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Killinger-Freund art deco bike

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25K views 24 replies 18 participants last post by  47knucklehead  
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#1 ·
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#4 ·
Re: vintage pics o' the day

Aha I googled the gnome rhone but it was to no avail. I tried the Art deco bike and found the info.
It was a prototype by KILLINGER and FREUND with an engine in the front wheel.

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Quite interesting. looks like theres sod all of them in existence.
I get the impression theres only one or 2 or something. duno
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#11 ·
Re: vintage pics o' the day

The pix of it sitting with no wheels on it are from the Oley, PA, AMCA event a few years back. A member named Harry Buck had the bike for a long time. It was discovered back in the 60's in a Philadelphia womens basement. There was a ton of paper work that went with it, with all of it's history. Her father brought it over from Germany. He was involved with the project from the beginning. It was after he passed that she sold it. The only thing missing was the rear wheel. (I know the person that has that wheel and won't part with it.) Harry sold the bike to some men from Germany. They know what they have and their plans were to restore it as it was in the Munich bike show back in 1938, I believe?

I begged Harry for that bike for years. Nothing, then he took it to Oley and sold it off. I was mad that I wasn't there for that. It is an amazing piece of engineering and has a documented history.

So not to worry, it's accounted for and in safe hands.
Zilla!

horror said:
Aha I googled the gnome rhone but it was to no avail. I tried the Art deco bike and found the info.
It was a prototype by KILLINGER and FREUND with an engine in the front wheel.

Image


Quite interesting. looks like theres sod all of them in existence.
I get the impression theres only one or 2 or something. duno
Image


Image
Click to expand...
 
#7 ·
Re: vintage pics o' the day

I'm glad you posted the pic. now i'm obsessed by it.
why has no one tracked this thing down?
Looks like theres only one in existence and nobody nows its whereabouts,

The more recent pictures remind me of an alien that has been found and disected to study its alien tecnology.

I hope it has not been trashed. oh well i suppose its a one off like any other custom made one off ay
 
#15 ·
1935 Killinger und Freund?

I saw this on http://www.bikeexif.com/, anyone ever see anything like it before?

This is one of the most unusual motorcycles I've seen in a long time: it's a 'Killinger und Freund' built in 1935 in Munich, Germany. The art deco styling is obviously eye-catching, but it's hiding something even more interesting: this machine has a driven front wheel, like the Rokon. And underneath that huge front fender is the engine itself. The motor is a sizeable 600 cc two-stroke triple-or perhaps three one-cylinder engines joined together. Yet the bike was reportedly very light, at just 135 kg. There's obviously a story behind this picture too: is the soldier an American who found the bike in the dying days of the war, and posed for a picture taken by a colleague? The Allies rolled into Munich on 30 April 1945, and Wikipedia reports "One motorcycle was discovered by the US Army in the spring of 1945 at a German military installation, but it is not known if this was the original prototype or another Killinger und Freund Motorrad.

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