The Secret Of The Zundapp Citation

When is a Horex motorcycle really a Zundapp? Or, to look at it another way, when is a Zundapp really a Horex? Well, it all depends on your point of view. But what it all boils down to is the fact that the noted Zundapp Citation motorcycle of 1958 to 1960's fame was in reality a Horex Imperator twin in disguise. This is a story that involves international intrigue, high finance, technical subtleties and a least a dash of mystery. It probably won't soon be made into a TV mini-series, but you CAN read about all the juicy details right here.

The beginning act of this play is set sometime in 1957 in Germany at the headquarters of Horex Werke K.G. This family-owned manufacturer has set the world of motorcycledom on its ear with the late 1955 introduction of the Imperator 350 and 400 models. These dual-barrelled beasts are a marvel of modernity, having features years ahead of their time such as single overhead camshaft, full width alloy wheel/brake hubs, unit-construction crankcase, enclosed rear chain and wet multiplate clutch. As an aside, it is interesting to note that many of these engineering niceties are readily copied by oriental manufacturers (translation: H-O-N-D-A) and passed off as technical innovations years hence!

But all is not happy in the Hamburg home of Horex. Sales to the US of the new twins have been disappointing. And, it's not for the lack of trying. Horex has an exclusive distribution contract with the sole US agent, Foreign Motorcycles Corp. in New York. FMC has been advertising extensively. But the head Horex honchos seem to be concerned with FMC's lack of distribution muscle. The dealer network appears rather thin, and FMC looks to be diluting its leverage by also dealing in other imported brands.

There is suspicion, as well, that the engine capacity of the Imps (348 and 392 cc) is a bit small in sales appeal for American buyers who are accustomed to thinking of the 650 or 750 cc British twins as "small imports' and the humungous 1000 and 1200 cc Harley-Davidsons and Indians as real motorcycles. The cc limitation is a clever ploy to sell bikes in Germany which has government-mandated usurious insurance rates for motorcycles over 400 cc. This policy is a carry-over from the early postwar era, when European economies were supposed to focus on rebuilding war-ravaged basic industries, not consumer durables. But these subtleties generally escape appreciation by American buyers, who are not exactly turning out in droves at Horex showrooms.

The next scene of our whodunit plays out behind closed doors, and we leave it to historians to surmise the details. But the results become clear by the end of the year. Suffice it to say, that 1958 dawns with a brand-new two-wheeled import hitting the American shores. Big full-page ads from the importer, Berliner Motor Corporation, proclaim that it is "the machine you've been waiting for". Berliner's hot new offering is paraded around the press tours as the "Zundapp Citation." The name is prominently festooned on a pair of tank badges, and on a down tube data plate. But for anyone with more than a passing fancy in motorcycles continental, it is obvious that this thinly-veiled imposter is an enlarged, warmed-up Horex Imperator for the American market. Intrepid motorcycle mechanics quickly find that engine internals provide rich support for this thesis, being liberally covered with the traditional Horex-crown forging marques.

The Citation features a newly enlarged cylinder bore of 66 mm for an engine displacement of 452 cc, allowing the Madison Avenue types no doubt on retainer to Berliner to call it a full "500". The cylinder heads have been reworked for more power with enlarged ports, bigger dual carbs and a longer duration 'R-3' cam. And the lubrication system now features a paper cartridge-type element for better oil filtration.

After a slow start, sales of the Citation, (taking advantage of Berliner's expanded dealer network, distribution muscle, and advertising campaigns) begin to head in a direction more appealing to Horex headquarters back in Germany. But big trouble is brewing.

A few months after the fanfare of the Citation's introduction, FMC (remember them?) is fighting back with a little litigatory license of their own. Armed with signed copies of an document supporting their right to import the machine exclusively, they march into Federal Court in mid-1958, filing a breach-of-contract lawsuit to bring an immediate halt to sales of what is, even-to-an-untrained-eye, clearly a Horex in Zundapp's clothing. The wheels of justice grind slowly, but by early 1959 an injunction is slapped on all imports of Zundapp Citations. The initial batch of bikes has already sold out, and Berliner is allowed to sell remaining stock on hand, but that's it. In all, less than 250 bikes make their way into the garages of individual owners in the U. S.

But it's a pyrrhic victory for FMC. Horex is now stuck with warehouses in Germany full of Citations that are unsellable by Berliner in the U. S. AND unsellable in Germany because of insurance rates. The situation becomes worse when Berliner countersues, preventing Horex from exporting the Citations to FMC in an attempt to salvage some sales in the American market. And Horex, which has gone deeply into hock to finance this misadventure, suddenly faces an even greater menace. Sales worldwide slump due to a recession. Horex, now saddled with debt and unsold inventory, can go no further. In mid-1960, they file for bankruptcy.

To this day, there remain many unanswered questions. Why did Horex think they could get away with such a flimsy stratagem to skirt FMC's apparently exclusive agreement? Why did Berliner enter as a willing partner in the scheme that was certain to generate controversy at best? And why were all parties unable to come to a compromise that would have at least saved the source of machines -- and potential profits -- for all?

The lengthy passage of time eventually heals the wounds. FMC ekes out an existence for some years selling Horex parts and importing brands with forgettable names like Pannonia, Danuvia and Zanella. Berliner moves on to distribute the likes of Norton/Matchless, Ducati, Moto Guzzi. In time, saner heads prevail over the German insurance situation, rates ameliorate, and the warehoused Citations are sold off to willing German buyers. Several Horex owners clubs keep interest in the marque alive and well even to this day, aided by a few machine shops in the business of making parts.

Occasionally a scheme to revive Horex surfaces. The most notable of these is an effort by noted motorcycle magazine publisher Floyd Clymer in the mid-1960's. Clymer, flush with cash from his sale of Cycle magazine to Ziff Davis and perhaps somewhat departed from his senses, goes so far as to purchase the original tooling and, in conjunction with former chief Horex engineer Friedl Munch, builds a few prototypes of a new "Horex" under the name Indian. These are interesting machines indeed, with chassis/running gear by Tartarini and Grimeca of Italy and engine improvements that include 600 cc alloy cylinders, alternator, magnesium castings, and larger clutch. But production plans come to naught, and the effort dies with Clymer.

Today, the Horex lives on in name only, the corporate identity having been acquired by a new motorcycle manufacturer specializing in low-production domestic-only (i.e. German) cafe racers. But in mute testimony to the appeal of the Citation, it remains a much sought-after rarity by German buyers worldwide as the last and best effort from Horex.

(Important note and legal stuff: this information has been compiled from a variety of third-party sources believed to be accurate, but no assertions are made as to the validity thereof, and it is presented as dramatized entertainment only.)