Münch

Friedel 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, Friedel Münch purchased the remaining stocks of motorcycles and spares, and sold his own race-tuned Horex cafe racers from his workshop in Altenstadt, Germany.

In 1966 he created the Mammut, installing an NSU 996 cc overhead camshaft, 4 cylinder automobile engine with 55 hp into a tubular loop frame of his own construction. The machine weighed a reasonable 480 lbs, with a maximum speed of 115 mph – good for the era. The front brake was a massive 10 in (250 mm) magnesium casting.

In 1968, Münch used the new 1177 cc NSU TTS car engine for a revised machine, which he called the Münch4 1200TTS. The new engine gave 88 hp, and the machine was prone to break the heavy-duty spokes on the rear wheel, so Münch developed a unique and much stronger cast magnesium rear wheel, while retaining a spoked wire wheel up front. The fuel tank and side panels were made of hand-hammered aluminum, while the seat, headlamp binnacle, wheels and brakes were magnesium. Despite the extensive use of lightweight materials, the Mammut weighed 650 lbs. American motorcycle entrepreneur Floyd Clymer invested in the Münch brand from 1968, marketing the bike in US as Clymer-Münch Mammoth IV with the slogan "Built up to a standard, not down to a price". Clymer died before serious production could commence.

The Münch, being a hand-built machine, was always expensive, and in 1969 sold for $3,995, while the BMW R69S sold for $1,695. Built to order after a $1,000 initial payment, the total price included duty, excise tax and air freight to any location in the United States.

The 1200TTS model was originally fitted with a pair of Weber 40DCOE carburetors, but by 1973 Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection was available (designated Model 1200 TTS-E – Einspritzer – the German word for injection), which gave 100 hp.