A Brief History of the Marque
Nikolaus Henzel arrived in Bielefeld in 1919.
An engineer with some experience in the construction of automobiles, he was employed by the Dürkopp company, designing for them a motorcycle in 1922 which did not enter production.
In August 1923 he established Fabula Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH and produced a motorcycle which featured a double-tube frame, a unit construction engine and QD rear wheel.
The low-slung machine was powered by a Henzel-designed 250cc 2-stroke single which proved very reliable, and touched the scales at 175 lb. Final drive was by cardan shaft.
At this time Germany was experiencing hyperinflation, causing enormous difficulties for the budding entrepreneur and found the company unable to pay its suppliers or employees. The company closed its doors in 1925 1.
Goericke, then a major player on the market, bought the defunct factory and continued to build the machine under their own name. Nikolaus Henzel later became head of design at Göericke, possibly post-war.
Henzel continued his inventive activities and received many patents which, it seems, brought him little in the way of remuneration or recognition. He died at the age of 84.
Sources: JF, gtue-oldtimerservice.de, ottw.es
Notes: Sources differ on closure dates. A Spanish site says 1929, but as there is no record of models produced after 1924, 1925 seems more likely the case.
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