The Heinkel Tourist is a motor scooter that was made by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke from 1953 to 1965. More than 100,000 were manufactured and sold.[1][2]
The Tourist was sold as an upscale scooter. It was more expensive than a Vespa or a Lambretta, and was generally heavier, more comfortable, and more stable.[3][4] It was available with a speedometer, a steering lock, a clock, a luggage carrier, and a spare wheel.[3] It was referred to in England as "The Rolls-Royce of Scooters"[3] and was advertised by a dealer in Massachusetts as "The Cadillac of Scooters".[5]
The Tourist had a tubular steel frame to which pressed steel body panels were mounted. The engine of the Tourist was mounted in the frame and drove the rear wheel by a chain enclosed in the swingarm.[1] Thus sheltered, the chain ran in a sealed oil bath, extending its life and preventing any oil from contacting either scooter or rider.[3] The engines used in Heinkel Tourists were 4-stroke while most other scooters of the time, including the Heinkel 150 light scooter from the 1960s, had 2-stroke engines.[citation needed]