Horex Classic Cars for Sale

The German company Horex was founded in 1923 by Fritz Kleemann in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (Hesse). The German motorcycle manufacturer became known for its unusually long hub in the engines it built. The Regina model was at times the best-selling motorcycle in its class.

Horex - The Beginnings

Fritz Kleemann, just 22 years old, founded Horex-Fahrzeugbau AG in 1923 and started building motorcycles for racing. The name Horex is derived from Homburg and the trademark REX, which belongs to the parent company.

Kleemann developed a cylinder made of light metal with a shrunk liner for its 248 cubic centimetre engine. Thanks to this technology, Kleemann was able to win several races.

Horex - Further history

1925 Horex merged with the engine manufacturer Columbus, which was owned by Kleemann's father. In 1927 Hermann Reeb joined Horex as a designer. In the following years Horex developed a wide range of models. The engines used had cubic capacities between 250 and 800 cubic centimetres.

In 1932 an engine with parallel cylinders with a particularly long stroke was developed. These "long-stroke" engines were used very successfully in racing, but were not built in series for cost reasons. Some of these two-cylinder engines were sold to the motorcycle manufacturer Tornax. Only single-cylinder engines remained in series production.

1936/38, the SB35 was developed, a motorcycle with a 350 cubic centimetre four-stroke engine and long stroke. It was also delivered to Victoria-Werke. Production at Horex was suspended during the Second World War. Production of the SB35 resumed in 1948.

The model Regina was developed from the SB35 in 1950. It was a technical development of the SB35 with the same engine. The model was initially very successful on the market and in 1952 was the best-selling motorcycle in its category. Accordingly it was also the most successful model for Horex. In 1956, however, sales collapsed.

In the 1950s further models and series were developed by Horex. The model Regina was offered with other engine sizes and was regularly adapted to design questions. The Imperator model was added - also with several engine variants. A new engine concept was developed and patented for the Imperator (an overhead camshaft between the cylinders).

In 1955 a successor model appeared to Regina, the Horex Resident. There were only two variants left with a 250 or 350 engine. The engines were technically further developed and also further adjustments in technology and design were made.

Horex - end and brief resuscitation

In 1956 Horex had to stop the production of motorcycles. Plans for restructuring failed, and in 1960 Daimler-Benz finally bought Horex and closed the plant. Remainders of the Imperator were sold as Zündapp Citation 500 several years later, mainly in the USA.

The name rights to Horex went to Friedel Münch, owner of Münch Motorradfabrik. The name Horex remained, the Horex 1400 TI was offered in individual production by Münch. The brand name Horex was subsequently resold several times until it was sold to the newly founded Horex GmbH in 2010. The company introduced the Horex VR6 to the market. In 2014, however, the company went bankrupt and production ended.