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- Scooter Center meets Kingwelle—a visit with friends
High-performance Vespa engine tuning without a crankshaft from Kingwelle? Hard to imagine today, but perfectly normal over ten years ago.
As the SC Team sits down for its regular meeting to evaluate new product ideas, the topic of crankshafts and their durability comes up again. Technically speaking, it’s a very critical component that is structurally completely undersized for the power and torque levels achieved today.
Our bgm Touring rotary-slide crankshafts for the PX have reached a very high standard—even by mass-production standards—thanks to numerous improvements incorporated into production (e.g., improved fit at the crankpin, bonding of the journal) have reached a very high standard—by mass-production standards—and can be used without hesitation in touring engines producing around 25 PS and above.
However, the question of high-end materials still remains on the table at our meeting. What should we use for the increasingly common diaphragm-controlled engines with 40 PS and more?
Our SC technical director, Alex, is in constant but casual contact with the two Cramer brothers, Christoph and Michael from Kingwelle. A name that has already caused quite a stir in the racing scene with extremely powerful engines and numerous victories. The connection is established, and these guys sure know how to build good crankshafts...
Soon after, the SC Technik team receives an invitation from the masterminds at Kingwelle to visit Lindau on the beautiful Lake Constance. In the most beautiful winter weather, we set off for the south!
Kingwelle Shop
To cut to the chase: With some encounters, you very quickly find yourself wishing they’d happened years ago.
Christoph and Michael, two absolutely likable and down-to-earth guys, combine hospitality, expertise, and a zest for life in a truly unique way. The chemistry between the SC Team and Kingwelle clicks right away, and so we’re invited into the hallowed halls of Kingwelle’s production facility. It never ceases to amaze me how many details—even the tiniest ones—must be taken into account when it comes to a seemingly mundane component like a crankshaft.
If the final product is to meet the quality standards of a Kingwelle crankshaft, it requires an entirely different approach.
We receive an in-depth introduction to the entire Kingwelle production process. Even we are amazed by the many complex production steps, but they also make it clear why Kingwelle crankshafts have such a good reputation. Impressed by the size and quality of the machinery, the conversation naturally turns to the King clutch. We’ll take a closer look at that—along with Kingwelle’s technology—in a separate blog post. Here, too, quality is the top priority, and while the work processes involved aren’t immediately apparent, they’re absolutely essential. That’s just typical Kingwelle.
When Christoph then shows us his private workshop, our jaws drop yet again.
Several Kingwelle/BFA engine cases, complete with Kingwelle 244 cc cylinders for Vespa small-frame models, catch our eye. Also on display is the hugely successful DBM/Quartermile Sprinter with a plate-type rotary valve and a snowmobile cylinder (putting out over 70 PS), as well as other scooters belonging to Christoph and Michael—equipped, of course, with more than potent engines.
This is also the birthplace of Kingwelle products. Christoph and Michael always had so much power in their engines that they completely overwhelmed the off-the-shelf parts available at the time. To remain at the very top of the podium, the two began creating their own products, drawing on the expertise they’d gained from their jobs in industrial manufacturing.
These products have only one purpose: to function and hold up even under the toughest conditions. Their countless trophies and successful engines, equipped with Kingwelle products, are the fantastic result of many hard years of development work.
Christoph then shows us his “home workshop”—a hydraulic press complete with all the necessary equipment. Through many hours of painstaking manual labor, the crankshaft journals are transformed into a true Kingwelle masterpiece. As is customary in the crankshaft business, it takes not only experience but also strength to achieve perfect concentricity on a crankshaft using a soft copper hammer. While the combination of the terms “hammer” and “crankshaft” may sound counterintuitive to many at first, this is—despite all the high-tech solutions—the only way. It takes an immense amount of experience and skill to bring a crankshaft with a runout of 3/100 mm down to 1/100 mm. Here, too, you can see just how much passion the two brothers put into crafting their crankshafts. Every crankshaft is manufactured as if it were for their own engine. There are no exceptions. If something isn’t 100%, it’s immediately rejected. This approach builds trust.
Somewhat overwhelmed by the breadth of their production and the vast array of incredibly enticing Kingwelle tuning equipment, we moved on to the more relaxed part of the evening. We got to enjoy Michael’s homemade focaccia paired with Augustiner Bräu—an absolute dream! It’s interesting how many great tuners are also excellent cooks! Whether it’s fuel injectors or spices, fine-tuning is always the be-all and end-all ;)
A few shots later, we headed back to our accommodations to enjoy the cool, fresh air of Lake Constance. As city dwellers, we’re not used to that at all...
At this point, we just have to slip in a little surreptitious advertising. In addition to his regular job and manufacturing Kingwell parts, Christoph has also managed to build an absolute dream home with a lake view. Since he’s a man of action, he’s expanded it a bit so you can also vacation here (www.tante-idas-fewo.de).
After a more than restful night, the guys didn’t miss the chance to serve us a hearty Weißwurst breakfast. We were almost moved to tears—this is the life! Thanks again! It’s only now that we realize we should have visited the guys earlier, when the weather was warm enough to ride our Vespas.
To wrap things up, we went sightseeing together at the “lake.” Living where others go on vacation—that says it all.
So, despite the short time we spent there, we can say: “We came as strangers; we left as friends.” We’ve become absolute Kingwelle fans—both for their technical expertise and their warm hospitality. With the immense background knowledge they’ve shared, we now have a perfect partner by our side—one we can trust blindly and whose products we can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a perfect product at a fair price.
Always true to the Kingwelle motto: “Only the best is good enough!”
You can now find Kingwelle’s excellent products in our online shop.
