The Zündapp Bella is a
motor scooter manufactured by motorcycle manufacturer
Zündapp
Zündapp (a.k.a. Zuendapp) 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." ...
from 1953 to 1964.
Approximately 130,000 Bella scooters were sold, with engine sizes ranging from .
The design of the Bella was heavily influenced by that of the Parilla Levriere, also known as the Parilla Greyhound.
Along with being similar in general appearance, both designs have prominent air tunnels along the centreline of the scooter to allow fresh air to cool the engine without a fan.
As introduced in 1953, the Bella had a 146 cc
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
single cylinder engine
A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ( ...
,
12 inch wheels,
6 V electrics, a
kick start
Kick start is a method of starting an internal combustion engine (usually that of a motorcycle) by pushing a ratcheting lever with one's foot. Kick start mechanisms were almost universally a part of motorcycle engines before the mid-1970s, and ...
er, and an undamped
telescopic fork
A telescopic fork is a form of motorcycle front suspension whose use is so common that it is virtually universal. The telescopic fork uses fork tubes and sliders which contain the springs and dampers.
The main advantages of the telescopic for ...
. The fuel tank was mounted under the seat.
A version of the Bella called the Suburbanette was made for the United States market from 1953 to 1954.
The Suburbanette was stripped of the body panels enclosing the engine.
370 Suburbanettes were sold.
An export version of the last 150cc Bella, the R154K (K for kickstarter), with higher "Western" (buckhorn) bars and no dynastarter, came to the United States in the later 1950s.
[See ad in ''American Motorcyclist'' (Westerville, OH USA: American Motorcyclist Association, 1956), 10 (7), 6: https://books.google.com.jm/books?id=6fsDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Accessed 21 February 2016]
A engine producing became available in May 1954.
The front suspension was later changed from a telescopic fork to an
Earles-type leading link fork with a single suspension unit on left side of the fork.
Later Bella scooters also had 12 V electricals
powered by two 6 V batteries.
Electric starters also became available on the Bella.
The Bella was imported into the United Kingdom by Ambassador Motorcycles,
and into the United States by International Motorcycle Company.
See also
*
List of motorcycles of the 1950s
This a listing of motorcycles of the 1950s, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period.
* AJS 18 (1949-1963)
References
External links
* – Zündapp Bella test ride
* – 360° view of Zündapp Bella
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zundapp Bella
Motorcycles of Germany
Motor scooters
Motorcycles introduced in 1953
Two-stroke motorcycles
Zündapp