Kreidler was a German manufacturer of small motorcycles and mopeds, based in Kornwestheim, between Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart. The company was founded in 1903 as "Kreidlers Metall- und Drahtwerke" (Kreidlers metal and wire factory) by Anton Kreidler and started to build motorcycles in 1951. In 1959 one third of all German motorcycles were Kreidler. In the '70s Kreidler had very great success in motorsport. Especially in the Netherlands the riders Jan de Vries and Henk van Kessel were very successful.
The company went out of business in 1982; the rights to the trademark were sold to the businessman Rudolf Scheidt who had Italian manufacturer Garelli Motorcycles make mopeds under the Kreidler name until 1988. The rights to the Kreidler mark have since been bought by bicycle manufacturer Prophete.[1]
Kreidler was active in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, scoring eight world champion titles in 50 cc class:
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