Where do you find em?

Well, if it’s a very rare 1941 Zundapp KS750 that you are looking for the answer is likely only at Burns & Co. We are very privileged to be offering this beautiful 1941 Zundapp KS750 on the evening of Monday the 19th of May as part of our American, Euro & Japanese Classic & Collectable Car & Motorcycle Auction.

Being offered as part of the disposal of a deceased estate, this motorcycle was purchased by its long-term owner sight unseen in England during 1969. Having been a Zundapp devotee for years it was a chance for the new owner to get their hands on this rare military model. Despite being purchased in the late ’60’s it took until 1975 to get the machine to Australia as the original owner required a lot of prompting and prodding to get the machine packed up and ready to send to Australia. Finally, a friend visiting the UK took matters into his own hands and got this wonderful piece of motorcycle history organised for delivery.

Upon arrival to our shores, it consisted of a solo bike plus a sidecar chassis (minus a wheel) and a spare motor.  The new owner restored the bike solo in 1977 and rode it to many rallies, where it drew lots of interest. Early in 1979 the he managed to buy a pair of matching wheels, one for the sidecar and one as a mounted spare, these were in West Germany and were R75 BMW wheels and were exactly the same as KS750 Zundapp wheels*. In the same year he negotiated to buy a Ural sidecar direct from Moscow, there being no one selling or importing them in Australia at the time. Germany stopped making Steib sidecars after the war, but the Russians continued, using the same specifications, to make the sidecars for their motorcycles. The sidecar arrived later in 1979 and the body was quickly separated from the chassis and then modified in the axle shaft arch slightly and then fitted exactly to the original Zundapp Steib sidecar frame.

The Ural is an exact copy of the military Steib models BN40 and BN43 and except for the missing boot lid under the spare, it could have been made on a Steib press!! As part of the careful restoration several other chassis parts had to be made, as did a complete mudguard. The restoration was then completed with a final coat of Afrika Korps paint and the insignia of the 21st Panzers etc. So finally, in 1979, all was reunited to as close to the original as he could get it.

But what about before 1969? Well according to the English owner, this bike was smuggled out of Africa by some RAF people and transported back to England where it was subsequently divorced from its sidecar and civilianized to black and chrome. The same machine, according to that owner was the one written up in Motor Cycling Magazine on March 23, 1944, titled “Complete with desert dust”, written by a Captain J.J. Hall which must have been revolutionary reading in 1944.

TV Fame

The Zundapp up for auction featured in a few scenes of the popular comedy show Fast Forward when they compiled a skit that featured comedian Magda Szubanski in the sidecar where they parodied the Shell television commercial that took its lead from scenes in the famous movie ‘The Great Escape’.

The Ride

The bike handles well in its three-wheel setup, a bit wobbly at low starting speeds, but rock steady when underway. The Sidecar wheel drive has not been fitted yet, so at present the bike has no better traction than normal.

With sidecar drive, these machines can go where most other 4WD will not manage. The rear and sidecar wheel brakes are hydraulic powered and provide a most effective stop. Pegs were originally fitted to the front axle left and right as a type of axle extension, they were fitted to enable troops to straddle the front wheel when climbing steep gradients, to prevent the machine from turning turtle.

A car type Solex single carburettor is fitted with a cold start device, the motor is designed to run on any grade of fuel and is marked OZ75, compression ratio is about five to one, and at 750cc, the motor develops 26BHP of the draught horse variety.

Top speed is 100 km per hour which is slightly quicker than its sister BMW R75, it has a slightly better climbing ability also.

This motorcycle and sidecar were involved in a shed fire at owner’s home in the 1990’s. Fortunately, most of the motorcycle collection was saved. The outfit has been restored since then, but due to increasing age and restricted ability to work on the vehicle, the owner was unable to get it to running stage. The motor turns over and the bike can definitely be made operational.

There are many spare parts that come with the outfit as well as a folder of manuals/magazine articles and photographs.

Further details on this bike can be found here.

Further details on the auction that this bike is entered into can be found here.

NOW TAKING ENTRIES

Looking to sell your car or motorcycle?

If you are ready to sell with Burns & Co why not give the team a call or go the website and submit your vehicle at burnsandcoauctions.com.au/submit-your-vehicle/

For enquiries please call

Anton Cooper 0427 383 531
Ashley Burns 0408 618 294
Jason Todd 0400 321 919

*It is commonly known that BMW and Zundapp got together with the German war production people and hammered out lot of common parts, for both makes, such as wheels, brakes, magnetos, generators, rear drives and headlights.