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The Adler works were founded by Herr Heinrich Kleyer in Frankfurt a.M. (on Maine) on March 1st. 1880, making it one of the oldest industrial enterprises in the world. Adler manufactured bicycle – 3-wheelers of very advanced design when bicycles were the new transportation system, office machines, automobiles, trucks and motorcycles without interruption until its demise in 1957. In 1944 during the disastrous air attack on Frankfurt a.M., the entire Adler factory was wiped out, leaving only the shell of a few buildings. It was there, that in 1948 a new beginning was made.
Adler factory, Frankfurt, Germany The factory had been practically destroyed and was thusly spared the plundering hordes of American specialist teams scouring the country side on the lookout for booty. Initially a new, modern automobile was contemplated but due to financial considerations this Adler automobile, promising as it was, never saw production; in fact, the prototype was inexplicably scrapped at the orders of the company´s top brass. Instead, Adler started building small motorcycles, first a 100-cc 2-stroke every-day-usage machine, followed by a 125-cc and subsequently a 150-cc machine. Other than most first-run models in Germany (in 1948) which were build based on re-war designs, Adler built theirs according to the latest technological parameters and earned an enviable reputation for reliability. Their frames invariably featured dual-tube technology and telescopic front and rear suspension systems when such things were a rarity; these frames were especially lithe in their racing models; 2-stroke technology was also de rigueur. As mentioned a prototype automobile, a lovely 2-door sedan with a 1.2 liter 4-stroke 4-cylinder engines was scrapped because management thought it to be too expensive. This was probably a giant mistake, for Adler had a stellar reputation for designing and building leading edge technology automobiles of uncommon grace and reliability. Surely the newly designed car would have been a hit on the market. The motor cycle market on the other hand offered such a plethora of outstanding machinery that the competition for market shares can only be describes as having been brutal. When the new 200-cc two-stroke Twin hit the showrooms they were a sensation, justifiably so since they represented cutting edge technology on all levels as well as having been absolutely gorgeous. This machine was followed by the ultimate Adler, the SB-250 another gorgeous bike incorporating every technical trick in the book together with beautiful styling and available in an assortment of colors unequalled by anyone else. One of the overlooked features of the original was the plunger-type suspension of the saddle, an extremely clean and efficient system bettering the very best the world had to offer. The absolute smoothness of the engine design, what with in-the-engine-block carburetors etc has not been equaled by any product to this day (excepting of course some other German motor bikes such as DKW, Dürrkopp MD-200, Horex Imperator, Maico Taifun etc - the list is quite impressive. Adler translates to Eagle in English. Source: germanmotorcycles
How Adler logos evolved Source: Don Littleford, Toowoomba, Australia |
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