Hoffmann

Readers of the blog will know that the number of manufacturers and individual motorcycle models that looked like, were influenced by, copied, or that influenced the BMW flat twin, are many. Hoffmann is one of those manufacturers that was tied to BMW in product with multiple points of  imitation, but possibly in other business-related ways as well. Unlike most of the motorcycle manufacturers discussed within these pages, Hoffman did not come into existence until after World War II. Jakob Oswald Hoffmann was a controversial figure as he was considered to be a profiteer from the war. He moved his bicycle factory to Lintorf in 1949 and was soon granted the contract to produce Vespa scooters under license.The success of the scooter business allowed him to develop his own 125cc and 175cc 2 stroke motorcycles. They were powered by ILO engines, and sold fairly well. As the 1950s began, Hoffman increased the displacement to produce 200cc and then 250cc machines capable of 100 kph. Then, wa