Tornax

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Tornax was a motorcycle manufacturer in Wuppertal, Germany. Tornax built its first motorcycle in 1926. This was the model I-26, which has a 600 cc single-cylinder side-valve engine imported from JAP in London, England producing 15 bhp. For the remainder of the 1920s all Tornax models featured side-valve and overhead valve (OHV) JAP engines of 500, 550 and 600 cc, apart from the V-28 in 1928 whose 600 cc side-valve engine was supplied by the German engine manufacturer Columbus in Bad Homburg. In 1930 Tornax produced its first twin-cylinder model, the III-30, which had a side-valve 1000 cc V-twin JAP engine producing 26 bhp (19 kW). In 1931 it added a sports version, the III-31 SS, with a 1000 cc OHV JAP engine. Tornax claimed that this machine would produce 72 bhp (54 kW), and guaranteed a top speed of 190 km/h (118 MPH). This model was very expensive, and economic conditions in the Great Depression meant that very few were sold. For 1932 the range remained unchanged, with all the model suffixes changed from "-32" to "-33". In 1933 Tornax added smaller single-cylinder OHV models to its range: the SF 2 and SF 35, again using OHV JAP engines. The full 1933 range featured six models ranging from 200 cc to 1000 cc, with the 72 bhp (54 kW) OHV V-twin continuing as the III-33 SS. From 1934 the National Socialist government forbade the import of foreign components. Many German motorcycle builders had been using engines, gearboxes, forks or other components from English or Swiss suppliers, and it was difficult to substitute sufficient supplies from German factories quickly enough to remain in business. Some German manufacturers ceased making motorcycles, but Tornax survived by reducing its range to one model, the aptly named Universal, with a 600 cc side-valve Columbus...