Hercules was a brand of motorcycle manufactured in Germany until 1992.
The Hercules Company was founded in 1886[1] and began producing motorcycles in 1904. It was merged with Zweirad Union after being purchased by ZF Sachs in 1963.[2]
In the 1950s and 1960s Sachs was the largest European fabricator of two-stroke motorcycle engines.[3] Many of these engines were used in the Hercules line of small motorcycles, scooters and mopeds.
In 1974 Hercules became the first company to offer a Wankel-engined motorcycle for sale to the general public. The W-2000 had a single-rotor air-cooled engine of 294cc that produced 25 bhp, later increased to 27 bhp (20 kW). Engine lubrication was by manually adding oil to the fuel in the tank.
In 1976 Hercules launched the W-2000 Injection in which engine lubrication was from a separate oil tank via a pump. In some countries the W-2000 was sold as a DKW.
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