This site is dedicated to may late father, Frank (Franz) (1914-1996).
The restoration of his 1948 REX Motorenwerk hilfsmotor and 1935 Nurnberger Hercules-Werke bicycle is featured on this site.
Germany
My parents lived in Gronsdorf near Munich, Germany during the Second World War. My father worked in Munich at F.X. Bornschlegl Bauunternehmung, on Grunwalder str. 111 as a bricklayer and my mother worked at the well known Hofbraukeller on Innere Wiener str. 19.
In the early 1940's, my father bought a Nurnberger Hercules-Werke bicycle to commute to work.
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| Munich circa 1942 |
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| Gronsdorf, circa 1944 |
In 1948, he purchased a new 31 cc hilfsmotor from REX Motorenwerks in Munich. With that, the Hercules bicycle was transformed into a moped (more correctly "motorfahrrader", "hilfsmotor" or motorized bicycle). In 1949, my parents immigrated to Canada, eventually settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Canada
My father used the motorized bicycle in Canada for about 5 years. To be able to get his operator's license, he had to demonstrate his proficiency to a license examiner by driving once around Winnipeg city hall. Then in 1954, he bought a truck for his new masonry contracting business and the motorized bicycle was officially "retired".
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| Winnipeg, 1955 |
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| Winnipeg, 1958 |
Eventually, the motor was removed from the bicycle and forgotten for almost 50 years. The original Bing carburator sustained damage while the motor was in storage.
Meanwhile, the Hercules bicycle was stored outdoors for over 15 years.
Restoration(s)
In 1967, at the age of ten, I "restored" the Hercules bicycle for the first time by installing new tires, fenders and chrome chain guard, pedals and repainting it with green "house paint". I could hardly reach the pedals because the bike had a 26" frame.
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| Wally (1967, Winnipeg) |
I was quite proud of my "restoration" however, my friends did not appreciate the bicycle because it was not "cool" (mustang bikes with high-rise handle bars were in style). My bike had thick balloon tires, and an odd colour. Eventually, I caved into peer pressure and replaced the Hercules with another bicycle. In 1970, the Hercules bicycle was once again "retired", this time into the garage.
While visiting France in the summer of 2001, I was fascinated by the number of mopeds still travelling the streets of Paris. Most of these were Solex mopeds. But this sparked a renewed interest within me to research and restore my father's bike. I had no idea where to begin, but , one thing was clear - because of the bicycle's sentimental value, I wanted no less than a "first class" restoration. Things were different, now there was the Internet. I would take as much time as necessary to do a good job.
I started my search on the Internet. In September 2001, I found a German moped website DasMoped.de and placed an ad in the forum, requesting assistance and information about REX motors. In a matter of days, a fellow REX enthusiast from Germany named Torsten replied that he too has restored a REX.
Torsten took a genuine interest in my project, offered advice and sent me technical information. On my behalf, he contacted Heinz Fingerhut at Velo-Classics who had a spare Bing carburator and other parts.
I was on my way...
I gratefully acknowledge Torsten's effort and help with my project !
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| Wally (2003, Winnipeg) |
Wally's REX Moped Restoration Project
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA