Zundapp KS601 Sport / R65 BMW

This KS 601 / Steib rig sold for $15000.00 at the las Vegas M.C. Auction in January. I'll venture the seller had a lot more than that invested.
This solo KS 601 recently sold for $17500.00

So a deal has been struck and my old R75/5 will be delivered tomorrow to its' new caretaker in Phoenix AZ. Below is the trade in BMW I'm taking in. The owner has sent me a list of maintenance and purchases he has done in the past year. He has quite a bit invested in the bike. I'll likely keep it around for a while and ride it. Who knows, my wife loves "blue" so maybe she'll take up riding again.(?)

The bike appears to have a few "bumps and bruises" but I think it is in over all good condition. Riding a little R65 might be fun.(?) Definitely different than all my past bikes. This is a 1982 model so will be the newest motorcycle I've ever owned.

I'm quite excited to pick up my "new" 1954 Zundapp. I've found that it is a "Sport" model which is a more desirable model. More horse power and compression. Not as many of these were built. I've been pouring over the Internet seeking information on these bikes and have found a sort of "Zundapp Underground" exists around the planet. Many parts are available and many reproduction parts are offered. The prices are somewhat extreme though. The cost to perform a full blown restoration on this bike would definitely eclipse its' actual resale value. I won't go into this project without keeping this thought in the forefront.

I love my hobby but one must keep the financial overview realistic.

There is no such thing as "one stop shopping" for Zundapp parts. I've dug up a number of sources but it took a lot of "Internet Digging" to bring them to the surface. I'm very surprised to see the prices these old bikes demand. The prices vary, but a pristine example I saw recently sold for $17.5k from one seller....another nice one with a Steib sidecar sold for $15k at the Las Vegas M.C. Auction in January. I've found another mostly complete unrestored non running one in Norway for around $14.5k. A Harley Dealer has a non running one in his personal "Museum" and he estimates the value at around $10k. Prices jump all over so it comes down to how bad the buyer wants one.

I'm thinking that original is good. These bikes are only original once so I'm going forward with that theory in mind. Unfortunately this bike has had the fenders replaced with some 60's era alloy English ones. A pair of originals are with the bike but are an ugly maroon....maybe some original paint is still living under the maroon?

I will spend my initial hours just cleaning up the bike in a careful manner to see what patina I can expose. Don't want to damage any original finish during that process, so it is a fine line. I may never get any further than just cleaning it....who knows. I just know that I want to possess it for a while....and maybe make a nice profit from selling it down the line. Someone with deeper pockets than mine may want to restore it completely.

I've found that these bikes utilize a center shock absorber between the fork tubes. My bike is missing that shock unit. I found a new one but the price is $300.00 and I'd have to bury it in the back yard for a year so it would match the bike. The same seller has an original used one for $50.00. I'll likely go that route.

I found a complete 1950's shop manual for the bike on line. The rebuild procedures are completely old school and quite interesting. Actually kind of scary....using "tin foil' for connecting rod shims.....filing down the connecting rod ends to "adjust" the connecting rods to fit the bearings. Quite interesting but spooky.

I think there is a nice original "patina" living under all the dust!