The Sachs 49er is a 50 cm³ scooter from Sachs Bikes, the German brand that grew out of the motorcycle production of Fichtel & Sachs and Hercules. It is listed in the company’s model programme with the other small scooters of the years after the management buyout of 2007.
Sachs 49er at a glance
| Maker | Sachs Bikes, Nuremberg |
|---|---|
| Type | 50 cm³ scooter |
| Company from 1995 | Sachs Fahrzeug- und Motorentechnik GmbH |
| Company from 2008 | SFM GmbH |
| Insolvency | June 2006 |
| Management buyout | 1 January 2007 |
| Aim after the buyout | to concentrate on the scooter segment |
| Scooter range | 49er, Speedforce 50, Speedjet 50, Bee 50 |
| Name | from the 49 cm³ of the 50 cc class |
The 49er has no Wikipedia page of its own and is mentioned only as one line in the model list of the company article.
History of the Sachs 49er
A scooter name from the Sachs range
The 49er takes its name from the 49 cm³ that a 50 cc scooter actually displaces. The German article on Sachs Bikes lists it as a 50 cm³ scooter among the models of the Nuremberg company, next to the Speedjet 50, the Speedforce 50 and the Bee 50.
The scooter years
Sachs Bikes had been formed in 1995, when Fichtel & Sachs sold the Hercules brand and its bicycles and kept the motorcycle production under the Sachs name. The company went into insolvency in June 2006; a management buyout took it over on 1 January 2007 with the aim of positioning itself more strongly in the scooter segment, and in 2008 the firm was renamed SFM GmbH after the proceedings were closed.
A range built on bought-in small scooters
The scooters of those years were small, cheap machines, largely sourced in China and assembled locally, and Sachs also acted for a time as general importer of the Chinese maker Huanan Motors. The 49er belongs to that chapter of the company’s history rather than to the engineered models such as the MadAss, the one Sachs-engineered motorcycle of the difficult years.
Design and features
- 50 cc class: the everyday scooter size, named after its 49 cm³.
- Part of a scooter family: listed with the Speedjet, Speedforce and Bee.
- Post-2007 company: the period when Sachs aimed at the scooter market.
- Small and simple: the scooters of the time were cheap machines, largely Chinese-sourced and assembled locally.
Sachs 49er versions
- Sachs 49er: the 50 cm³ scooter.
- Sachs Speedjet 50, Speedjet R 50 and Speedjet RS: the other 50 cc scooter line.
- Sachs Speedforce 50 and Speedforce R 50: the second 50 cc scooter family.
- Sachs Bee 50: the small scooter of the later range.
The other small scooters are in Sachs Speedjet and Sachs Speedforce, and the geared moped of the same years is Sachs MadAss. More machines are in the Sachs collection.
Video: Sachs 49er Drift and Falling
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Sachs Bikes, German Wikipedia: model list, scooter segment, company history
- Sachs Motorcycles, English Wikipedia: Chinese-sourced scooters, import business
