132

Subject
Farewell Speech  - the last leaflet

editor

H - P Hommes

Date

© 2015 h-p hommes

If I have a look at the statistics of my Zündapp-BMW life, a lot comes together.

In the 1980s I had approx 80-100 sidecar bikes.

Except for the twenty best ones that I still have today, all were resold.

With Zündapp and BMW I've made trips on all continents. (Except at the South Pole, there it would be too cold for me)

Six times I have frozen off my bottom in Norway in winter rides with often up to minus 30 ° C.

We curved with a BMW R75 in the Australian rain forest and out-back.

If I count all together, from Iceland to Australia, from snowy Norway to the Sahara in Africa, I'll have driven more than 150 000 kilometers on these bikes.

The time I was on the road in the last 40 years will probably amount to several years.

Only to count the twenty-six Pyrenees trips of 10 days and more, each with about 600 to 800 km:

There were approx 260 nights in a tent, or 18,000 km on the bike, a few cans of wine, a disassembled rear axle drive, a broken crankshaft, 6 foot rests, 4 brackets for ammunition boxes and 3 baggy exhaust collector.

My spare parts warehouse is now equipped with about 120 tons of spare parts, which are spread over 900 items.

Converted into bikes makes this about 285 bikes. A monthly production in the Zündapp factory in 1943. Theoretically

Since 1990 I lead the spare parts company and I am proud to have always coped well with my heavy military bike friends. Not one letter in 25 years that I have received from a lawyer.

Believe me, I'm really proud of it.

1999 I was able to do the trademark registration of the Zündapp word and logo for me.

Under this brand name we sell most of our products for Zündapp, BMW and Unimog.

Oh not to forget I wrote eight books in three languages about the Wehrmacht bikes.

Or 1,820 pages on historical facts, explained the technique, problem cases and detailed description.

In Youtube I edited approx. 70 video clips on the Wehrmacht bikes.

1,400 subscribers are waiting for new clips to come.

I have edited 132 leaflets, which are often read by many. But almost never I received a feed back or praise.

This is my last leaflet.

Not out of injured vanity but because I find no longer an issue, which I could edit.

One year before reaching retirement age, I made my dream come true.

A new hall with ample space for everything I like to have around me.

We are a family business.

My wife Connie is responsible for the bookkeeping.
My son in law Sebastian is in charge of the sales department.
My daughter Kathrin helps him.
Thomas, deals with the technique, we could not integrate him into our family.
Udo, an old friend, is the man controls the lathe.
And me? I still make myself important and criticize.

My wife calls me a workaholic
I see it differently, because I only always occupy myself with things that give me joy.
Work sounds like constraint. I never had that. I loved my job.
After all a workaholic.

Conclusion:

Now I cut back.
I command, criticize and shoo the young team only eight hours a day.
But otherwise I keep completely out of it, as I see it.. (did somebody laugh)

Today I drive less with the KS or R75.
Every year only a mere 1000 kilometers.
Today we do longer trips with our Unimog.

With the heavy military bike I've experienced everything you can experience.
Winter, off-road, travel, deserts, heat, cold, wind, rain and storm.
I do not have to prove anything anymore to myself.

Only one thing I have not experienced.
To drive with these bikes in the situation, that they were once built for.
And I am very glad that this experience has never been imposed upon me.

At the beginning the spare parts were presented out of a suitcase.

BMW R75 or Zündapp KS 750, both have their advantages

Our new home since 2015

41748 Viersen-Ummer  Tiefenstraße 10

Wir bieten an:

Ersatzteile + Zubehör + Instandsetzung
für Motor, Getriebe etc. für
BMW, Zündapp, Unimog usw