The 2010 Diesel Motorcycle Rally in Hamm was very well attended and we were lucky enough to escape the rain which was ever threatening. My brother and I arrived at Brauhof Wilhaus about 9pm Thursday and drove straight into the courtyard where rally organiser Rafael greeted us. It was too wet then to set up the tents so we joined the other early arrivals in the warm bar before later crashing out in the barn. I must say that the atmosphere in the bar, especially when the wood burning stove is on, is most welcoming.

General rally pictures are situated towards the end of this article. Firstly, the more interesting Motorcycles...

This motorcycle caught my attention from the very start. And it was long before it was attracting the attention of most rally goers! It's a very well turned out Moto Guzzi style bike fitted with a Chinese Diesel V twin. It was a very clean build and I almost missed the intricate pulley setup that was the throttle. That in itself was a work of art and may have been necessary because governors can exert unexpected pressures on diesel throttles. If you know differently let me know. Great bike.

A right side view of the Moto Guzzi Diesel Conversion.

A left side view of the Guzzi Diesel V twin.

Intricate pulley system on the Moto Guzzi V Twin Diesel motorcycle.

It was good to see Andy (Buckles), a UK forum member turn up on his Ural/Daihatsu sidecar outfit with three other lads from the North. Andy took a trip to Dortmund in the hope of buying spare (and hopefully cheaper) tyres but when they arrived at the shop it had just closed. But he did enjoy the ride-out to the local reservoir. I told Johnny Flatau of Andy’s bike (it being similar to his) but I don’t know whether he got to see it or not. But there was a lot of interest from others who crowded around the bike and bombarded Andy with questions.

Good to see Andy (Buckles) and friends travelling over from the UK. Here we see his Ural/Daihatsu.

We were all familiar with the Diesel-Ross motorcycle built around a Diesel car engine but the last thing I expected to see was a second bike roll in. But it did and what a bike t was. Rally organiser described it correctly I think as looking more like an art form than a motorcycle, such was the finish it had to it. In-fact it was finished almost to look as if it hadn’t been finished if you know what I mean. I'm told the rear wheel drive 'box' is an off the shelf item available from agricultural dealers. Cool.

Two wheeled, rolling Art!

A right side view of the second Diesel Ross motorcycle.

The Diesel Ross engine as seen from the right and the left side rear drive.

I’ve been told in the past that Kipor produce a better clone engine than Punsun or Winsun and it was nice to finally see a machine fitted with such an engine. I heard that a container of these was confiscated and destroyed some years ago on its way into England which probably accounts for the reason they seem to be pretty scarce. Notice the exhaust flows from the back and the air goes in from the front. Isn’t this how all bikes should be?

Motorcycle fitted with a V twin Kipor clone engine.

A close-up shot of the engine. Notice the intake and exhaust's are different than a standard bike being reversed.

And here's a shot of the Kipor engines label should you be thinking of using this engine in a build of your own.

I was surprised to see a very old Diesel Enfield attend the rally which had, I’m told, been imported from Argentina. Although it now sports a rather more modern diesel engine, the owner apparently has documentary proof that this bike was originally supplied fitted with a diesel lump back in the 1930’s. It was part of a consignment of three bikes the other two of which were not oil burners.

A drive side shot of the early Argentinian Diesel import.

A right side shot of the 1930's Enfield.

Heiko Fleck was again in attendance and this time he brought along his Diesel Triumph Speed Triple as well as and electric R1. Both machines were given over to the rally goers who constantly took the bikes out for test runs. Eventually the electric bike needed a charge and a clutch spring broke on the Triumph. I was told it was still fitted with especially harder springs because it had recently been entered into hill climbing competitions - the torque delivered by the Lombardini triple being ideal for this.

Heiko's Diesel powered Triumph.

And a privately owned Diesel Triumph. This bike has no turbo (or is that a supercharger?)

By all accounts the acceleration on the electric bike was awesome but range was limited. At least one biker there said he was going to get one because he didn’t have to far to commute. See the electric R1 furher down this page under Rally Shots (well it isn't diesel powered is it?!).

I think I’m right in saying it was the first time we’d seen this Simpson based Diesel scooter at the rally. Good to see this make an appearance. It was regularly ridden up and down the access road with much vigor!

A Diesel Scooter.

A shot of the drive side of the scoot.

It was good to see that Robert had fixed up his Ruggerini powered sidecar outfit. It had previously made the trip over to the UK rally but the crankshaft had broken last year and it was looking doubtful whether it would ever thunder down the tarmac again.

Roberts repaired and reinvigorated Ruggerini. Try saying that after a few beers!

Ola was already there as well, his Farymann 250cc bike having brought him down from Scandinavia again. Ola tells us that the engine on this now iconic Rat bike may be on it’s last legs as he thinks it’s losing some compression. The problem he now faces is how build something a little more powerful but equally as unique. Perhaps a twin could be squeezed into that frame? I guess we’ll see if he does indeed try something new next year.

Ola's Classic Rat bike. But can he build a bigger, faster bike with as much character as this machine?

We again saw Andreas Loersch with his finely balanced Smart BMW and learned that he is hard at work building a machine which we are told will be more refined. I also hear that it will feature a hydrostatic drive.

Andreas Loersch displays his Smart BMW Diesel motorcycle. He may have something more refined next year.

the Kubota powered mighty Yakusch and sidecar.

GENERAL RALLY SHOTS

Early Friday, Sönke's bike, named ‘The Mule’, decided to become just as temperamental as it’s real life animal counterpart when the secondary drive sprocket came loose at the gearbox. Closer inspection revealed that the two securing Allen bolts had broken. There was talk of welding the sprocket on Indian style but I don’t think that Sonke had to resort to this drastic measure.

I thought his self drawn tank artwork was most excellent but was a little more puzzled by another contraption that accompanied his motorcycle. I was told it was a tent heater but it looked more like a cooking stove of some sort.

Sönke's excellent artwork and his bike all fixed.

Organiser Reinhard showed me some snaps of his journey across Iceland earlier this year and they were most impressive. The contrast between the rider, his bike and the desolate landscape could not have been more stark. It looked for all the world as if Reinhard had embarked upon a trip across the Moon!. The trip was done on a Honda Innova which proved to be an ideal choice. Other riders got into all sorts of difficulties, mainly it seems, because they failed to appreciate what they were getting into. Planning ahead is essential when tackling such a harsh landscape. You will not find a service station behind every volcano!

Many visitors to the rally rode in on these Honda Innova's. This bike is closely related to the mass produced classic, the C90.

After his visit to the UK rally it was good to see Teun Luigjes again with his Zeus Diesel sidecar outfit. He lost no time in giving everyone a ride out in his machine including the landlords daughter and friend. But all this use meant that the outfit needed some work later on before he set off home.

Teun Luigjes, definitley a man with a twinkle in his eye! Later that day his exhaust pipe fell off.

Someone else who had exhaust problems was young Dalton. He went for a spin with his silencer protruding from his pannier and returned with it mysteriously missing. Immediately he noticed this he became most agitated and forthrightly declared that 'shit has happened'. He lost no time in roaring off to re-trace his route in hope of finding it. I do not know if he ever did.

It was good to met Marc (@motorradblogger on Twitter) and partner after we discovered that we were both attending this event. After a few Tweets flew back and forth we met outside the bar.

The Rally T shirts positively flew from the hands of organiser Rafael this year. He had more printed up than usual, correctly I think, anticipating that demand would be high for such a well designed shirt. He was right! Wherever you looked the Piston image was emblazoned across everyones chest.

Early Friday, whilst we were all storming the boot of Rafaels Volkswagen Golf in an effort to obtain the first of the T shirts, a police car stuffed to the gills with officers slowly crawled past us on the access road. They didn't even disembark before turning around and driving away. If it's anything like in England it seems that the Police are obliged to check up on these rallys to see what they are all about. But I've never seen this the whole time I've been going to Hamm. Changing times?

Dan Jeffery stumbles upon a British built Beast planted firmly in a German field.

The Modite. I learned this year that the ‘missing’ alternator is actually inside the flywheel. It’s a stock item I’m told. I had to ask this question because I was going to attempt a bike like this at one stage. I still think it would be a good template for anyone contemplating a build.

One of my favourite Diesel Motorcycles, The Modite 1.

Some attendees are insistent that they will only power their bikes by cooking oil. This works fine while it’s warmr but this kind of untreated fuel thickens up in the cold weather. It’s also quite messy to use in its untreated state, it not having the thicker greases removed from it.

Running on cooking oil.

I sat through the opening minutes of Arno Deuker’s talk on his Salad Oil powered ride but not speaking German most of it was lost on me. I was also distracted by water lapping around my boots as the toilet had over-flowed. Landlord Willy charged by me bucket and mop in hand shouting ‘Shitezer!’. I quickly retired from the scene..

The talk by Arno Deuker gets underway.

It was good to see what looks like ever increasing competition between private concerns of Jocken Sommer, Team Vahrenkamp and the Diesel Wiesel. This can only be good for the scene and those with a keen eye on price.

Good to see companies springing up to cater for the demand in ecologically friendly motorcycles.

Mz Sidecar outfit.

For those after spares Mr Wooli didn’t disappoint. He again brought along a large supply of parts to cater for everyone’s needs and, like last year, even supplied me with some genuine Indian cigarettes which I shall pass on to some workmates of mine.

As always Mr Wooli brough along a good supply of parts for sale. Checkout the website at Wolfgang Kurock or contact him on Contact him on 04621-4478.

Here's a shot of Heiko Fleck's electric R1, a bike that got a lot of interest. Love the charge socket but surely this bike is at the wrong rally?

Dan and Willy sharing a joke over some of the in-house beer.

Jeff and Rafael chat over Sönke's bike. The weather was quite blowy Friday.

Here's a shot of the bikes lining up for the runout.

Andy waits for the runout to get underway with another Brit visitor, Bob, looking on.

Dan takes one of Heiko's diesel Triumph's for a spin up the road.

A little maintainence was in order on some bikes. I think a new kickstart rubber was fited here.

The main camping field at the rally.

The rally was probably the best attended so far despite there being little advertising of the event.

A shot taken at the bar.

I thought I'd make a concious effort to ignore the pigs this year and instead snapped the other animals :-)

Sönke's strange tent heater come bong thingy.

I saw this little scooter buzzing about the place. It was an electric Rolektro BT-250.

After Han's left from Vienna his diesel bike broke down. He arrived late and set-up his tent in a hurry - as you can see.

The heavyweight and the flyweight. My bike, the Ruggerfield and Reinhards Flitzbitz on show.

The Ronge Diesel Motorcycle.

Good to see a Norton Rotary that's not in a museum. Unfortunately it wasn't the diesel powered one we thought might show.

A classic Nimbus also made an appearance in the camping field. A lovely old bike this.

We were blessed with good weather Saturday. This is a great venue for the rally with a great landlord.

Saw this sticker on a bike. Roughly translated it says: Looks like a Zunapp I once owned.

My brother enjoys a cup of tea and a smoke.

Willy pours the welcoming Schnapps!

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