£6,000 - £8,000
1979 Hercules/DKW W2000, 294 cc. Registration number DME 597V. Frame number 480005154. Engine number 7587306.
Production started in 1974 and marketed as DKW in the UK (due to the Hercules name being used by the bicycle manufacturer) the W2000 was the first production Wankel engine motorcycle, although it would eventually prove a technological blind alley, the rotary engine seemed full of promise for automotive applications in the early 1970s. Three major motorcycle manufacturers released models using rotary engines: Suzuki, Norton and DKW.
The DKW was powered by a single rotor Fichtel & Sachs snowmobile engine displacing 294cc. This fan-cooled unit drove via a six-speed transmission and was suspended from a tubular spine frame, while the rest of the cycle parts were entirely conventional for the time. Petrol had to be premixed with two-stroke oil until 1976, when 199 more units were produced with automatic oil injection. It goes without saying that its rotary engine was vibrationless, but the little 'Deek' possessed other virtues: excellent build quality, superb handling, BMW-like rider comfort and the convenience of an electric starter. Top speed was around 95mph. 'But even ignoring the novelty value of the unconventional power unit, it's an outstanding machine in its own right,' declared Bike.
This rare two owner oil injection example is a UK only machine having first being registered on the 1st November 1979 to a Peter Jackson of London; our vendor (the owner of several Wankel powered DKW's and Nortons) purchasing it in 2009. As a retired motor engineer he has now fully restored the machine with a full engine rebuild , including a new rotor, in 2012. It has now covered some 15,000 miles from new.
Sold with the V5C, the original purchase invoice, MOT's from 1983 and 1984, various receipts related to the rebuild and photocopies of the workshop manual and parts manual.
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Free Registration
23.6% inc VAT*
Flat Fee Registration
20.00% inc VAT*
