Zundapp KS750 Walkaround Part 1

Back in August of 2001, Kim got to experience that rare joy which most of us modelers get all too rarely. While in Ottawa, we stopped in at Vimy House, the Canadian War Museum's annex building, to see what hidden treasures might be there. At the time, Kim was working on DML's reissue of the old ESCI 1/9 scale Zundapp KS750, and was having a devil of a time getting good references. I coerced Kim into going to Vimy House, suggesting that they might have a KS750 on display that we could look at while secretly figuring that at least I would get to see everything else before she realized there wasn't a Zundapp in the collection. Lo and behold, as soon as we entered Vimy House, there was a KS750, still in original condition (nobody was more surprised than me, let me tell you). The photo above captures Kim's emotions at that moment. The docents were very good about allowing us to get up close and take plenty of photographs. We hope that these will be of help to anybody else working on the big 1/9 scale bike, or contemplating doing something silly with either Italeri's or Tamiya's 1/35 scale Zundapps.

This photo lets us view details of the front wheel and forks of the motorcycle. The licence plate is missing, perhaps "liberated" by souvenir hunters when it was captured, but the holes for the attachment points are still visible. The intricate pattern on tire sidewall can be seen; this is a different pattern from that included in the Esci/DML kit, and, indeed, is different from the rear wheel on this particular motorcycle. Details of the construction of the bike apparent, including the seam running down the front of the forks, and prominent weld seams on the inside where the lower crossbar connects the forks. There is a footrest at bottom of the fork; I am unsure of its original purpose, but it may be for an extra passenger or to help push the bike out of the mud. An electrical conduit can be seen entering the bottom of the headlight, and a screw at the bottom of the light assembly holds the headlight cover on.

The top of the forks and the handlebars can be seen in this photograph. Details of the headlight mounting bracket can be seen, as well as the holes in the headlight that allow cables to pass through. Again, prominent weld seams are visible on the forks, and seams can be seen running along the top of the forks where two pieces of stamped metal meet. Notice the embossed Zundapp insignia on the frame.

The Zundapp's instrument package (a speedometer) can be seen in the top of the headlight, with details of the front forks' suspension system visible behind that. To the lower left can be seen the connection rod for the sidecar assembly, with the gearshift levers behind the rod.

This shot gives a particularly good impression of the weld seams that along front of forks, as well as some of the dirt and grime on the bike. Details of the brake levers and handlebars can also be seen. This photograph also gives us a front view of the gearshift assembly.

This shot shows the driver's seat and gas tank assembly. Of note are the intricacies of the seat's texture, including the manufacturer's stamp on the side and the rivets these missing details would make the seat a good candidate for a resin replacement. Just in front of the seat is a small stowage bin for documents. The lock has been removed from this example. Details of the gas cap can also be seen, as can the bracket which attaches the tank to the frame.

A view towards the front of the motorcycle. The frame colour is, I believe, original Dunkelgelb. Notice the colours of engine, in particular the black inner portions of the cylinders. The six slots in the crankcase are not present in the Esci/DML kit, and would need to be added to both sides. A different variation of these is depicted in Ron Volstad's beautiful box art for the DML kit. Notice the "OZ 74" embossed in the engine block just above the oil filler plug (the large black wingnut immediately forward of the cylinder head).