Audi Motorcycles?

[Mike Arman]

> 
>JOOC, did Audi itself ever make motorcycles? (I know that NSU and other
parts of 
>what is now Audi did.) 
> 
> 
> 
> --William Safford


Not precisely. NSU did build a whole slew of bikes of different sizes, from
miserable little 50cc mopeds to some amazing GP bikes with full "dustbin"
fairings which enclosed the whole front of the race bike, and promptly got
outlawed for being too fast (sound familiar?)

Progress through engineering, regression through legislation . . .

To answer the question more directly, the company we know as "Audi" didn't
build bikes, but if you regard the NSU Prinz as an Audi ancestor, the
answer is hell yes - that engine went into the Munch Mammoth in the late
60s and early 70s. When the Mammoth burst onto the motorcycle scene in
1965-66-67, everything that came before paled into insignificance.
Prototype #1 showed up at Daytona in 1966 or 1967, lapped at 175 mph, but
didn't race because there were no rear tires in existence at the time that
could handle this kind of weight and horsepower (almost 500 lbs, over 100
hp). There are faster bikes nowadays, but remember this was thirty years
ago. Kind of like showing up for a WW-I dogfight in an F-16.

Serial #24, a 1968 Mammoth TT/1000 is sitting in my garage, awaiting
restoration. It's the next project after I finish my airplane . . .

Best Regards,

Mike Arman