A recent corporate transaction could be the beginning of a comeback for a German motorcycle manufacturer once considered the most revolutionary and largest two-wheeled producer in the world.

It was reported in December that Volkswagen, the largest carmaker in Europe, had agreed to buy a 19.9% stake in Suzuki Motor Corporation for $2.5 billion. Not surprisingly, the two companies’ main competitive target was and continues to be the global leader in vehicle production, Toyota Motor Company. 

But with analysts wrapping up their conclusions of how the new powerhouse of VW and Suzuki may impact the automobile world, attention is being turned to the motorcycle possibilities.

Suzuki’s range of motorcycles boasts several notable models from the powerhouse cruiser, the Boulevard M109R to the GXR series of sportsbike and of course a performance legend, the Hayabusa.

By joining the VW family, Japanese company gains access to the R&D pool of the world's most advanced volume car manufacturer and alternatively, the Germans can tap Suzuki know-how about small cars and of course, motorcycles.

The association between Volkswagon and motorcycles isn’t immediate except for the well known obsession with Ducati held by Chairman of the German company, Ferdinand Piëch (pictured left). Riding a Ducati himself, Piëch has told reporters repeatedly Volkswagon could purchase a motorcycle company, with many rumored and some would say real attempts to buy Ducati since 1985. The most recent rumor came around October of last year.

The German car manufacturer riding into two wheels wouldn’t necessarily see the iconic VW badge mingling at the local popular bike night though.

Analysts believe the first step to utilizing Suzuki’s two-wheeled technology would be to place a low-cost motorcycle engines in a budget-priced metro edition of the NSF, the company’s small, economic line of cars.

However, the next step may be to resurrect the NSU Motorcycle Company.

The first NSU motorcycle was sold in 1901 with its earliest, most notable model being the famous Kettenkrad, the NSU HK101, a half-tracked motorcycle from World War 2.

Retooled after the war with a 250cc engine featuring a unique overhead camdrive with connecting rods nestled in an innovative monocoque frame of pressed steel and a central rear suspension unit, NSU would become the biggest motorcycle producer by 1955. NSU also holds four world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955 with Wilhelm Herz becoming the first man to ride a motorcycle faster than 200 mph in August 1956 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.

As mentioned earlier, even at 72, VW’s chairman Ferdinand Piëch is known to ride a Ducati and can be considered a biker, so how much emphasis will be made to have another German motorcycle brand remains to be seen, but it certainly appears to be closer than it has ever been over the last few decades.