Zundapp - I must be nuts?

[Nemosengineer]

Originally Posted by bmwhacker

Lucas? I didn't know what kind of fenders those were must be English?...I wonder what year?

If I were to guess, the mods look like they were performed sometime in the early 1960's, not a bad job really, its period correct and looks well done. The fenders could be from Wassell as they made a ton of stuff in the 50's & 60's. I am not a purest, if it were mine I would do a mechanical restoration of the engine and transmission and just ride it while I collected parts for the cosmetic aspects of the bike. either way it is a very interesting motorcycle.

: Mike

[nsu max]

Originally Posted by vtwin

Nice little bike.

thanks.

[Carl]

This '54 KS601 was given to me by the original owner:



It looked like this when I received it:





While out travelling I met Mr. Morales (I'm fairly sure that's his name) in Goa, India, just north of Margao. He had built this KS601. It had quad rear shock suspension, custom tank and numerous other unique bits. The tank he made custom out of a car bonnet or dickey lid. Sketchy here, he said it was a '61 Chevy sheet metal panel, as there was a batch of those sold there still in abundance.

A sampling of his amazing shop:



The machine:





A pic of the machine in its day of glory:



Carl

[bmwhacker]

Quote> If I were to guess, the mods look like they were performed sometime in the early 1960's, not a bad job really, its period correct and looks well done. The fenders could be from Wassell as they made a ton of stuff in the 50's & 60's. I am not a purest, if it were mine I would do a mechanical restoration of the engine and transmission and just ride it while I collected parts for the cosmetic aspects of the bike. either way it is a very interesting motorcycle.

: Mike


That is exactly what I hope to do...Address the mechanics of the bike and do only what's necessary for the aesthetics. From what I'm finding a total restoration on this bike would eclipse the value of the completed bike. I'll need to do some serious clean up but would like to keep the original patina alive if possible. I'll have to do something with the "Costa Rican Maroon" fenders though...

I saw one pristene KS-601 which sold for $17.5k but likely cost more than that to complete. The one below, with a Stieb sidecar sold for the paltry sum of $15k at the las Vegas MC Auction in January. The bike had to have $25k invested from the looks
of it.




So the Zundapp quest continues.
Have found that my new bike is a KS-601 Sport. The "sport" model has a couple more horsepower, higher compression and there were fewer of them made according to some knowledgeable Zundapp guys. I'm in AZ. and the bike is in MT. so I'm itching to get up there and pick it up. I haven't laid eyes on the bike for 3 years or more. It has not been touched or moved since I saw it last, when these photos were taken, just has collected 3 more years worth of dust.
I've also found that the "Red" Denfield seat is an original one. ?Red?




My long owned BMW R75/5 is going to a new owner in Phoenix later this week and it looks like I'm dragging home a clean R65 BMW in the deal. Never been a R65 fan but maybe it will be fun to ride for a change. The newest bike I've ever owned was a 1981 model so the 1982 BMW R65 will be the most modern bike for me.

I've been furiously digging around the Internet and am finding a kind of "Underground" Zundapp network around the planet. Nothing much shows up quickly but kind of like peeling an onion, you finally get through layers of links and find a parts source. Have found complete reproduction exhaust systems, many engine parts and have connected with a few more Zundapp dealers / owners. Many parts sources are in Europe and some in Austrailia.
The original fenders, tool box and air tubes the previous owner found came from Costa Rica.

This is going to be a real interesting process, finding the few obscure missing parts I will need. Maybe I can get my wife to take on a night job to fund this thing. ...................

[Bill Harris]

Good luck! Old, niche bikes are fun. I started with a conventional new bike and let it age to an old niche bike...

[danedg]

This was at Rhinebeck '09.

[bmwhacker]

I've been studying the Zundapp KS601 Service Manual.
Some seriously "Old School" engineering going on here:
(Good thing I still smoke occasionally)

"If too much material is ground off the big end when adjusting, attach 1.5mm wide tinfoil strips to these parts of the connecting rod (27) as a chuck. Cigarette tinfoil is about 0.01mm thick. Tinfoil may under no circumstances extend into the bearing tracks or protrude at the sides."

Figure 27 -> = here tinfoil




Connecting Rod Adjustment:

"For the adjustment remove the connecting rod as specified. Put a piece of polishing cloth on the surface plate and on that whet the joints of the big ends one after another (25). One face has to be on the polishing cloth and one on the blank plate (25). Count every stroke to get even abrasion on both sides. Recommended are 20 strokes on each side before reinstalling the connecting rods.
In most cases this procedure has to be done 4 to 5 times to achieve an optimal fit."




A lot of the tools seen in the manual look like old carpentry tools.

I'm starting to get a little scared. My woodworking skills are pretty poor.

[bmwhacker]

Finally made it to MT. last night to retrieve the old bike. We'll need to clear a path out of the barn.

[Andylaser]

Needs to be in Afrika Korps colours with an MG34 mounted on the side car.

[bmwhacker]

Finally picked up the old bike today. Come to find out it is a 1953 Model, rather than a 1954. Checking the steering head number I.D. plate shows "H COM ENGINE"
From what I read this must be the KS601 Sport which has 34 horse power rather than the std. 28 HP. Whoopee!

The numbers throughout the bike all match. The steering head plate, frame stamps, engine block, cylinders & heads were all stamped with the same numbers. I think that is good.

The headlight was peering out at me from where the bike has set for 22 years.



We easily roller her out of the dark and into the light of day. At least it rolls easily. First time its' seen the light of day since 1989. License tag sticker reads "1968".

Good Lord she's rough...



We still had 175 miles to drive so I loaded it into my enclosed cargo trailer. I would have likely left a trail of parts all the way home bouncing around on the little trailer. The bikes patina did match my old trailers patina.


One of the mufflers was laying on the floor. I dumped out a big stash of mice chow.......didn't see any rodent evidence on the bike, but I'll dig deeper of course. The throttle slides were still free. That surprised me.



Cool old stove out of a Rail Road Caboose. A buddy of mine saw it in a photo I took and said he might want it. $100.00 and it's his. Nice Patina....It lived next to the Zundapp for 22 years ...





What a heap. Beauty is definately in the eye of the beholder....I think it is beautiful!


I got a stash of original parts...fenders, braces, toolbox, front center shock, speedometer. The front forks are sprung, but NOT damped. The Dampeniing is performed by a seperate center shock absorber which rides on the top of the front fender. It bolts to the top triple tree.

Let the fun begin!

[bmwhacker]

Originally Posted by scottyb

here's my 53. interesting bikes with a great history. check with James aka the Zundapp Fool for spares.

Wow very nice. did you perform the restoration yourself?
Mine will likely never get to that stage of beauty. I'm just hoping to get mine running.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by bmwhacker

Wow very nice. did you perform the restoration yourself?
Mine will likely never get to that stage of beauty. I'm just hoping to get mine running.

it had been restored long ago by some else and was in a collection for ever. I got rid of the high bars and made new cables. did a complete service, which it needed badly. It runs great, quicker than you think. hang in there, parts are availible mostly ebay both usa and germany and other sources in europe. looks like you got most of it!! call the Fool too. he lives near me and I've seen his stash, you've seen so much Zundapp shit in all your life.

the Fool has a couple very nice examples which are great for comparison. he has two very original EL's among other things.



here's the other side. i still need to do the front tire.

[OldPete]

Go for it!
Even the chain box can be restored by cutting off the teeth and pressing on then spot welding new sprokets once their OD is machined.

Saw a Four cylinder at the Hanford show back in the late '70s.
http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/200...dapp-four.html

[T.REX63]

Brings back childhood memories. Below the KS601 my dad put back together with a Steib S500 when I was growing up.

[bmwhacker]

Pulled the spark plugs to take a peek in the cylinders., Much to my dismay we have rust. I introduced a quantity of Marvel Mystery Oil into each cylinder to begin the soaking process. I've had good luck in the past with frozen pistons, but it takes a lot of time. I typically will set the transmission in high gear and rock the rear wheel a bit to turn the crankshaft. My R100S BMW engine soaked about 7 weeks before she broke loose.



The toolbox and air tubes appear to be the proper fit.


The "Zundapp Fool", who is the U.S. Zundapp Guru wanted to see the I.D. Plate. He has never seen one quite like this. It has "H COM ENGINE" stamped into it.




I'll be traveling around the country on business for the next 10 days so things will sit for a while.