Two Swedish-made rarities It is undeniable that the popularity of scooters in its heyday back in the 1950s up to 1960s were spread evenly throughout the world. So it is not surprising that the success story of the Italian scooter manufacturer duo, Innocenti and Piaggio has greatly inspired the motorcycle business people in the world including in Sweden to participate in developing scooters in that country.
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| The
Apollo Biet (red-colored) has a height differs (seem to be low) than
the Svalan moped (blue-colored) and the front shield shapes as well. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
On previous occasions, we have also discussed one of the classic scooters from a Swedish manufacturer such as the Monark Monarscoot which was started in 1957 as a moped that uses 14" spokes wheels, pedals like a bicycle and is powered by a German-made ILO engine. 
But this is not the only Swedish manufacturer that has ever produced scooters, allegedly there are many others. Well, on this occasion we again found the other two unique Swedish-made scooters with the brands of Apollo and Svalan. |
| Biet signifies "bee" or perhaps "ape" and should be averted the "wasp" due to inferiority as the failed products. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
The story of the two scooters from Sweden is related to each other and begins when the machinery manufacturer John Benson (JB) produced a 128 cc 2-stroke engine specifically for small motorbikes back in 1949, but at that time motorcycle manufacturers in that country were preffered the DKW and Husqvarna engines. As a result, many machines produced by JB were not sold and piled up in the warehouse.
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| The first ever Svalan signifies "Swallow" scooter at a scooter-premiere back in May 2009. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
As an effort to market all of these machines, John Benson (JB) the machine maker then persuaded the Svalan and Apollo factories to make scooters/mopeds using his machines. In short, then the two manufacturers agreed to produce the two-wheeled vehicle in 1953 with a pretty good design done by a Swedish industrial designer.
As quoted of Historien om Apollo, this scooter or more precisely the Apollo moped was made by a Värnamo-based manufacturer named M. Berlin & Co AB. The company founded by Sven Mauritz Berlin back in the 1934. Uniquely, this Swedish manufacturer's production are varies ranging from bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, lawn mowers up to boat outboard engines, all of which carry the Apollo brand.
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| The Apollo Biet (red-colored) has a height differs (seem to be low) than the Svalan moped (blue-colored) and the front shield as well. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
As for the Apollo Biet or Apollo 77 Biet moped were made in 1954, it having a scooter style in general with a front-shield, and unique double headlights, but used 14" sized spokes wheels. As quoted of the same source above, reportedly the Apollo Biet moped were produced as much as 42 units only, and is powered by the John Benson (JB) 2-stroke 128 cc engine.
Meanwhile another scooter or moped, namely the Svalan moped (which means Swallow) was also produced in 1954 by the Falun-based manufacturer named John Ericsson Maskinaktiebolag AB. in collaboration with the Apollo Biet moped maker.
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| 1954 Apollo Biet scooter/moped has a trade mark of double headlights, but one should be yellow. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Svalan moped also uses the same engine, namely the JB 2-stroke 128 cc engine which is capable of producing around 4.5 hp of power and is combined with a 2-speed manual transmission system. At that time it was reported that between 100 and 150 units of this Svalan moped were produced.
Since both of these Swedish scooters or mopeds use the same engine, so the problems that arise are the same. From the start, this JB-made engine was intended for an open motorcycle, not an enclosed scooter. So the engine cooling problem became a big crutial problem for the two Swedish mopeds.
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| The round holes for ventilation on the 1954 Svalan scooter body are actually done at the factory for its extra engine cooling. (Picture from: Scuderiavespasvedese) |
They tried to outsmart such problem by making the cooling holes onto the body, that's seem not perfectly working. As a result, the engine seized after run some kilometers due to overheat. This is further exacerbated by the dimensions of the fork tube for the rear wheels which are too small, so that road dirt easily enters the carburetor along with the rotation of the rear wheels.
So it's only natural, if these scooters/mopeds were not in demand at that time and could be said as the failed products. But now, these scooters/mopeds are scarce, and it's known that the number of survivors of the Apollo Biet was only 6-8 units while the Svalan mopeds maybe 20-25 units.
And
if the article above is still considered inadequate or inaccurate, or
if you have additional information related to this marque, please don't
hesitate to let us know via the comments column below this article.
Kept
spur your adrenaline on the power of the two-wheeled monster and stay
alive with true safety riding. May God will forgive Your sins and so
does the cops...... *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VESPAWORLDS | SCUDERIAVESPAVEDESE | CLASSICMOTOR.SE | HISTORIEN OM APOLLO ]
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