 rpm, with a top speed of 135 km/h, but the twins were expensive and failed to gain volume sales.

Despite the effort and investment in the Imperator twins, the company’s bread and butter would always be their dependable and high-selling singles. The Regina was getting a bit long in the tooth, but Horex was hard at work on its successor, the Resident, which was initially produced in 248cc and 349cc versions. These were of a more modern ohv design, with bore and stroke of 77 x 53.4mm and 77 x 75mm respectively, but still using the now-antiquated twin exhaust ports with two pipes and mufflers.

A 350cc Horex Regina dating from 1953

One person who was certainly impressed with the Horex Regina was Soichiro Honda, who visited the factory (and many others including NSU and  Triumph in England) in 1953. The Horex influence is clearly evident in the Honda SA250 of 1955 and the ME250 that appeared a couple of years later, although the Horex overhead valve method has given way to Honda’s familiar chain-driven overhead camshaft.

But there was an undeniable cloud of doom descending upon the entire European motorcycle market. At the end of the 1954 season Horex disbanded its works team, but continued to foster development of the racing models in private hands. Commercially, Horex struggled along, but it was clear the pendulum was swinging towards more affordable cars and away from motorcycles and sidecars. To this end, Horex began to scale back motorcycle production in favour of assembling mopeds and scooters, and increasingly to manufacture components for Daimler-Benz. Bike output slowed to a trickle, and just over 2000 were produced in 1957, the final model year. Daimler-Benz acquired the company in 1960 and the famous name was laid to rest – almost.

German niche producer Friedel Münch was able to purchase the Horex name when he ironically lost the use of his own Münch brand name in the 1970s, and he turned out a monstrous 1400cc turbocharged model called the Horex TI, which was built to special order. Later still, the Horex name was used for a short-lived range of lightweight motorcycles.

The Horex name lives on in the VR6 1200.

Just when it seemed the iconic brand had finally been laid to rest, Horex rose again in 2010 in the form of a 1200cc 15º V-6 with three valves per cylinder – the VR6. The engine had its origins in a Volkswagen design from the 1980s – narrow angle v engines using a common block and cylinder head. Initially, the Horex VR6 was to be supercharged with a power output of 200 bhp, but when the production version appeared in 2011 it was in normally aspirated form, putting out a still-respectable 161 horsepower.

The Horex brand may be reincarnated in V6 form today, but in the minds of enthusiasts, the name will forever be associated with high quality singles and twins, bristling with innovative engineering features.

Specifications: 1953 Horex Regina 350 
Engine: single cylinder overhead valve.
Bore x stroke: 69mm x 91.5mm
Capacity: 342cc
Fuel tank capacity: 13.5 litres
Oil capacity: (Wet sump) 2 litres
Power: 18hp at 5,000 rpm
Carburettor: Bing AJ 2/26/11 or Amal 25 C2A for Sport Model.
Wheels/tyres: Front 2.50 x 19  Rear 3.25 x 19

Protect your Horex. Call Shannons Insurance on 13 46 46 to get a quote today.