A website presenting the great history of the Polish motorcycle industry. I will also try to help you buy, renovate and properly use old motorcycles. In addition to the history, there are also drawings, descriptions and technical data of old and newer Polish motorcycles. I will try, as far as possible, to present: the construction, elements of operation, the technique of driving on Polish roads, a motorcycle and many other aspects of owning a "veteran" motorcycle. Here you can go to the page in English.
The author of the series Polish Motorcycles 1918 - 1939 is Jan Tarczyński, who wrote in "Młody Technik" around 1983. Personally, I have some rudimentary information on this subject. I put them all on this page. Maybe there were more. I'll try to search again. I'll try to post some photos shortly. Unfortunately, almost all of the ones I have are black and white.
The series of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds from 1947 to 1960 was developed on the basis of A. Zieliński's book "Polish Automotive Constructions 1947 - 1960". The drawings are also from this publication. I developed the history of the Polish automotive industry on the basis of A. Rummel's publication "Polish Automotive Constructions and Licenses in the Years 1922-1980".
pchmiel@motocykle.org 1999, page version June 2nd 2003
... about the author
My name is Pawel Chmielewski. Yes, I am a happy, maybe not always, owner and slave of a veteran motorcycle, brand Junak M10. Like most owners of such bikes, found in an old barn with two bags of parts and a few mouse nests, I am in love with them. A wonderful sight is the original, refreshed motorcycle that your grandfather used to ride. The rotten-green matte, glossy black paint paired with chrome makes a few crates of dirty parts a vehicle worth watching on the road. And everything, well, maybe almost everything, thanks to me, i.e. someone who assembles such a "bauble" himself. When assembling an original, every part is taken care of, preferably everything is original, of course, this state of affairs is almost impossible. At least one sleeve should be replaced during engine overhaul. We're not just going to drive around the garage. To go on a longer route you need to reach a higher degree of perfection.
Coming back to me and my Junak, we both come from the city of Chmielaków: Krasnystaw. Chmielaki is the only event in Krasnystaw, which is constantly accompanied by a rally of motorcycles of all races, seniority and nationalities. It is not a specially organized event but everyone who wants to just come. The rockers' camp is located, as always, on the Wieprz River. Nothing pleases the ear more than the sound of a motorcycle engine that carries over the water. Almost every brand has a representative here. As always, most of them are Junakow and M'ek, from the originals to copies with the most sophisticated modifications.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20030608140059fw_/http://www.polskie.motocykle.org/
These pages may also be found at http://motocykle.svasti.org/index.html?strona=http://motocykle.svasti.org/zabytki.html
Setki - Polish for "Hundreds" which were exempt from road taxes and no rider's licence was required when solo.
