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Where it all started
My grandfather began selling bicycles from a small garage in his home town of Enschede in the Netherlands in 1937. The business was going well when it suddenly had to close at the outbreak of the Second World War. When hostilities came to an end my grandfather started the business up again. The only substantial difference between the pre-war and post-war business was that some bikes were now fitted with engines. The expansion into this new product line was reflected in a new name for the business: Piet van Dijk Motorcycles'.
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Official importer status
A new step forward came in 1954 when my grandfather was appointed as official importer for Maico motorcycles. He was now supplying other retailers as well as the consumer.
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Piet van Dijk's Motorcycle Palace
As the business grew, Piet van Dijk Motorcycles moved to more spacious premises in the centre of Enschede. Indeed the floor area of the shop was so large for those times that the business was renamed 'Piet van Dijk's Motorcycle Palace'. Around this time my father and uncle, Willy and Piet van Dijk, rolled up on their Norton and BSA to join the business. Their arrival saw the launch of 'Motax B.V. Motorcycle Products', a new company dealing exclusively with the retail trade and with official importer status for all the major manufacturers: MV Agusta Motorcycles, Arai Helmets, Regina Chains, IXS motorcycle fashion, AXO clothing, Carrera Goggles and Renthal handlebars. At that time, Motorpaleis Piet van Dijk was also an official Honda dealer, Yamaha dealer, Suzuki dealer and Kawasaki dealer.
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The Motorbike Virus
It seems the whole family were infected by the 'motorbike virus'. My uncle Piet was the Dutch motocross champion in several classifications. He still hasn't lost his passion for the sport, and rides almost every week in the International Classic Motocross Championship. My own interest in motorcycles and of course the family connections made it almost inevitable that I would also be professionally involved with bikes. In 1994 I joined the staff of Piet van Dijk's Motorcycle Palace as a salesman.
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New 10,000 m2 location
Piet van Dijk's Motorcycle Palace flourished, and by 1995 we had outgrown the existing premises. The move to a new location saw Willy and Piet van Dijk taking proud possession of Europe's largest motorcycle outlet, with a total floor area of 10,000 m2. You could get almost anything related to motorcycling here. The new location led to a further massive growth in the business. Sales to German customers boomed, thanks to the close proximity of the German border, just 5 km away. During years of representing many leading manufacturers we had built up innumerable international relationships. The Japanese brands in particular were bought in huge numbers, putting us at the top of the list of Dutch distributors of Suzuki and Yamaha bikes for many years. This did not escape the sharp eyes of certain groups of investors, eventually resulting in the sale of the business by my father and uncle to a national retail motorcycle chain.
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VDM / VDM Parts
At the start of 2000 I launched my own business, VDM (Van Dijk Motorcycletrading). I decided that I would focus exclusively on the import and export of new motorcycles. I was able to make good use of my international contacts. At the start of 2002 I had a new 6000 m2 central storage facility built, just over the border in Germany, with a view to improving the efficiency of our European retail operations. In 2006 we launched VDM Parts B.V. in the Netherlands. This company's sole activity is the supply of new, original motorcycle components and accessories to the retail trade.
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