MFN member Paul Essens

After several members had volunteered to briefly introduce themselves in the previous newsletters, this time no one presented himself. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to further introduce myself.

I was born in 1962, so I am now, in 2023, already 61 years old. I am married to Madelèn, who is also a familiar face to regular visitors of the club afternoons.
We live in the quiet Frisian village of Joure, probably known to some as the birthplace of the Dutch coffee company Douwe Egberts. That well-known company (part of the globally active Jacobs Douwe Egberts) has also been my employer for 34 years.

I have been crazy about motorcycles since I was about 14 years old. I don't actually know how that happened, because in my family and other acquaintances there was no one who rode a motorcycle. When I had the opportunity to take driving lessons, I chose for motorcycle driving lessons, I only obtained my car driving license years later.
Around the age of twenty I bought my first motorcycle, a modest Honda CB400N, the two-cylinder.

My 1st motorcycle: Honda CB400N

After that I owned several heavier motorcycles, in order: Suzuki GS850G, Yamaha XJ900, Suzuki Bandit 1200, Suzuki SV1000, Suzuki Bandit 1250, Honda CB1000R and since a few months a Yamaha MT09. A relatively short list for a period of 41 years, I don't get bored very soon with my motorcycles .

My present motorcycle: Yamaha MT09

In the first years I did everything by motorcycle, so I rode quite some kilometers. When I also had a car, this became much less, and I became a real "nice weather driver". Now I mainly ride for recreation, but I still try to use my motorcycle as much as possible when I go somewhere, at least as long as the weather cooperates and I don't have to transport large or heavy things.

Around 1995 I discovered the existence of stamps with motorcycles, and collecting them seemed like a great new hobby to me. When I had collected a reasonable number of them, I learned of the existence of MFN and became a member. It was then that I saw what really exists in motorcycle philately, and my collection also grew quickly.
When the internet emerged in the late 1990s and I was introduced to building websites, I thought it would be nice to set up a website for the MFN. With the approval of the MFN board, I started this at the end of 1998. With a lot of help from Madelèn, this has grown into the extensive website we have today, which has made the MFN worldwide known and delivered an international membership base.
When the newsletter editor of that time, Herman van der Maaten, took over as chairman in 2003, I took over the compiling of the newsletter. I have been doing that for 20 years now, and in that time I have provided more than 80 newsletters. Nevertheless, I still enjoy doing it!
Since 2021, I am also treasurer of the MFN. This was to make it possible for Hans de Kloet, who held this position at the time, to take over the chairmanship from Wijbe Brouwer. Although this doesn't take up much time, it's not really my thing, so if there is a volunteer who would like to take over as treasurer, I would really appreciate it!

The disadvantage of my work for the MFN is that I hardly have time to spend on my own stamp collection. By the way, it only consists of stamps, blocks and sheets. I don't consider myself a real philatelist, more of a picture collector. I am mainly interested in the images of the motorcycles, so I am not interested in other philatelic items such as letters, postal stationery, stamps and FDCs.

As a real boffin I have always been very interested in motorcycle technology and its development over the years. That's why I always had the desire to restore an old motorcycle.
When I finally had enough space for this in 2000, I quickly acquired an EMW R35/3 from 1954, an East German clone of the pre-war BMW R35. I enthusiastically started dismantling the EMW to start the restoration, and at the same time started delving into the world of vintage motorcycles.

EMW R35/3 (not mine!)

That made me more and more interested in riding a vintage motorcycle. And because the restoration of the EMW would be a multi-year project, I started looking for a 2nd classic motorcycle. That soon arrived in the form of a 1931 Motobécane B3c.
And then it really started, and the same happened with me as with so many enthusiasts.... As I gained more insight into what variety of motorcycles had been built over the years and how diverse the techniques used are, the more bikes I became interested in, and of course wanted to own. Especially motorcycles where unusual technical solutions have been chosen, such as an Imme, Ner-a-Car or Scott.

Very surprising was the moment that I ran into a Hulsmann motorcycle at an event, carrying a sign that said this was a Dutch motorcycle, built in Schiedam. My hometown where I had lived for 25 years! I had never heard of it, but that's not surprising because their motorcycle production had stopped years before I was born. Of course from then on I wanted to have a Hulsmann, and a few months later I had one.

My first Hulsmann, still with original paint and chrome

All in all, my classic motorcycle hobby has run a bit out of hand, with the result that I now have a collection of 18 different old motorcycles. Because I like to do as much as possible myself, the restoration and preparation are not really going fast, which means that most of them are not yet ridable. The EMW is also still disassembled....

But as with any collector, there is always something left to be desired. In my case it is a Megola, a motorcycle from around 1925 with a 5-cylinder radial engine built into the front wheel. It couldn't be stranger. So if you have one unused in the shed or in the attic, I am highly interested!

Megola (touring version)

Besides owning oldtimer bikes and tinkering on them, I also enjoy driving them, especially in organized tours. That is why I am a member of a several clubs, which is also useful for obtaining information and parts.

My classic bike hobby also includes collecting information and documentation of the motorcycles I own, and I also enjoy making this available to other owners. That is why I have created my own website on which I show my experience of the motorcycle hobby, including philately of course! If you are curious, take a look at www.motorpaul.nl (partly in Dutch, partly in English).

Paul Essens

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