This video focusses on the man behind a bike from the Heavyweight champions video I will link at the end. It is a tribute to a man who followed his dream and created a lasting legacy in the Motorcycle Industry.
That man was Friedel Münch.
In the annals of motorcycle history, not many names command as much reverence and awe as that of the visionary designer and engineer Friedel Münch, Born in Dorn-Assenheim, Germany, on February 6, 1927, his name has become synonymous with audacious engineering and an unwavering pursuit of power.
Münch’s love of motorcycles led him to work with Horex motorcycles. When Horex ceased production in the late 1950s, Münch started building his own Horex-based specials.
Few machines have commanded as much reverence and intrigue as the Münch Mammut. This two-wheeled colossus, born from the genius mind of Münch, defied convention and pushed the boundaries of what was possible on two wheels.
This isn’t a story about one motorcycle though, but the story of a legend. From the original Mammut, to the Titan, right up to the culmination of his work in the Münch Mammut 2000. These bikes stand as a towering testament to Münch’s relentless quest for performance, a giant of a man who defied conventional boundaries and followed his heart.
Let us dive in to the extraordinary story of this legendary man and his motorcycles.
In The Beginning
The Münch Mammut’s origins can be traced back to the late 1940s when Friedl Münch worked as a tuner and developer at Horex.
After Horex went bankrupt, Münch bought the company along with all their tooling, and set out to create his own motorcycles using the renowned Norton Featherbed frames as a foundation.
To create the Münch Mammut he aimed to put a massive four-cylinder NSU car engine, used in the NSU Prinz, into the Norton frame.
The aims were clear. To offer ultimate power and performance in the best handling chassis of the day.
The Mammut boasted a solid, robust build quality that was hard to fault and He reinforced the chassis to withstand all the stresses of that potent engine and added a Magnesium monocoque rear subframe.
It exuded an aura of exclusivity that captivated the hearts of many. Especially those of us that obsessively played top trumps as kids.
This was a beautifully engineered motorcycle that stood way above the build quality we had been used to, but it didn’t quite fit with the images we were fed of an Austere, Communist East Germany.
Maybe it was that lack of resources that drove this man’s obsession to build the best motorcycle possible from the parts that he could already source, but some things we will never know.
The Mammut’s Place In The Market
When the Münch Mammut first burst onto the scene, it left contemporary motorcycles in the dust, outperforming them all in terms of sheer, unadulterated power. However, as the years progressed, mass-produced Japanese four-cylinder bikes like the Honda CB750 and Kawasaki Z1, began offering similar performance at a fraction of the cost.
The NSU powerplant gave the first Mammut astounding performance figures for its time. The earliest 1000cc engine produced over 70 horsepower, putting it around the power of the fabled Vincent Black Lightening.
In keeping with its hand-built nature, each Mammut featured unique details and improvements implemented by Münch and his team. No two examples were truly identical.
Fuel on the first models was supplied by 4 Weber carburetors, and the wide bore exhaust system featured a pair of low-restriction silencers that produced an unmistakable deep rumble.
The 1,000cc NSU engine was upgraded with hotter camshafts, ported heads, and a higher 10.5:1 compression ratio, boosting output to a staggering 88 hp at 6,500 rpm by 1968, and when displacement had grown to around 1200cc in the Mammut TTS 1200 model that figure was even more.
Constant Development
Later iterations, equipped with fuel injection, developed in collaboration with Kugelfischer, pushed power up to 100 horsepower by 1980, making it even more powerful than the equally legendary Laverda Jota of the time, which was hailed as the fastest motorcycle of its day.
But the Mammut’s unique features didn’t stop there. Münch had designed brakes for the best race bikes of the day and the drum brakes on the early Mammut were a marvel of engineering.
He developed his own duplex drum brake system with a twin, 250mm diameter, 45mm wide leading shoe arrangement, providing better stopping power than anything else available.
Early reports stated that the original bike was so powerful it tore the spokes from the wheels. So Münch designed a revolutionary cast magnesium rear wheel with flat spokes. The cast unit integrated another massive drum brake and marked one of the first uses of a cast wheel on a production motorcycle. He even built one for the front eventually.
The design helped to reduce weight, improved heat dissipation in the brake and also added visual flair. It became one of the many signature Mammut design elements.
Weight reduction was a key focus, with components like the swingarm, fork legs, and engine cases also cast from an electron-beam melted magnesium alloy used in aircraft construction. This lightweight yet strong material helped offset the engine’s substantial mass. Even the seat, mudguard, headlamp bucket, and chainguard were made from magnesium.
Why Use A Car Engine?
The engine was an unconventional choice for a motorcycle, but it was over engineered and produced fantastic torque figures and Münch could see the potential for further development. He designed and fabricated many components from scratch to make the car engine usable in a motorcycle.
With a dry weight of 260 kg or 573 lbs, the Mammut was a heavyweight machine, but the handling belied its bulk, it had a well-balanced chassis and precise steering that gave riders the confidence and feedback to push the bike into corners hard. The low center of gravity also gave it composed road manners.
Vibrations were well-controlled thanks to Münch’s efforts to minimize reciprocating mass, and the enclosed chain case provided continuous lubrication and protection for the final drive chain.
The open carburetors also produced an aggressive and addictive induction snarl that just added to the visceral experience.
With its high-set seat and wide fuel tank, the Mammut offered an upright and commanding riding position that provided an excellent view of the road ahead. This was great for taller riders, but could be a challenge for shorter riders who wanted to plant both feet firmly on the ground.
As a hand-built, limited-production motorcycle, the Mammut occupied a unique niche in the market, with few direct competitors that could match its bespoke engineering and performance.
Compared to larger-scale manufacturers, the Mammut’s price was higher, but that was down to its meticulous and labour-intensive construction, What it offered was exclusivity and individualization in a way that mass-produced bikes just couldn’t.
Production figures were modest and the company was plagued by financial woes. Around 30 units had been built by 1968, and by 1980 a total of 478 Mammut motorcycles were on the register when Münch’s original company ceased operations.
A New Era
But that wasnt the end.
Münch had retained much of the tooling and his obsession would continue. In 1987 he released a new series of bikes under the original Horex banner that he still owned, and the Titan was born. Capacity was increased to 1400cc and a turbocharger added. This pushed power up to 143 Horsepower on the original, but capacity was increased from 1400 to 1600, before an 1800cc and even a 2000cc engine block were used, but details and specs are sparse.
The ownership history does seem very complex and a little vague after that, but by 1997 the Mammut name was owned by Thomas Petsch, a mechanical engineer from Wurzberg in Thuringia.
He partnered with the ageing Friedel Münch to create an all new Münch Mammut 2000 Superbike.
While the Münch Mammut 2000 stands as a singular masterpiece, its legacy is intertwined with the brand’s rich history.
From the original Mammut of the late 1960s, powered by a car engine and lauded as the largest, heaviest, and fastest production bike of its time, to the fuel-injected Mammut of 1973 and the subsequent Titan series, Münch has consistently raised the bar for performance and engineering excellence.
To fully appreciate the Münch Mammut 2000, you have to delve into the details.
The Cosworth developed, 1,998cc, four-stroke, turbocharged, transverse four, was a liquid cooled, 16-valve engine with a square Bore x Stroke ratio and up to 13 psi of boost pressure from the Turbo.
The result?
The Most Brutal Muscle Bike Ever Built
A colossal 295 Nm or 217 ftlbs of torque at 3,500 rpm and a peak power output of 260 horsepower at 5,650 rpm, These were figures that could only be dreamed of in the year 2000 and would make even the most seasoned riders tremble.
Münch’s love of magnesium was carried forward and complemented by a carbon fiber fuel tank and bodywork, and it gave the bike a purposeful, aggressive stance.
All these touches tried to make what would inevitably be a heavy bike, as light as possible.
At the front, Ohlins, 43mm diameter forks with 120mm of wheel travel were adjustable for preload, as well as rebound, and compression damping. On the rear dual WP horizontal units, were used with all the same adjustments.
This top grade suspension allowed riders to dial in the bike’s handling characteristics to suit their own needs and Stopping power was equally staggering. At the front you got impressive twin 320mm discs with 8-piston calipers, a whole 23 years before Brembo built them. At the rear a 4 piston caliper operated on a single 280mm disc to finish off the job.
Wheelbase was 1,540mm or 60.6 inches and Seat Height was more than manageable at just 780mm or 30.7 inches.
A 6 speed gearbox with chain final drive took care of getting power to the wheels, and it carried 26.5 litres or 7.0 US gallons of fuel, but to clarify, that is just under 6 of our UK gallons. Nevertheless, that gave it a decent range.
With a jaw dropping dry weight of 354 kilograms or 780 pounds, the Mammut 2000 is a true heavyweight, but, it was carefully engineered, with every component meticulously designed to harness that immense power in a manageable package.
The bike’s aerodynamic but minimal bodywork gave a comfortable ride, even at its electronically limited top speed of 156 mph or 250 km/h. That speed is reached in top gear at just 5650rpm, but the engine will rev up to 8500rpm, that could equate to a real top speed in the region of 170mph without restrictions.
The brochure simply listed the acceleration as “sufficient”.
Groundbreaking Design
It also had a Digital Control System, which allowed riders to adjust the footrests and hand levers to get perfect, personalised ergonomic settings, and then bear in mind again that this was in the year 2000.
Perhaps the most impressive technological feat was the bike’s ability to connect to the internet via a diagnostic plug and a special adapter. This allowed the factory technicians to remotely access and analyse the onboard computer, monitoring crucial functions and making necessary adjustments to ensure the best possible performance.
Now that might not sound so impressive now, but this was almost 25 years ago.
Competitors like the Suzuki Hayabusa and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R, while formidable in their own right, pale in comparison to the Mammut 2000’s colossal proportions and raw power. Only the H2R could sit alongside this animal of a bike.
It is a motorcycle that is not for the faint of heart. But a statement piece for those who demand the ultimate in power and engineering excellence, regardless of the compromises that may entail.
It was the last bike to carry the legendary name of Friedel Münch and was testament to his unwavering belief that “nothing is impossible,”.
Sadly only 15 were ever built before the demise of the company in 2002.
The Death Of An Icon
On an even more sombre note.
On the 26th of April 2014, Friedel Münch, the creative engineering genius behind the iconic and evocative Münch Mammut, passed away.
However, his legacy is assured and the engineering masterpieces that were his passion, stand out in the history of motorcycles, a demonstration of the boundless potential of human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of a dream.
Well thats it for today folks.
