Horex Imperator 400 two-cylinder. A winner from back then.

Horex, which existed from 1928 to 1956, was a company that built motorcycles of absolute top quality. The brand name then made some leaps and bounds before being put back on the market as a marketing tour de force in 2010. That story has now effectively been closed.

Survival in World War II

Horex was one of the few German motorcycle manufacturers to emerge from World War II almost without bomb damage. Thanks to good relations with the Americans, Horex was the first German company to produce motorcycles again after the war.

Restart production and development of the Horex Regina

In 1948, production restarted with the pre-war 350 cc SB35 model. Two years later, the soon legendary Horex Regina 350 was born. This was a 19 hp 350 cc OHV, which was quite something at the time. The Regina got a brother of 250 cc and 17 hp and a big brother of 400 cc and 22 hp.

Crisis in the motorcycle industry

The rapid boom continued until it became a crisis in the motorcycle industry. From 1953 onwards, the bourgeoisie preferred to opt for a car. Sales numbers declined despite the motor improvements made to the Horex Regina models.

Introducing the Horex Resident and Imperator

In 1955 the Horex Resident saw the light of day, a newly developed single-cylinder four-stroke machine in 250 and 350 cc versions. A year later, in 1956, the Imperator was released, a 400 cc two-cylinder four-stroke with 30 hp. The 400 cc twin, the Horex Imperator, was the absolute 'top of the bill'. The machines were made from 1954 to 1956, some sources report until early 1958. First with a swing arm front fork, later with a telescopic front fork, the Imperators were absolute technical toppers in their time.

Influence of the Horex Imperator on Japanese motorcycles

The Imperators are the grandfathers of all Japanese multi-cylinders with a camshaft driven from the center of the crankshaft. Honda was the first to achieve success with that patent (Patentschrift No. 893 875, Deutsches Patentamt). The 400 cc Horex Imperators had already been preceded by a small series of 500 cc Imperators from 1950-1951.

Development of the new Horex Imperator

“The old Imperator was too heavy,” said Ob. Ing. Rudolf Gunkel. He was commissioned to create an Imperator 2.0. The newcomer weighed the same as its predecessor, but had a 409 cc engine that delivered 26 hp. The new Horex Imperator had a telescopic front fork at the front and swingarm suspension at the rear.

In the end days

After the production of the Grüne Elefanten stopped, Zündapp could no longer supply heavy engines to the United States. The Zündapp importer Berliner quickly needed a '100 mile machine' in its range again. The Imperators, enlarged to 450 cc, received a mild makeover and were shipped to the United States as a Zündapp Citation. However, the Americans quickly discovered that the new Zündapps were actually Horexes.

End of an era

Apart from Horex's undeniable quality, the brand remained associated with late or wrong decisions. And that is and remains a shame.

In Auto Motor Klassiek From November, which is now in the store, there is another restoration report of a beautiful Horex Imperator with Steib sidecar.