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NSU 250.
NSU Rennmax 250 1954 The Rennmax 250, like the Rennfox 125, made its debut in 1952. Although it did not win any world championship race that year, it nonetheless had all the qualities that were needed to stand up against the Moto Guzzis ridden by Lorenzetti and Fergus Anderson. In 1953 Werner Haas won both the 125-class and the 250-class championships with NSUs. This was a surprise upset, because at the beginning of the season the Italian vehicles were the favorites. The Rennmax that Haas rode in 1953 was a four-stroke, two-cylinder two-wheeler developed from the prewar supercharged 500. It had two-shaft overhead distribution with bevel gears. The engine generated 30 h.p. at 10,500 r.p.m. Although the Rennmax proved to be slightly better in performance than competing motorcycles in its class, it was completely overhauled in 1954. The distribution was redesigned to operate by a single shaft acting on the axis of the intake cam. The transmission was given a sixth speed, and the bore and stroke were readjusted. Haas rode the 1954 Rennmax 250 to victory in all the races he entered. He won his second world championship with the Rennmax. Even when NSU announced its retirement from racing the following year, it seemed clear that the Rennmax would continue to lead the field for some time. Motorcycle: NSU Rennmax 250 Manufacturer: NSU, Neckarsulm Type: Racing Year: 1954 Power: 39 h.p. at 11,500 r.p.m. Maximum speed: 135
m.p.h. (with bell fairing) Front wheel: swinging-link suspension; Rear wheel: telescopic NSU 250 Twin 1954
1954 NSU. 250 TWIN. In the twenties it was not uncommon for a
T.T. race average to be boosted by a few m.p.h. from one year to the next. But
it was virtually unprecedented in modern times when, in 1954, Werner Haas hurled
his twin-cylinder N.S.U. round three laps of the Mountain course to record the
first "over-90" win in the Lightweight race, for his record average speed of
9088 was over 6 m.p.h. faster than Fergus Anderson's 1953 record speed of 8473
m.p.h. The N.S.U. factory had raced twins in 1953, but they had
certain shortcomings, to overcome which the unit was virtually redesigned in the
winter of that year. The race average shows how well the bugs were eradicated. Unit construction was employed for the parallel-twin engine
and gearbox, which had no fewer than six ratios. Primary transmission was by a
pair of spur gears (so the engine ran "backWards"). Both cylinder barrels were
deeply spigoted into the crankcase and a cross-shaft in the "top" of the
crankcase drove the distributor via skew gears and the bottom bevels of the
vertical shaft drive to the twin. o.h. This shaft drove to the inlet end of the
camshaft gear train, so that any backlash in the system would have ininimal
effect on the induction. SPECIFICATION The Rise and Fall of the NSU Empire From Knitting Machines to World Championships and Finally,
Obscurity Lightweight street motorcycles just never caught on in the
Americas -- except for a brief time in the late 1960s when you could meet "the
nicest people on a Honda." However, in Europe, bikes displacing under 500cc have
always been the workhorses, providing economical transportation, serious sport
and touring capabilities, and even towing sidecars.
The NSU V-Twin engine, circa 1905. Note the "atmospheric"
intake valves, opened by the suction of the piston going down. Photo by W.
Conway Link, Deutsches Motorrad Register.
The Sd. Kfz 2 Kleines Kettenkraftrad half-track-- Who thought
this up, anyway?
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Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated. |