A Brief History of the Marque
Otto Walz (six-time German National Champion), Fritz Betzelbacker (numerous laurels including 1957 European Champion) and George Hauger were professional motocross riders. With Walz at the helm, they formed a small company to produce specialist machines using Maico and Montesa engines.
Beginning in 1961, the three men raced WaBeHa motorcycles, initially with Maico engines and then from 1964 fitted Montesa two-strokes. Walz and Betzelbacher had joined the Montesa team that year, hence the change of brand.
In the late 1960s Walz began to wind down his international racing career in order to spend more time with his business pursuits. He ceased competion riding in 1972, by which time he was the importer of Montesa and Yamaha for Germany. The following year he added BMW to his store's lineup. In 2018 he was still running Walz Motorsport, a substantial motorcycle shop in Herrenberg, Baden-Württemberg. The firm remains operational under a slightly different name - see https://w-m-h.de (2023).
Sven Helling, who owns one of these machines, writes that 5 WaBeHa-Montesa and 2 WaBeHa-Maico machines have survived of the approximately 70 motorcycles built from 1962 to 1972.
Sources: lindstrom-mx.se, ca.wikipedia.org, Klassik Motocross FB, et al
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