The Münch Mammut was the ultimate ’70s superbike

Seldom has a motorcycle been more aptly named than the two-wheeled behemoth known as the Münch Mammut…

Tipping the scales at an elephantine 600lb and originally powered by a 1,000cc, four-cylinder engine from the NSU Prinz car, engineer and racer Friedel Münch’s original Mammut of 1966 preceded Honda’s comparatively weedy CB750 ‘Four’– officially ‘the world's first superbike’ – by a full four years.

During those four years, the Mammut was nothing short of the mightiest motorcycle a man (or unusually strong woman) could get his (or her) hands on, boasting a top speed of 120mph and an effortless, 10omph cruise – all for a mere $4,000, three times the price of a BMW R69.

Handmade to order and thus extremely exclusive, it’s thought that fewer than 500 Münch machines were built across the various model lines, which included the 1200TTS ‘Münch 4’ that appeared in 1968 and the Titan 2000 of the 1990s. The latter offered 150 horsepower and was so heavy that it required a hydraulic centre-stand to get it off the ground.

On Sunday 18 October, Bonhams will offer the rare chance to own a Mammut, when a TTS 1200 model from 1971 goes under the hammer at its Autumn Stafford Sale with a modest 30,000 kilometres on the clock. Tidy and original, it boasts all the classic Mammut features such as Münch’s own-design, 10-inch diameter front brake, a ‘turbine’-style rear wheel and that distinctive headlamp nacelle that envelops the instruments.

By dint of being exotic and individual, Mammuts have traditionally attracted the rich and famous – so it comes as no surprise that the late, motorcycle-mad publishing tycoon Malcolm Forbes owned two (he gave one to actress Elizabeth Taylor), that French actor Gerard Depardieu rode one in the film ‘Mammuth’, or that insatiable petrolhead Jay Leno has got one tucked away in his legendary garage.

Few, however, have looked quite so ‘right’ on a Mammut as the late playboy Gunter Sachs. When Sotheby’s dispersed his remarkable art collection in 2012 following his death the previous year, it issued cocktail party invitations that depicted Sachs riding his beloved Mammut at speed while dressed in the entirely appropriate outfit of white linen shirt, white trousers, white plimsolls and – never one to overlook the importance of safety gear – a pair of flying goggles.

For an estimated £28,000 - £35,000, you too could make like Sachs by buying the 1200TTS offered for sale by Bonhams. Save for a cracked front brake casting, it’s on the button, ready to go and looks like an awful lot of rare motorcycle for a relatively small amount of money. And, like the Mammut itself, we reckon values can only get bigger...

Photos: Bonhams / Getty Images

Bonhams’ Autumn Stafford Sale takes place at noon on Sunday 18 October in Staffordshire, UK. You can find the full catalogue listed in the Classic Driver Market. 

OLD EMPIRE MOTORCYCLES GLADIATOR

Torque is one of those feelings that you first experience as a child, hopefully. The first time a grownup takes you out in a sports car and you get pinned back in the seat under hard acceleration, it’s addictive. Adolescence brings with it the fallacy that power is the mighty altar to worship yet it’s torque that turns up to the party first and puts smiles on faces.

Polaris knew this when they set up Victory Motorcycles nearly two decades ago and decided that the old adage of ‘There’s no replacement for displacement’ would be hold true in their product line up of big-bore v-twins. This 1650cc Victory Hammer by Norfolk young guns Old Empire Motorcycles is a transatlantic blend of modern brawn and nostalgia.And in the patinated dark tan corner, weighing in at 650lbs, all the way from Dickinson County, Iowa; The Glaadiaatooooorr.

The customer for this commission wanted a bike capable of eating up continental miles in comfort, perhaps on something that would have enough torque to spin planet earth beneath him rather than use speed to reach a destination. Being a Brit, Alec Sharp, founder of OEM, likes an underdog so decided against the tried and tested Harley-Davidson platform and opted for the Victory.

“The Gladiator was actually our first commission based on a concept drawing by the very talented artist Martin Squires. We have found in previous experiences that a build can develop in a couple of different ways. Sometimes everything falls into place naturally as the build progress and without wanting to sound overly arty, the bike kind of builds itself. However there are other times our bikes take a little more deep thought in making sure everything comes together correctly, especially when based upon a predetermined concept. It’s one thing drawing something in pencil and something else entirely making it work!”

Having removed the equivalent weight of normal motorcycle in plastics, pipework and cast wheels Alec and Rafe set about adding the OEM stamp of practical retrogression. For a more balanced look the super-wide rear wheel sizing was altered courtesy of an 80 spoke dual flanged rim with a hub machined by Harrison Billet to adapt to the standard pulley and incorporates a floating disc. Real world practicality with aggressive looks is achieved with Pirelli’s Scorpion dual sport rubber.

Up front sees a matching 80-spoker between the beefy forks, but it wasn’t as plain sailing as it looks explains Alec, “We re-engineered the internals to drop it an inch to get a nose-down stance. Although this sounds simple, an unbelievable amount of work is required to make the forks function properly yet sit lower. The top yoke was removed and a billet replacement with integral warning lights and two aluminium housings were machined to fit the custom made Smiths-OEM chrono speedo and tacho.”

The swept back bars seemingly disappear behind the clocks, leaving a clear view of the dash, and give a relaxed riding position suitable for pounding the miles in comfort.

Making modern machinery look simple is no easy feat as Alec goes on to tell us “The original subframe was removed so we had a fresh start at a new bolt-on section that needed to tie in cleverly to accomplish the simple lines of the concept, but retain a wide enough seat for all-day comfort. An added complexity was the twin spar frame design, with two top tubes splaying out from the head stock (imagine a Ducati trellis type layout) meaning that following our visual designs we would want to drop the tank nice and low to get that curvaceous line, reducing the fuel capacity from around 17 litres to around 4…. What a ball ache.”

“We had already committed to making The Gladiator as per Martin’s sketches so we spent an enormous amount of time fabricating an underseat fuel tank and relocated the fuel pump there too, and on the other side we made an electrics box. So what you are looking at in terms of the leather panniers on the side is actually a fuel tank on the left and the leccy box on the right. Mind you they are still useable panniers too as the brief was the customer needed the ability to carry a bottle of wine and map, we made it so he can carry double just in case.” 

There’s a low fuel sender within the pump which alerts the rider, by way of an LED, that the big old girl’s thirst needs quenching.

The original tank was narrowed and gutted and a new inner fabricated with balance pipes, a tap, internal breather and billet filler caps. There are also tie points along the underside so a tank bag can be used if needed. Greg from Black Shuck has nailed the mottled effect seen on previous OEM builds and the Gladiator’s armour was treated to a mean smokey silver and black version. The Cerakoted engine casings with brass detailing further testament to Alec’s fastidious attention to the most minor of details.

Fellow detail fanatic Will from London Vehicle Wiring was lured up from the smoke to make sense of the professor’s madness and ensure the electricity not only stayed in the panniers but would stand the test of time once the owner and bike had migrated far away from OEM’s HQ. With a Power Commander installed the 1650 cubic centimetres of American muscle can be tuned to suit the more open filters and lightly baffled stainless exhausts. It must sound beastly.

“We’ve learnt a considerable amount since those initial drawings and its amazing to think that we have finally managed to create something rideable and useable from those early sketches.” 

As ever, Alec & Rafe try to utilise the skills of local businesses and craftspeople to achieve their goal of building truly individual motorcycles. It must be working as the Gladiator’s owner has set off, roaring across Europe, and there are other builds in the pipeline to be featured here soon.

In the meantime check out    The Hurricane (in progress)  |  Bike Shed Archive  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Web  |  Video

Photography by Vaughan Treyvellen via The Bike Shed

BMW R65 – Moto Adonis

Written by Martin Hodgson.

From an old factory in the Dutch city of Roosendaal, Daan Borsje and his team at Moto Adonis share a common purpose of “building awesome vintage bikes”. Having shown they can build clean vintage customs with an impressive portfolio of both European and Japanese vintage machines, they decided to take a different path on this, their latest build. From the remains of an old Dutch Police Bike, a BMW R65, they have created a Neo-Utilitarian Scrambler that wouldn’t be out-of-place shredding the boggy fields on the Keutenberg or centre stage in a new Mad Max film. Stripped of all its law enforcement paraphernalia, the little BMW from the R range was taken back to bare bones to reveal the outlaw within.

The “shorty” rear end is becoming more popular by the day, turning long two up designs into a sleeker more stripped down look. But very few builders go as far as Moto Adonis have on this build to ensure the look is engineered for perfect functionality. Hacking the back off a frame can do all sorts of things to reduce chassis rigidity and compromise the rear suspension, so to counter this they’ve built an entirely new subframe with twin loops to support each side and a single piece kicked up rear hoop at the back to support the seat pan. The whole frame and new subframe was smoothed out, detabbed and finished in black. Adding some serious class to the build is the handmade, diamond stitched, Alcantara covered seat that keeps the rider’s weight close to the centreline of the bike.

The factory tank is the classic BMW design of the era, while everyone else was going for rounded flowing aesthetics, the Bavarians had a completely different take with a boxier, slab side look. To continue the neo-utilitarian theme the boys have stripped back the paint to the bare metal with the sanding marks left very deliberately in place. The undersides are painted matte black to further accentuate those beefy metal sides and a totally new take on a centre stripe was achieved by firing up the blow torch and laying down the flame. It’s a Mad Max style touch that while out of left field fits perfectly with the overall theme of the build. To complete the minimalist body work a bobbed front fender is finished in the same black as the frame.

Also painted in black the BMW crash bars that protect those exposed airheads would normally go largely unnoticed and on most customs they’re often removed. But here they serve a purpose and drastically add to the look of the bike, to serve their roll they’ve been modified with the addition of two new brackets each side. These hold the new twin spot lights that stare down the road like a vicious animals eyes and light the dark like no other motorcycle. Joining them on the crash bars are the factory speedo and tacho which required a total rerouting of the drive cables. Providing the third eye from the standard location a grilled out headlight further enhances the BMW’s “tough” credentials.

Steering the beast is a set of Motocross bars that have the factory switch blocks cleaned up and mounted to them. One of those buttons fires the distinctive 648cc flat twin airhead into life and it is the perfect scrambler engine. What it lacks in horsepower it makes up for with gobs of torque right across the rev range and the flawless fuelling of the Bing carbs means wheel spin is easily controlled on the throttle.

To get a little extra power and add to the aural arousal of the boxer burble the guys fitted up a pair of hooligan mufflers to the factory pipes which have been heat wrapped to avoid pipeburn. (Why would anyone want toavoid Pipeburn? – Andrew) While the airbox remains, the engine has been largely blacked out and in true utilitarian style the battery is on display for all to see.

If there was a perfect tyre for a BMW Scrambler it would have to be the Motocross range from German company Heidenau and these are exactly what the guys have fitted. A no nonsense dirt tyre in a traditional trials tread pattern they’ll handle any surface you can throw at them and the build quality is first class. These have been fitted to the factory BMW wheels that are finished in a striking black powder coat that was also applied to the shaft drive, hub and other components for a durable finish.

The last thing you want on a Scrambler is a brake that is going to lock and fold the front end over, here the engineers at BMW had a solution long before ABS and Moto Adonis have kept it in place. The factory master cylinder features a piston significantly smaller than that of the caliper piston, providing a piston to piston ratio far greater than was considered normal at the time for unbelievable progressing stopping.

A nice finishing touch is the small, tiny even, LED tail light that is mounted inside the rear hoop. Its proportions could not be more dramatically opposed to that of its forward facing counterparts; Which just goes to show this Dutch Scrambler is utterly focussed on what is ahead and will take you on a journey anywhere you can think to go leaving the rest of the world behind as you chase the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Photos by Mark Meisner] via PIPEBURN

Les as de la Fun Cup vont s'affronter lors du Rallye de Jalhay ce dimanche !

La nouvelle a le mérite d'être inattendue. Ce dimanche 18 octobre, la région de Jalhay, près de Spa, servira de cadre au traditionnel JMC Rallye, manche de la compétition liégeoise sur route. A cette occasion, un groupe de pilotes de pointe de la VW Fun Cup va se tirer une bourre d'enfer sur les spéciales, à une semaine de la finale de la célèbre coupe monomarque sur le circuit de Mettet. Et le pire, c'est qu'ils ont des chances de bien figurer au général, quand bien même Olivier Cartelle semble être le grand favori au volant de sa Skoda Fabia WRC RSR. 

Il n'empêche, les chronos de trois équipages inhabituels seront à surveiller ! Avec pour commencer la traditionnelle Subaru Impreza WRX de Fred Bouvy, copiloté pour l'occasion par Eric Gressens. Totalement inédit, François Verbist prendra le volant d'une Porsche 911 GT3 avec un certain Christophe Nivarlet à ses côtés ! Quant à Sébastien Jacquemin, il aura pour copilote Philippe Crosset dans l'habitacle d'une autre Subaru Impreza WRX ! Ces trois équipages seront engagés en Division 4, celle des grosses autos équipées de pneus racing. 

"Notre seul objectif du week-end est de s'amuser entre amis... mais si nous pouvons devancer Fred et Eric, ou mieux encore, voir la tête de François et Christophe au départ de la première spéciale, ce sera une journée très réussie", se marre déjà Philippe Crosset. 

Le doute n'est pas permis : ceux-là vont débouler chaud boulette à Mettet six jours plus tard. Mais ça, on aura l'occasion de vous en reparler... (Vincent Franssen)

The Bandit9 Panther belongs in another dimension

Vietnam-based Bandit9’s motorcycles are designed to transcend the mold – to be unlike any bikes that have come before. It must therefore look to other sources for inspiration: such as sci-fi, the clear influence behind its latest creation, the Panther...

Sinister styling

As with Bandit9’s other creations, just nine Panthers will be hand-built, based on the humbleTriumph Bonneville and priced at 19,000 US dollars. But as Bandit9’s Daryl Villanueva so aptly puts it, “It’s not about the looks, and it’s not about the danger either – you should get the same joy riding a 1200cc Harley as you do a 50cc Honda Cub.” Needless to say, the Panther is a little less cuddly. Modifications over the standard bike include a revised frame, custom turn signals, a stainless-steel fender, and aluminium hand guards. And obviously, there’s the sinister, stealth-black colour scheme – perfect for that impending apocalypse. 

Photos: Bandit9

You can find more information about the Bandit9 Panther here. 

4 cylindres......

Torres s'offre la première séance sous les lumières du Qatar / An on form Torres grabs top spot in floodlit FP1

Le rookie espagnol a été une demi-seconde plus rapide que ses concurrents vendredi en début de soirée.

                  

Les essais libres de la dernière manche de la saison WorldSBK 2015 ont commencé vendredi soir au Qatar, où Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) s'est affirmé au sommet de la feuille de temps.

Alors que les conditions s'amélioraient progressivement grâce au passage des motos et de l'accumulation de gomme sur la piste, l'Espagnol a signé le meilleur temps de la première séance mais était cependant à 1,7s du chrono qui avait valu la Tissot-Superpole à Davide Giugliano l'an dernier.

                             

En tête en début de séance, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), le nouveau Champion du Monde, et son coéquipier Tom Sykes complétaient le Top 3 devant Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) et Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki).

Parmi les pilotes qui connaissent le mieux le Circuit International de Losail, Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) a fait une bonne entrée en matière et s'est classé septième devant Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing) et Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team).

Le Champion du Monde sortant a eu un problème technique dans le virage 4 dès le début de la séance et a dû revenir au garage en scooter. Son chrono de 2'00.418 lui permettait néanmoins de commencer le week-end dans le Top 10.

Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team), qui remplace Davide Giugliano, a chuté dès la septième minute, dans le dernier virage, et a pu revenir en fin de séance après une rapide réparation de sa Panigale. L'Espagnol a conclu en treizième position après avoir progressé sur son dernier tour.

La seconde séance d'essais a lieu à 23h, heure locale, soit 22h en France métropolitaine.

Suivez toute l'actu sur Twitter : @WorldSBK

                      

WorldSBK rookie Torres is half a second clear after first 45 minutes.

The Pirelli Qatar round of WorldSBK began under floodlights with first honours going to Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) after an enthralling opening 45 minute session, that saw action aplenty throughout.

With the circuit condition improving as more and more rubber was laid down, the fastest time of the day saw superbike rookie Torres a mere 1.7s away from the 2014 Tissot-Superpole winning time of Davide Giugliano, set last year.

Dominant throughout the first 30 minutes were the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing, with Jonathan Rea taking 2^nd overall, ahead of Tom Sykes making it a KRT 2-3.

                          

4^th overall was Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who strung together half a dozen personal improving laps to edge Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who rounded out the top 6.

                           

Randy de Puniet had a solid start to his Qatari weekend in 7^th on the second Voltcom Crescent Suzuki while Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing) completed the top nine.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) suffered a technical failure at turn 4 in the first 10 minutes. The 2014 world champ returned to the garage by scooter, his time of 2.00.418s keeping him 10^th overall at the end of the session.

Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) had a difficult first session, crashing on in the first 7 minutes as he exited the final turn. The Spaniard was unhurt and was able to re-join the session after some quick repair work by his team, he was classified 13^th after improving on his final lap of the session.

FP2 is due to start at 2300 local time.

In the meantime follow all of the action on the official championship Twitter feed: @WorldSBK

                                  

Márquez réalise le meilleur temps du vendredi en Australie / Marquez sets pace on opening day at Phillip Island

Le Champion du Monde en titre est passé devant Lorenzo lors de la seconde d’essais à Phillip Island.

          

Bien que la pluie se soit manifestée à la mi-journée, les pilotes de la catégorie reine auront échappé aux intempéries vendredi à Phillip Island pour l’ouverture du Grand Prix Pramac d’Australie. 

Après avoir été distancé par Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) de plus de trois dixièmes de seconde le matin, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a rattrapé son compatriote l’après-midi et s’est emparé de la première position sur le classement combiné, en ayant été 0.050s plus rapide que le Majorquin. Désormais sans aucune possibilité de jouer le titre, le Champion du Monde visera ce week-end sa première victoire en MotoGP™ à Phillip Island, qui est avec le Motegi l’un des deux seuls circuits où il n’ait pas encore gagné en catégorie reine.

                    

Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) a fait très bonne impression sur la GSX-R pour rejoindre ses deux compatriotes dans le Top 3, à seulement 0.135s de Márquez. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) et Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) ont réalisé des chronos très proches de celui du rookie espagnol et ont terminé quatrième et cinquième, à 0.161s et 0.196s du leader.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), vainqueur dimanche dernier au Motegi, s’est classé sixième, à quasiment trois dixièmes de seconde de la cinquième position et devant Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) et Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). 

                

Neuvième à 0.658s de Márquez, Rossi dispose de dix-huit points d’avance avant l’épreuve australienne, la première des trois dernières de la saison, et devra gagner en rythme samedi matin pour espérer se qualifier bien plus près de Lorenzo, son rival pour le titre mondial. À noter toutefois que l'Italien n'a pas utilisé de pneu neuf en fin de séance, contrairement à bon nombre de ses concurrents.

               

La dixième position est revenue à Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar) tandis que Jack Miller (LCR Honda), onzième, a été le pilote Open le plus rapide et a été confirmé chez Marc VDS Racing pour 2016 avant l’ouverture du week-end. 

Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing), qui participe à son 200e Grand Prix ce week-end, et Loris Baz (Forward Racing) ont respectivement pris les 20e et 23e positions. 

Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.

                  

Marc Marquez ended Friday’s practice fastest ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Maverick Viñales, with Valentino Rossi in ninth.

Repsol Honda’s Marquez had played second fiddle to Lorenzo in the morning’s damp FP1 session at the Pramac Australian Grand Prix. Then, as the track dried and the sun came out (Track temp. 35˚C) in the afternoon it was the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion who ended the day on top. Marquez set a 1’29.383 to finish just five-hundredths of a second ahead of Lorenzo on the combined timesheet’s, although he was still some way off the Pole Record set in 2014 (J. Lorenzo – 1’27.899).

              

Movistar Yamaha’s Lorenzo (+0.050s) began his bid at closing down the 18-point gap in the standings to his teammate Rossi by topping FP1, before having to settle for second overall. The Spaniard improved by over half a second in FP2, in a session that saw the top 13 riders separated by less than nine-tenths of a second.

               

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales recovered from crashing out of the race at Motegi to complete the provisional front row, just 0.135s off the pace of Marquez. Viñales took advantage of the sweet handling of his GSX-RR to finish ahead of Andrea Iannone (+0.161s) on the Ducati Team GP15. The Italian is looking to bounce back strongly at Phillip Island after his first DNF of the season at the Japanese GP due to technical issues.

                

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (+0.196s) was the leading Satellite rider in fifth as less than two tenths of second separated the top five riders. Brit Crutchlow clearly likes the Australian track as he recorded only his second MotoGP™ podium at Phillip Island in 2012 and crashed out of a comfortable second in last year’s race on the very last lap. 

Race winner at Motegi Dani Pedrosa (+0.493s) was further 0.297s back in sixth, ahead of Pramac Racing’s Danilo Petrucci and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 of Bradley Smith in eighth.

                  

Championship leader Rossi found himself down in ninth, 0.658s off the pace of Marquez, but the ‘Doctor’ did not switch to a fresh set of tyres at the end of FP2 like the majority of the riders. The Italian, who will equal the all-time record of 328 GP starts on Sunday, preferring instead to work on his pace on used tyres, instead of worrying about setting a flying lap.

              

Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the top ten while Jack Miller (LCR Honda), who had earlier finished fifth during FP1, was the leading Open class rider in eleventh, just 0.057s ahead of Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team) in 12th. Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso struggled throughout the day, and found himself down in 14th, over a second off the pace of Pole man Marquez. Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) ended the day in 17th, ahead of Irishman Eugene Laverty (Aspar MotoGP Team) in 18th.

               

Karel Abraham’s replacement in the AB Motoracing Team, Anthony West, was 24th fastest. Damian Cudlin (E-Motion IodaRacing Team), who is substituting for the injured Alex De Angelis, was in 25th.

Check out the combined times from FP1 & FP2; FP3 starts at 10:00 local time on Saturday in Phillip Island.

13th RALLY LEGEND 2015

Rajputana Customs: sheer passion

Watch the Vulcans unite for the first and final time

Aston Martin’s new track-only supercar has been united with its namesake, the last remaining Avro Vulcan, ahead of the retirement of the long-range bomber later this month…

The final airworthy Avro Vulcan, XH558, will be retired at the end of this month, after seven years of active flight on air displays around the UK. Too good an (marketing) opportunity to miss, Aston Martin arranged a rendezvous with its new 800HP Vulcan, the Cold War-era V-bomber's modern namesake, at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire. We do hope there's a full-length film to follow...