KTM the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles. The prototype of his first motorcycle, the R100, was built in 1951. The components of the motorcycle were produced in house, except for the Rotax engines which were made by Fichtel & Sachs. Serial production of the "R100" started in 1953. With just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at the rate of three per day. In 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a sizable shareholder of the company which was renamed and registered as "Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen". In 1954, the "R125 Tourist" was
Casting (metalworking) Casting (metalworking) In metalworking and jewellery making, casting is a process in which a liquid metal is somehow delivered into a mold (it is usually delivered by a crucible) that contains a hollow shape (i.e., a 3-dimensional negative image) of the intended shape. The metal is poured into the mold through a hollow channel called a sprue. The metal and mold are then cooled, and the metal part (the "casting") is extracted. Casting is most often used for making complex shapes that would be difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods. Casting processes have been known for thousands of