A Brief History of the Marque
Made in Varese 1980-1987
The company was established in Italy by Fritz Kramer of Germany and built high quality 125cc machines in limited quanties which were designed to meet the appetite of Italian youth for high performance lightweights. The HRD utilised, as did the majority of its rivals, a single cylinder, liquid cooled two-stroke Aprilia engine which was housed in a tubular frame designed by a former Bimota engineer, which perhaps accounts for the marque's similarity in appearance to the Bimota. Quality components including Grimeca wheels, Brembo front brakes (some with twin discs) and Veglia instrumentation added to the machine's overall attraction. Tau read-valve 125cc engines were fitted to Silver Horse machines in 1985.
The HRD products could not compete with the mass produced offerings in terms of price and did not offer enough of a performance advantage to warrant the extra expense for the majority of prospective riders, leading to the marque's early demise.
The marque was sold to a French company which produced high quality machines for some years. The French factory was then sold to the Spanish firm Sherco, and remains the company headquarters.
Models include:
HRD WH125 Red Horse
HRD WH125 Silver Horse
HRD White Horse
HRD YH 1989, Yamaha WR 250cc engine
N.B. It has been suggested that HRD Italy acquired the rights to the name from Philip Vincent's company after it closed. This is an alternative fact.
Sources: H&H Classic Auctions
