Münch (motorcycles)
The Münch Mammoth 1200 carburetor model with 10 in (250 mm) front drum brake
|
|
| Also called | Mammut (German), Münch 4 1200 |
|---|---|
| Production | 1966–1975 |
| Predecessor | Mammoth 1000 |
| Successor | 4 1200 TTS-E |
| Class | Sport touring |
| Engine | 1,177 cc (71.8 cu in), inline transverse four cylinder SOHC with two twin-choke Weber carburetors |
| Bore / stroke | 75 mm × 66.6 mm (2.95 in × 2.62 in) |
| Top speed | 137 mph (220 km/h) |
| Power | 88 bhp (66 kW) @ 6,000 rpm |
| Ignition type | Battery and coil, Bosch 400 watt, 6 volt generator |
| Transmission | Gear primary-drive to four speed gearbox with wet multiplate clutch, enclosed-chain final drive |
| Frame type | Twin loop cradle |
| Suspension | Telescopic front forks and rear swinging arm |
| Brakes | 10 in (250 mm) front drum, rear drum |
| Weight | 656 lb (298 kg) (wet) |
Münch was a German motorcycle manufacturer which, during the 1960s, produced the Mammoth, a four-cylinder motorcycle using an NSU car engine.
Hugo Wilson wrote of the founder Friedl Münch:
Münch produced many prototype and racing machines, but the Mammoth is his most famous motorcycle – it was simply the fastest, most powerful, most expensive bike of its time.
Limited production began in 1966. The 'Mammoth' name was later dropped due to copyright reasons.
Friedl Münch began his career as a mechanic and engine tuner in the late 1940s, working especially with Horex motorcycles. The Horex factory noted the success of his home-tuned racers, and offered Münch a job in their competition department.
When Horex ceased motorcycle manufacture in 1956, Friedl Münch purchased the remaining stocks of motorcycles and spares, and sold his own race-tuned Horex cafe racers from his workshop in Altenstadt, Germany.
Machines were hand-built to order from Münch's workshop in Nieder-Florstadt, Friedberg, West Germany.
Friedl Münch was given a commission to build in 1966 a special for Jean Murit, a famous French former sidecar road-racer, who was then-President of the BMW Club of France and organiser of the Chamois Rally, a summertime motorcyclists' gathering at high altitude in the Alps.
Münch used a 996 cc air-cooled NSU Motorenwerke engine having a chain-driven single overhead camshaft housed in a specially-built, brazed-up steel tube frame based on Norton Featherbed principles. Customers could choose from one, two or four carburetors, with options for 43 or 52 bhp. A four-speed gearbox connected to a gear primary-drive and enclosed-chain final drive, and the front brake was one of Münch's famous 10 in (250 mm) units.
In July 1966, Murit rode his new bike at the head of a procession from the Val d’Isère up to Col de l'Iseran, Europe's second-highest mountain pass.
...
Wikipedia