Horex announced it has delayed series production of its VR6 Roadster because of the late addition of a secondary air injection system (SAIS).

According to Horex, the pre-production versions of the VR6 Roadster were running too close to the upper limits in emission testing during homologation. Horex decided to address this by adding a SAIS system which should reduce emissions by injecting clean air from the intake manifolds to the exhaust ports, helping oxidize unburned hydrocarbons.

The addition of SAIS will require some more testing and another round of emissions testing, pushing production back to the end of May 2012. Continue Reading »

Mass production of the new Horex VR6 Roadster is ready to begin from the company’s factory in Augsburg, Germany.

Horex announced it expects production to start in the next few weeks. Horex plans to begin building a small number of motorcycles per day before increasing the rate of production.

“In the beginning, we will produce only a few bikes a day,” says Clemens Neese, Horex chief executive officer. “Once we are certain that these motorcycles meet our high standards and all operations are running smoothly, we will gradually increase our production quota.”

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Horex hosted its first ever dealer meeting Jan. 20, introducing its distributors to the upcoming VR6 Roadster.

Dealers were given a look behind the scenes of the Horex factory in Augsburg, Germany, and a technical look at the new motorcycle and its 1218cc VR6 engine. Horex claims a peak power output of 158.8 hp at 9000rpm from the Roadster, but perhaps more impressively, 99.6 ft-lb. of torque at 7000rpm with 66.4 ft-lb. available at just 2000rpm.

The Horex VR6 Roadster is expected to arrive at dealerships in the spring with a supercharged version coming later in the year. The supercharged version claims a max output of around 190 hp. Continue Reading »

Construction has begun for a new museum for the German motorcycle manufacturer Horex.

Located just a few yards from the site of the original Horex factory in Bad Homburg, Germany, the museum will display exhibits about original Horex motorcycles as well as the newly reborn Horex and its upcoming VR6 Roadster.

The museum will also have a section about the Rex glassware company of the company belonging to the father of Horex’s founder Fritz Kleeman, which helped fund the startup capital for Horex (it also supplied the “REX” in “HOREX”. The “HO” is for Bad Homburg, where the company was founded).

The building itself could be considered an exhibit, as its design (pictured above) was inspired by a classic Horex single-cylinder engine. The ground floor represents the cylinder while the upper section represents a cylinder head. The window on the upper section is designed to represent the cooling fins of an air-cooled engine.

[Source: Horex]

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It’s been a while since we heard from Horex. The German manufacturer unveiled its VR6 Roadster back in October at INTERMOT and has since been hard at work getting it ready for production.

The Roadster is powered by a supercharged VR6 engine featuring two rows of three cylinders offset in a 15-degree Vee configuration, similar in concept to Volkswagen’s 3.6-liter VR6. Initial estimates had the 1218cc engine pumping out from 175-200hp at 8500rpm with 110 ft-lb. But what does a supercharged VR6 engine sound like?

Well now we know, thanks to this video from Horex of the engine on the dyno.

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