Twin Instrument Headlamp bowl.

[niall4473]

I picked this up a good few years ago, very, very cheaply.
I'm fairly sure that it isn't a Rausch, (not because it is a quite crudely done conversion of a standard Earles-Fork type headlamp shell, because so is the Rausch, my Dad had one on his bike), at least not the one they sold for BMWs, but it is quite intriguing nonetheless, I think that it is probably a home-done conversion. It takes two VDO/Veigel 80mm clocks of the stepped shell type. The clock dials are parallel, not angled like the Rausch.
The Hella switch looks like it might be off an NSU.
There are some wiring instructions taped inside it, in English, but the 7s and 1s are written in the German style.
Has anyone seen anything like this before?

[johnlacko]

I still remember the first time I held a Rausch headlight bucket in my hands back in the 1990s. I got it in a trade with a fellow collector. I was truly surprised by how crude it was inside - and by its weight! That was well before all the copies started coming out in the last 10-15 years - few people even knew they existed back then. But I agree with you - I don’t believe that this is an original Rausch that you have. Still great to have

An interesting footnote - I traded that Rausch bucket to a friend of mine about 2 years later. Somewhere around 2006 or so it went on eBay and sold for $10,000. Not the bike it was on with the bucket - just the bucket! It was the more rare 3 gauge unit, and it had a VDO temp gauge in the third position, along with the speedo & tach. Seen here in the photo before I found the temp gauge. But still…

[R68]

You definitely have a Hella made bucket there, and I guess you're correct in assuming it's been modified. I think it may have come off an NSU, or perhaps an earlier Zundapp. The tab for attaching the headlight bezel is the tipoff it's Hella. The key is from a later production type Hella bucket...it's labelled "Hella".

[R68]

...well we are having a blizzard up here so I spent more time looking at your bucket: It's Hella, from a pre 1954 Zundapp, and the generator and neutral idiot lights are add ons. Folks with an early Zundapp would like to get the switch plate assembly...bucket maybe worth more than the Zundapp?...

[glasuritblack]

Wow, been years since I’ve posted here, glad to see the forum activity!

Here’s a photo of my 1957 R69 with authentic Rauch dual instrument headlight: I purchased an R60 from Ken Lloyd’s forever ago just to get the bucket. Swapped for a standard bucket and resold the bike on eBay. Kent Holt completed the body work and Glasurit paint in a mere 13 months, but was worth the wait. John Lacko supplied the large tach which is mated to a 50’s VDO tach drive.

JY

[niall4473]

Good pic, that Rausch shell looks identical to the one on my Dads bike except that my Dads one has a slight centre fold between the clocks so that they are angled away from each other by about 15 degrees, similar to the three instrument one that John posted.

[mattdecambavette@gmail.com]

My original has the fold in the center as well.