Van Veen Kreidler 50
With Phil Aynsley
The German Kreidler firm was founded in 1903 as a ‘metal and wire’ factory and it wasn’t until 1951 that they produced their first motorcycle. By 1959 they comprised 33 per cent of German motorcycle production.
They were a participant of the 50cc World Championship from its instigation in 1962. Initially they used motors based on their popular production Florett model and rider Hans-Georg Anscheidt narrowly finished second to Suzuki’s Ernst Denger in 1962 and Hugh Anderson in 1963.
Dutch importer Van Veen took over the racing effort in 1965 and a string of championships followed: Jan de Vries in 1971 and 1973, Henk van Kessel in 1974, Angel Nieto in 1975, Eugenio Lazzarini in 1979 and 1980 and Stefan Dörflinger in 1982 and 1983.
The last two despite Kreidler going out of business in 1982. Noted tuner Jorg Möller designed a new, water-cooled motor for the 1971 season, still using the same bore and stroke.
This particular bike was bought directly from the Van Veen company in 1978 by South Australian racer Geoff Brown, and after substantial changes (so he could fit his 195 cm frame on it) by Rod Tingate – new tank, seat and modified fairing. Geoff successfully raced it taking the 50cc Championship in 1979 and 1981 and finishing second in 1980. A total of 1,100 km was put on the bike over those three seasons.
The carburettor was never touched during that time! Geoff reports that fuel consumption was miserly with only 1-2 litres of fuel being required per meeting. The bike was supplied with a spares kit that included a full set of front and rear sprockets. After Geoff retired, Rod returned the bike to how it came out of the crate – as seen here.
Specs were a bore and stroke of 40 x 39.6mm, rotary disc-valve, Bing 28mm carburettor, Krober ignition, six-speed gearbox, 12v waterpump, Betor gas rear suspension, Kreidler 30mm magnesium front forks, Moto Mozzi calipers with Grimeca master cylinders, front disc 210 x 4mm, rear disc 190 x 4mm, wheelbase 1235 mm. Dry weight was just 54 kg, while power was 17 hp at a rev-happy 14,500rpm.
The powerband kicked in at 13,000-16,000 rpm, and top speed was up to 200 km/h. To put that in perspective Henk van Kessel lapped Spa at over 160 km/h with a top speed of 202 km/h in 1974.
