HOW IT ALL BEGAN
SOLVE THE PROBLEM
In the year 2000, David and Isabel, a young couple from Winterthur (Switzerland), dreamed of exploring the world. They wanted to see different cultures, cross the Sahara and camp in the middle of the Australian Outback. David owned an old and rather dilapidated Kawasaki KMX 125 motocross bike, Isabel rode a Honda CM125. Of course, 125cc motorcycles were not the right choice for such endeavors, but Isabel and David tried anyway and embarked on the adventure. They left for Tunisia in July and went straight to the edge of the Sahara. There they learned some hard lessons: there are better seasons to travel through the desert than summer, there is better and more suitable clothing for riding in extreme heat, and there are better motorcycles for tough off-road trips like these. But the most important lesson was: don't use low-quality equipment. Although their tank bags were from a well-known supplier, their straps didn't even make it halfway through the journey without breaking.
Nevertheless, Isabel and David enjoyed the freedom and adventures that enduro travel brought them. After some smaller trips in Europe, they set off to explore the Australian outback and crossed the Sahara. By purchasing two KTM 640 Adventures, the problem with unsuitable motorcycles had been solved, but the luggage problem remained. Their tank bags continued to entertain them with jammed zippers, broken clips, and generally poor usability. Moreover, the straps of their saddlebags occasionally failed, and sewing them became a regular campfire activity. So, one evening during their second trip through Australia in 2006, in the light of their headlamps, they began to sketch their idea of the ideal tank bag (later the Sandstorm) and the ideal set of saddlebags (later known as the Monsoon Panniers).
MAKE IT A BUSINESS
To Isabel's surprise, David didn't just stop at sketching. After the trip, he talked to some friends, and Christoph, a friend from the Swiss KTM Adventure Club, came up with the idea of making that dream a reality. Enduristan was officially founded in April 2008.
Now, the first challenge was to actually design the very first product, the Sandstorm tank bag. Sketching beautiful ideas is one thing, but turning these ideas into a real, tough product is a completely different story. David combined his knowledge as a mechanical engineer with his very limited welding skills to build a tensile testing machine. In the following weeks, we tore hundreds of buckles, straps, and fabric samples into pieces to find the strongest components for our needs. A second-hand sewing machine completed our machinery and allowed us to make some initial functional prototypes (needless to say, our sewing skills perfectly matched our welding skills). During one of these sessions, Christoph invented the Expandable Volume Technology, which added patenting it to our to-do list.
About a year, countless samples, and a test ride in the Sahara later, our first order came in. The tailgate of the truck opened, and we couldn't help but think "who on earth is going to buy all these tank bags?"
MAKE IT A SUCCESS
We never wanted external funding for Enduristan. So, with limited financial resources, the second challenge was to make the Sandstorm Tankbag known. Since we couldn't spend much money on advertisements, we presented it at the Swiss KTM Adventure Meeting, and Christoph traveled through Germany and Switzerland to visit potential dealers. We must admit that this was quite a frustrating time: most dealers do not want to add another brand to their assortment, regardless of quality, features, or usability. However, a few of them shared our enthusiasm for the Sandstorm and seized the opportunity. Most of them are still on board and today carry the full Enduristan product range. On the other hand, we realized that customers really liked our Sandstorm tank bag. You know, when you develop a product, you always run the risk of falling a little too in love with it. But your own feelings don't matter; all that counts is customer feedback, and this was - to our relief - very positive.
In 2010, we were able to contract our first overseas partner, Motorcycle Adventure Products from Australia, who is still on board. In 2011, we presented our second product, the Monsoon motorcycle panniers. From that moment on, things started rolling and gained momentum. More products followed, more international partners came on board. Christoph and Isabel withdrew from operational activities, and our marketing manager Stefano became a shareholder in return. But two things have never changed: we are still a small privately owned company with a handful of enthusiastic employees operating from a barn in Switzerland. And we still love riding adventure bikes.
WHO OWNS ENDURISTAN
Enduristan is still fully privately owned by its founders David and Isabel Jenni, Christoph von Ow, and marketing manager Stefano Bucher.
Photo Credit: Fabian Durrer, Jiri Kudrna, Berend Lagers, Enduristan
