1937 Other Makes K800

192891

Clear

Offered for auction is this extremely rare 1937 Zundapp K800 4 cylinder motorcycle. These machines are among the high point in German pre-war motorcycle design. Introduced during the early years of the Depression, there were never many of these machines built as they were far too expensive for average people to purchase. Today they are judged to be one of the top 100 motorcycles designs ever produced. This particular K800 has an amazing history: During the 1930s Germany supplied war material to the Chinese for use in their battles with Japan. Motorcycles were an important contribution, and Zundapp supplied a variety of machines to the Chinese. And this Zundapp was one of the K800s supplied to China**. With the defeat of Japan, the Chinese civil war continued until the ultimate victory for the Communists. The Nationalist Chinese forces evacuated to Taiwan in 1949, and that is when it’s believed that this is K800 was moved there. Now fast forward to the early 1970s & the Vietnam war. The US had air bases in Taiwan, and a US serviceman & motorcycle enthusiast found this K800 hanging in the back of a shop. He purchased it and had it shipped home to the US at the end of his tour of duty. The original customs import document will be included with the bike, and I can email you a copy in PDF form now if you like - just ask. This K800 survived the next 50 years here in the USA before it was finally disassembled for restoration. All the bodywork was done, and the mechanical restoration was about to be started when the owner passed away. The estate of the owner sold the machine, and that is how I ultimately acquired it. I received the bike carefully packaged in a series of crates, and assembled it to take inventory of exactly what was there. I found that only a few small parts were needed to complete the machine, all of which are available in reproduction form should you wish to finish the bike immediately. The previous owner had already acquired a new reproduction exhaust system from Germany, along with many other new rubber parts. The original fenders & tank on this bike are in beautiful condition. The photos show the other parts like the footboards, foot pegs, etc. Not shown but also included are the original Noris horn & tail light (extremely difficult to find) & petcock. The original Carb cover is also there – and these covers are almost ALWAYS missing. It would seem that in its early life this K800 had a sidecar on it, because even the original sidecar mounting brackets are still there & included. The two wheels were rebuilt as part of the restoration work that was completed, and have new paint, spokes & tires. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very unmolested 75+ year old time capsule with a unique history. I’m only selling it now because I have the opportunity to get an unrestored 1973 Ducati 750 sport from a good friend, so a few machines must go. This bike is sold on a Bill of Sale only, but I can instruct the buyer in how to turn this into a Title for their State. Overseas buyers, I had luck in the past exporting another rare Zundapp to Germany as “Parts”, so you can consider this option as well. Please ask all questions before bidding. The bike must be paid for within one Week of auction end, and it must be picked up/shipped within one Month of auction end. Reserve is set to what I have in the bike, and this amount will not be disclosed. Overseas bids are welcome, but I cannot help with shipping quotes. I can build a crate at cost however if one is needed. Good luck bidding! ** See final two period photos of K800s in use with Chinese forces. On Jul-08-13 at 16:15:36 PDT, seller added the following information: Due to several requests, I tried taking a photo of the engine & trans serial numbers this evening - but it came out too dark to read. But the engine serial number is 192933, and the trans is 194560.