Here's one of the forgotten Austrian scooters

Unique SCOOTER - If only the moon could speak, maybe many beautiful memories will always be remembered by us all the time. Ah, what the heck is this, no connection... Recently we've found a unique classic scooter while surfing the internet, after we've searched finally known that's an Austrian-made scooter. This seems to have piqued our curiosity, so we intend to dig deeper into these Austrian-made scooters and all-about the company as well.

1957 Lohner L200 classic scooter with a kind of half bath-tub sidecar. (Picture from: MFNL.nl)

First of all, we want to tell you that the scooter in question above is the Lohner L125. Well, for those of you who don't know, this scooter is one made by Jacob Lohner & Co. an Austrian scooter manufacturer based in Vienna. As quoted from Scooterhood, it was originally a joint venture engaged in the craft business called Laurenzi & Lohner, was founded by Heinrich Lohner with his colleague Ludwig Laurenzi in 1823.

1950 Lohner L98 scooter designed by Otto Kauba for Lohner-Werke and used a 98cc 2-stroke engine. (Picture from: VOZ.co.at)

After Laurenzi died in 1863, the company was taken over by Jacob Lohner who was none other than Heinrich's son and changed the name of the company to Jacob Lohner & Co. Not only that, Jacob Lohner also turning what was engaged a craft business originally, into a manufacturer producing between 300 and 500 vehicles a year, included marketing all of their products to Norway, Sweden, Romania and the Austrian empire by itself.

1955 Lohner L200 scooter powered by a 200 cc ILO engine of 8.5 bhp coupled with a four-speed transmission. (Picture from: VOZ.co.at)

Not only that, in 1887 Ludwig Lohner, who was Jacob's son took over the company, and in the early years of the 20th century, son of Jacob also saw the potential for profit in the airplane business. Thus the Lohner Flugzeug Factory made first civilian aircraft, mostly bi- and triplanes, and then until the end of the 1st World War military aircraft. Besides that, this company had produced electric vehicles in 1898 and hybrid vehicles in 1900 when it collaborated with Ferdinand Porsche.

While in the era of before, towards to and during the 2nd World War, like other Austrian and Germany companies in the era the Lohner's factory was also used for all different kind of products for German-Nazi goverment. This was a dark period and almost buried many industries of those two countries due to crueless of war.

1958 Lohner Sissy was a bare motorcycle, on which a large variety of accessoiries could be mounted, and named after the very popular movie series with Romy Schneider. (Picture from: MFNL.nl)

After war ended, the factory had to change again to civil products, and then the first scooters appeared. In 1948 the first prototype designed by Otto Kauba was presented, after a few years of development, and its first production version of scooter (in German 'roller') named the L98 was built in 1950 powered by a 98 cc engine from Rotax-Sachs. In 1953 the L200 and L200S joined, which were equipped with 198 cc JLO engines (JLO is actually ILO, the Esperanto word for Tool).

1958 Lohner Sissy equiped with a detachable extra luggage "tank" between the handlebars and buddy. (Picture from: VOZ.co.at)

Well, it wasn't until 1954 that the scooter we saw while surfing the internet, the Lohner L125, was produced. This scooter model, again equipped with a Rotax-Sachs engine (this time 123 cc), is Lohners most famous and popular, and also best sold model. The popularity of the L125 at the time is due to it had a storage compartment in front, before the knees, which could be reached in a seated position, besides that a kind of half bath-tub sidecar could be connected without major adaptations, which enlarged its usability pretty much.

At the time in Austria like in many countries riding a motorized 2-wheeler with 49.9 cc was allowed without a driving license, the regulation was only valid until 1957 which also forbidden to transport passengers. This condition then prompted Ludwig Lohner to instruct his designer to design a lightweight motorcycle equipped with a pillion seat. This became the Lohner Sissy, named after the very popular movie series with Romy Schneider. In 1956 the new concept was presented and in 1957 the Lohner Sissy entered the Austrian market.

1958 Lohner Sissy mounted with a front wheel boot made of plastic with a lighting modification unit, in Austria dubbed as "Die dicke Dame" (the fat lady). (Picture from: MFNL.nl)

As you can see in standard condition, the Sissy was a bare motorcycle, on which a large variety of accessoiries could be mounted. There're many after market luggage carrier could be mounted, a floorboard kit with leg protection, or a detachable extra luggage "tank" between the handlebars and buddy (the actual fuel tank was placed underneath the buddy). And for those who still did not have enough storage space, there was a front wheel boot made of plastic with a lighting modification unit. A moped like this was called in Austria "Die dicke Dame" (the fat lady).

1958 Lohner Sissy II powered by a 50 cc Rotax engine of 2.1 bhp coupled with a four-speed transmission. (Picture from: MFNL.nl)

The Sissy equipped with buddy became a big success during the period 1957 to 1959 with more than 30,000 mopeds sold. The engine was a 49.9 cc Rotax-Sachs with 1.6 horsepower, but the tyres sized 2.50 x 12" were only made by Semperit. When this company stopped production the width was reduced to the still available 2.25", which did not have a positive effect on the riding properties.

The Lohner LEA electric scooter has a powerful 6,000 watt electric motor for a top speed of 85 kph, and is based on the popular Lohner L125 scooter that was launched in 1954. (Picture from: id.e-Scooter.co)

Unfortunately the Rotax company came in financial troubles, and Lohner rescued the engine manufacturer, shortly then those two companies merged in 1959. In 1960 an improved version, the Lohner Sissy II appeared, and another year later the Sissy III. In 1963 the Sissy S (IV) appeared in 2 versions, one with 1.6 hp (without driving license) and the 2.2 hp version (license and registration certificate required).

But it did not go well with the company until Bombardier, a Canadian company started to use Rotax engines in its snowmobiles. In 1970 Bombardier bought the company, and this temporarily ended the Lohner history. Until 2010, a far relative of the Lohners, Andreas, revived the company and started under its name and logos.

This day the small revived company builds electrical 2-wheelers, scooters and E-bikes. Lastly, this company known closely works together with Italian company Piaggio in development of the new (first) Piaggio MP3 hybrid three wheeler. And even produced e-scooter called Lohner LEA.

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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Here's one of the forgotten Austrian scooters