If you grew up in postwar Germany and developed a taste for small and very noisy racebikes, you?ll know the Kreidler name. The small manufacturer from just outside Stuttgart was a major force in racing in the 60s and 70s, but went out of business in the early 80s.
Things are now looking up again for Kreidler. A bicycle manufacturer acquired the rights to the name a few years ago, but there?s now a motorcycle division too?with a range centered on some very funky-looking 125s aimed at the huge European youth market.

Kreidler has now called in mountain biker and extreme sports TV presenter Niels-Peter Jensen to provide input into its designs. ?NPJ? has always been a keen motorcyclist (as we discovered when we had a chat at Wheels & Waves in France a couple of years ago). Jensen?s mission is to ?make Kreidler cool again? and bring back the quality. ?I?m trying to get the younger generation onto bikes,? he says, ?and so far it?s working great.?

The first shot in the war is a limited edition called the Dice CR-125i NPJ Edition (above), priced at a very favourable ?3,300 (US$3,750). That?s well under the sticker of even a Yamaha TW200, and Kreidler sold its entire stock of 99 NPJ Editions in just two days.
The specs are simple, but a bullseye on the Euro youth market: a 125cc four stroke with a USD fork, and disc brakes front and rear. Power is 11 horses from the aircooled Euro 4 compliant single, but the NPJ Edition weighs only 112 kilos?a mere 246 pounds.

Jensen h...