Few may know about this motorcycle’s existence, but in the ‘60s, the Munch Mammoth was the ultimate luxury road machine on two wheels and Jay Leno just posted a new video riding and reviewing this antique beast.
Its creator, Friedel Munch, started his career as a mechanic working for Horex in the competition department. After the company ceased manufacturing in 1956, Friedel purchased the remaining stocks of bikes and spare parts and continued to provide tuned Horex cafe racers in his workshop in Altenstadt, Germany.
Serious production started in 1966 when he created the Mammoth, a big, heavy bike using a four-cylinder car engine from the NSU 996. The engine offered 55 hp and enabled the motorcycle to reach a maximum speed of 115 mph (185 km/h) which was pretty impressive for that time. Not to mention the fact it was more reliable than most of the bikes on the market.
Being hand built, the price was pretty high for the Munch Mammoth. For comparison, BMW’s top machine at the time, the R69S, was about three times cheaper.
In 1968, the bike got a 1,177 cc NSU TTS car engine which was developing 88 hp which was known to frequently break the rear wheel’s spokes. This pushed Friedel to create stronger magnesium rear wheels, while the front remained in classic wire configuration.
For that amount of money, the Mammoth was also coming with hand-hammered aluminum side panels and fuel tank, magnesium seat base, headlight binnacle, and brakes. Despite all the use of the lightweight material, the bike was still tipping the scales at 650 lb (295 kg).
Notable owners include Malcolm Forbes, 1966 BMW Club of France president Jean Murit, Elisabeth Taylor, and Jay Leno, who’ll give you a full review, history and ride impressions of the bike in the clip below. Oh, speaking of films, Gerard Depardieu rode one in the 2010 French movie “Mammuth”.
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