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Hungarian Motorcycles

SHB Motorcycles

Henrik Schweitzer established his sewing machine and bicycle workkshop in Budapest prior to WWI - not an uncommon combination as the mechanical principles had much in commmon, both being pedal-powered.

After 1918 he created the SH and SHB marques, and in the early 1930s the firm began production of utility three-wheelers and powered bicycles using Fichtel & amp; Sachs engines. In typical fashion the 74cc engine was placed within the bicycle frame's triangle, mounted beneath the crossbar near the steering head. Larger 98cc engines were fitted to the the commercial tricycles, and these soon became available for moped-style machines.

By 1939 around 100 machines were leaving the factory each year, and the firm had twice moved to larger premises. As the second war intensified materials became scarce, demand evaporated, and by 1944 production was almost at a halt. That year Schweitzer died, but the factory struggled on until finally killed of by nationalisation under the post-war Communist government. The warped brand of Stalinist socialism which was forced upon the country proved equally disastrous to the fascism it replaced, but lasted far longer.

Source: Article at magyarjarmu.hu by Pál Négyesi


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