The Sachs Speedforce is a 50 cm³ scooter of the Nuremberg brand, listed by the company in a standard Speedforce 50 and a Speedforce R 50 version. It belongs to the scooter range with which Sachs Bikes returned after its insolvency.
Sachs Speedforce at a glance
| Maker | Sachs Bikes / SFM GmbH, Nuremberg |
|---|---|
| Type | scooter |
| Versions | Speedforce 50 and Speedforce R 50 |
| Capacity | 50 cm³ |
| Company from 1995 | Sachs Fahrzeug- und Motorentechnik GmbH |
| Insolvency | June 2006 |
| Management buyout | 1 January 2007 |
| Aim after the buyout | a stronger position in the scooter segment |
| Renamed | SFM GmbH, 2008 |
| Scooter range | Speedforce, Speedjet, Bee, 49er, Quattrocento |
The Speedforce has no Wikipedia page of its own and appears only as a model name in the company article.
History of the Sachs Speedforce
A scooter for the new strategy
The Speedforce appears in the German model list of Sachs Bikes in two versions, the Speedforce 50 and the Speedforce R 50, both 50 cm³ scooters. Together with the Speedjet, the Bee and the 49er it forms the scooter range of the years after the company’s insolvency.
From Hercules to SFM
Sachs Bikes was formed in 1995, when the Mannesmann-owned Fichtel & Sachs sold the Hercules brand and its bicycles to the Dutch ATAG Cycle Group and kept the motorcycle production in Nuremberg under the Sachs name. Financial problems led to insolvency in June 2006. A management buyout took the firm over on 1 January 2007 with the aim of concentrating on scooters; in 2008, when the proceedings were closed, it was renamed SFM GmbH.
The scooters of those years
The scooters that carried the brand 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 Speedforce belongs to that chapter, next to the MadAss, the only Sachs-engineered motorcycle of the difficult years.
Design and features
- 50 cm³: the everyday scooter class.
- Two versions: Speedforce 50 and Speedforce R 50.
- Post-insolvency product: part of the scooter programme of 2007–2008.
- City machine: small and simple, like the rest of the range of the period.
Sachs Speedforce versions
- Speedforce 50: the standard 50 cc scooter.
- Speedforce R 50: the second version of the same scooter.
- Speedjet 50, R 50 and RS: the other 50 cc scooter line.
- Bee 50 and 49er: the remaining city scooters.
The other scooters are in Sachs Speedjet, Sachs Bee and Sachs 49er, and the larger one in Sachs Quattrocento. More machines are in the Sachs collection.
Video: Sachs Speedforce Geschichte
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Sachs Bikes, German Wikipedia: model list, scooter strategy, company history
- Sachs Motorcycles, English Wikipedia: Chinese-sourced scooters, import business
