Several aftermarket businesses are marking significant milestones at this time - congratulations are due to LSL, Kellermann, Magura, DID, and Kymco, among others.
FOUNDED in 1984 by Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler, LSL is world-renowned as a parts manufacturer and creator of stunning special project bikes.
It all started with the "High-Heeler" in 1985, a Kawasaki KLR special that at the time was the first street-legal Supermoto bike in Germany.
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| Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler |
It all started with the "High-Heeler" in 1985, a Kawasaki KLR special that at the time was the first street-legal Supermoto bike in Germany.
The company introduced its first Superbike handlebar conversion for the Kawasaki GPZ900R in 1987 and the rest, as they say, is history.
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| LSL's 30th Anniversary Clubman XS 650CR special |
Acquiring DIN EN ISO 9001 certification in 1997, 2009 saw readers of German motorcycle magazine "PS" vote LSL as the best accessories/conversions brand.
We ourselves here at IDN had the pleasure of joining with German trade magazine Bike und Business to recognise LSL's export achievements in 2010, and now located in a state of the art facility at Krefeld, where the company currently employs 25 people.
A particular favourite for many people was Jochen's 2005 unveiling of the Clubman programme, and the unveiling of his latest project bike is always an eagerly anticipated highlight at every INTERMOT expo
www.lsl.eu
www.clubman.de
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BEST known for their hallmark 'BL 1000' bar-end indicators, introduced in 1996 and 1997, Achen, Germany based company Kellermann have been celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.
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| It all took off for Kellermann in the mid 1990s with the ubiquitous BL 1000 indicator |
The Kellermann indicator and the micro version that they followed it up with became the industry standard lighting accessory for many years, and although often imitated, they were never bettered.
The company received the prestigious Red Dot Design Award in 2011 (and two more in 2014), and scored a remarkable third place in Motorrad magazine's 2013 Best Brand/accessories awards.
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| This year Kellermann won the latest of several Red Dot Design Awards for their BL 2000 indicator (seen here) and stylish advanced licence plate design |
Founder Guido Kellermann has been an outspoken advocate for defence of intellectual property and said recently "we must take a stand against plagiarism to show that we have the ability to defend our own intellectual property. Without protection of ideas and the products that arise out of those ideas, our society is going to lose its innovation and progress.
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| Guido Kellermann is passionate about defence of intellectual property - here earlier this year his company assembled 1,900 pieces that were clearly based on his micro 1000 indicator and gave them the M48 treatment! |
www.kellermann-online.com
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ONE of, if not the longest established, hard parts businesses in the international motorcycle industry, last year saw Magura celebrating its 90th anniversary.
Magura has played a significant role since then in the history of German and European made motorcycles, and can lay claim to having invented the very first German twist grip throttle, among other innovations.
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JAPANESE industrial giant Daido Kogyo is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the office it set up in Italy for its DID motorcycle chains and rims.
DID Europe Srl is based in Bologna, Italy, and sells through leading distributors throughout Europe, including Matthies and Langenscheidt in Germany, Ognibene and SGR in Italy, TBT and Motana in the Netherlands, Bihr and Moraco in France, Corvar and TopFunk in Spain and Duell in Sweden.
Widely regarded as one of the leading motorcycle chain brands, with multiple race and championship wins in their locker, DID added rim and wheel availability through its European office some seven years ago.
DID chain are OE fitment on a wide range of models from most leading manufacturers and number more than 40 distributors in 30 European countries in total.
www.didchain.com
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ANOTHER notable recent anniversary saw Taiwanese motorcycle, scooter and ATV manufacturer Kymco (Kwang Yang Motor Co) celebrate their 50th anniversary.
The company originally made parts for Honda, and opened its first factory and built its first complete scooter in 1970.
They began marketing under the Kymco brand name in 1992, and in the 2000s became the largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer in Taiwan and the fifth largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer worldwide.
The company was chosen by BMW in 2008 to supply engines for the G450 X Enduro bike, and late last year Kawasaki announced that their new J300 scooter is manufactured in partnership with Kymco. The company currently employs around 3,000 people and produces more than 570,000 vehicles per year.
www.kymco.com
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Congratulations are also due to the City of Cologne, and specifically to the Cologne Exhibition Centre (Koelnmesse) - this year is the ninth INTERMOT, but it is the 50th anniversary of the motorcycle industry's show at Cologne.
Originally called IFMA, and first staged in the city in 1964, this year will see an exhibition of industry landmarks and some of the notable bikes to have been launched in the city in that time, and an industry timeline, as part of a special 50th anniversary display at INTERMOT.
Meanwhile, this year will see the 72nd EICMA (the 'Milan Show'), and it too celebrates a notable landmark this year - the 100th anniversary of the first such show!
There can't be many trade shows in any industry that can trace their origins back to 1914, and it certainly makes EICMA the oldest motorcycle expo - what a witness to technological and social evolution, a true case study into the social and engineering history of the 20th century!
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Finally, congratulations to Chris Leatt! It is 10 years since he sold the first Leatt neck brace in his native South Africa - a product that he started working on three years earlier, the weekend after his son started riding.
www.leatt-brace.com
