Sachs for sale

A very famous and highly respected name amongst German motorcycle manufacturers, the Sachs motorcycles range is nowadays mainly geared towards small capacity bikes and scooters. Scooter buyers are well catered for with two easy to ride and cheap to run scooters – the retro style Sachs Bee (available with both 50cc and 125cc motors), plus the sporty SX1 fully automatic 50cc scooter, which is just the job for commuting round town. The Sachs X-Road (introduced in 2004) is a supermoto style 125cc learner legal bike featuring a trellis style frame and a torquey 4-stroke motor, whilst the crazy but great fun to ride Sachs Madass is still available in both 50 and 125cc versions. A popular second hand buy is the Sachs XTC 125, which was originally fitted with a Suzuki 2-stroke 125cc motor, though later versions (from 2002 onwards) came complete with a 4-stroke motor. Great to ride, and certainly gaining top marks in the looks department, a good used XTC 125 should make a sound buy. If your taste is for a bigger bike, a used Sachs 800 Roadster (available from 2000-2004) is worth seeking out. This bike featured the Suzuki VL800 Intruder 800cc V-twin motor and included shaft drive, upside down forks and was generally well received by the motorcycling press, but they are comparatively rare in the UK, so keep your eyes open for a used bargain!

Classic Sachs Motorcycles

If you were motorcycling back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, you might remember Sachs as the name on the crankcases of many small capacity machines, often motocross or trail bikes. Sachs supplied 2-stroke engines to many manufacturers including Monark, DKW, Penton and SWM; and even KTM and Aprilia in their early days used some motors that were sourced from Sachs. Closer to home, small British manufacturers including Wassell and Dalesman frequently used Sachs motors in their trials and trail bike frames. Often badged as Hercules (part of the Sachs group of companies), the company concentrated on lightweight machines and off road bikes, though several machines carrying the Sachs name on the tank were also offered in various markets.

Hercules motorcycles were part of the larger Sachs group of companies. From the early 1900’s until 1935, the Hercules range featured machines between 75cc and 500cc and they quickly gained a reputation for quality and performance. Production of motorcycles began again in 1950, when the trend was for small capacity lightweight machines. 50cc scooters and 100cc and 200cc road bikes featured in the Hercules range, as well a larger 200cc scooter (the K200). Throughout the 1960’s and until production ceased in as late as the 1990’s, the Hercules range mainly featured lightweight bikes, including 50 and 80cc commuter scooters, roadsters and off road bikes.