1948 Imme R100
Country: Germany
Engine: Air-cooled, single cylinder two-stroke
Ignition: Flywheel magneto
Power Rating: 4.5bhp @ 5,800rpm
Bore x Stroke: 52 x47mm
Displacement: 99.8cc
Fuel System: Bing carburetor
Transmission: 3-speed, no neutral
Suspension: Front spring fork, rear pivoting fork
Brakes: Front and rear drum
Weight: 145lb.
Production: 12,000 from 1948-1951
This innovative machine was designed by German engineer Norbert Reidel, who also built a high rpm starter engine for the Messerschmitt ME262 jet fighter plane. The U.S. military needed his talents and set him up in a factory with machine tools, not easy in post-war Germany. Reidel also designed and built this bike, using the minimum amount of material in doing so. The rear suspension arm doubles as the exhaust pipe and the steel tubing used in the construction is all the same diameter, such was the shortage of raw amterial. "Imme" translates to "bee."
