Manufacturer NSU Motorenwerke AG, Neckarsulm, Germany
Type HK 101
Military type Sd.Kfz 2
 
Measures and weights:
Length 3 metres (9 ' 10")
Width 1 metre (3' 3")
Height 1.20 metres (3' 11")
Unladen weight 1235 kg (2726 lbs)
Payload 325 kg (717 lbs), including driver
Combat weight 1560 kg (3444 lbs), including crew of 3. Only 95 kg (210 lbs) of this weight is carried by the front wheel, the rest is on the tracks.

It is a small vehicle

Driving performance:
Top speed Driver's manual says 70 km/h (44 mph), other sources say
80 km/h (50 mph), postwar title says 61 km/h (38 mph)

It is fast...

Engine (Motor):
Manufacturer OPEL (German daughter company of GM)
Type Four cylinder in line watercooled OHV engine
Capacity 1478 ccm
Bore 80 mm
Stroke 74 mm
Compression ratio 1 : 6
Performance 36 bhp (26 kW) at 3400 rpm
Carburetter SOLEX downdraught off-road carburetter 32 FJ-II
(The first 500 Kettenkrads and all postwar Kettenkrads had a standard OPEL (System Carter) carburetter)
 
Electrical system: (Thanks god, it's BOSCH!)
Voltage 6 Volts, negative ground
Generator 6 Volts, 75 W
Battery 6 Volts, 75 Ah
Spark plugs BOSCH W145T1, gap 0.65 mm
Modern plugs: BOSCH W8AC or BERU 14-8AU or NGK B5HS or Champion L90C
Firing order 1 - 3 - 4 - 2 (Cylinder 1 = At the rear, water pump side)
Contakt breaker point gap 0,4 - 0,45 mm
Ignition timing point 30° before t.d.c. (full advanced)
 
Suspension:
Front wheel 3.50-19 (Air pressure: 1,7 atü = 25 psi)
Tracks Zpw 51/170/120, 40 links per track
Track pads W02
Wheels Road wheels 450 mm diameter, idler wheel 410 mm diameter. (Very early Kettenkrads have bigger idler wheels)

The engine comes from the well known OPEL OLYMPIA car. NSU was a motorcycle factory and produced only one cylinder engines with up to 600 ccm, which were not powerful enough for the Kettenkrad. To save the work and the time for the developing of an own engine, NSU took the reliable OPEL engine from the stock. The OPEL OLYMPIA car was in Wehrmacht use, too, so the mechanics in the field knew the engine.

Gearbox:

Gearbox with 3 forward gears and 1 reverse gear, plus transfer box for "Gelände" (Off-road) und "Straße" (Road). So in total there are 6 forward and 2 reverse gears.

Fuel consumption:

On the road: 16 litres/100 km (18 mpg (imperial))
Off road: 22 litres/100 km (13 mpg (imperial)) and more, depending on the terrain.

The fuel tank capacity is 2 x 21 litres. So each of the two fuel tanks can take a full jerrycan. The fuel tanks are located to the right and to the left of the driver.

Capacities
Petrol/Gasoline: 2 x 21 l = 42 l regular, leaded or unleaded, min. 74 octane
Engine/Motor: 3.2 l Einheitsöl der Wehrmacht. Today: Engine oil SAE 15W-40
Gearbox: 1.2 l Einheits-Getriebeöl der Wehrmacht / CASTROL Manual EP 80W API GL4
Steering gear 1.0 l Einheits-Getriebeöl der Wehrmacht / CASTROL Manual EP 80W API GL4
Radiator fan 0.075 l (75 cm³) Einheits-Getriebeöl der Wehrmacht / CASTROL Manual EP 80W API GL4
Seitengetriebe 0.450 l (450 cm³) Fliessfett. Mixture from 1 part gearbox oil and 1 part grease. Known as Ambroleum. Today: SHELL RETINAX G
Cooling system 14 l water with anti freeze
Front fork (hydraulic) 0.115 l (115 cm³) Brake fluid DOT 3 oder DOT 4

© Andreas Mehlhorn 2002-2009