Saturday 6 October 2018

IWL Troll Review 1963 Illustrierter Motorsport




English translation:
"As planned, the last Berlin roller left the assembly line at VEB lndustriewerke Ludwigsfelde on November 30th. It was the "30,068th IWL motor scooter of the year 1962, a black lacquered export scooter, which marked the end of another phase in the Ludwigsfeld motor scooter construction; a final line which is at the same time a new beginning. After completion of the necessary conversion work, the first production samples of the new motor scooter began to roll off the assembly line in December. In honour of the 6th Proceedings Day of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the pre-series will start on January 15th and large-scale production will begin in February.

Well over 150,000 motor scooters have left the Ludwigsfeld factory since Pitty's demise in 1954 (a total of 11,143 units). The Pitty found its successor in the Wiesel, of which exactly 51,540 examples were built between 1956 and 1959. The Wiesel was the replaced by the Berlin (113,998 pieces).

While these three scooters were designed and intended as city scooters (please don't interpret the term too narrowly), the new one from Ludwigsfelde is a real touring scooter. His name Troll is supposed to express that more precisely: here is the breakdown of the name: T = touring, rol = scooter, and the second ‘L’ is intended to indicate that he comes from Ludwigsfelde.

World state
One cannot measure a motor vehicle with a yardstick in order to judge whether it is good or bad, and yet there are some key points to consider if you want to make not just any vehicle, but one that can be considered the pinnacle of its kind.

In the following table, the Troll 1 is compared to the international competition in the 150cc class (Table 1). The Berlin also appears in this table to illustrate the step from Berlin to Troll.

As the main data comparison shows, the Troll with 9.5 hp is at the top of the 150cc scooters, it being significant that the mentioned power is achieved with a relatively low engine speed compared to the other models. This has a favourable effect on the economy of a motor vehicle (wear resistance, fuel consumption, etc).

Due to the higher engine output, the ratio of vehicle mass to engine output is also quite favourable for the Troll at 13.5 kg/hp. However, this should not hide the fact that the Troll is carrying a few kilos too much: - 120 kg would be a really acceptable value. What is not in the table: The Troll has a kick starter to start the engine. Nowadays, however, an automatic starting device (electro-starter) is required on a top scooter. To address this "weakness” electric starters must therefore be the focal points in the future development of the Troll.

Profile frame and full swing arm chassis
The frame, which is still the supporting element of the vehicle in two-wheeler construction, is assembled from sheet steel profiles welded together. The rear end is formed by a bonnet support made of light metal, to which the centre section of the rear bonnet and the rear spring struts are attached.

Wheel location, suspension and damping are carried out both at the front and at the rear by long-arm swingarms and hydraulically damped spring struts. The front fork is welded together from tubular steel and the swing arm carrier to the rear on the frame. The steering tube is mounted in the frame by means of balls. The light alloy swing arm carrier is attached to the lower end of the steering tube. With the design of the middle section of the handlebars, particular attention was paid to covering the cables. The full chassis of the Troll 1 offers perfect driving comfort even exceptionally in full-throttle curves. There is no longer any fear of being dropped - as is occasionally the case with the Berlin. The suspension travel is 130 mm at the front and 100 mm at the rear (comparative values for the NSU Prima scooter: 74/68 mm).

The front and rear wheel axles are designed with a quick-release axle in a new design. Two ball bearings are used to mount the front and rear wheel hubs. The interchangeable 12-inch light-alloy rims (as with the Berlin for a long time, as well as with the Troll in a welded design) are attached to the wheel hub with five-wheel bolts. Compared to the Berlin brake, the brake drum diameter has been increased by 10 mm to 60 mm, which means that the effectiveness of the brake is adapted to the higher top speed. The brake pad width of 24 mm has been retained.

Three-piece rear hood
The rear hood is designed in three parts and allows good access to the engine for small repairs enroute by removing the corresponding side part. The side shells on the centre section of the rear hood are fastened with a quick-release fastener. On the inside of the right-side panel is housed an air pump. A spare wheel is no longer supplied as standard, especially since, with today's low frequency of breakdowns, unnecessary damage is generally seen in the third wheel on the scooter. For those who absolutely want to drive with a spare wheel, the Troll also has a corresponding mounting option.

The seat bench, padded with foam rubber, is attached to the centre section of the rear hood by means of hinges and can be folded out to the right side. You then get to the cap of the fuel tank, to the remote swab and fuel cock and - through an opening in the middle part - to the spark plug.

A lockable box is attached to the inside of the front bulkhead, in which tools are kept, among other things. The anti-theft device is also housed here. In addition, the box offers space for accommodating other items (e.g., the replacement hose).

The headlight (with asymmetrical low beam) is also used as a standard part on the MZ ES 125/150, as are various other parts (spring struts, motor, basic structure, indicators, rear light, etc.). The headlight flasher is part of the standard equipment.

Fan-cooled 150cc 2-stroke engine
The one-cylinder two-stroke engine from the state-owned motorcycle factory in Zschopau, which has been tried and tested a hundred thousand times, is used as the engine. It was further developed, and its performance increased by two horsepower compared to the Berlin engine. Stroke and bore {58/56 mm) and the resulting displacement of 143 ccm remained unchanged. As already mentioned, the maximum output is now 9.5 hp at 5500 rpm and the maximum torque is 1.25 mkp at 4000 rpm.

The engine is cooled in a known manner by an axial pressure fan, the impeller of which is driven by a V-belt from a belt pulley located on the left crankshaft stub. A control lamp housed in the speedometer clearly shows if the blower has failed due to a ruptured fan belt or a blockage.

Intake noise is dampened by a silencer upstream of the carburettor, consisting of the damping body and a wet-air filter. The exhaust silencer is located under the running board.

Another pleasing improvement is the rocker gear shifter, which enables precise gear changing. The dust and oil-tight rubber hose encapsulation of the secondary chain has been retained. Further technical data and design features can be found in Table 2.

Peter Witt"




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