history
Horex was a well known German motorcycle brand of the "Horex - Fahrzeugbau AG", founded in 1923 in Bad Homburg by Fritz Kleemann. The name Horex is derived from Ho, Homburg and Rex , meaning King in Latin.
Kleemann joined forces with Columbus, a well known engine manufacturer and started building reliable motorbikes with 250-cc single cylinder four-stroke and even bigger. During the war, the firm suffered a lot, being almost wiped out, but after two years, in 1950, Horex Regina was born. This bike, built in 250cc, 350cc, 400cc version, had great air cooled brakes, a chain which reduced noise and a highly front suspension system, being the best selling machines.
After this success, Horex came with another modern model, the 500cc Imperator, which unfortunately had some mechanical problems which never allowed it to be the second Regina. The Imperator was sold to American police units as Zundapp. Because at the end of the '50's, many German motorcycle manufacturers had financial troubles, Horex was not an exception, being bought by Mercedes which had no interest in the company but wanted only to destroy another German firm. Horex does no longer exist nowadays. A Japanese firm lauched a model with Horex name, but that's it, there is no "to be continued".
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