Table of contents

• Time travel on a Honda MTX 80 Small engine, great experiences
• Today with more luggage and a bigger belly
• Honda MTX 80 today is more of a mountain bike than a motorcycle
• 95 things in the slipstream of the truck
• The who’s who of automotive history
• “I go where I want, when I want”
• Info about the tour

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Time travel on a Honda MTX 80

Time travel on a Honda MTX 80
Small engine, great experiences

With a small motor for Meisjes and Matjes. MOTORRAD editor Thomas Schmieder went on the same tour to Holland with a Honda MTX 80 as he did in 1983. What he found on this journey inside, 30 years after the 80s driver’s license 1b? Great experiences and strong memories.

Thomas Schmieder

05/22/2014

August 17, 1983 was a hot summer day. One who changed my life forever. I finally had the 1b driver’s license. “B” stood for limited (to 80 cubic meters and 80 km / h), but in reality the gray cardboard was a door opener: finally mobile! Just one day later, the Honda MTX 80 set off into colorful life, out of the Ruhr area and into Holland. The longing was huge and as a student I was chronically clammy. I scraped together the last 150 marks and borrowed the adored driving school machine from the driving instructor for three days.

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For an unforgettable tour with buddy Welski. He was king in the school yard, had a sleek, expensive KTM 80 RLW with water cooling. The breath of freedom wafted around our noses. Never again did I have that feeling of “the world is yours”. Now, three decades later, I am sitting on the same, again borrowed Honda MTX 80 as I used to be. It is bright red instead of snow white as it was in 1983. A reunion with joy. My oldest brother Olav is there, just like before. He is enthusiastic about the 80s oldie: “Is it really 30 years old?” Yes, perfectly restored. Our eyes wander over the desire of yore.

Today with more luggage and a bigger belly

We are in the “ghetto”, our new 60s housing estate in Marl-Huls. Our parents no longer live there. The earth kept turning. One last hug from Olav, let’s go! The little motor comes at first step, blows out blue clouds. Take a seat. The old, familiar feeling is immediately there again: Your butt is lounging on the thickly padded bench, the wide handlebars are ideally at hand. A real travel enduro, the Honda MTX 80, really comfortable. Machines like this inspired our longing. Today with more luggage and a bigger belly.

The two-stroke saws below me, a clear blue sky spans over me. Splendid. Feels almost the same as it did 30 years ago. The ghetto is glowing in the rear-view mirrors. Dilapidated, deeply scarred streets herald the acute financial shortage of the city of Marl. Never mind, I ride Enduro. The B 51 spreads its asphalt carpet in front of me, heading north. To Haltern am See, where Munsterland meets Ruhrpott. For me this street was once a great promise, away from school and siblings, into the countryside. The forest moves along at an absolutely understandable pace, red beech, sycamore maple and Scots pine grow up.

The nailing sound and lively driving experience on the Honda MTX 80 getaway vehicle are absolutely authentic. Speed ​​is becoming an awesome phenomenon again. It’s about movement, about broadening the horizon. First rest at the “Schlemmer-Grill” in Hamm-Bossendorf. French fries / currywurst, as it should be in the Ruhr area.

White sailing boats dance on the deep blue Haltern reservoir. Next door, at the motorbike meeting at the “Alter Garten”, we hung around when we were 16, admiring the big machines and their drivers. Damn long time ago. BAP had great success at that time, the Neue Deutsche Welle was still surging wildly. Not much going on today at the meeting point. Nonetheless, there are discussions about gasoline immediately: “I had one of those as a toad,” says Jurgen with shining eyes: “We drove around illegally on the heap in Gelsenkirchen on a Honda MTX 80!” cross-wise high.

Honda MTX 80 today is more of a mountain bike than a motorcycle

The pulse of the local motorcycle scene has shifted and is currently beating at the trendy motorcycle meeting place “Drugen Putt”. Here, too, the brave little Honda finds many admirers. The tranquil village of Sythen shines with neat half-timbered farms, but why does the monster driver only drive 45 in front of me? And twitches around with a speed limit of 65 at the 70 limit. It’s frustrating. Every single kilometer per hour counts on the Honda MTX 80. So go ahead, overtake! Get everything out! Wow, it works. The 80s slide by in slow motion. Fits!

Contrasting program: Chimneys of coal-fired power plants meet wind turbines. The latter only existed in Denmark in the 80s. And roundabouts only in France at that time. It’s a lot of fun to throw the 80s in there with a lot of momentum on their narrow tires, man, what did I feel big and grown up back then with the Honda MTX 80. Today it is more of a mountain bike than a motorcycle. 103 kilograms light, easy to control. Meditative motorcycling. Have time, feel time, take your time. So the most valuable thing in life.

It’s the same voyage of discovery as it was back then. Break at the magnificent Lembeck moated castle. It dates from 1730 and is privately owned, museum and hotel at the same time. Further west! Discover the world by motorcycle, the same longing as before. Experience the country and its people. Like the avenues, only a few kilometers north of Europe’s largest and now really green conurbation exude width.

The limit is finally coming. Just different than before. Without controls, without exchanging money in guilders. Europe makes it possible. The first cyclists are cruising on red paved cycle paths, of course on Dutch bikes. The Honda MTX 80 is doing well in the neighboring country: the country road limit is 80 km / h. As ordered. The Dutch houses are stylish, with red brick facades and brightly lit, white-rimmed windows, large and without curtains. Two attractive restaurants are opposite each other in Winterswijk. We choose the right one because we get to know Olga from South Africa and Erica from Chile there. It’s only been a day until now. But I don’t want to miss it anymore.

95 things in the slipstream of the truck

Life always means change. And experience actually comes from driving. We find our quarters in the beautiful small town of Groenlo. Here in 1627 the brave Dutch defeated the mighty Spaniards to flee. Today I see architectural styles and culture differently than I did when I was 16. Getting older also has its good points. Because you appreciate history and no longer just live for the future. The food in the restaurant “Het Huis van Frederik Hendrik” is delicious. In 1983 there was only french fries. The nightcap is offered by the bar in the Hotel “Pot” around the corner, with straw-blonde Dutch guests who are already slightly on the list. The chemistry is right with Heino, the owner, and we talk for a long time. The Dutch and Germans are finally good neighbors.

The next day begins with rain showers, but soon the streets dry up. In the direction of Zutphen it’s always along the canal, suddenly a Citroën DS station wagon overtakes me, made up as a hearse. I make myself small, bite the handlebars. And yet I can’t stay tuned.

On the autobahn, in the slipstream of a truck loaded with animal feed, the fiery red Honda MTX 80 play mobile then runs 95 things over 8500 tours. Every single turn counts! We boldly glue the truck to the stern. When I pull out to overtake the truck, I only make it to the height of the cab. Then the 80s starve to death. The trucker shows me a bird. I submissively queue up behind him again. The driving pleasure is the opposite of the power. Little horsepower, high spirits. We pass farms with thatched roofs and whitewashed brick tiles in the open countryside. Simply picturesque.

The who’s who of automotive history

On the N 348 in Brummen, we come across a temple of vehicle culture: “The Gallery” presents hundreds of classic dream cars and two dozen vintage motorcycles. The who’s who of automotive history is gathered here for sale. Aston Martin, Citroën, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Porsche. Nico Aaldering, the junior boss, is 33. And totally in love with motorcycles. He collects Ducatis and Laverdas. We do a lap of honor with a Jaguar MK VII from the 1950s. The in-line six-cylinder purrs smoothly like a young kitten.

Back on the Honda MTX 80. Stop at a nice street cafe. There is “Koffie verkeerd” (milk coffee). Dutch is a friendly, happy language. Again and again we experience magical moments: blue hour on one of the many canals. A gray heron glides majestically low over the dark water. Without a single wing beat. Change of scene: The stoned lady in the coffee shop in Scheveningen has never heard of the ban on selling joints and hashish to Germans. What we want? Oh, just take a look. After all, there is also a worn-out motorcycle in the tobacco shop.

At night we reach the stately “Hotel Kurhaus” by the sea in Scheveningen. The dining room is crowned by a huge Art Nouveau glass dome. Does it have to be five stars? Today yes, once. At that time we didn’t even dare to go into the foyer, today we check in with a credit card, where Edith Piaf, Liza Minelli and Marlene Dietrich already stayed. A cheerful porter from Ghana insists on carrying the Ortlieb bag from the porter to the hotel. A double room costs 225 euros, that’s a quarter of a Honda MTX 80. The pier next door into the sea looks more like an oil drilling platform, worst of the 1970s architecture all around. Photographer Klaus and I go dancing a little in one of the many beach bars, meet pretty Meisjes. Shy used to be.

“I go where I want, when I want”

Not the worst thing about being woken up in the morning by howling gulls. Quickly another herring roll. And then to the final in Noordwijk an Zee. In search of more, we pass Dutch gallery and wooden post windmills again. Plus a lot of memories. There are Bromfietsen, Knallertjes and Brommer at the parking lot. Off through the dunes, into the deck chair. Wide sandy beach, great feelings. The sun tickles your face. Slowly the sugar cube sinks into the milk foam, the sun rises far over the North Sea. Man, what we were ignorant of, carefree 1983. Didn’t even know which campsite our friends camped at. Followed them anyway. They would meet even if the mobile phone hadn’t yet been invented. It was okay, somehow. Because buddy Micha Reschke slept off his intoxication in the bright green Opel Kadett C on the beach promenade in Noordwijk.

Today there would probably be a route description on the net. At the time, chance wrote the script, directed life. 30 years ago I lost the ignition key in the sand on the beach. After hours we found him again, somewhere completely different from what we thought. Back from my thoughts: The 80s is wedged between two buses, Neoplan Starliner, each costing 600,000 euros. “Travel properly” is written on it. I am doing it. Go where I want, when I want. Since 1983. One of the bus drivers, Mr. Muller from Saxony, raves: “I haven’t ridden anything better to this day.” And nothing more important to me than the Honda MTX 80. It got me on my motorcycle, it made me experience so much. Thanks for that, Honda!

Info about the tour

MAIRDUMONT / Claudia Werel

The distance traveled.

It is not a huge number of curves that make this trip from the Ruhr to the North Sea in the Netherlands so appealing. But encounters and memories on every kilometer. Embedded in a very charming, water-rich cultural landscape.

Tips and accommodations

The half-timbered hotel “Loemuhle” in Marl is a picturesque hostel. The (West) German national soccer team used to stay here when they played for Schalke in Gelsenkirchen’s Park Stadium. The busiest motorcycle meeting point in Haltern am See is the “Drugen Putt” (Munsterstrasse 317, phone 0 23 64/66 29) on the B 51. A highly recommended restaurant is “Het Huis van Frederik Hendrik” in Groenlo. A tasteful restaurant with extremely appetizing, delicious food at affordable prices. In addition, with a noble interior and friendly staff. You can stay overnight well and cheaply in the familiar “Hotel Pot” (www. h o t e l p o t g r o e n l o. n l). The classic car specialist “The Gallery” in Brummen is recommended for browsing on site and online (phone 00 31 / (0) 5 75/56 40 55, www. t h e g a l l e r y b r u m e n. n l). The five-star hotel “Kurhaus Scheveningen” is a glamorous world in itself (phone 00 31 / (0) 70/4 16 26 30).

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