Classic Bike Guide - Real rides, real riders

Back to the future

Arguably, the most extraordinary Wankel-concept machine was the Dutch Van Veen OCR 1000. A motorcycle masterpiece, which has returned from the dead more than 30 years after its burial.

The Van Veen story began in 1971. Dutch entrepreneur and Kreidler-importer Henk Van Veen picked up the idea to build the world’s most exclusive motorcycle. In 1974, his first prototype was shown to the press. It was a Mazda rotary-engine grafted into the frame of an 850 Moto Guzzi and quite frankly it was downright ugly. Nobody imagined this would eventually be one of the world’s most fascinating motorcycles, mainly due to the choice of the Comotor-engine and the design skills of former 50cc GP pilot Jos Schurgers.

The Comotor engine was a joint-venture between Citroën and NSU to build rotary engines for use in cars. The Comotor-engine, that was used in the NSU RO80, was also intended for use in the Citroën Birotor GS. It was a twin rotor engine with two chambers of 498cc. Schurgers was responsible for the styling and looks of the bike, soon to be adopted by the major manufacturers.

In 1976, the first final production bike was shown to the public: a complete transformation, a magnificent machine with, for the day, an incredibile specification – 100bhp, 60 of them delivered at just 3000rpm. 0 to 100kph in 3.6s, just 16s to reach 200kph and a top speed of 224kph. However, weighing in at 292kg (644lb) immediately negated all these advantages found with the Wankel-engine, including its low weight. Nevertheless, the dream had come true – but not for long.

Technical problems and the repercussions of the oil-crisis of 1973 forced the management of Citroën and NSU to give up the Wankel-project. They had invested too much money and were both bought out, the former by Peugeot, the latter by Audi.

Unfortunately, just at that time, the Van Veen factory, in Duderstadt, Germany, had just opened for business. No more than 50 Comotor engines had been delivered.

It’s questionable whether Van Veen would have survived even if Comotor hadn’t hit problems, for having underestimated the development costs – a Van Veen OCR 1000 in 1976, was twice as expensive as the next most expensive bike of that time.

This alone would have made it virtually impossible to reach the goal of 2000 bikes sold in the second year. The factory closed almost as soon as it had begun with only 38 bikes produced. In that sense, it had indeed become the world’s most exclusive bike. When Dutch rotary-engine enthusiast, Ger Van Rootselaar, successfully negotiated to buy the stocks of the Van Veen factory, the curtain had fallen apparently for good.

However, perhaps unbelievably, after almost four decades, that curtain has been lifted. Van Rootselaar has been fascinated by the Wankel-concept since he was 12 years old, and collects everything that has a link with it. From the Van Veen stock, he built a Van Veen OCR 1000 for himself, number 39, but had no further ambitions.

A few years ago however, Van Rootselaar linked up with Andries Wielinga, with whom he shared a common passion – classic Citroën cars – including of course the very rare GS Birotor. The chemistry of their friendship led to an audacious plan: to build the last ten OCR 1000s from the factory spares stock.

Andries took over everything, inclusive of Van Veen number 39 and the original factory moulds and drawings, the latter of which had been transferred to digital format in the meantime – and of course the 12 remaining Comotor-engines. Van Rootselaar undertook the technical side of the engines, which of course needed a certain amount of revision and upgrade after 30 dormant years. Andries will also build the bikes with friend Dirk Knip heading up the PR-side of the operation.

Andries took me to the ‘factory’ where the Van Veens will be built, in the North of Holland. They want to keep the location secret. “We want to work in peace,” he says.

The workshop is small, but fascinating. Here lies the dream of Henk Van Veen, neatly ranged in plastic containers on the shelves. No more than 10 Van Veens will  be build, as there are only 12 engines, and they will keep a stock of spares.

As the Comotor was intended for use in cars, it had to be adapted, technically and aesthetically. “A very nice job they did too,” says Wielinga, showing a cover for the left side of the engine. “The right side cover is one with the gearbox. Developed by Porsche, it wasn’t exactly cheap.” Wielinga knows every part of the Van Veen, pointing out even the letters to form the words ‘Van Veen’ on the tank, kept in a plastic bag.

“We will build both versions, with and without fairing,” he says, pointing to some Schurgers-designed full fairings. They have to be repainted though, indeed most of the spares get a thorough cleaning and a new finish. Incidentally, the new frames are built to the original specification by famous Dutch chassis wizard Nico Bakker, thus guaranteeing superb quality.

Almost as soon as the news was announced, there was much interest from Holland, Germany, England and even Australia. A little after one year down the line and the first Van Veen OCR 1000 is ready to run.

Words and photographs by Dirk Melkebeek