Everything about Z Ndapp totally explained
Zündapp was a famous
German motorcycle brand. The company was originally founded in
1917 in
Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich
Krupp AG and the
machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "
Zünder- und
Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of
detonators. In
1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after
World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company and two years later, he diversified into the construction of
motorcycles. The company folded in
1984.
The first Zündapp motorcycle was the Z22 in
1921, the "Motorrad für Jedermann" (motorcycle for everybody), a simple and reliable design that was produced in large series. Zündapp's history of heavy motorcycles began in
1933 with the K-series. They introduced the closed engine case, a novelty at the time. (The "K" stands for "Kardanantrieb", for example enclosed driveshaft with two universal joints, a type of drivetrain, which these models featured.) The series encompassed models from 200 to 800
cc displacement and was a major success, increasing Zündapp's market share in Germany from 5% in
1931 to 18% in
1937. From
1940 on, Zündapp produced more than 18'000 units of the KS750, a
sidecar with a driven side wheel and a
locking differential for the German
Wehrmacht.
Starting in
1931 Ferdinand Porsche and Zündapp developed the "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody), which was the first time the name "
Volkswagen" was used. Porsche preferred the 4- cylinder flat engine, but Zündapp used a water-cooled 5 cylinder radial engine. In
1932 three prototypes were running. All three cars were lost during the war, the last in 1945 in
Stuttgart during a bombing raid.
After
World War II, the company gradually shifted to producing smaller machines, for instance the "Bella"
motorscooter, still a relatively heavy machine for its type. The last of the heavy motorcycles, and incidentally also one of its most famous models, was released in
1951: the KS601 (the "green elephant") with a 598 cc two cylinder engine.
From
1957 to
1958 the company also produced the
Zündapp Janus microcar.
In
1958 the company moved from Nuremberg to
Munich. Subsequently, the company developed several new smaller models, gave up the development of
four-stroke engines and only produced
two-stroke models. Initially, Zündapp scooters and
mopeds sold well, but later sales declined, and in
1984, the company went bankrupt and closed.
Zundapp models were taken over and built in the 1980s by Enfield India. Enfield India tied up with Zundapp of Germany, and put up a plant in Ranipet, near Chennai in the 80’s to manufacture small, light weight two stroke two wheelers. Enfield India launched a slew of light weight machines. The 50 cc Silver Plus step-through and Explorer motorcycle and the Fury 175 and these bikes redefined the entry-level segment. The Fury with a five-speed gearbox came fitted with a hydraulic disc brake a first in the country.
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