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Zündapp was a famous German motorcycle brand. The company was originally founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators. In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company and two years later, he diversified into the construction of motorcycles. The company folded in 1984.

The first Zündapp motorcycle was the Z22 in 1921, the "Motorrad für Jedermann" (motorcycle for everybody), a simple and reliable design that was produced in large series. Zündapp's history of heavy motorcycles began in 1933 with the K-series. They introduced the closed engine case, a novelty at the time. (The "K" stands for "Kardanantrieb", i.e. fully suspended drive , which these models featured.) The series encompassed models from 200 to 800  ccA cubic centimetre cm is an SI derived unit of volume, equal to the volume of a cube with side length of 1 centi metre. It was the basic unit of volume of the CGS system of units. In SI units: 1 cm³ 10−6 cubic metres 1 milli litre (mL) The abbreviat displacementEngine displacement is defined as the total volume of air/fuel mixture an engine can draw in during one complete engine cycle; it is normally stated in cubic inches, cubic centimeters, or litres. In a piston engine, this is the volume that is swept as the and was a major success, increasing Zündapp's market share in Germany from 5% in 19311931 is the common year starting on Thursday. see link for calendar) Events January January 4 Female aviator Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa January 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. January 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the to 18% in 1937Events January January 1 Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua January 11 The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States. January 19 Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours,. From 1940Events January-February January 5 FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time. January 6 World War II: Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the Poznan, Warthegau. January 12 World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland. February 2 F on, Zündapp produced more than 18'000 units of the KS750, a sidecarHarley-Davidson motorcycle with sidecar A sidecar is an one-wheeled vehicle attached to the side of a motorcycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle (however, these are not called tricycles). The sidecar consists of a frame (which is rigidly fixed to the m with a driven side wheel and a locking differentialA locking differential or locker is a modified type of automotive differential. A locking differential provides increased traction compared to a standard differential. A locking differential is designed to overcome the chief limitation of a standard diffe for the German Wehrmacht.

After World War II, the company gradually shifted to producing smaller machines, for instance the "Bella" scooters. The last of the heavy motorcycles, and incidentally also one of its most famous models, was released in 1951: the KS601 (the "green elephant") with a 598 cc two cylinder engine.

From 1957 to 1958 the company also produced the Zündapp Janus microcar.

In 1958 the company moved from Nuremberg to Munich. Subsequently, the company developed several new smaller models, gave up the development of four-stroke engines and only produced two-stroke models. Initially, Zündapp scooters and mopeds sold well, but later sales declined, and in 1984, the company was bankrupt and closed.