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Mars (motorcycle)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mars
IndustryMotorcycles
Founded1873
Defunct1958
Headquarters
Mars A 20 (Weiße Mars)
Mars A 23 (built 1923)
Mars Monza moped

Mars was a manufacturer in Nürnberg, Germany founded in 1873 that manufactured motorcycles in various periods from 1903 until 1958.

History

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Production was interrupted variously by the First World War, hyperinflation in the 1920s and the Second World War.[1] When Mars ceased production for the final time in 1958, production of the 50 cc Monza Super Sport model was taken over by Gritzner-Kayser AG under its Gritzner brand.[2][3]

Products

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The most famous motocycles made by Mars were the series of motorcycles called the Weiße Mars ("White Mars"), which included the A 20, A 23, MA 25, MA 27, and MA 1000 Sport.[4] Designed by Claus Franzenburg, the A 20 and its derivatives had a box-section frame connecting the headstock to the rear wheel and housing the transmission and drive chain, while the engine was mounted in a subframe below.[5][6] The flat-twin engine was designed by Franzenburg and manufactured for Mars by aircraft engine builder Maybach.[5] It was mounted with its cylinders in line with the frame. was started with a hand crank, and had an enclosed primary drive to the transmission.[5][6] The A 20, with a trailing-link fork, was made from 1920 to 1925;[5] the MA 1000 Sport, with a girder fork and recirculating lubrication system in the engine, was made in 1928.[4][6] Despite being called the "White Mars", the motorcycles were also available in red and green.[5][7]

Notes

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  1. ^ Chin 2009.
  2. ^ Sheldon's EMU: Mars Motorcycles
  3. ^ Wilson 1995, p. 66.
  4. ^ a b Wilson 1995, p. 123.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Mars A 20", Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim
  6. ^ a b c de Cet 2002, pp. 274–275.
  7. ^ BikeExif: The White Mars motorcycle

References

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  • Chin, Andrea (2009-10-10). "'mars' motorcycle by claus franzenberg". designboom.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
  • de Cet, Mirco (2002). "Mars". The illustrated directory of motorcycles. St. Paul, MN USA: MBI Publishing. pp. 274–275. ISBN 0-7603-1417-9. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  • Wilson, Hugo (1995). The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7513-0206-6.
  • "Mars A 20". sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en. Sinsheim: Auto & Technik MUSEUM SINSHEIM. Archived from the original on 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  • "Mars Motorcycles". Sheldon's EMU. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  • "The White Mars motorcycle". www.bikeexif.com/. Warkworth, New Zealand. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
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