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Buy British in Bavaria
The following article was written by Stefan Knittel, THE German motorcycle historian, and published in “Classic Bike Guide” magazine in November 1997, as well in the German “Motorrad Classic” in July 1996. Reprint with friendly permission by the author. Pictures by Ulli Schwab and from private files.

Building a business from a personal hobby may not be unusual- but doing it under the name of one`s beloved Trade Mark is.  Stefan Knittel tells how Joe Seifert came to be involved in Norton Motors and eventually became Norton Motors.

'Norton Motors, Seifert, Guten Tag.'

That is the answer after German British bike owners have dialled the most important telephone number in their country. With no hesitation a straightforward reply follows the quest for spare parts with an accurate recall of the part numbers: Joe Seifert has been involved with British hardware for some twenty years and had the numbers stored in his brains before he eventually bought a computer.

It started quite innocently back in 1976 when Joachim Seifert and his girlfriend Renate - later to become Mrs Seifert- went on their boxer and single BMWs touring the south of England. There were not only quiet villages, ancient buildings and rolling landscapes to marvel about, the native motorcvcles also caught their eyes. A clever Englishman read their minds at a Rally and offered a Norton for a mere £100.00. It did not matter to Joe that it turned out to be a humble sidevalver. The trusty 16H was ridden to Hamburg a few weeks later. Why on earth should a 39 year old motorcycle not cope with that, after all?

More than happy with the 1937 Norton, Joe decided on a full restoration. In the end this turned into a long-term operation, but the seed had been sown, the BMW R 60/5 was sold and a second Norton bought. £1000 bought a Commando Interstate Mk Ill and the 21 year old studying English and Sociology was the proud owner of his first brand new bike. It was meant to be his only transport, and therefore fate began to tell on it, soon...

As the former AJS, Matchless and Norton dealer Detlev Louis was doing Oriental stuff now, and other self-appointed specialists could only come up with sketchy information and parts services, Joe had to order from GB instead. As he put more than 18.000 miles on the clock In his first year on the Commando there were more and more customs fees to be paid for parcels received from the UK. Asking around, and reading through British motorcycle papers, he was able to contact quite a few good sources of supply. Soon Joe was regarded as the new Norton expert on the Hamburg British bike scene: 'Using the Commando much more than others I experienced all the problems and failures before my friends, and tried to cope. I was then able to tell them how to deal with it and which spares we could get from where.'

With the old 16H still needing a few spares, Joe discovered several sources of replica parts like saddles, levers and mudguards. None of these were known on the infant German old bike scene and Joe decided to start his own mail order business. He began in the proper German way; obtaining a trader's licence and maintaining accurate bookkeeping from day one on. Nevertheless it did not work as planned, the business from his living room did not earn him any money. There were not many customers to be found for that sort of stuff in Germany twenty years ago.

In 1980 he received a twelve month grant for study at Southampton University, which meant an upturn in spare parts dealing at the same time. He was able to visit all his contacts in the trade and wholesalers personally, and he started to buy used bikes to ship them to Hamburg during seasonal breaks. The bike sales worked out quite well for him as after that year he was able to keep a JPS-Commando and a Vincent Rapide for his own growing collection of British bikes.

Not only was Joe Seifert's business growing, but the British bike scene in Germany was flourishing everywhere in the country when Joe returned from Southampton. He saw a bright future but did not want to neglect his studies yet. After passing his exams he did not expect a teacher training course to be available before a year spent on a waiting list. So, in the meantime, he decided to set up a small shop for used British bikes, spares and repairs. In October 1982 the first Hamburg 'Rockerbox' was opened and it was only a few weeks later that Joe unexpectedly got his place on the teacher's training course! In his absence Uwe Rudisch was prepared to leave his studies behind and look after the shop from February 1st, 1983, and before the end of the first year another place had to be found - but Joe and Uwe managed that as well.

One and a half years training as a teacher went by after which Joe had a rethink about his future. He decided to return to the bike shop and start to write down his dissertation alongside the day-to-day job of running the shop. Alas it was not to be like that for long as there were some new developments during the autumn of 1984.

Joe Seifert and most of his motorcycling friends used to frequent the emporium of the three Stuedemann brothers from their first steps as motorcycle owners on. Be it for spare parts or just for a chat, the Stuedemann shop was always worth a visit. It was while chatting away, one day in 1984, that ‘We're thinking about giving up soon' was mentioned by one of the brothers. Joe got the hint; here was a sudden opportunity to start a career in the motorcycle trade on a very sound basis.

The shop had been opened in 1948 and held a very good reputation, as a Maico dealer in the past and a BMW agent for quite a few years. Raising the funds for a takeover, however, seemed impossible, until one of the brothers, Mathies Stuedemann, decided to team up with Joe Seifert, Uwe Rudisch and Frank Ostoff. April1st, 1985 saw the beginning of Stuedemann GmbH (the German equivalent of a limited company).

Alongside the BMW motorcycle dealership and workshop the British spares would be kept as a second line of business but this soon produced several problems, as the partners realised that they had taken too much on. Joe's pastime was regarded as a waste of time although the figures told a different story. Relentlessly he kept at it, and looking back today he says; 'During that time I learned a lot for my further progress. A really effective spare parts service can only be maintained by a thorough organisation. Indexing cards and on‑going stocktaking were the first important steps - a computer would have been next but it was vetoed by my partners...'

BMW motorcycles were much in demand during the time, but there was some encouraging news from England as well. Finance man and entrepreneur Philippe Le Roux took over Norton In 1987. For the last eleven years there had not been any new Norton motorcycles; production of Commando spares and a small-scale development operation of their rotary‑engined motorcycles were the activities of the company. The new boss wanted to speed up things, deciding that Norton Wankels should reach the market as soon as possible.

Joe Seifert went to the Norton factory at Shenstone to see Le Roux and have a ride on a prototype. That was an impressive experience, and he ordered a batch of Norton Classics on the spot. Stuedemann GmbH was appointed as the official Norton importer for Germany and indeed the Hamburg company sold ten percent of the production to German customers.

September 1988 saw the launch of the F1, the rotary engined superbike from Shenstone. After the official ceremonies Joe sat down with Le Roux to talk about plans for closer co‑operation, and the result was Norton Deutschland GmbH, registered on January 1st, 1989 as a German subsidiary jointly owned by Norton Motors Ltd and Joe Seifert.

Stuedemann concentrated as a BMW main agent when Joe left, taking with him the British bike division. In his, new shop the computer became the only staff member while the former Commando rider turned into the German outpost of his favourite make. Enthusiasm aplenty was still needed as there was a lot of work ahead. German TUEV type approval had to be obtained for the new models, and a dealer network established. In addition to being the Service Manager and Sales Manager, Joe also had to act as the Marketing and Press Manager. Not only was the one-man-band responsible for establishing a bright and prosperous future for the Norton Wankel in Germany but the Commando spares needed a bigger involvement as well. This part of the Shenstone works' activities was to be brought back onto a serious level, and Joe was scheduled to become more of a German wholesale distributor, although he never stopped direct sales to customers.

With a new company name behind him and just one direction for the company, there was much more business to be expected and this led to improved terms from his suppliers in the UK. Joe was then able to bring his spares services for Triumph twins up to the same standards of range and delivery times as with the Commando stuff. British manufacturers and distributors soon realised that it was going to be easier dealing with one central wholesaler than with a large number of small orders, and likewise small German spares dealers and workshops saw the advantages of a well organised German warehouse operation.

Joe, Renate and their three children moved house in 1990. From Hamburg they went to the deep south of Germany, to a house which was offered by relatives. The necessary new warehouse for relocating the company was found quickly enough, too. Reading about the new address a lot of Germans must have thought about the profits Joe was making - the new location is in Bavaria’s most scenic region with a beautiful lake less than a mile a away But reality is a little different; ask Joe how often he has been at that lake during the last six years! The only real advantage he enjoys is his commuting on different Nortons, without that his own riding mileage during the year would not be worth mentioning.

Norton enthusiasm goes hand in hand with an affinity to road racing. Pictured are two racers from Joe´s stable- the ex-Albert Moule 1949 TT Garden Gate Manx and the 1990 F1 Racer entered by Norton Motors GmbH in the German Battle of Twins Championship in the early 1990s. Joe rode both bikes since, the F1 being too fast for him, and the Manx being too fast for others.....

With so many British bikes having been brought into Germany over the last decade the most important question still seems to be: 'The factory was closed long ago, how can we get spares today?' Joe and his customers call only smile in reply, The company's stocks cover almost everything you could need for Norton Commandos or late type Triumph 650and 750s.

For quite a while, Norton Deutschland has been the biggest customer oil the Continent for manufacturers in the UK. When Shenstone was in full fling Joe was responsible for 85% of Norton turnover on the Continent. This did not only involve hard work but sometimes painful experiences as well, poor quality parts being the main problem. There has been a lot of improvement in recent years, though, and the current situation is good.

The stores started it all- and were perhaps the first Britsh spares stores outside the manufacturers that were fully computerized. About 10.000 part numbers have corresponding parts bin locations, and every single washer is on file and checked at the annual stocktake. Queries by customers result in instant and factual answers, and all parts ordered and in stock are being despatched within the next working day.

Joe Seifert still sells direct to a customer during business hours, from the premises or through mail order, but the main part of the business is supplying the trade in Germany. There is a 140 page list with over 10.000 parts available to British bike specialists. A catalogue for individual bike Owners would not be worthwhile, Joe says, as there are changes all the time, but updates on prices and availability are sent out to the dealers on a regular basis.

Ordering is made easy by using the original parts numbers from the factory parts books, and these are available for all the models covered. New owners of Nortons or Triumphs and autojumble traders who still buy their stock during trips to the UK sometimes cannot believe the service: 'You sent everything I ordered!' This is a slight contrast to what you hear about some new or not‑so‑old makes and models. Joe Seifert keeps the Norton name alive in Germany with support for Meriden models thrown in, too.