the first rotary powered motorcycle was the German DKW/Hercules W-2000 in 1974. it was a 249cc engine with a single rotor. rather cheaply made and not overly reliable the bike sold poorly. it was an ok bike, ok performance, ok handling. also not quite what folks thought of when thinking about a motorcycle they might want to own. the top picture is a picture of the rotor and combustion chamber of a rotary engine. only one moving part the rotor. on early rotaries the tip seals gave quite a bit of trouble since modern ceramics technology wasn't quite there yet. the second picture is of course of the bike itself and the third an Italian ad for the Hercules.
the first rotary powered motorcycle was the German DKW/Hercules W-2000 in 1974. it was a 249cc engine with a single rotor. rather cheaply made and not overly reliable the bike sold poorly. it was an ok bike, ok performance, ok handling. also not quite what folks thought of when thinking about a motorcycle they might want to own. the top picture is a picture of the rotor and combustion chamber of a rotary engine. only one moving part the rotor. on early rotaries the tip seals gave quite a bit of trouble since modern ceramics technology wasn't quite there yet. the second picture is of course of the bike itself and the third an Italian ad for the Hercules.
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