The 2018 International Diesel Motorcycle Rally, Hamm, Deutschland.
I arrived at this years event after riding to avoid roadworks
on the main Route 1 by coming up and over via Maastricht and Venlo and in
on the scenic 58.
Eventually' I found myself being directed through the suburbs of Hamm before
rolling up the oh so familiar access road to the venue. Everything looked
the same as ever except for the huge great bonfire situated in the centre
of the left hand field.
I parked up on the right opposite what used to be the pig field and was greeted
by Diesel Dave who immediately advised me to put the tent up because the rain
was a coming!
Sure enough, there was a slightly wet and wintery feel to the
opening Thursday evening and Friday morning in Hamm but it soon passed with
the aid of the fresh wind that was blowing across the fields around Brauhof
Wilshaus.
The weather forecast was good for the weekend and I thought it certainly helped
bring a good amount of diesel bikers along to this most famous meeting of
alternatively fueled Motorcycles. Looking at the numbers in the field (without
specifically counting) I’d say it was probably one of the better attended
in recent years.
I count myself as one of the ‘usual suspects’ and nearly all were present & correct from the beginning except, unfortunately, for my bro Jeff who, due to the pressures of work, had to miss this event. If you’ve read any of the previous reports you’ll know that the scene is mainly comprised of modified Royal Enfield machines, the separate gearbox being ideal for mating with a variety of small industrial Diesel engines. We always live in hope of seeing new builds based around different and/or more modern machines but as time marches on & governments dictate, perhaps the enthusiasm for such projects is waining slightly.
Nevertheless, we did see the arrival of a Peugeot/BMW motorcycle
which we hadn’t seen grace the camping fields hereabouts before.
Sporting an older 1.4L engine, the machine had altered gearbox ratios which
allowed it to go so much faster. Some other bike builders were quite incredulous
on hearing how much faster this machine could go.
With this the only newly built machine on show I guess it limits somewhat
the backbone of this report but I will endeavour to pass along the various
happenings and gossip from the field.
I know this Peugeot engine type well having driven a 106 for 13 years. The water pumps aren't that good!
The RHS of the bike.
It was good to see Alan and his mates ride in again from the far North of
Europe. So far up is he that he mentioned it might be quicker for them to
come to Hamm via Britain! How’s that for dedication? After some pleasantries
he asked me to put out a link to his virtually finished project which is up
for sale so I’ll include it here (link).
Last year Andreas, the creator of I think the first Smart Bike, was attempting
to sell his bike for quite a high price. This time round he informed me that
the price of said machine was €10k and that he was also letting his electric
creation go although I do not know the price he has put on that. The
Diesel Wiesel crew
were again here this year and have never missed a Hamm motorcycle rally as
far as I can remember.
We all know that Erik, the manufacturer of the Track T800cdi diesel bike is
now turning his hand to making a small electric vehicle and so it came as
no real surprise to learn that Heiko has also turned away from diesel and
is converting cars to electric. Apparently his creations are extremely fast
but I don’t know if he has tackled anything with two wheels yet. Perhaps
I should say watch this space? He has a Youtube
channel of course!
We have always been blessed with free camping at the International diesel
treff but it seems times they are a changing.
At just about every Rally going hosted by a pub, there has always been an
unwritten rule that attendees should make an effort to consume at least some,
if not most of the food and drink offered by the house. Perhaps Brauhof Wilshaus
has been a little behind in this respect, expecting, hoping even, that more
would partake of their offerings than actually do. So it appears that things
have come to ‘a head’ this year, to use an expression and it seems
that in future, a small camping fee in the region of perhaps €5 or €10
per night will be required - this will offset rally goers bringing their own
food and drink. Personally I think this is more than fair and so do others
who commented on it this year. It will remove an underlying tension which
has always been present, generate a few more ‘spondulies’ for
the house and ease the conscious of those wishing to bring their own and consume
it whilst sitting in another’s field.
As is usual for me, I normally end up living on the traditional Flamkutchen, a thin, pizza like dish topped with cheese and a sprinkling of pork. Ideal beer food, as they say, something to nibble at over a conversation. Most others prefer the Snitzel! Talking of which, there was a distinct lack of ‘grunters’ about the place this year (I saw none except those on my plate) and I’m told it was something to do with regulatory procedures relating to their feeding and the proximity of the general public. But there were Donkeys!
More friendly than the pigs.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Dan ride over
from England but I’m pleased to say he turned up despite having choke
cable problems on his old Honda NTV. In fact we saw three or four of those
bikes appear over the course of the event and even Reinhard arrived on one,
pointing out in the process that it was the forerunner to my own & Matt’s
Honda NC’s. Apologies again for riding a ‘’benzine’
bike to diesel event but I don’t actually have one of those on the road
at the moment.
I’m pleased to say that we also saw Triker Tony make it over for the
first time despite his veggie oil powered machine breaking down just after
the crossing to the Netherlands. The insurance company provided a hire car
which saw him good to Hamm where he lost no time in tackling a homegrown Snitzel
- and lost!
It's been a while - but he's back with his Smart bike!
Also great to see Mike P over from the U.K. after he had first visited friends
in Holland. We went on to travel home part way together and spent a day site
seeing in Dinant & Givet before going our separate ways. Larry also arrived
with his better half, this year in a motorhome instead of on his Royal Enfield.
Having spent a fair amount of time in Camborne searching for the Freeman Sanders
Diesel Motorcycle of late, it was somewhat fitting to hear his Cornish accent
about the place in middle Germany.
Bert's Track T800cdi.
After eating outside the pub and having a few Hellas beers we
found that we were usually being drawn to Bodo and Sönke’s fire
pit, situated out in the main field. I also arrived here late on on Thursday
night but made sure I had a better seat Friday. I suspect that the huge logs
that appeared to fuel this mini volcano were somewhat surreptitiously purloined
from the rather inert bonfire nearby, that loomed up from the darkness.
It has to be said that down the years, it has not been unheard of for anyone
or indeed all to witness some of the, shall we say, larger bikers amongst
us, fall through a seat or two, usually in a rather sudden and spectacular
way. This year was no different when a huge ‘crack’ heralded the
sudden, downward departure of poor Bernt who momentarily disappeared into
the gloom. Others, who had arrived early and who were equipped with a van
and numerous power tools, had foreseen the coming of such calamities and had
raided the aforementioned bonfire for construction materials to produce a
profoundly more solid seat. Sadly this creation returned to whence it came
at the end of the Treff and if the bonfire hasn’t been lit as yet, is
probably still languishing at the foot of potential pire.
Kurts Machine.
Away from Sönke & Bodo was the British corner. This
was an altogether calmer place returned to most frequently by us lot in between
our wanderings about the place. Just after my arrival I’d recommend
a book to Diesel Dave that I’d bought along for the trip and was pleased
to see it proved as ‘unputdownable’ to him as it did me. This
proved to be a quiet corner of the field where one could get into such a read.
If you’re interested, Alf Francis - Racing Mechanic, is a riveting account
of Brits crisscrossing the continent in the 1950’s, supporting our Grand
Prix Racing cars and driver Stirling Moss.
Andre (diesel racer of Gaschney) was a much welcome visitor here, often sharing
his sausages and beverages round to everyone. Mike provided the gas for cooking
the grub and countless brew ups of good old English (actually Indian) tea.
The fire pit in the field proved to be most popular during the
hours of darkness with Mike stoking it up a good‘un at every opportunity.
Just as I thought we were about to call it a day, someone would produce another
huge log (from you know where) and Mike would feed it into the flames. I’m
told it go so overloaded that it collapsed around 4am but I was long gone
by then.
Diesel Racer Andre was as generous at Hamm as he was at Gascheny and produced
a bottle of Bavarian Whiskey that was shared out. A slight sip was enough
for my taste but everyone else was nicking the stuff like there was no tomorrow.
Sönke had a hell of a job clearing up the smashed plastic shot glasses
that littered the place come the morning.
Not for me but everyon else seemed to enjoy it!
Previously, on Friday night, I’d been chatting with Ammie and Teun outside
Willy’s regarding his huge, American mobile home. At first glance it
had looked the same to me as before but I was quickly given the grand tour
and saw that it had been refurbished as a hairdresser’s mobile salon!
On entering the now LPG powered vehicle I became aware that various panels
and surfaces were now a distinct shade of pink! Two seats had been fitted
and faced angled, plastic mirrors. Other various utilities had been installed
to aid the cutting of hair with the electric power points almost ready for
action. I’d have readily volunteered for a haircut if I had any but
as it was, I think all were wise to hold back with the scissors given the
amount of alcohol that was flowing roundabout this time!
Haircut anyone?!
It was good to catch up with Helmut who came along in his little
three wheeler complete with trailer. As is usual, he brought along a couple
of bottles of Köln beer for Jeff and it was gratefully received. I was
sorely tempted to drink both bottles whilst traveling back across the continent
but, as I type this, on the return ferry to England, the second bottle is
sitting buried in my motorcycle pannier 3 decks below me.
I prefer light beers to dark usually but couldn’t turn down the offer
of a bottle of Spezial Dunkel from Hubert (Modite 1). That almost made the
channel crossing but got polished off on my last night in Dieppe. Thanks to
to Bernt who also gave me a beer from his hometown, Einbecker Pilsner. That
went the way of all the others he brought along!
Incidentally, Hubert let on that he’s working on a new three cylinder
diesel bike and I’m guessing this, like the latest Peugeot bike, will
have one of the new gear sets in it, produced for a small group in recent
years. I think that’s correct, my understanding of German being what
it is.
The promised good weather did indeed stay with us for the duration
of the event and the sun shone down on diesel bikers and visitors alike. I’m
not sure how much publicity is put out regarding this Treffen but we saw a
steady stream of interested motorcyclists stop by.
In amongst the bikes it was good to finally see a new Royal Enfield Himalayan
machine and continental versions of what looked almost like my Honda NC, the
CTX. Reinhard, (recently back from an epic trip out East) organises another
event aimed at the scooter/moped community and a few of these guys camped
up on the far side of the Left hand field.
One of the new generation Enfields makes a show at the diesel treff.
As last year, we saw Gausi and his E SAXO make an appearance late at night.
The tell tale LED Dash a certain giveaway that something special resides within
the car these days. An Internet forum thread is available on this electric
car upgrade and I'm indebted to one of the Innova riders for directing me
to it here.
As is always the case and on behalf of everyone who attended,
I’d like to thank the organisers and host again for putting on the International
Diesel Motorrad Treffen. It’s always a good laugh and there are always
interesting things to see and discuss.
We’ll see you all again next year!
ADDITIONAL SHOTS FROM THE 2018 TREFFEN.
Plenty of visitors turned up.
Many Jochen Sommer bikes were present at Hamm.
