Powered by a Soviet tank engine and weighing over 5 tons, the Panzerbike is by far the world’s heaviest rideable motorcycle.
The story of the world’s heaviest motorcycle can be traced back to 2003. Brothers Tilo and Wilfried Niebel of the Harzer Bike motorcycle shop in Zilly, Germany, were in Halberstadt where a former Red Army Barracks was being demolished. The two tinkerers have always been of the opinion that old materials can be repurposed, not just discarded, so they were there looking for parts to use in their custom motorcycles. While looking around, the two brothers found an impressive cutaway model of a Soviet T-55 tank engine and were so fascinated by it that they asked if they could have it. Little did they know that this would be the beginning of a very special project that would see them claim a Guinness Record and hold it for nearly two decades.
