1973 Münch Mammoth Sidecar

1973 Münch Mammoth Sidecar  SOLD

Freidl Munch grew up the son of a garage owner and went to work for German motorcycle manufacturer Horex in the 1950s. Unsuccessful as a racer, Freidl found his calling as an expert tuner, developing the Horex Imperator works bikes.

Driven by a desire to build a large capacity superbike that could challenge the world’s fastest manufacturers, Freidle realized his dream at the 1965 Cologne Motor Show when he displayed his first creation. Powered by an overhead cam four-cylinder 1,000cc NSU car engine, the entire was remarkably light, weighing only 226kg (500 lbs). Whilst a very capable bike, the first examples were kick-start only.

A year after the prototype was introduced, Munch sold his first production bike, dubbed the Mammut – or Mammoth – to a German buyer. Over the next 14 years he built an estimated 478 highly individualized machines with many those landing in the US. Production of the bikes stopped in 1980, but Munch continued to do service and repair work.

The Mammoth attracted considerable attention when new, and Soichiro Honda inspected the first bike at Cologne, crediting it with inspiring the Honda CB 750 of 1969. Munch also piqued the interest of eccentric American magazine publisher Floyd Clymer, who had Munch build him a 750 cc Indian Scout V-twin, which still exists. Clymer thought the Mammoth would be ideal for America’s wide-open spaces and ordered 50 bikes from Munch.

Performance of the Munch Mammoth was spectacular, with even the early bikes capable of a top speed of 155 mph The engine grew from 1,000 cc to 1,100 cc, 1,400 cc, 1,600 cc, 1,800 cc and finally a full two liters. Later models gained Kugelfischer injection and turbochargers. Munch lost the rights to the Mammoth name in 1980, but he built a special order bike called the Horex Titan in 1981 for an American collector. It had an 1,800 cc four-cylinder with a Wankel-designed supercharger, generating 160 bhp.

The twin headlights of the Mammoth were unmistakable, as was the humped gas tank. Detail work was superb, from custom gauges to the trick Elektron magnesium rear wheel, as spokes couldn’t handle the horsepower. No two bikes were alike, with nine frame variations on the original Norton Featherbed concept. The Munch Mammoth was proof of the value of “running changes”. When Munch had a better idea, it went onto the bike he was building. Even in the late 1990s, Munch had one more design in him – the monstrous 260-bhp Munch 2000. Only 15 were built, and were electronically limited to 150 mph.

This spectacular Mammoth was built to order for a client of H.W. Henke, who in late 1973 became part owner of the Munch operation. It was one of the first fuel injected examples produced in 73 & was specifically designed by Munch for renown Munch technician Mr Scheiber, to fulfill the customers wish to have the outfit constructed to OEM specification.  During the refit, the fuel injection was removed in favour of the better functioning side-draft weber fuelling system. This spectacular creation is with our German agent & good friend, Harald Tuner, and the advertised price excludes shipping & arrival costs.

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Credit to Hagerty.com for the well-detailed information on Freidl Munch.

Stock No: HT-Munch

Ref 466  SOLD