Why Does z1300.de Hate Money So Much?

I do not speak or read German.  I took several years of Spanish in High School.  I can puzzle my way through Spanish and French text.

English is the lingua franca of the world.  Yet only about 20% of the z1300.de site has English translations.
I have ENDLESS respect for Helmut or anybody else who would go to so much trouble to keep our relatively rare bikes on the road when they have been completely abandoned by their manufacturer.

I want to give Helmut my money in exchange for his devotion, but he violates the first rule of commerce--make it easy for people to give you money!  All it would require is an American (with English as his first language) and a degree in German, to translate as much of the site as possible.  And language majors work cheap!

Respectfully, Richard

Have you mentioned this to Helmut?

I've always conversed with Helmut in English through emails. In fact the other day I forgot I was dealing with a German. It didn't even occur to me that his email was in English  - as, like most English first language people - I took it for granted!

I would say the web design and maintenance aren't perhaps his strong point but he does make the effort to make hard to obtain parts available - so I'm sure the shortcomings can be forgiven.  I quite often find myself copying and pasting great sections of his website into google translate. 

The checkout and shipping details could definitely do with being more internationally friendly though as you don't want to make a mistake at that point.

If it really is a struggle then just email home with what you need and where it needs to be sent and he will send you a request to pay him with PayPal

You point is well taken--while I worship the ground Helmut walks on for his devotion, the checkout and shipping details could use a lot of work. When I had to figure out the English translation of the German words for first name and last name, that crossed a line.

I wish him the best, I really do, but I bet he could double his business if he would just hire a German English major, or vice-versa, to do an English version of all the pages. You know, click the flag icon in the upper right to choose you preferred language version of the site.

One thing that has struck me about the world of Z1300 enthusiasts is how many countries they represent! And generally speaking, (unlike me) these are people who have serious money to spend.

if one of you guys needs a translation from German to English beyond what google can do, I guess I can assist ...

Holger

wrote:

if one of you guys needs a translation from German to English beyond what google can do, I guess I can assist ...

Holger

are you any good at web development? If so can you offer your services to Helmut?