The 1936 Dkw Twin

THE 1936 DKW TWIN

CHUCK CLAYTON

TWENTY-NINE YEARS is a ripe old age for any machine, particularly a motorcycle that has been used almost constantly since it was new. This 1936 DKW however has survived and prospered and now finds itself, in some ways, as modern as tomorrow. It featured, way back then, a fairly compact electric self starter, on a 500cc twin two-cycle engine operating a gear primary drive to a three-speed, hand shift (back to the dark ages) transmission. Harry Wise, who has owned it since the ’thirties, brought the DKW to A. J. Lewis’ shop in East Los Angeles to trade in on a new Yamaha and A. J. allowed us to ride it.

The 8-volt battery turned the starter at a rapid clip and, accompanied by much tickling of the non-standard Amal carburetor, first one cylinder, then both fired. When a steady stream of white smoke was issuing out of the fishtail mufflers, accompanied by the crisp sound of big explosions, we nicked the sawed-off shifter into first gear and set out around A. J.’s spacious display lot. The heel-operated rear brake was reminiscent of old Simplex scooters, but the smooth, healthy propulsion of the ancient 500cc twin felt very much up to date. Omega distributor Ken Kay, who used to own a similar machine, says the 500 DKW was rated at 14 hp and had a top speed of 80 mph when new. •