1954 ZÜNDAPP KM 50 COMBINETTE 408

The smallest vehicle in our Museum, this moped was manufactured in Munich by the German Zündapp company, which offered the widest range of any motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. A moped is actually a motor-bicycle with an engine attached to the pedals.

Established in 1917 by Dr. Fritz Neumayer and Friedrich Krupp to manufacture tools of war, Zündapp was then transformed to a motorcycle factory owned by Neumayer alone.

In the early 1950s, Zündapp developed an engine connected to bicycle pedals, hung on the frame (the “clip-on-engine”), so introducing the 2.92 cu.in. Combimot in 1952 and Combinette Moped in 1954. The Combinette is a Moped capable of up to

32 mph, weighing only 72 lbs with its single-cylinder 2.99 cu.in. 1.5 bhp engine. This 1954 model in the Museum comes from the first year of production, and the model remained in production until 1968, with the bicycle removed.

In 1950, when German markets were not growing, Zündapp’s exports soared. The popularity of scooters such as the Vespa in Italy drew the company’s attention and a similar design called the “Bella” became the first German scooter in 1953. The Bella became the most successful Zündapp product, and offered 9 and 12 cu.in. engines. In 1960, 3, 4.5 and 6 cu.in. models showed noteworthy performance. At Monza in 1965 a 3 cu.in. Zündapp with a streamlined fairing achieved 100 mph; the water-cooled 4.8 cu.in. model introduced in 1981 became the world champion in 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Brand used by German Army during World War II.