With that “I coulda had a BMW” thing straightened out, the next obvious question is “Okay then, what is a KS 601?” Well laddies and lassies, it’s a 597cc 28hp flat twin with an extreme amount of similarities to a contemporary Bimmer with a couple of obvious design differences like a telescoping front end to BMW’s Earles fork, and, ah, well, some other slight noticeable differences that allude me right now. Hey, it’s a jauntier color than BMW’s black and white paintjobs and maybe with a little less heavy-handed styling. But you’re right about one thing, it does look like the more well-known BMW.

  This particular model was made from 1950 to 1957 and owners claim it was the better and more durable bike of the two brands. Sounds like the old Indian/Harley “Which is better?” discussions. Unfortunately it will never be solved as Zündapp went belly-up in 1984 after humiliatingly being reduced to manufacturing mopeds and scooters. As a little memento to what might have been had things gone just a little differently, be sure to check out this lovely video of a guy cruising along blissfully on his manly Zündapp KS 601 like it was 1955 all over again.