SIP Scooters
The world’s largest supplier of scooter parts is celebrating its 25th anniversary but, as Stan discovered, SIP is still a business run by enthusiasts.
The world’s largest supplier of scooter parts is celebrating its 25th anniversary but, as Stan discovered, SIP is still a business run by enthusiasts.
No visitor to SIP’s headquarters in the beautiful Bavarian town of Landsberg am Lech can fail to be impressed. Few scooter shops have such an inviting retail space and even fewer are able to welcome riders with a café bar and pizzeria. Behind the scenes a small army of staff prepare orders for a worldwide audience of enthusiasts, whilst elsewhere, the technical staff work on the latest product innovations. Looking at SIP today, it’s hard to imagine that 25 years ago its founders Ralf Jodl and Alex Barth were selling scooter spares out of a car boot.
Inspiration
“Like many Germans, Alex and I had PK80s,” began Ralf. “Those little scooters gave many German teenagers their first taste of freedom, but my goodness they were slow! Alex and I were friends and started to look at ways to improve their performance. This opened our eyes to the world of scooters. When others saw the parts we’d found they asked us how to get them. At the same time word got out that two kids were interested in old scooters and were offered old machines and spares that people had in their garages. Of course, this was when poor-quality parts flooded the market so we also began to produce our own kits and components. By 1994 we had a good customer base and were regular visitors to Italian parts fairs and rallies. As we drove home from a rally in the Italian Lakes, Alex calculated that we’d made €1,000 in an afternoon. We both realised that it was time to do things properly. The whole journey home we talked about how we could make the dream a reality.”
The name chosen for their new venture was Scooter Innovation Products, which was quickly shortened to ‘SIP’. The grand title masked the reality of parts stored between the beehives owned by Alex’s father and 35 square metres of retail space
in a rented basement. The first catalogue was only four pages long and each parcel was packed and posted by Ralf or Alex.
Perspiration
The mid 1990s were a low point for scooterists. NOS parts had almost dried up and the quality of pattern spares varied considerably. Against that background Alex and Ralf’s determination to provide quality, innovative parts quickly won them a loyal group of customers. Amongst their early trade contacts were names that would become established as scootering ‘royalty’, including Stefan Onken from Nordspeed Tuning, Paul Melici from PM Tuning and Jim Lomas from JL Exhausts.
By 1996 SIP had outgrown the basement and secured accommodation in the old Landsberg barracks. This quickly proved too small to cope with increasing demand and more warehouse space was rented nearby. Parts were transferred between sites using an old Ape threewheeler. “It was great fun, but took up too much time and money,” said Alex. “We had reached the point where we could afford our own bespoke premises and June 2016 we moved into the new building.”
As the winner of several architectural awards, SIP’s premises are well known throughout Bavaria and a behind-thescenes tour makes it obvious that real effort has gone into making SIP a pleasant working environment.
Realisation
Over a beer I asked Ralf a question that’s always puzzled me:; “What is it about these old shopping bikes that fills people with such passion that it allows an organisation the size of SIP to flourish”? Ralf thought for a while before replying: “To get the best out of any scooter the rider must understand it. That means spending time with it and building a relationship, just like a lover or friend. It’s something that can’t be easily explained
to outsiders.” It’s the best answer I’ve ever heard and it makes me realise that the secret to SIP’s success isn’t just good business sense, it’s passion. A passion that Ralf and Alex have never lost.
Over the past 25 years SIP has consistently innovated, bringing quality products such as digital speedometers, tubeless rims and performance exhausts to the mass market. What’s next on SIP’s horizon? Having spoken to both Ralf and Alex, I’m still not clear. They bristle with ideas, constantly asking for opinions on opportunities, products and concepts. One thing’s certain, for 25 years SIP has been instrumental in transforming the world of scooters and that’s a mission they’re determined to continue.