Kingwelle - A visit to friends
Powerful Vespa engine tuning without a crankshaft from
Kingwelle? Hard to imagine today, but quite normal over ten years ago. When the SC team sat together at the regular meeting to evaluate new product ideas, the topic of crankshafts and their durability came up again. From a technical point of view, this is a very critical component that is completely undersized for the power and torque values achieved today. Our bgm Touring rotary valve crankshafts for the PX have reached a very high level for series production thanks to the many improvements that have been incorporated into production (e.g. improved fit on the crankpin, bonding of the crankpin) and can be used without hesitation for touring engines around 25 hp and above. However, the question of high-end material still remains in our meeting. Our SC technical manager Alex is in constant but loose contact with the two Cramer brothers Christoph and Michael von Kingwelle. A name that has often caused a sensation in the racing scene with extremely powerful engines and many victories. The contact has been established and the guys can also build good crankshafts... The SC Technik team is soon invited by the Kingwelle masterminds to Lindau on beautiful Lake Constance. We make our way south in the most beautiful winter weather!
Let's get this out of the way: some of the encounters quickly make you regret that they didn't take place years earlier.
THE CRAMER BROTHERS AKA KINGWELLE
Christoph and Michael, two absolutely likeable and down-to-earth guys, combine hospitality, expertise and joie de vivre in a truly unique way. The chemistry between the SC team and Kingwelle is right from the start and so we are invited into the hallowed halls of Kingwelle production. It is always amazing how many details have to be taken into account down to the smallest detail in a supposedly simple component such as a crankshaft. If the end product is to be of the same quality as a Kingwelle crankshaft, it requires a completely different approach.
PICTURES FROM KINGWAVE MANUFACTURING
[gallery link="file" columns="6" size="gallery" ids="115056,115062,115050,115080,115086"] We are given an intensive introduction to the entire production process of King shaft manufacturing. The many elaborate production steps astonish even us, but also make it clear why Kingwelle crankshafts have such a good reputation. Impressed by the size and quality of the machinery, we also talk about the King clutch. We will take a closer look at this, together with the technology of the Kingwelle, in a separate blog post. Here, too, quality is the top priority and the work processes invested may not be immediately apparent, but they are absolutely essential. When Christoph then shows us his private workshop, our jaws drop once again [gallery link="file" size="gallery" columns="6" ids="115134,115140,115146,115152,115128,115122,115110,115164"] Several Kingwelle/BFA engine housings including Kingwelle 244 cc cylinders for Vespa Smallframe shine out at us. In addition, the super successful DBM / Quartermile Sprinter with plate rotary valve and snowmobile cylinder (with over 70 hp) as well as more of Christoph's and Michael's scooters with, of course, more than potent engines. This is also the birthplace of the
Kingwellen products. Christoph and Michael always had so much power in their engines that they completely overwhelmed the standard products available on the market at the time. In order to remain at the top of the podium, the two of them, blessed with good knowledge from their jobs in industrial production, began to create their own products, which have only one task: to function and last even under the toughest conditions. Their countless trophies and successful engines equipped with Kingwelle products are the great result of many years of hard development work.
QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY...
Christoph then shows us his 'home workshop', a hydraulic press and the associated equipment. In many hours of hard manual work, the crankshafts are turned into a complete work of art. As is usual in the 'crankshaft business', it takes experience as well as strength to get a crankshaft to run perfectly true with a soft copper hammer. If the terms "hammer" and "crankshaft" in combination sound absurd to many at first, this is the only way - despite all the high-tech. It takes a great deal of experience and skill to bring a crankshaft with 3/100mm concentricity down to 1/100mm. Here, too, you can see how much passion the two brothers put into making their crankshafts. Each shaft is manufactured as if it were for their own engine. There are no exceptions. If something is not 100%, it is sorted out immediately. A way of working that creates trust.
GOOD PRODUCTS EVERYWHERE
Somewhat overwhelmed by the depth of production and the many, enormously appealing
Kingwelle tuning equipment, we moved on to the cozy part of the evening. We were able to enjoy Michael's homemade focaccia with Augustiner Bräu, an absolute dream! Interesting how many good tuners are also excellent cooks! Whether nozzles or spices, tuning is always the be-all and end-all ;) [gallery columns="6" link="file" size="square" ids="115170,114876,115230,115008,114942"] A few schnapps later, we made our way to our accommodation with cool and clean Lake Constance air. As city dwellers, we're not used to that...
ATTENTION: ADVERTISING ;)
At this point, we simply have to do a bit of surreptitious advertising. In addition to his normal job and manufacturing the Kingwelle parts, Christoph has also managed to build an absolute dream house with a view of the lake. As he is a man of action, he has added a little extra so that you can also go on vacation here
(www.tante-idas-fewo.de). [gallery link="file" columns="6" size="gallery" ids="115104,115014,115176,115249,115273,115182,115285"] After a more than restful night, the boys didn't miss the opportunity to serve us a hearty Weißwurscht breakfast. We were almost in tears with emotion, that's the way to live! Thanks again! At the latest now we realize that we should have visited the boys earlier and at scooter temperatures with our Vespas. [gallery link="file" size="square" columns="6" ids="115200,115002,114948,114888,114930,114924"] Finally, a joint sight seeing at the 'lake' followed. Living where others go on vacation, that's all you can say [gallery columns="6" link="file" size="gallery" ids="115273,115212,115194,114990,114972,114978,114900,115309,115315,115321,115327,115333,114814"]
RESUMEE
So, despite the short time, one can say; 'We came as strangers, we left as friends'. We have become absolute Kingwelle fans from both a technical and a human point of view. With the immense background knowledge we have gained, we now have a perfect partner at our side, whom we can trust blindly and whose products we can recommend without reservation to anyone who wants a perfect product for a fair price. Always true to the
Kingwelle motto: "Only the best is good enough!"You can now find the excellent
Kingwelle products in our
online store[su_spacer][su_button url="https://www.scooter-center.com/de/kingwelle/" target="blank" background="#CF170A" size="8" center="yes" radius="0" icon="icon: tachometer"]KINGWELLE VESPA SHOP[/su_button][su_spacer]
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