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In years past, there was a distinct lack of useful Zundapp KS601 info on the web. That
situation has now changed to, perhaps, a surplus. I say surplus because so many of the
sites simply don't add much to the body of useful knowledge. Below, I attempt to present
some of the more valuable links that I have found, and skip the ones that are just noise.
Jump to the following sections:
Current parts sources
Other somewhat related sources
Zundapp clubs
If you find any of these links broken please let me know at
mechanique at wmol dot com.
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Zundapp KS601 Sources Past
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I've left three of the old suppliers who are no longer out there - Domi, Ropeid, and
now, sadly, James Marshall - because I just can't bring myself to take them off the
list. Consider their inclusion here to serve as a bit of a shrine or memorial to them,
early carriers of the Zundapp KS601 torch, gone, but not forgotten. You can use the
links directly above to jump to current sources.
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Domi Racer Distributors, Inc.
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Alas, no longer with us, but
preserved here for posterity.
Website: www.domiracer.com
Email: domiracer@fuse.net
©Domi Racer Distributors, Inc.
P.O. Box 30439
Cincinnati, Ohio 45230
Phone: 513.871.1678
Fax: 513.871.6684
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Domi Racer, and their retail subsidiary Accessory Mart, were without question the premier
source for Zundapp KS601 parts in the USA back in the 80's. They may have had the best stash
of KS601 parts and complete bikes in the world, with amazingly reasonable prices.
The Accessory Mart vintage parts catalogs were unique in that they were not successive updates
but, rather, they acted as a contiguous catalog with the items and information of each new
release complimenting those before it. If you can find old copies they are still a valuable
source of info. #2 has Zundapp frame dimensions and #4 featured the KS601.
As useful as the catalogs were, the price list was, well, priceless. Catalogs were not updated
very often nor were they anywhere near an exhaustive list of Domi's stock, but the price list
had everything.
In the price list was row upon row of tiny little part numbers with a cryptic description. Each
part number was prefixed with a letter designation, ZN in the case of Zundapp. Domi always tried
to duplicate the OEM part numbers, so you could generally correlate their stock with the Zundapp
KS601 parts list, but you had to work for the information.
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Torstein Ropeid
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Like Domi Racer, gone
but not forgotten.
Email: ks601@hotmail.com
PO Box 252
Danville, WA 99121-0252
Note: I've been told Torstein
moved back to Europe.
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Torstein did not have a website but Torstein did have a shit load of Zundapp KS601 parts
and was the ever flowing font of info. After Accessory Mart, he was the first consistent
source of KS601 parts that I dealt with. He knew all there was to know about the breed and
was more than happy to share. He could provide very detailed info on your bike from the frame
and engine serial numbers.
One of the best sources for KS601 parts and info on the North American continent and eager to
help, Torstein is sorely missed by everyone who dealt with him. He actually lived in Vancouver,
Canada, but hustled his parts across the border to avoid the tariffs. The last I heard he moved
back to Europe, I vaguely recall for medical reasons, his wife being ill or something of that
nature.
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James Marshall - The Zundapp Fool
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Website:
www.zundappfool.com
Email:
n2deep@zundappfool.com
©Zundapp Fool
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Well, I thought this would be the first currently active Zundapp KS601 resource, but I
visited the website and found that James is hanging up his spurs. Understandable, but
very unfortunate for us Zundappers.
James Marshall, AKA the Zundapp Fool, was hands down the best US based Zundapp KS601 parts
source after Domi Racer closed. His Bone Yard pages presented an ever changing selection
of used KS601 and 600 parts as well as parts for a few other European bikes such as BMW
and DKW. He was also instrumental in the success of the first and second (and, sadly, last
- at least so far) North American Zundapp Rally held in Spring Valley, Ohio in September
2013 and 2014.
James was much more than a mere parts resource. His website offered a goldmine of
service info. In addition to various pdf's of original service bulletins, James had the
only KS601 engine and transmission overhaul instructions that I know of, and then took
it upon himself to have them translated from German to English and posted on his website.
The equipment used is a bit crude, but the information was priceless, taking you on a
complete rebuild of the engine and tranny. There were numerous pictures to support the
text and drawings with dimensions for various fixtures and tools used in the overhaul
process. Unequaled. He also had a variety of technical bulletins covering such things
as suspension, final drive, adjustment of the KS600 and KS601 cam timing - this last
translated from German to English - and other treasures of that ilk.
James took me under his wing at the Zundapp rally while I was searching for some difficult
to identify parts for my KS601 on a very limited semi-retirement budget. Quite a guy. He
will be badly missed.
His website is currently offering parts at fire sale prices, although he is down to the
dregs at this point. Also, he mentions that the website is for sale. It is therefore
possible that the information he has posted there will continue to be available.
Meanwhile, I would suggest that you visit the site and download some of the info that may
or may not be there in the future. A good place to start would be the
Tech & History Stuff
page. You need to meticulously follow each link to the end. There are all kinds of things
tucked away where you would not necessarily intuitively expect to find them. The same is
true of the links on the home page. Lots of single source info that may just disappear in
the not too distant future.
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Current Zundapp KS601 Parts Sources
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Michael Aichner
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Website:
www.zuendapp-aichner.de
Email:
zuendapp.aichner@googlemail.com
©Züendapp-Aichner
Lilienweg 4
D-84163 Marklkofen
Germany
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Michael is based in the fatherland. In years past he was able to tap into a thriving
European repro market, but now he himself produces many parts for a wide range of Zundapp
models. The Zundapp KS601 is a little under-represented, probably due to its scarcity,
but he offers many new production parts for the KS600 which interchange with the 601;
rocker arms, cam gears, cylinders and pistons, transmission shift dogs, kick starter
stanchions/bearings, internal sprockets, chains... to name just a few.
Of great interest to me is that he rebuilds crankshafts and retrofits them with plain
shell bearings instead of the needle bearings. I believe this requires a higher
volume oil pump which he also supplied in the past, although I couldn't find one on his
site when I last visited. It appears he is still offering this service. This one
modification, along with a new set of cam drive gears, could take your KS601 from a
show piece to a daily rider if your bottom end is a little loose and/or Novatex cam gear
showing wear. Invaluable.
I dealt with Michael before he established his present clearly commercial operation and
found his English was quite good in emails. The hurdles with German part names, etc.,
have become much easier to deal with now that internet translators and Chrome's instant
page translation are available. Earlier, he preferred cash in Euro's which was a bit of
a hassle, but you can muck along and I suspect he now, since having established an
actual business, accepts credit cards.
Michael Aichner is the number one most important supplier of critical Zundapp engine
and driveline parts available anywhere to my knowledge, with the possible exception of...
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Wolfgang Bernhard's Motorrad-Oldtimer
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Website:
http://historic-krad.de/
Email:
wolfgang-bernhard@arcor.de
©Motorrad-Oldtimer
Ludwigstrasse 20
64521 Groß-Gerau
Germany
Phone: 0049.0.6152.84337
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I deduce that there may have been a handing over of the torch with Wolfgang because, beyond
the website moving from its original domain, I see reference to a J. Bernhard now, but email
is still apparently going to Wolfgang.
Regardless of any of that, this site offers the most complete selection of original Zundapp
KS601 parts of any source, period. What they list in stock is nearly unbelievable. It's
as though Zundapp were still a going concern and you are simply dealing with the parts
counter. They use original Zundapp KS601 part numbers so you can easily correlate their
stuff with the factory parts list.
Prices are in Euros and range from damned cheap to a tad pricey, the latter generally
for high attrition items like clutch and brake levers, fenders, etc. That's pretty much
par for the course on stuff that hasn't been made for 60 years and was poised to suffer
damage in any kind of lay down. Not to dis Bing Agency, but this site is the place to buy
carb parts if they have what you need. You will save a pile of money, depending on
shipping.
Wofgang's English is very good and you will have no trouble communicating.
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Spare Parts Service Hans-Peter Hommes
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Website:
www.zuendapp-ks600.de
©Spare Parts Service, Hans-Peter Hommes
Website:
www.wehrmachtsgespann.de
Email:
hphommes@aol.com
©Spare Parts Service, Hans-Peter Hommes
Ersatzteil-Dienst
Hans-Peter Hommes GmbH
D-41748 Viersen, Tiefenstraße 10
Deutschland
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I list these two together because they are inter-related sites, both run by Hans-Peter
Hommes out of Germany.
The first, clearly, is dedicated to the Zundapp KS600 and, as such, has much in the way
of parts and info which apply also to the KS601.
I include the second because it is
deeply intertwined with the first, meaning the various links on both jump back and forth
between them, so you may as well get a bit of an introduction since you will be seeing a
lot of it. Also, despite its focus being on the Zundapp KS750 and BMW R75, it offers some
interesting background that pertains to Zundapps in general and also some other stuff
which, while irrelevant to Zundapp, is interesting anyhow.
The KS600 site offers an impressive range of new manufacture parts including flywheels,
cams, final drive gearing, and plain shell bearings, the latter for both the KS600 and
KS601. That's getting to be a popular and very practical modification.
I have not bought anything from these folks, but they look like another very good resource
to keep our Zundapp KS601's going for many years particularly since they are offering
new current manufacture parts.
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Bing Agency International
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Website:
http://www.bingcarburetor.com
Email:
bing@bingcarburetor.com
1704 South 525 Road
Council Grove, KS 66846
Order Line: 800-309-2464
Technical Assistance: 620-767-7844
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This is Bing Carburetor's presence for the America's and Australia. In addition to selling
genuine Bing factory parts they offer troubleshooting assistance and have a repair shop that
will do anything up to a full rebuild of your carb.
Our Type 119 carbs are not directly referenced on the website, but they will send you the
parts list on request, or you can
click here to view
a .pdf of same. Bing also has a data sheet providing initial settings for a variety
of applications including our Zundapps. As far as I can tell the only parts that are no
longer available for Zundapp KS601 are the carb bodies.
There are other sources where you can pick up this or that part for a little less money, but
I don't know of anywhere else you can do one stop shopping for everything you need. Plus,
these are extremely helpful folks, very easy to deal with and quick to respond.
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Overlander Equipment - Australia
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Website:
http://dropbears.com/overlander
©Overlander Equipment
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These guys advertise some pretty useful capabilities for old bike restoration; gear and
spline cutting and heat treating among them. But probably of greatest interest to most of
us are the stainless steel reproduction exhaust systems they build for the Zundapp KS601,
both the Kardan and Elastic. They're a little on the pricey end of the spectrum but the
mufflers appear identical to the originals, and it's very unlikely they'll ever need
replacement.
Oddly, they do not actually have links on their site to the items they produce, so
follow this one to
the page listing the various stainless exhaust systems for European motorcycles, the
Zundapp KS601 and Bella among them.
I have found Aussies to be extremely pleasant to deal with. Mail is very reliable, there's
no language problem, and the exchange rate is generally quite favorable, similar to that
with Canada.
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Vintage German Motorcycles
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Website:
Vintage German Motorcycles
Email:
mike@vintagegermanmotorcycles.com
©Vintage German Motorcycles
Vintage German Motorcycles
Mike Dunn
9011 Kara Cir
Riverside CA 92508 - USA
Phone: 909.644.2556
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The primary focus of Vintage German Motorcycles is stated as providing restored and
un-restored German motorcycles from 1930-1945. The owner, Mike Dunn, apparently travels
to Germany and buys bikes in person.
I include him here because I have seen a couple of references to folks buying KS601
parts from him, and he advertises on his site that he can probably source any Zundapp
part, although he does not actually have a parts page. He generally has a number of
Zundapp bikes for sale, occasionally post WWII, so I infer the 1945 cut-off date is
not an absolute.
He also lists a number of interesting looking links, so a visit to the website is
probably worthwhile for that alone.
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Other Zundapp KS601 Related Sources
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Tonny Wildeman's Zundapp Site - Netherlands
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Website:
www.wildeman-zundapp.nl
Email:
tonny@wildeman.nl
©Tonny Wildeman
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An interesting and somewhat peculiar site, not heavily oriented toward the Zundapp KS601
but sufficiently so to make it worth a visit. This site is primarily focused on Zundapp
history and a wide variety of documentation such as service and sales literature spanning
from Zundapp motorcycles to boat motors, etc.
This is one of those sites you where you just need to follow every link to ferret out the
piles of info. There are many interesting links, including numerous period pictures of the
Zundapp factories and related, among them founder of Zundapp-Werke, Dr. Hc. Fritz Neumeyer,
and a bunch of other disturbingly strange looking dudes who served as director at one time
or another.
Be sure to click on his
Interessant Links which has a number of potential parts sources. The language is Dutch
and the focus is blurry as regards Zundapp KS601, but you glean info and parts where you
can. This looks like a pretty decent source.
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Zundapps.com - US
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Website:
www.zundapps.com
©Michael Keefe
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This is a very interesting site, although it does not have one word regarding the
Zundapp KS601. Lots of KS600 stuff, though, and a ton of interesting literature
relating to Zundapps spanning the years 1930 thru 1945.
The site is the work of Michael Keefe and Mike Dunn, the latter of Vintage German Motorcycles,
above. It takes license to appoint Dunn "the most respected restorer of WWII
German motorcycles in the United States." Not sure about that, particularly
in light of him having been in business since only around 2008, but it is clear
he has a genuine passion for the pre WWII Zundapps.
A very nicely done site and well worth the visit.
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www.kastenrahmen.de - Germany
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Website:
www.kastenrahmen.de
©kastenrahmen.de
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Another super interesting site with absolutely no mention of the Zundapp KS601. Extensive
info on the K and KS500, KS600, and KS800 however. Also, many apparently WWII era pictures
with the primary focus on the KS600, including some shots of an engine overhaul.
Very much worth the visit.
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Meisterdinger.de - Germany
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Website:
http://meisterdinger.de
©meisterdinger.de
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This site features information on a number of older motorcycles with the emphasis apparently
on those produced in Germany. Very interesting for those alone, but also a decent section on
Zundapp, including a brief history and a number of pictures and varied information on many
models, including the KS600 and KS601.
It can be a little difficult to move around the site and locate all the info so you will
want to refer to their
site map
to make sure you get into all the little nooks and crannies.
Again, definitely worth the visit.
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Old Timers Picture Gallery - Russia
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Website:
www.autogallery.org.ru/zuendapp.htm
Email:
ab@iki.rssi.ru
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This is not a particularly informative site, but it's got a lot of cool pictures of Zundapp
motorcycles. Unfortunately there are no KS601's, but oh well. Actually, this site has lots
(lots) of cool pictures of an impressively large percentage of all the older European vehicles
ever manufactured as far as I can tell. Andrei has done an incredible job of gathering and
posting a shit load of images.
Be warned there is a generally a political message on the home page that may offend a the
more sensitive American visitor. Andrei may sound like he hates Americans but he explained
to me that, like so many Russians, he loves Americans, but he does not love our government.
He lived in the US and has many friends in this country. He said that Russians want to be
very like us - blue jeans and automobiles - but they don't want the finance capitalism forced
on them and NATO steadily encroaching on their borders.
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Zundapp KS601 Clubs
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Zundapp KS601 Club - Germany
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Website:
ww.zuendapp-ks601-club.de
Email:
k.behrens.s.lange@t-online.de
©Zundapp KS601 Club
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A club dedicated to our Zundapp KS601's!! And a very interesting site. This represents
the best compilation of information specific to the KS601 that I've found on the
internet.
Under the Zündapp menu item at the top of the page is a very detailed chronological
Zundapp history (although it somehow manages to skip right over the birth of the KS601).
There is a history more relevant to the KS601 under the following link.
Also, the links page is definitely worth a visit. A number of interesting websites
with lots of info which I will not duplicate here. Follow the links.
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Zundapp Veteranen Club - Netherlands
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Website:
www.zundappveteranenclub.nl
Email:
info@zundappveteranenclub.nl
©Zundapp Veteranen Club
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This is a nicely put together site which, unfortunately, offers very little info on the
Zundapp KS601. The emphasis is on the smaller Zundapp bikes and scooters, but there is a
lengthy page of links you can access from Zundapp Portal on the top menu bar. Most pertain
to the smaller bikes but there are some gems hidden amongst them.
The site also provides what amounts to a brief virtual tour of a museum in the Netherlands,
displaying a range of Zundapp bikes. There is also a section where Zundapp related items are
for sale and lots of pictures scattered throughout.
All in all, a little thin on KS601 info, but worth the visit for the many pictures and the
few semi-pertinent links. Also, the home of Leon Vlasveld who visited us at the second (and,
sadly, last) Spring Valley Zundapp meet and gave a wonderful presentation on Zundapp history.
With the assistance of Ron Kros, Leon has written a book on that topic but, unfortunately,
it is still only available in Dutch. Might be worth it for the pictures alone.
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Zundapp Club - Germany
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Website:
www.zuendapp-club.de
Email:
JanPetersohn@aol.com
©Zundapp Club - Germany
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This website is clearly associated with Hans-Peter Hommes' Spare Parts Service which is
referenced above, under Parts Sources. Like its sister sites, this one claims to be the
original Zundapp web presence and I can attest to its having been around as long as I've
been interested in KS601's, so who knows.
This site presents a different range of info than the other two although, as usual, not
very much specific to the Zundapp KS601. Also, some good links. Worth the visit.
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Svenska Zundapp Klubben - Sweden
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Website:
www.s-z-k.com/
Email:
s-z-k@telia.com
©Svenska Zundapp Klubben
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I include this site primarily because it is Swedish. So am I. Beyond that, however, they
do have a very nicely put together website with a fair amount of information, including
a forum and lots of pictures. Unfortunately it is nearly exclusively in Swedish so its
usefulness is somewhat limited here in the US.
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