Marcus Walz (motorcycle builder)

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Marcus Walz (portrait 1)
Marcus Walz (portrait 2)
Marcus Walz on the "Ayrton Senna Tribute Bike" based on a 1976 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1, which he built in 2014 in honor of the Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna on the 20th anniversary of his death.
Walz on a KTM 990 Superduke during a race in Brno / CZ.
At the Biketoberfest 2014 in Oschersleben, Walz achieved 2nd place in the "Pro Bears" class on a Triumph Street Triple.
Walz with one of the "hardcore bikes", the "RAMPAGE" from 2010.

Marcus Walz (born July 17, 1967 in Heidelberg ) is a German custom bike builder, racing driver, author and TV protagonist. He is the founder of the companies Walz-Hardcore Cycles, WalzWerk-Racing and WalzWerk-Cafe.

In addition to its custom bikes, Walz also designs and sells its own line of clothing.

Life

Growing up near the Hockenheimring , Marcus Walz focused on motorsport from an early age. After leaving school, he began training as a mechanical engineer , which he successfully completed in 1985. He worked in this profession until 1992. At first he began collecting motorcycles, tinkering with cars and taking part in motocross races. In 1992 he had a private workshop, which he registered as a business at the end of 1992 and thus founded the company Walz Hardcore Cycles in January 1993. After the stables became too narrow, the small company moved into a 600 m² new building in the Hockenheim industrial area in the summer of 1994.

In 1998 he invented and developed the "drag-style" frame and achieved the international breakthrough with his company. It is a special frame that is based on the look of "dragster racing machines" and that ultimately gave the frame its name. Although Walz invented the name "Drag-Style", it was advertised in 2004 by a competitor who claimed the name rights for himself. In 2005 a court confirmed in the context of a trademark dispute that the name “Drag Style” cannot be protected by name, but rather represents a generic term such as “Chopper” or “Enduro”.

Shortly before the turn of the millennium, the continuation of his company was hampered by the death of his mother. He withdrew almost completely from day-to-day business in 1999/2000.

In mid-2000 Michael Winkler joined the company as a business partner and took over the management, while Walz now concentrated on marketing, the organization of trade fairs and exhibitions, new promotion bikes and the development of new products.

Between 2004 and 2006, Walz was the only bike builder who did not live in America to be invited to the "Artistry in Iron" show in Las Vegas , which takes place annually as part of the Las Vegas Bike Festival . In spring 2006 he took part in the American cult TV show " Biker Build-Off " on the Discovery Channel and is still the first non-American to win this show.

In 2007 Spiegel TV made a two-part documentary about Walz and his company. Under the misleading title Hockenheim-Choppers , the documentary was broadcast on DMAX and VOX . Numerous documentaries and TV shows followed. Under the title The custom bike to the North Cape , a three-part documentary was broadcast on DMAX, along with his buddy at Marcus Walz Klaus Hülsmann two custom bikes a total of 4,500 km after the North Cape Norway drove. Walz drove the route on a rigid-frame Harley.

In 2008, Walz founded his company WalzWerk-Racing, with which he primarily focused on motorcycles from racing and mainly industrial orders, e.g. B. realized for Yamaha Japan, Triumph Germany or Detlef Louis.

In 2009 Walz published his biography Hardcore for Life , and separated from Winkler.

In 2010 Walz stood in front of the camera for the animal rights organization PETA . He shot several spots for print, online and TV campaigns. In addition to this voluntary campaign, Walz is also an advertising medium for the G-Shock watch label .

In December 2010, Walz sold Walz Hardcore Cycles, which he founded in 1993, and all associated name and trademark rights to the MIDAS investor group. In January 2011 Michael Kroheck took over the management of Walz Hardcore Cycles GmbH, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2013.

In autumn 2013, Walz and a partner opened the restaurant and trendy bar WalzWerk-Cafe on Schlossplatz in Schwetzingen, and also the "Hotel zum Erbprinzen" on the same square.

In December 2014 the company Walz Hardcore Cycles was closed due to a bankruptcy application by the managing director.

motorcycles

Special features of Marcus Walz's custom bikes are, in addition to the drag style frame, primarily the reduction to the essentials and the "complex simplicity" that characterized each of his bikes. Driveability and handling are also important for his bikes. Walz uses technology from racing and also works with well-known manufacturers and suppliers such as Öhlins , Akrapovič , Brembo , SC-Project and BST Blackstone . The scene also praises him for his unusual ideas and his courage to convert niche motorcycles himself. In 2012, for example, Walz tried his hand at a maxi scooter from the Yamaha company and converted it into a custom scooter .

Motorsport

In the mid-1980s, Walz began professional motorsport and contested his first races in motocross (now MX). He got a contract with Kawasaki in 1989 and 1990 and took part in some runs of the German championship. In 1990 he had a serious accident in a race and was in hospital for several months. He then ended his professional career.

After a break of around five years, Walz returned to motorsport, and has since then been successfully involved in racing without any notable interruptions. Among other things, he has been competing in the international Triumph Cup since 2010 and successfully races across Europe on Ducati and KTM motorcycles. In the fourth run of the Triumph Cup 2018 in Oschersleben, he fell and had to be treated in hospital.

Fonts

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Henning Rielinger: Portrait Marcus Walz. Biker.de, May 31, 2011, archived from the original ; Retrieved November 11, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Walz Hardcore Cycles: "Perfectionism takes time". (No longer available online.) Max , archived from the original on February 17, 2015 ; Retrieved November 11, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Fred Kodlin: Interview Marcus Walz, 40, scene guru . In: motorcycle . No. 12/2008 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Walz Hardcore Cycles. (No longer available online.) G-Shock , archived from the original on September 30, 2011 ; Retrieved November 11, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Insolvenz-Portal.de: WALZ Hardcore Cycles GmbH: Insolvency proceedings opened , April 13, 2015, accessed February 9, 2016
  6. ↑ WALZ builds the custom bikes of the 21st century ..! (No longer available online.) Proud The Luxury & Lifestyle Magazine, April 13, 2012, archived from the original on March 20, 2013 ; Retrieved November 13, 2012 .
  7. ↑ Hardcore. No rules, no limits, no compromise. bond men's magazine, accessed November 13, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Demet Amanak: Marcus Walz presents the Yamaha TMax 530cc Hyper Modified. (No longer available online.) Motorrad , June 5, 2012, formerly the original ; Retrieved November 13, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.motorradonline.de  
  9. ↑ a b Nippon-Classic - website: Walz - seriously injured at the Triumph Cup. From: nippon-classic.de , July 24, 2018, accessed April 5, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Walz, Marcus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German custom bike builder and author
DATE OF BIRTH 17th July 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Heidelberg