 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(August 2024) |
Sanglas was a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer which was founded in Barcelona (Poble Nou) in 1942 and ceased production in 1981.
Sanglas motorcycles had relatively large engines for their time, especially for Spain. The company was born with the intention of positioning itself as an alternative to brands like BMW, Zündapp or DKW to provide motor vehicles to official agencies.
The history of the brand dates back to 1942, three years after the Spanish Civil War, but the first documents on the formal sale of motorcycles dating from 1947. It was founded by two young students of engineering of Barcelone, brothers Javier and Martin Sanglas with financial back up by their father, a textile entrepreneur.
Sanglas models were a hybrid of English and German models. The chassis was based on the concept of BMW and the engine, 4-stroke single cylinder, OHV type, was inspired by the DKW brand. The first motorcycle had a displacement of 347,75 cc. and 14.4 HP power at 4,800 rpm. At the end of 1948 the company already had 100 employees and had manufactured 200 units. The first model, 500 cc with a rear frame revised to accommodate a swinging arm with two spring/hydraulic damper units, was launched in October 1952.
The Sanglas were designed as touring machines, could reach considerable speeds and able to travel long distances. 350/4 and 500/3 models included engines with increased power, an improved silencer and light alloy brake drums among other improvements. However, the Seat 600 car, only marginally more expensive than the Sanglas, reduced the market for the latter. In 1957 a sidecar made in fiberglass was presented at the Barcelona Fair. At the same time, a substantially improved version of the mountain model, the Montaña II, was introduced, having increased torque and power (25 hp).
In 1958 the annual production reached 500 units; this led to a transfer from Poble Nou to a more modern factory located in El Hospitalet. During the financial and political crises of those years, the staff level was reduced from 200 to 50 with many of the components being outsourced; for example, the new Sanglas 400 engine was a British unit (Villiers 250cc 2-strokw) branded as "Rovena".
At the end of the 1950s, due to the dominance of four-wheeled vehicles, many motorcycle manufacturers were forced to reduce the engine displacement of their models. Sanglas introduced the “Chromática” with 295 cc engine and 13 HP power at 6,000 rpm. In 1959 480 units were sold, 250 to public agencies and 230 to individual clients. The Chromática nickname arose from the four colors (blue, salmon, green and black) with which it was supplied.
A 500 cc model was launched in 1967 and intended for military use, but did not receive much demand. That year, Sanglas launched the brand Rovena, with two-stroke two-cylinder Hispano Villiers engines and capacity of 250/350 cc (the latter since 1963). Production of the Sanglas with two-stroke Zündapp engines of 50, 75 and 100cc began in 1964. Four-stroke engine model 400T (423 cc, already designed in 1956–57) was presented at the Fair of Barcelone. This model would serve as a reference for the rest of the line-up of the brand until its demise.
At the end of the 1960s the production reached 2,500 units, with 40 workers on the assembly line, from a total workforce of less than 100 people.
In 1970, a folding multi-use model of 49 cc, low-maintenance secondary transmission by cardan and only 28 kg of weight is designed, but lacking funds for production, the project was dismissed.
By 1973 the demand for motorcycles of great size and power had increased, but Sanglas manages to sell only 474 units because of their lack of performance. In 1976 the model 500S is presented, with onboard (Sanglas concept) disc brakes and 32 HP at 6,700 rpm. At the same time, the 400E model was stepped to become the 400F. The 500S model allows an increase in sales abroad with the financial help of the Prodinsa company, which also owned shares in the company Mototrans (manufacturer under license from the Italian brand Ducati motorcycles), which led attempts to merge both companies.
In 1977, the 500 S2 is launched, and two years later a version with five-speed gearbox (the 500 S2 V5) appears on the market. The business never made profitable the Prodinsa investment and the brand Sanglas is sold to the Spanish bank Banesto, with the idea of achieving capital gains from the sale of the company to some Japanese manufacturer, seeking for a local partner to penetrate the Spanish market. Finally, in 1981 the SEMSA company is created, with participation of Yamaha, Banesto, Bank of Madrid and Catalan Development Bank. 50% of the capital was originally in the hands of Yamaha that, through several capital increases, achieved total control over the company.
The last Sanglas with own engine, the 500 S2 V5, was discontinued in 1981. The production of the 400Y ceased in 1982, thus disappearing Sanglas name and the last of their products. From that moment only the Yamaha brand motorcycles would be produced. In 1989 the firm SEMSA disappears and Yamaha engine Spain, S.A. is constituted.
| Model produced | From | Until |
|---|---|---|
| 350 | 1945 | 1947 |
| 350/A | 1948 | 1949 |
| 350/1 | 1949 | 1951 |
| 500/1 | 1952 | 1953 |
| 350/2 | 1952 | 1953 |
| 350/3 y 500/2 | 1953 | 1956 |
| 350/4 y 500/3 | 1956 | 1962 |
| 350/4/2 | 1962 | 1964 |
| 295 (Cromática) | 1959 | 1961 |
| 295/1 | 1961 | 1969 |
| 400 | 1964 | 1973 |
| Rovena 250 y 325 | 1962 | 1970 |
| 400 T | 1971 | 1973 |
| 400 | 1964 | 1968 |
| 100 Sport | 1964 | 1968 |
| 50 Ciclomotor | 1964 | 1968 |
| 400 E | 1973 | 1976 |
| 400 F | 1976 | 1980 |
| 500 S | 1976 | 1978 |
| 500 S2 | 1978 | 1979 |
| 500 S2 V5 | 1979 | 1981 |
| 400 Y | 1978 | 1982 |
DKW was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto Union in 1932 and thus became an ancestor of the modern-day Audi company.
Motorenwerke Zschopau GmbH is a German motorcycle manufacturer located in Zschopau, Saxony. The acronym MZ since 1956 stands for Motorenwerke Zschopau GmbH. From 1992 to 1999 the company was called MuZ, an acronym for Motorrad und Zweiradwerk.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, motorboats, outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was established in the year 1955 upon separation from Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. and is headquartered in Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan. The company conducts development, production and marketing operations through 109 consolidated subsidiaries as of 2012.
Puch is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Styria, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate.
MV Agusta is a high end motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The abbreviation MV stands for Meccanica (mechanics) Verghera, the hamlet where the first MVs were made. The modern headquarters and main production facilities are located in Varese, Italy on the shore of Lake Varese.
Wanderer was a German manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, vans and other machinery. Established as Winklhofer & Jaenicke in 1896 by Johann Baptist Winklhofer and Richard Adolf Jaenicke, the company used the Wanderer brand name from 1911, making civilian automobiles until 1941 and military vehicles until 1945.
Zündapp was a major German motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators. In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company, and two years later he diversified into the construction of motorcycles.
The RT 125 was a German two-stroke motorcycle made by DKW in Zschopau in the 1930s, IFA and MZ in the 1950s and early 1960s, and DKW in Ingolstadt in the 1950s and 1960s. "RT" stands for German: Reichstyp, English: Realm Type.
Phelon & Moore manufactured motorcycles in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England from 1904 to 1967, particularly those under the Panther marque. They became identified with a design of motorcycle which had a large sloping 40-degree single-cylinder engine as a stressed member of the frame. This design spanned the entire history of the company, starting with a 500 cc model and ending with a 645 cc model.
JAWA is a motorcycle and moped manufacturer founded in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1929 by František Janeček, who bought the motorcycle division of Wanderer. The name JAWA was established by concatenating the first letters of Janeček and Wanderer. In the past, especially in the 1950s, JAWA was one of the top motorcycle manufacturers and exported its 350 model to over 120 countries. The best known model was the 350 Pérák, and in the 1970s the 350 Californian. It appeared in typical black and red coloring from the US to New Zealand. After 1990 a significant loss of production occurred. A successor company was formed in 1997 in Týnec nad Sázavou, continuing the name as JAWA Moto.
Chang Jiang is the transcribed brand name of motorcycles that were once manufactured by the China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It takes its name from the Chang Jiang River, also known as the Yangtze or, in English, the Long River.
Ossa was a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer which was active from 1924 to 1982 and from 2010 to 2015. Founded by Manuel Giró, an industrialist from Barcelona, Ossa was best known for lightweight, two-stroke-engined bikes used in observed trials, motocross and enduro. The company was known originally as Orpheo Sincronic Sociedad Anónima (O.S.S.A.) and was later renamed Maquinaria Cinematográfica, S.A..
Husqvarna Motorcycles GmbH is a Swedish company which designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes motocross, enduro, supermoto and street motorcycles.
The MV Agusta 500cc Three (1965–1973) or MV Agusta Tre was a road racing motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer MV Agusta to compete in the 500 cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship. The motorcycle was introduced in 1966 to compete against the ever competitive Honda racing machines and was a bored out version of MV Agusta's highly successful 350 cc three cylinder. Giacomo Agostini won consecutive world championships in the 500 cc class with this motorbike from 1966 to 1972. In addition, MV Agusta won the Constructors' World Championships from 1967 to 1972. The MV Agusta Tre is considered the most successful racing motorcycle in history.
Tornax was a motorcycle manufacturer in Wuppertal, Germany.
Yamaha RS-100T Torque induction series, also known as RS-100 series, is a series of two-stroke motorcycle models manufactured by Yamaha Motors Co. Ltd as a successor of the Philippines' most popular 2T motorcycle/tricycle model. It debuted in 1977 especially for the Asian market. While the older Yamaha RS-100 uses a pressed steel frame that also acts as the main body, the RS-100T uses steel tubes for the frames and metal cover sets for the body.
The Yamaha YA-1 is the first motorcycle produced by the Yamaha Motor Company. It was made from 1955 to 1958. This was also the first vehicle in Japan to have a primary kick start system. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan(in Japanese), includes the 1955 Yamaha 125YA-1 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.
FAMEL - Fabrica de Produtos Metalicos Lda, was one of the largest Portuguese moped manufacturers between 1960s and 1980s.
BSA motorcycles were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA), which was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.
| Domestic manufacturers |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign companies with operations | |||
| Defunct companies | |||
| Components | |||
| Related topics | |||
