Editing DKW (section)

==Motorcycles==

[[File:DKW 192X.jpg|thumb|DKW]]

During the late 1920s and until WWII broke out, DKW was both the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer,<ref>http://bikelinks.com/directory/Classic_Motorcycles/A_to_Z/D/DKW/http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/history/models/{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=SheriffIsInTown |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> as well as Europe's pioneer of [[front-wheel drive]] automobiles with their successful 1931 and later [[DKW F1|DKW Front]] models,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/history/models/dkw-front-f-1-roadster-1931.html|title=DKW Front F 1 roadster, 1931|website=audi.com|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184732/http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/history/models/dkw-front-f-1-roadster-1931.html|archive-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> before the 1932 [[Adler Trumpf]] and the 1934 [[Citroen Traction Avant]]. In 1931, Arnold Zoller started building [[split-single]]s and this concept made DKW the dominant racing motorcycle in the Lightweight and Junior classes between the wars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odd-bike.com/2014/02/dkw-supercharged-two-strokes-force-fed.html|title=DKW Supercharged Two-Strokes – Force-Fed Deeks|website=www.odd-bike.com|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004030738/http://www.odd-bike.com/2014/02/dkw-supercharged-two-strokes-force-fed.html|archive-date=4 October 2017}}</ref> This included off-road events like the [[International Six Days Enduro|International Six Days Trial]] where the marque scored some considerable inter-war year successes alongside [[BMW|Bavarian Motor Works]] At the same time, the company also had some success with [[forced induction|super-charged]] racing motorcycles which because of their light weight were particularly successful in the ISDT<ref>[http://speedtracktales.com/folks-n-motors/silver-vase-winning-dkw-246-isdt-1935/ ISDT award winning DKW 246cc 1935] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205062347/http://speedtracktales.com/folks-n-motors/silver-vase-winning-dkw-246-isdt-1935/ |date=2014-02-05 }}.</ref>

The motorcycle branch produced famous models such as the [[DKW RT 125|RT 125]] pre- and post-[[World War II]], and after the war with production at the original factory in [[GDR]] becoming [[MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk|MZ]]<ref name="MC"/> it made 175, 250 and 350 (cc) models. As war reparations, the design drawings of the RT 125 were given to [[Harley-Davidson]] in the US and [[Birmingham Small Arms Company|BSA]] in the UK. The Harley-Davidson version was known loosely as the [[Harley-Davidson Hummer|Hummer]] (Hummer is really just a few specific years, but generally people call the Harley lightweights Hummers), while BSA used them for the [[BSA Bantam|Bantam]]. IFA and later [[MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk|MZ]] models continued in production until the 1990s, when economics brought production of the two stroke to an end. Other manufacturers copied the DKW design, officially or otherwise. This can be seen in the similarity of many small two-stroke motorcycles from the 1950s, including from [[Yamaha Motor Company|Yamaha]], [[Voskhod motorcycle|Voskhod]], [[Maserati (motorcycle)|Maserati]] and Polish [[Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze|WSK]].
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