Can’t find a Münch to buy? You could try building one… That’s more or less what Mick King did in 1972. King, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, worked as a mechanic at an NSU dealer in the U.K. and was impressed with the Prinz 1000’s lightweight air-cooled engine. So after moving to Canada and opening his own shop, Superformance Motorcycles, King acquired a 1968 Norton Atlas frame and set to work.
The most difficult part of the build, he records, was matching the drive from the crankshaft to the Norton transmission. This resulted in the primary drive being moved from the left side to the right. The engine also received some fine-tuning and was fed by four Amal Concentric carburetors, while exhaust was handled by four Commando “peashooter” mufflers. King made his own flywheel and alternator casing, while most of the rest of the bike used Norton parts — like the Commando front end and disc brake front wheel. Mick King’s NSU-Norton is now in the Trev Deeley Collection in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Of course, if building one isn’t up your alley, you could always buy a brand new one from Münch expert Mike Kron. Already supplying parts for Münch owners, in 2005 Kron built a limited run of Series 1 Münch Mammut replicas, of which he says only 13 (plus the prototype) were made, with nine going to the U.S. And while Kron limited the Series 1 replicas to five bikes, he plans an unlimited run of Series 2 machines, with 13 sold so far. Like the original, they aren’t cheap, selling for approximately $79,500. MC
To see more from Robert Smith, read Fearsome Four Clymer-Münch Mammoth.