It was during that time that I got interested in BMW motorcycles. Although I had a good friend that had already gotten heavily into the Harley thing, I initially resisted for years and found myself equally entranced with the BMW motorcycle lifestyle. I'm sure a lot of you know that BMW got into the motorcycle business early on and created some really iconic motorcycles. And to this day, I would say that BMW motorcycles are still considered some of the finest motorcycles on the road, both from a technical and aesthetic standpoint.So, shortly after moving to Wilton, CT, I set out to acquire my first BMW motorcycle from a wonderful dealership in New Canaan, CT. The shop was owned by two brothers that were knowledgeable and passionate about their business and over time became pretty good friends. It's an understatement to say that I spent quite a bit of time at the dealership. At one point I even talked to them about buying in as a partner in the business until they told me that, unfortunately, I would no longer have time to ride my motorcycle. That convinced me that I should continue to make money in my own field and just spend it at their shop every Saturday afternoon after my ride.
So anyway, in the cold of a Connecticut winter my wife and I went down and signed over a pretty good-sized check for a beautiful, pearl white BMW K100RS.
It was a fabulous bike! It had two very good sized saddlebags that allowed us to pack for weeks at a time and was very comfortable for my wife and I, while still being very agile and sporty. It was an incredibly fast motorcycle on which I'm sure I never even came close to pushing the performance envelope. As a matter of fact, one year my wife got me a weekend racing class with the world famous Reg Pridmore and his son, Jason, at Watkins Glen racetrack in NY. That weekend I learned some of the skills that enabled me to scare the crap out of my wife for several years, before eventually selling that bike to get something that, as my wife described it, "wouldn't go so fast and lean over so far".
It was a fabulous bike! It had two very good sized saddlebags that allowed us to pack for weeks at a time and was very comfortable for my wife and I, while still being very agile and sporty. It was an incredibly fast motorcycle on which I'm sure I never even came close to pushing the performance envelope. As a matter of fact, one year my wife got me a weekend racing class with the world famous Reg Pridmore and his son, Jason, at Watkins Glen racetrack in NY. That weekend I learned some of the skills that enabled me to scare the crap out of my wife for several years, before eventually selling that bike to get something that, as my wife described it, "wouldn't go so fast and lean over so far".During that time, I purchased another BMW with the intention (or at least the professed intention) of giving it to my wife. She had gotten interested in motorcycles and had taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and was well on her way to becoming a motorcyclist herself (a story for another time). I decided that an older boxer style BMW would be perfect for her, so I asked my father to do some research there in Ohio and see if he could find a bargain for me. Well, as usual he came through with flying colors. He called me one day to tell me that he had found a mint condition R65 (I'm a little fuzzy on the vintage) for a great price, so I flew to Ohio to pick up the bike and ride it back to Connecticut.
Well, as fate would have it, the weather took a turn for the worse on the way back to CT, and it wasn't long before I was limping along on one cylinder (I later found out that one of the carb diaphragms had ruptured) trying to follow a small sliver of dry road in a snowstorm and high winds. To illustrate this point further, I will tell you that I passed several tractor trailers that were blown over on the side of the road. That was one of many times over the years that I have questioned my sanity!But, one of the greatest memories I have of that trip is calling my friends at the BMW dealership in New Canaan and telling them about my problem with carburetor. In the midst of what was probably some pretty major whining on my part on the phone, I remember the one brother, John, telling me that if I got home alive (I think he was just kidding at the time) that this would be one of the most memorable trips of my life.
I have thought about that many times over the years, and for those of you that look for some kernel of insight to take away from these ramblings.... here it is. You don't usually remember the perfect trips where everything goes right. You are much more likely to remember more clearly, and in some cases more DEARLY, the ones where everything goes wrong and you got through it... either alone or with someone you care about. I could write a thousand stories about all of the crazy, fun, wonderful things that I have done and been a part of in my most fortunate life. But the ones that will always stick out in my mind are the ones where I was faced with adversity of some kind and overcame it. And, I will always remember who was at my side when I did. Those are the truly great memories to relive and retell.
So, that being said... get out there, take some risks, create some situations that look pretty hopeless and then figure out a way to overcome them. That's where the true joy of life (as well as some pretty great memories) is waiting for you.
See you on the road!
MotoRush
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