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 Amazonas AME - 1600
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Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
2715

Capacity : 1600
Model :
Production : 1978 - 1982
Category : (R) Street Bike

AME

1600 Amazonas -1982

An excess of excess

When a Brazilian constructor makes a motorcycle to match the scale of his huge country, the result is likely to be a monster. The 1600 Amazonas, built by Amazonas Motocicletas Especiais of Sao Paolo, is one of the biggest series-built motorcycles ever.

Beetle Power

Imports are severely restricted in Brazil, a country of rampant inflation where Volkswagen has been established since 1953. AME, a division of a major automotive spare parts business based in Sao Paolo, began production with a motorcycle powered by the famed VW Beetle flat-four engine. It was an original design whose main aims were strength, reliability -and the use of the maximum number of automobile spares.

Instant Success

Car dampers, instruments, brakes, battery and lamps were all fitted in the interest of simplifying after-sales service. The unbelievable 1600 Amazonas appeared, oddly enough, at the Brazilian Automobile Show in 1978, where it proved an instant success. Even the national motorcycle highway patrol placed an order. By the early 1980s the Amazonas had been exported across the world. Built to a life-size scale and styled like a truck, the Amazonas had dubious stability, impossible braking and a reverse gear. The Amazonas were light-years away from "conventional" motorcycles. At a 1982 price equivalent to $12,000, the Amazonas was a kind of exotic Harley-Davidson, a master-piece of baroque excess.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1584cc Volkswagen air-cooled flat-four four-stroke

Power Rating: 68 hp @ 4600 rpm

Valves: overhead-camshaft

Fuel System: carburettor

Transmission: 4-speed and reverse, chain final drive

Suspension: telescopic forks (front); swing arm with twin spring/dampers (rear)

Brakes: twin discs (front); disc (rear)

Wheels: 5.00x16 inch (front & rear)

Weight: 783 lb

Maximum Speed: 93 mph

The amazing Amazonas 1600 was available in three civilian versions: "Esporte, " "Super Esporte" and "Turismo."




Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.