German Motorcycle Personalities

Notable Competitors, Industrialists and Designers

G

Josef Ganz, the May Bug and Volkswagen

Josef Ganz

Joseph Ganz.

When the automobile first arrived in Hungary in 1896 Csonka had been working with petrol-powered combustion engines for over a decade, as these were also used in industrial applications. The university professor – his specialtiy was not engineering – had been commissioned by Joseph Ganz in 1887 to complete an unfinished internal combustion engines the company had purchased. His partner in this work had been Donát Bánki, who also worked with the Ganz concern.

Bánki-Csonka

K

Richard Kürchen and his brother Xavier

Kürchen

L

Louis L. Lepoix

A French designer, his projects included Horex (Rebell), Progress, Puch (M125 and SR150), Bastert (Einspurauto), Walba, Triumph TWN (Contessa), Victoria (Nicky and Swing), Kreidler (Florett), Steib...

Louis Lepoix

M

Marcus

Born in Malchin, Germany, Siegfried Marcus moved to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, in 1852.

Marcus was credited as having invented the petrol driven motor car. With the German occupation of Austria in March 1938, the memorial in front of the Vienna Technical University was removed. After World War II, the monument was rebuilt and his car, which had been hidden, was returned to display.

Marcus was removed from German encyclopedias as the inventor of the modern car, under a directive from the German Ministry for Propaganda during World War II. His name was replaced with the names of Daimler and Benz. [1]

It is rather ironic that Hitler's favourite car was the Mercedes Benz given that the father of Benz was a famous Austrian rabbi.

Sources: 1. en.wikipedia.org

O

Gustav Otto

A German aircraft and aircraft engine designer and manufacturer, his father was Nicolaus August Otto, inventor of the Otto-cycle - now known as the four-stroke internal combustion engine.

Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik became Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) which in 1917 became Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (BMW).

Gustav Otto

R

Albert Roder

Albert Roder was involved with the Ziro, EMAG and Ermag marques. Later he designed the NSU Fox, and the Ultramax valve train of the Max, Superfox and Maxi.

Albert Roder

W

Fritz Witzel.

One of the most successful German off-road motorcycle riders of the post-war period, he participated in countless national and international off-road motorsport events and won an incredible total of 214 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 9 bronze medals. He rode with Mars, Sachs, Hercules and Maico.

More information: Witzel at meisterdinger.de

German Resources