Monday, January 16, 2012

Das Auto Kommt


After almost three months the DKW is finally on its way. The lengthiest part of the process was obtaining the import approval from the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure. The usual timeline for processing an application for import approval is between four and six weeks. In my case it took slightly longer at seven weeks, but I guess that's within an acceptable margin.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_vehicles/general/index.aspx

The time it takes to turn around an international car sale certainly makes it an unattractive proposition for the seller. Without Marcelo's patience and willingness to help this process would have been impossible. He assisted with organising the South African police clearances, insurance, vehicle inspections and valuations as well liaising directly with the shipping agents. Thanks Marcelo for all your help.

For shipping I used Cargo Online, who were also very helpful. Thank you Scott for your advice. http://www.cargoonline.com.au/. Most of the legwork was done by Maurita of Lochhead White and Womersley Pty Ltd in Durban, who co-ordinated things on the South African side. Thank you Maurita for all your good work.

The cost of shipping from Johannesburg was almost half the price of the car as vehicles need to be shipped in a container, which inevitably requires specialised handling with all associated costs. It's much cheaper to ship as 'roll-on,roll-off' cargo from ports so we arranged to transport the DKW on a car carrier from Johannesburg to Durban. The car was picked up in Johannesburg on Monday 16th January and dropped off in Durban on Wednesday 19th. As long as there are no delays with the ship, she will be loaded on the MV Tijuca on Thursday or Friday.

A week prior to pick up the DKW was steam cleaned to remove any dirt from the underside.

The final inspection before shipping at Marcelo's house.

Photographs and a vehicle condition report noting any scratches and scrapes were provided to the shipping agent for insurance purposes.



Two boxes of spares and manuals in the boot.

Steam cleaned engine bay. This should satisfy the Australian Quarantine Services.

The car goes onto the carrier. It's with no little sense of irony that she shared the journey with a new Audi! Now I just hope and pray that the Tijuca doesn't hit a rock or an iceberg.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Happy New Year 2012

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012. I'm looking forward to an exciting year ahead. The long awaited DKW is due to arrive at the beginning of February. Importing the car has been a long and tiring exercise - not least for the seller - but its almost over now. I'll write up a summary of the process and its challenges shortly.

Outside the iconic Dingo Flour building in Leighton.

After several weeks of unseasonably wet weather the Christmas and New Year were days of glorious sunshine so I tuned up the Ariel and took her out on a couple of long runs to Fremantle, up the coast and around the river. It was a real pleasure to be out on the road and the bike ran like dream. Whenever I stop when I'm out with the bike people always come over for a chat, even on a run up to the local shops. Of course I enjoy the chat. It's always a pleasure to share the interest with people.

I often ride past the port where the roll-on roll-off ships berth. At Christmas the 'Hoegh Africa' Autoliner was in port delivering a load of heavy industrial vehicles and what looked like a fleet of Hyundai's. I stopped to watch the ship leaving port and wondered whether the Deek would be hitching a ride shortly.

The following week I got my answer - No. The Deek was booked on the MV Tijuca, currently on route from Southhampton, UK to Port Elizabeth, South Africa with a load of luxury cars aboard. After Port Elizabeth she will stop in Durban on the 20th of January where she picks up the Deek and heads across the Indian Ocean.

Here is a handy link that actually gives the GPS co-ordinates of the ship.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=259805000
On 16th of January she was off Cape Town, South Africa.

As I rode along I noticed this Ford Thunderbird parked dockside. I wonder if its a recent arrival or is awaiting shipping? I'll have to keep an eye out for it at Big Al's Poker Run this February. http://www.bigalspokerrun.com.au/index.html

"And during the meanwhilst..."*
Sadly the Ariel is the only one of my machines fit for the road. The Troll broke down again shortly after I got it back on the road. Firstly the steering started to become unstable. At only 70 kilometres per hour the front end shuddered disturbingly, but there did not appear to be anything obviously wrong. I was about to take the Troll back to the Vespa Shop for a thorough going over but then the kickstarter broke and she wasn't going anywhere.

It took a couple of months to get the Troll dropped off at the Vespa Shop and then, after diagnosis (sheered teeth on the kickstarter damaging the gearbox), it's taken almost two months to source the replacement parts. I'm hoping the Troll will be back on the road by February as I want to drop the Ariel off for a bit of tender love and care.

The Vespa has been off the road even longer than the Troll. It is now most definitely displaying all the signs of a poor quality Asian restoration. Almost all of the 'chrome' has degraded to rust - despite the Vespa having hardly been on the road and always stored under cover in my garage. Poor quality shabby reproduction rubbish!

More seriously the rear wheel is dangerously loose making the scooter unroadworthy. According to Ivo at the Vespa Shop this is a common problem in Balinese and Vietnamese restorations and is due to the use of poor quality materials that are not designed to bear the kind of forces associated with road use. I found this out to my surprise when I replaced the Vespa's exhaust back in 2009. Instead of correct sized automotive parts, the exhaust was held on by roofing bolts which where the wrong size and packed out with washers. Even the engine and rear axle is mounted using a jumble of household odds and ends. They might last for a while - two years in my case - but they always fail and if it fails on the road the results can be catastrophic. Ivo has seen this dozens of times and it infuriates him as it only takes a small effort to use the right quality parts to avoid this issue in the first place.

If you own a Balinese or Vietnamese Vespa I can only suggest you get it properly checked over.
For a great insight into dodgy Asian Vespa restorations go no further than Brett's blog - The 71 Sprint V and Me - http://71sprintveloce.blogspot.com/

This is not to say the Vespa is a write-off. It still runs pretty well and remains a handsome machine. When I get the time and money I'll have her fixed up so that it's road safe and then I'll sell it. I really don't have the space or time to ride it anymore.

And finally there's the Heinkel, which remains in stacked in a pile of boxes at the Vespa Shop. For a variety of reasons neither the guys nor myself have attempted to tackle the restoration. I think I'll bring it all home again shortly and put the project on ice for the time being. With the DKW due in shortly I expect I'll be busy over the coming months. As crazy as it may sound, the cost of the DKW including shipping, is probably on par with what it would end up costing me to complete the Heinkel restoration! http://www.vespashop.net.au/

Friday, December 23, 2011

Tempo's, Munga's and Haflinger's

This article explores three unorthodox European military utility vehicles with interesting design features.

Tempo G 1200

Oskar Vidal and Sohn founded Tempo Werkes of Hamburg in 1924 building motorized triporters. These little 3 wheeled delivery vehicles proved to be extremely popular and the foundation of the company's success.

By the early 30s Tempo were building three wheeled delivery trucks popularly known as the Tempo Hanseat. Hanseats were powered by a proprietary JLO two cylinder two stoke motors in either 200 or 400cc capacity. Versions of the Hanseat remained in production until 1956 and were widely exported around Europe.

Oscar Vidal shows off a Hanseat woodie. The three wheeled Hanseat's were incredibly popular vehicles. Under German law they could be driven without a license and, thanks to the small size of their engines, they were exempt of road taxes. They were capable of hauling loads that belied their tiny engine capacity. Companies such as Phaenomen, Framo and Carl Borgward's Goliath also built similar machines.

In 1936 Tempo-werke responded to a Landwehr (army) contract for a four wheel drive light utility vehicle and their response was uniquely unorthodox. The G1200 was powered by two 600cc JLO two-stroke motors, one in the front and one in the rear. Each engine separately drove the front and rear independently suspended axles in much the same arrangement as Tatra used in their trucks. Each engine had its own gearbox and could be operated together for full four wheel drive or they could be run independently for either front wheel or rear wheel drive operation. The car had high ground clearance and with the body floating over its independent suspension it was able to comfortably traverse even the roughest ground. Top speed was 70 kilometres per hour. Fuel economy was a reasonable 12 litres per hundred kilometres, which could be reduced further by running on one engine alone.

Few German Tempo G1200s survived the war but several Scandinavian and Eastern European examples survived. This example is in the German Sinshiem Technik museum. It has been posed in a position that highlights its ability to handle rough terrain.

Despite this the Landwehr were prejudiced against two-stroke engines in both cars and motorcycles, even refusing Germany's biggest motorcycle manufacturer DKW a contract, so it came as little surprise that they showed no interest in Tempo's offering. Tempo however were not disheartened and successfully shopped the G1200 to other European armies, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia & Romania. The G1200 was even sold as far afield as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

A Swedish G1200 towing a PAK howitzer.

The Second World War put an end to Tempo's export market. The German army took over those Tempo's on the production line and seized some of those in foreign service. Production ceased in 1943 after only 1335 were built. After the war the company reverted to manufacturing its trusty three wheeled product, which revived the company's fortunes. The three wheeled Hanseat continued in production until 1956 when it was replaced with a modern, four wheeled van (see photo at the top). Tempo was later bought out by the truck company Hanomag.

Here are some links
http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/t/17180
http://www.tempo-dienst.de/
http://www.tempo-tempo.de/
http://www.tempohausen.de/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10/tempo-boy-the-other-tempo-three-wheeled-truck-200cc-and-world-speed-record-holder/

DKW Munga

In 1956 the Bundeswehr tendered for a replacement for the army's aging Willy's Jeeps. DKW's offering was a four wheel drive vehicle powered by their trusty 3=6 900cc two stroke engine, but with lower gearing ratios. Sales were originally restricted to the army and government agencies, such as the fire department. The Munga (which basically means multi-purpose, all terrain vehicle) was also purchased by the armed forces of other NATO countries.

In late 1957 DKW released a civilian version which proved very popular with farm, forestry and alpine rescue services all across Europe. Mungas were also exported to South Africa, Argentina and Brazil. All told about 47,000 were built before production ceased in 1968.

Here are some links:
http://www.kfz-tech.de/Engl/Hersteller/Audi/DKWMunga.htm
http://www.kemper-parts.de/english/welcome.htm

Steyr-Puch Haflinger

In 1957 Erich Ledwinka, son of Tatra's legendary chief designer, Hans Ledwinka, left Tatra and retired from Czechoslovakia to Austria. Erich seemed unable to avoid following in his father's footsteps and took a job at Steyr-Puch. One of his first projects was for a light four-wheel drive. The result was very much a little Tatra, based around Tatra's distinctive backbone chassis with independently suspended half axles and powered by a rear mounted 640cc twin cylinder boxer four-stroke engine.

The Haflinger was simplicity and robustness combined. The body was a basic steel tray without any creature comforts and could be easily and quickly be removed from the chassis. All surplus equipment, such as doors, roof, and bench seats were optional. In its simplest form it was only 600kgs and could be lifted by four men.

The first Haflingers went on sale in 1959 and both the Austrian and Swiss army bought then to replace their aging fleet of Willy's Jeeps. They were also sold as far afield as South Africa and Australia. The Australian army bought some and used them successfully in Vietnam.

All up about 16,500 Haflingers were built between 1959 and 1975. Later models had optional fibreglass cabins, proper doors and detachable hard roofs. In 1968 Steyr-Puch released a much bigger version, the Pinzgauer, a large 4x4 or 6x6 truck. The Pinzgauer however was powered by a much larger four stroke engine. It remains in production today.
Here are some links:
http://www.hy-q.com/cooper/haflinger/haflinger.htm
http://members.westnet.com.au/profpinz/haffyinfo/haflinger_info/haffyinfo.htm http://tdc.haflinger-4wd.com/ http://main.haflinger-4wd.com/
http://main.haflinger-4wd.com/der-puch-haflinger/dateien/austroclassic.pdf
http://microcar.org/0/1Zo0tw/issue3-2011.pdf


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Blue Haze Ride 2011


The Japanese Bike Show organised a ride for two-stroke bikes on Saturday 26 November 2011. The Blue Haze Ride started at Burswood Casino carpark at 9am before heading off to the E-Shed Markets Fremantle, where the bikes were displayed as part of the Fremantle Festival.


The Ariel on arrival - for once I was mostly on time! A photo by Graelin.



Although organised by the Japanese Bike Show it was open to all two-strokes regardless of origin. It was great to see some 'oddities' out there. This is a 1972 Jawa Californian from Czechoslovakia. Jawa built the Californian with the export market in mind to bring in much needed hard currency.

A Kawasaki 750 triple and a range of modern two-strokes.

1970s Yamaha and Suzuki.

A trio of Yamaha's. Yamaha's two-stroke range started in 1955 with the YA-1, a copy of DKW's pre-war RT125 motorcycle - the most copied motorcycle in the world. http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2010/04/das-kleine-wunder-story-of-remarkable.html



Very modern two-stroke sports bikes, including an Aprilla.

I'm not a great fan of modern bikes but I must admit this 1985 Suzuki is pretty damned stylish. If I had to.....

A BMW R80/7. Well, not really a two-stoke, so that probably explains why it was parked in a corner.

The group sets off. A photo by Graelin.

Photo by Graelin.

The main pack arrives at the E-Shed. Typically I lost my way on the ride (too slow, wrong freeway exit) so I arrived slightly before the main group, which allowed me to snap a couple of pics as they drove. The scream of the two-stroke engines was quite wonderful.

A photo by Graelin.

The pack settles in







As I'd arrived slightly earlier than most I parked in the E-Shed motorcycle bays. Why is there always so little motorcycle parking in Perth? The E-Shed is a popular coffee stop for motorcyclists on a Fremantle run but there are only about 10 bays (quite a lot really) awkwardly spaced around a large transformer box. I'm guessing that if the transformer box wasn't there there would actually be NO motorcycle parking there at all.

Some bikes were trailered in specially. Ray and Anne bought down their collection of British lightweight two-strokes.

Ray poses with his collection.

A 1952 BSA Bantam D-1, a 1954 James Cadet and a 1954 Francis-Barnett.

Probably the most successful British motorcycle of all time. Other British motorcycles may be more famous, more powerful, and more expensive, but the Bantam was THE bike almost everyone of a certain age first learned to ride on. The Bantam of course was the British version of the German DKW RT125.

I moved the Ariel around to join its English brethren.

The English contingent certainly drew a crowd. I was quite surprised by the number of English gents who suddenly appeared with that nostalgic look in their eye saying, "I first learned to ride on a Bantam when I was 14..." There were dozens of them and it was great to hear all their stories. I had a good chat with a fellow who did his mechanic's apprenticeship at BSA in Birmingham. He had lived half way between the BSA factory and the Francis-Barnett/James factory but went with BSA as he had more opportunity to learn from them as BSA at least built their own engines. F-B and James used Villiers engines. He'd owned a Bantam, a Gold Star (which he didn't like) and a Leader at various times.

Photographing the James

An immaculately restored 1974 Kawasaki 750. It was for sale for $19K.

Chris' 1986 MZ ETZ250 was a latecomer to the show but it certainly drew a bit of attention. Two English guys instantly recognised it and came over for a chat. The East German eisen-schwein (iron-pig) was built at the old DKW works at Zchopau by MZ (Motorradwerke Zchopau) and exported all over the Eastern Bloc and - surprisingly - the UK. In the UK they were dirt cheap and almost became the BSA Bantam of a later generation. MZs certainly weren't flashy bikes but they could tolerate abuse and neglect and just keep going.

Another Czech Jawa. This one is roughly 1968-70. It's been restored with a mix of parts. Still looks beautiful though. The similarity with a DKW is obvious.

Looking over the crowd at about 12pm. I think it was a good turn out and there was a lot of interest from passersby's. There was good chat and discussion amongst all the riders, regardless of what they were riding. Good work Mike and the team for arranging the ride. http://www.japbikeshow.com.au/intro.htm It was a great day!

At about 1pm the crowd began to move off. Ben hops on his beautifully restored 1970 Jawa.

I tend to think of this as an 'old bike' problem, but no. One of the riders gets a helping hand with a push start. We shouldn't laugh as it's happened to all of us. As it turned out I was almost the last bike away. When I moved the bike to join the English contingent I forgot to turn off the petrol tap and the engine was flooded (note to self - DON'T FORGET TO TURN OFF THE PETROL TAP - AGAIN!). It needed a good half an hour to rest before it kicked over again. Thanks to Simon from Perth Street Bikes for helping try to start it with me.

The Endeavour replica was in port too so I popped over to have a look. I was only stopping for a minute to have look but another two groups of English tourists came over to ask, "Isn't that an Ariel?" Happy days!