Dealer Focus: Z-Design Custom Scooters
Over the last few years, a custom scooter business in Germany has quietly been creating some stunning designs.
Aachen is a city located on the west side of Germany, close to the Belgian and Dutch border, home to custom scooter wizard… Michael Zinnen. This is his home town and from where he operates his business, Z-Design. In 2019, having spotted some pictures of a custom Vespa going by the name of Highlander Resurrection, it stirred an interest within him to investigate them further. The scooter was featured in this magazine some 25 years earlier and now it was in a poor state, Michael had plans to bring it back to life.
It wasn’t just about redoing the chrome or getting the paint touched up, but a total ‘ground up’ revamp with some very creative customising added in. With so little usually reported about scooter customising outside of the UK, it would be interesting to find out about all the people with the skills that went into producing the scooter. It was a shock to find out that it was Michael himself who had done all the work.
I was not suggesting for one minute that he wasn’t capable of carrying it all out, but it’s rare to find just one person involved when producing such high standards in all aspects of workmanship.
Early starter
For Michael, it all started at the age of 16 with a Vespa PX 80 and ever since then, the Vespa has been his main passion in life… 25 years have now passed and during that time he has honed his creative skills by producing custom scooters for himself, which slowly evolved into him also doing work for friends. By 2014 he had taken the plunge and set up Z-Design, the letter Z being taken from his last name, and set about building custom scooters as part of his living.
The workshop, or ‘scared hall’ as he calls it, is based at his parents’ house, and is just a half-hour drive from where he currently resides. All the design work, drawings and planning are done at his home, which also helps keep the costs down of having to rent premises and associated overheads. That’s why it came as a surprise to find out all the detailed airbrush work is done at home. His wife Claudia is very understanding and shares a passion for the work Michael does, which helps… especially when he takes over the dining table to do the painting! It’s a system that works and if everyone is happy then there doesn’t seem the need to change it.
Collaboration
Many of the ideas are created by Michael, certainly for all his own machines, but customers supply details of how they wish the scooters to look. He sees it as a
collaboration in getting the best design possible, but even so, it’s his creativity which takes those ideas and makes them into reality. Having worked purely around the Vespa he understands what works and how certain designs will complement the finished look. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the engine or part of the bodywork, having created such an understanding over the years helps make the job so much easier to accomplish.
So, the question was asked, what about the Lambretta and other styles of customising, would you work on them? The reply came: “Of course it would be a new challenge to work on a Lambretta.” Michael explained e his style is a bit of a throwback to the t 1990s and the idea of doing something different d is appealing even though many of o the techniques used in customising the Lambretta L are mostly retro based. For now, all a his efforts concentrate on the Vespa and improving i on each one he does.
Preparation
With each project, Michael works through a meticulous regime which enables him to carry c out each project without too many problems. p The start is based on the theme itself i and that is then carefully planned out and a drawn up, allowing a starting vision of the t outcome. Depending on what fabrication is i required, those stages are listed so the work can be carried out before any painting takes place. This is vital as you don’t want to lay any paint down only to find you need to alter a part of the bodywork, thus ruining it in the process.
The engine and equipment side of the project is down to exactly what the customer wants, and this is worked into the project beforehand. For example, if a hydraulic brake system is going to be used the necessary fabrication for the master cylinder and upgraded suspension needs to be worked out so it all fits in place. The whole project, like any custom scooter, is an amalgamation of ideas but it’s making them all come together correctly where the skill lies, and Michael does it all himself. Items such as producing the drop handlebars, fabricating the spoiler underneath the legshields and filling in the side panels. All require a great amount of time to get right and it’s the attention to the finish that makes it all stand out. The bespoke seat frames are also made by him, by producing a mould out of glass fibre. Having all these skills at his disposal makes the job so much easier, even if he admits that sometimes it doesn’t always go right the first time around!
Artist
So having seen what a great fabricator Michael is, it comes as no surprise that he is just as talented when it comes to the paint. Not only the general bodywork but all the airbrushed murals that go with them. He starts by getting an image of the mural drawn up, using it as a template from which to carefully lay the paint down. You can see from some of the images Michael has painted that by nature he is very artistic with the detail as good as you will see anywhere.
The advantage of having this skill means any challenge when it comes to the paint can be accepted. Some of the more difficult murals have proved a challenge for him in the past to the extent they have been scrapped and started all over again. Though frustrating as well as time-consuming it is the end result that matters so if the job is not quite right, he has learned the lesson of patience to get perfection. He finds it also helps because the German scooter scene where most of his work comes from is
slowly getting more and more diverse. One project can be in a street racer style where graphics are the main artwork, the next a film theme with detailed graphic images. It is this diversity that means no two jobs are the same, meaning the challenge is different every time, something which spurs him on.
Into the future
Now, Z- Design is only a part-time job for Michael and he has full-time employment which allows him to do the customising without worrying it needs to be his main income. By working this way, it relieves the pressure and allows him to enjoy doing the work and not have to worry about making it a paying business. In saying that, his workload is only increasing as his skills become more and more in demand.
To keep Z-Design in the spotlight Michael’s wife Claudia helps with the social media side. She is the photographer showcasing Michael as he works, those keen-eyed readers will be aware that she has taken the photographs for some of the Z- Design scooters which have previously been featured in this very magazine. With a Facebook and Instagram page, as well as a dedicated YouTube channel, followers can see each scooter progress through various stages of the work.
Unlimited talent
There are many talented individuals within the scooter scene and a lot of them capable of various skills. However, with Michael, it seems he can do almost everything himself and the talent he has should be recognised. I don’t think it needs mentioning any more; instead just look and admire some of the scooters he has created. Many of them have graced the pages of Scootering magazine in the past and will continue to do so… we look forward to seeing more of the same in the future.