European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Ron Jensen Nurnberg Bureau Christian Timmermann a business 100 Yards inside Potsdam from the Glenicke Bridge that separates the City from neighbouring Berlin could be a scene clipped from a documentary about route 66, America s fabled Quot Mother  the architecture is a 1930s Gas station. The Neon Light is 1950s, and the motorcycles Are. Well the motorcycles Are evid Cully timeless for eight years Timmermann 41, a language teacher by training has been restoring and Selling Indian motorcycles a Brand of Bike that stopped manufacture in 1953 but has endured in legend. Quot i like to keep them alive Quot says Timmermann. Before world War ii a motorcycle War was underway in the United states. Harley Davidson and Indian were locked in a struggle for the lion s share of the burgeoning Market. Many of Indian s bikes were exported to Europe where they found a Quick Welcome. In fact a Berlin manufacturer built copycat indians in the 1920s until the Indian company in Springfield Mas forced him to Stop. But in 1953, Indian surrendered. Harley Davidson won Hie motorcycle War. Indian s Consolation was that its motorcycles became the fodder for myth and lore. Timmermann makes them real again. He buys old bikes and renovates them using parts from other old bikes beyond repair. He will sell a customer a rebuilt Bike or More commonly what he Calls a Quot Basket Case Quot the Indian still hides in Berlin Christian Timmermann has turned his passion for an american motorcycling icon into a career All the parts customers need to piece together an Indian on a a their own. These Quot Basket cases Quot make up 80 percent of the business. Quot i travel All the time. I buy old bikes. I buy parts Quot he says. He finds them anywhere. Stashed and forgotten in old barns. Discarded in junkyards. Hell take them in any condition. His business is modest. He Sells perhaps two bikes a month each requiring three to Lour months to rebuild. He admits that it is difficult Tor him and his one employee to make a living unless one is Content Vath a modest lifestyle. Quot its expensive Quot he says bidding that a rebuilt Bike might Cost 35,000 Maiks about $22,000. Quot and it s natural that most people want a new Bike for that  but what he Sells is part of that myth that Ever breathing legend that has Clung to Indian motorcycles. Quot some people Wilt never ride anything other than an Indian motorcycle Quot he says. A i still think it s Metal turned into a functioning machine. I Don t think it s a religion. Some people  Tom Mermann a connection with Indian began about 1980 when a Friend told him of a motorcycle graveyard in Brazil. Timmermann bought the indians. His Friend bought the harleys. From the Purchase 1 Immermann made a few working motorcycles and quickly sold them. Quot i just wanted to see if it would work or not a couple years later i turned this into a real business Quot he says the business relies on Timmermann a Supply of parts both original and some there s no mistaking an Indian motorcycle. The emblems Are As famous As the name. Christian Timmermann right makes his living turning Quot Basket cases Quot into motorcycle Art. Replicated to exact detail. Quot our strength is we have All the parts Quot he says. Quot we Are known throughout Europe. I m not just somebody around the Corner who has Indian parts. I have a  there is Only one other similar business in Europe. That is in Holland and Timmermann says one More business would be superfluous for the Market. His business opened originally in Berlin but when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Timmermann s Indian Supply found a new Home. Quot the night they opened the Bridge Between Potsdam and Berlini walked across the Bridge and saw this building Quot he says. The building was constructed in 1936 and opened As a Gas station. It is a perfect Home contributing mightily to the ambience of such a business As does the old coca cola machine near the front door and the Indian motorcycle Neon sign he found in Ohio. Timmermann likes old things. He likes to preserve them and sees value in continuing their existence. Quot there Are not Many Gas stations left from this time Quot he says. Just As he has resurrected the old Indian motorcycles he has brought life again to this building. Quot it s maybe a very idealistic View of life Quot he says with a shrug perhaps. But it is a View that Timmermann has turned into something practical. Saving the past is his business he was asked if he is surprised that people still want a motorcycle that stopped production 40 years ago. Quot no Quot he says quickly. Quot i m surprised that More people Don t want  Page 14 a the stars and stripes the last Indian was manufactured in 1953 when the american firm lost its Battle with Harley Davidson. Timmermann makes these replica Indian emblems in his Potsdam shop located just outside Berlin. Timmermann Falla Indian motorcycle Pera Phernella including thle baseball Type Cep. Timmermann Sells restored Indian motorcycles but More often Sells kits that allow enthusiasts to rebuild them. A amps photos by Ron Jensen the stars and stripes a Page 15