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The schedule for my 3 week visit to Germany was looking
pretty tight, but with a little reshuffling and trimming, its amazing how one
can find some time for R & R, especially when its Indian motorcycle related.
I contacted Wolfgang Schalte, the president of the Indian Club of Germany, who
indicated that although he wasn’t going to be in Frankfurt at the time of my
visit, I should contact Uwe Illgner and arrange a meeting.
After a phone conversation with my German friend Thomas, a time was set for us
to drive one evening to Friedberg where Uwe lived. The drive from where we were
living in Oberusel to Uwe was a quick (we were in a Z3 BMW) 30 minutes and as we
traveled I began to increasingly realize that this small area near Frankfurt was
of significance with respect to German motorcycling history. Thomas’s neighbor
for example had loaned me a book on the history of Horex and I was surprised to
find out that the factory was based in Bad Homberg right next to the village in
which I was living, For those who aren’t aware, Horex
produced some wonderful bikes over a period of about 70 years reaching a
technological peak in the early ‘50s with 350 and 500 singles and twins which
excelled on the road and race track. Interesting, but what has this got to do
with Indian you ask? Well, one chap who did tune and race Horex bikes was Friedl
Munch. By the early and mid ‘60s, Friedl had established a small engineering
business which manufactured brake units for competition machines, but in his
spare time Munch put his effort into the design and construction of racing
engines. A year or two later, he stunned the world by creating reputedly the
world’s first genuine superbike….the Mammoth
Munch. This bike rolled out of a small workshop situated in of all places…Friedberg,
the small town to which Thomas and I were now headed at a great rate of knots!.
The story however continues. In the late ‘60s, Friedl signed a partnership
deal with a wealthy American publisher, this was none other than Floyd Clymer
who was once racer for the Indian factory team. One of Clymer’s dreams was to
see the name Indian back on the top of the heap in the motorcycle world and he
hoped Munch may be able to design the v-twin engine needed to do the job. The
engine was indeed produced as a prototype, but as history indicates technical
difficulties and the overwhelming rise to prominence of Japanese manufacturers
meant the blueprints were destined for the bin. Clymer and Munch turned their
attention to the development of a GP engine.
 When
we first arrived at Uwe’s house, I noticed a red 47 Chief and chair parked out
the back. Uwe appeared and told us he had bought the unit in Turkey (I think)
and uses it as his everyday transport. We were then ushered down the stairs to
the basement which had been subdivided into three rooms…..each with floor to
wall shelves, loaded with spares for Harleys and Indians and most from the 1950s
or earlier….talk about kids in the candy store! Above one of the doors,
numerous number plates from exotic places, all removed from bikes Uwe has
imported and then sold. The significant thing about Uwe is that he has been
going to South America for over 20 years, walking and talking to locals, to
motorcyclists, building up a network…links which are now especially strong in
Brazil and Peru. When he first started visiting these countries, old motorcycles
were two-a-penny. Many will still being used as everyday transport and showed
the effects of a long hard life and backyard repairs in which low cost and speed
are the determinants and cosmetics something talked about by other folks in
other parts of the city. Uwe showed us through his photographic collection, a
record of rides and drives into the hinterland, along highland tracks, visits to
ghettos and slums, all in search of bikes and bits of bikes of interest. As I
indicated, Uwe has a particular interest in bikes of the 1950’s and earlier
especially Harleys and Indians (although the latter are probably the most
important).
  As
we wander around the basement, its easy to see that many models of American iron
could be built up from the spares housed here, some still in original packing,
some worse for wear, advertising boards for plugs, rubber accessories, light
bulbs, all still with the original items attached. Uwe runs a spares business
from his house, the rest of his life is spent in South America chasing up leads.
We return to the apartment for a coffee and there sitting under the lounge
window, a partially restored Henderson and Uwe tells us he has enough bits to
make another; over in the corner of the lounge next to the settee - a genuine
Indian single cylinder racing engine (circa 1913). Shelves with old books and
bits and then there is the cabinet with shelves full of American (mostly Corbin)
motorcycle speedos, models representing most of the great years of American
motorcycling. Everywhere you look, something of interest catches the attention….’My
God, that’s not a ?’……’Yes, I found that in the back of a fallen over
shed in Quito about 15 years ago’….
 In
many respects, things have now changed as far as buying in South America goes.
Uwe is the first to point out that as a result of Americans in particular buying
up large, the prices have risen significantly and in many instances the locals
are now demanding unrealistic prices for their machines. This has been
compounded by the rapid rise in value of the US dollar in relation to all other
currencies and yes, even the Mark has been affected by the fattening of the
Greenback. However, to Uwe’s advantage is the fact that he has established
some very strong friendships with individuals and families in South America, he
has the respect of the locals with whom he deals and as a result often gets
access or information about collections before anyone else. He told me a story
of a recent deal he had made…..for many years, he had been visiting an old guy
who owned one of the original Harley shops in Peru. This local identity
had in effect single-handedly introduced the Milwaukee Iron to Peru, he also
undertook many exploratory adventures in South America in the 1930s. Recently
the old fellow had died, and after his death his family decided to ring Uwe in
Germany and give him first option on buying the shop. Uwe jumped at the
opportunity and by the time he had packed the container for Germany, it weighed
over 20 tons! When we arrived, he was still sorting through the treasure…..photographs
and diaries from the adventures and rides, records of numerous coups and
uprisings and how motorcycles fitted into the politics of Peru, original
publicity material from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, original manuals, factory
correspondence, spares and all the enamel advertising signs found on the outside
of the shop….the only thing missing were the walls and roof which housed
everything. It was like reliving an era, closing the page on one decade and just
opening the pages for the decade before.
 Unfortunately,
Thomas and I had to leave early next morning for a long drive to Kiel, so the
time we had with Uwe was all too short. However, it was a wonderful experience
and I thank both Wolfgang and Uwe for being such wonderful hosts. I have put the
welcome mat out for the members of the Indian Club of Germany and with a pit of
luck, we may be able to attract some of them to come to the IORNZ Rally in
2001/2….I’ll keep working on them because I figure I owe them a beer or two
after my visit to Friedberg.
Swannie
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