A true universal genius as a designer and driver at the same time. We are talking about Henry Newman-Neander one of the greatest international exponents of all time for two wheels.

It is not often to meet and be able to tell about one of the greatest undisputed geniuses of two wheels in the world. Painter and later also designer, without forgetting the side of the businessman and racing driver.

Linked to Opel by a brilliant idea, he was the one who conceived the Motoclub.

Opel Motoclub was one of the greatest achievements of Opel produced between 1928 and 1930. It was unique and unforgettable thanks to the innovative pressed steel frame made through an idea of the Neander himself.

In this way, Opel was able to significantly reduce the assembly time of a motorcycle from about 25 hours (in the maximum case) up to even 4 hours. An important chapter in terms of mass production must be devoted to this aspect. It is such an important aspect of production timing, with fundamental consequences for the production of more and more vehicles.

An excellent vehicle also passes from the ability to be able to intercept as many people on the road who can give feedback and then be improved in subsequent versions.

Lowering production times also means lowering the cost of production and therefore also the price: the second lever that will be used by Opel to make the vehicle as accessible as possible to a large number of people.

150 years ago the creator of this legendary 2-wheeler was born, on September 3, 1871. Already at the age of 19 he had already achieved success on velocipedes. After getting a job as a cartoonist, he began to have a growing interest in speed and technology. With the development of motorization in the late 19th century, he decided to try and create something unique.

He built his first motorcycle on his own and in 1904 he used it to tackle uphill races and during the Paris-Rome-Paris. He began to design 2 wheels in a stable way and already in the 1920s he was designing different models for different body shops.

During the First World War he changed the name of his company and decided to concentrate his design on motorcycles renamed with the name Neander, defined by an elegant and light design.

He also decided to make an engine, defining it as the ideal engine for “the most manageable machine in the world”, according to his advertising claim. We are talking about a single-cylinder 500 cubic centimeter unit capable of delivering 16 or 22 horsepower.

In 1929, however, with the collapse of Wall Street came the end of the Neander society. He gradually withdrew from the stage, but continued to give vent to his creativity with paintings that are now really interesting for collectors.

Its 1928 2-wheeler is still excellently rideable and was one of the most important bikes of the 1920s and 1930s.

An all-round genius, among the very few of the twentieth century, in the world of two wheels.

credit photo OPEL media press
https://it-media.opel.com/