THE MITZEL BUILDERS MOTORCYCLE COLLECTION - PRESENTED BY LEE MITZEL The Sputnik name says it all: this is a space-age lightweight motorcycle and a spectacular design inspired by the excesses of the 1960s American automobile industry. This 1964 Victoria 115 Sputnik has been comprehensively restored and is the most outrageously stylized small motorcycle ever built, beating even the infamous Fantic Chopper for expressive lightweight tinware. The Victoria Model 115 was the sister of the DKW Hummel (Bumblebee), as both brands were under the Zweirad Union umbrella by 1958. Victoria was by far the older brand, having been established in 1886 as a bicycle builder in Nuremburg. Victoria began building motorcycles in 1899, and is best known in its early years as BMW’s first customer for its M15a flat-twin engine from 1920, three years before BMW produced its own motorcycle. Victoria enjoyed boom times in the 1920s, late ‘30s and early ‘50s, but an economic crisis in the late 1950s devastated the German motorcycle industry. Victoria was sold in 1957 to Odilo Burkhart, who purchased Express as well, combining production in the Victoria plant. In 1958, when Daimler-Benz purchased an 85% stake in Auto Union, the DKW brand was also sold to Burkhart, as Daimler was uninterested in motorcycles. Thus DKW was integrated with Victoria and Express under a new Zweirad Union brand in 1958, controlled by Burkhart. A bit of “badge engineering” meant this design was sold by Victoria, DKW and Express, each in different colors and with different names. Thus, with the 1961 introduction of the DKW Model 115 Hummel and Victoria Model 155 Sputnik (or Spoetnik), the bikes used the excellent, unburstable 50cc two-stroke single-cylinder 4 HP motor designed by DKW. The Sputnik had a 3-speed gearbox and weighed only 163 pounds, so the little two-stroke motor gave an all-day top speed of 45 KMH (30 MPH), but what most impressed was obviously the extravagant styling, with lines more akin to an American car of the 1950s than a lightweight motorcycle. The gas tank is integral with the headlamp surround, the Earles front fork carries a luxuriously deep fender, the side panels look like wheel arches or panniers, and the engine carries a Flash Gordon slotted shroud. With plenty of chrome and a deep Denfield dual seat, the Sputnik’s styling would have been at home on a machine with 10-times the capacity, and its light weight with all that sheet metal is testament to its minimal pressed-steel frame and tiny unit-construction motor. This amazing 1964 Victoria Model 115 Sputnik is extremely rare, as it’s estimated that only about 200 were ever produced, and few were imported to the U.S. It has been completely restored, with new paint, chrome, rubber and repairs to the engine and chassis and is simply superb. T163 1964 Victoria 115
