You should follow good advice. But when his father urged to buy an NSU MAX Special, his response was, "What do I do with an old bike?" Nevertheless, he changed his mind and decided to buy, already 40 years ago.
By: Dirk de Jong
His father knew it was a special bike and knew the history of the supplier. He also knew about the performance, which made this type of motorcycle world champion in 1953/54. The first owner bought the NSU Max Special from Siep Postma (see type plate) who was a dealer of NSU, Moto Guzzi, DKW, Puch in Hardegarijp. Triumph and BSA. Perhaps not so special, were it not for the fact that Siep Postma was well known in the region as a motorcycle racer in those days and was successful in the TT races. He became Dutch champion three times on his 250 cc engine in 1949/1952/1954. (Just googling can retrieve the entire history.) Hendrik was therefore the second owner and has remained so until today.
It owns more important than driving
The original mileage of the NSU MAX Special is now 29.400 and apart from a single ride to a local meeting, the engine is mainly stopped in the garage. Those few times he received a lot of compliments from the real NSU enthusiasts about the condition of the bike. It is now more the possession that gives satisfaction. He can now very much appreciate that his father used to initiate the purchase.
Emotion
Hendrik contacted the widow of the first owner, who then paid a visit to have another look at the bike. The reaction is obvious, tears as a memory of her husband and the bike he loved so much. Emotions are based on feeling, we all know as enthusiasts that they take the upper hand when we come face to face with our first car or motorcycle. Her reaction: “Oh hearken, young, 'I is syn motor, it who always started and set rinne and ûtein.” "Oh listen boy, it's his engine, he started and always ran and took off." According to Google Translate, where - yes - translation from Frisian is also one of the options.
Dutch Glory
Hendrik is delighted with his possessions from the past. In addition to the NSU MAX Special, there is also a Whippet shining, a spicy moped from the Dutch Batavus factories (Heerenveen). With an Eysink Record, also pure Dutch (Soest). And the attentive viewer also sees where the Whippet and the Eysink are. These lumps of nostalgia have become a part of Hendrik's life.
Nice article! As for Siep Postma, the later motorcycle dealer from Hardegarijp; who came to work at a young age in the workshop of my Pake (Grandpa), Jan Visser. My Pake Jan Visser was an avid motorcyclist himself. They have driven many races together with Siep and others. For example, Jan Visser won the national TT of Assen in 1938 in the 350 cc. class on a Lady motorcycle. Unfortunately, he died in May 1948 during a training round at too young age. I share the passion for motorcycles and the like with my Pake.
Regards, Jan.
ps: Lady was a Belgian motorcycle manufacturer. I believe they used JAP blocks for their motorcycles.
Hello . nice story of the NSU max. Do you sometimes have something of the moto NSU with the shaky engine that would be read a lot I think. Kind regards andre the creator
In addition The NSU and Audi museum in Neckersulm is very nice to see
What a wonderful story. Well written.
Kees sober,
Where in Slovenia?
I have been living in Slovenia for several years now.
I also had a Max myself, unfortunately never had to sell!
My son-in-law his grandfather lived in Slovenia and had a NSU Max. For years this bike has been in the shed at the now abandoned house of Grandpa in Slovenia. Grandpa is deceased, Grandma is in a home, the house is empty and the NSU is waiting for… ..? My fingers itch to retrieve these.
When my wife was still my girlfriend, my mother-in-law had a piece of land behind the house where my now-brothers-in-law were allowed to cross on mopeds when the harvest was finished. Because I would rather not see them go over those improvised jumping bumps on my own bike, I bought an old NSU 250 from an acquaintance that has been completely driven over there on land. I did pay the main price for that bike at the time. 7,50 then still very hard guilders.
Dolf's pronunciation in Frisian: "utein sette" means "run away" in plain Dutch
Greeting from half a Frisian Fokke Penninga
Ah… that is of course even better than Google Translate. Thanks for the tip, the text has now been updated.
A wonderful bike that I hobbied a lot.
A Horex fork, a faster head and a megaphone exhaust.
The valve adjustment was done with washers.
Later I exchanged it for a Honda CB77
The NSU man of the Netherlands is Dick Theunissen in Achthuizen, he built NSU Renfox, 125 cc
and 250 cc, I also had a friend who restored it, myself had a superfox 125 cc.
beautiful four-stroke engine. The SNU had a sliding system to operate the camshaft.