Brief history of the Swiss Army motorcycles

The Swiss motorcycle industry with the companies Condor in Courfaivre, Motosacoche in Geneva and Universal in Oberrieden Zurich existed until the 1970s. As the companies were very much focused on the military motorcycle market, they were not too successful in the civilian market in order to survive.

In the years of the First World War, motorization made its way into the Swiss Army. In 1918, the 240 motorcycles made up about ten percent of the total army vehicle inventory. The motorcycle primarily took over the function of the previously used cavallery dispatch riders.

From 1936 to 1956, there were three motorcycle battalions in the Swiss Army. In the period of World War II, they were reduced due to fuel and rubber shortages. During the 2nd World War, a sidecar, the Condor Universal A1000, and the solo Condor A680 with a V2 power unit were acquired. As successor Condor delivered after many tests the team A750 and the A580 from the assembly line, which is with nearly 3000 built copies the most built Swiss motorcycle model at all

From the middle of the last century, the main tasks of motorcyclists included traffic control, reconnaissance and as dispatch riders. For these purposes, a lighter motorcycle was perfectly adequate: the Condor 250 series. For the first time, a Ducati production engine was then installed in the successor model A 350, the grar shift still at the right side. Trials with Italian Lambrettas were not successful. From 2001 BMW F 650, were procured, which meant the end of motorcycles produced in Switzerland.