flashback 25 years ago
A LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN THE February 1991 issue of BMW Owners News from a member in Florida offered a word of warning to all own- ers of K 75 RTs: Don’t let your bike fall.
of
The writer said that after 40 years riding
and 200,000 miles on
BMWs, he knew that it was inevitable that bikes will fall over and usually in front of a group of people. What he learned when his bike fell on a soft grass yard was that the mirrors on the K 75 RT were supposed to be designed to give or snap off in the event of a fall at a cost of $159. “If I had known such damage and
cost would be involved just by the bike falling over, I would not have bought it. If this happens to any of your K 75 RT owners, you will be wasting a 25 cent stamp to report it to BMW of North America Consumer Service, even though it is obviously a fault that needs correcting,” he wrote.
When a BMW rep contacted the mem-
ber explaining that the broken mirror assembly actually had done its job by pro- tecting the fairing when the bike fell, the writer believed $159 was too much to pay for protection. He closed by saying, “BMW’s reputation for quality and cus- tomer satisfaction is fading fast!” Another letter to the editor under the
headline, “Who was that Man?” described an encounter on a hot Friday afternoon on an interstate about a half hour west of Topeka, Kansas. The writer described receiving the “wave of the century” as he passed another BMW rider heading the opposite way. After more than 6,000 miles through 16
states the writer had come to the following conclusions regarding motorcycle riders: 1. BMW riders are the friendliest. 2. Honda Goldwing riders always return your wave.
3. Bullet bike riders don’t wave. 4. Harley riders aren’t
friendly–except
for the older riders on full dress Harleys.
5. Riders in the Midwest seem to enjoy their motorcycles more that westerners. The writer concluded by saying that the
Hondas he traveled with had to do mainte- nance on the road and that California rest stops stink, with only Nevada’s worse. New MOA member and well-known
moto journalist Peter Egan also wrote a letter to the editor in February 1991 to say how much he enjoyed Jeff Dean’s article in the December issue regarding Egan’s recent move from California to Wisconsin. “It was nicely written, and I appreciated
the opportunity to meet Jeff, who is a true hard-core BMW enthusiast with a great collection of bikes,” Egan wrote. Elsewhere in the issue, Owners News
Editor Cecil King ran an interview he had done with Hans Koudella, Vice President of BMW of North America. While most of the questions he had dealt with the new model lineup, sales of new and used BMWs and how to get more riders on BMWs, he also asked Koudella about BMW’s strong concern regarding safety. Perhaps current BMW NA leadership would be well-served to recall the answer:
94 BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2016 “To encourage riders to improve their
skills and get the most out of riding, BMW offers the choice of taking a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Beginners or Experi- enced Riders Course, or having a day at Reg Pridmore’s CLASS (California’s Lead- ing Advanced Safety School), which is sponsored by BMW of North America to purchasers of new 1991 BMW motorcy- cles,” Koudella said.
10 years ago
IN LIGHT OF RECENT FLOODING IN THE Midwest, a Rider to Rider submission in the February 2006 issue of BMW Owners News struck close to home. The writer described how in 1972 he had a BSA Rocket III which, at the time, was truly a monster bike, but, “like all British bikes, it was a nightmare to maintain.” So, in 1976, he bought a Silver Smoke R 90 S. When he wasn’t riding the bike it was
kept in a garage and under a cover. It was never ridden in the rain and was waxed and pampered continuously, and anything that looked worn was immediately replaced. This practice went on for 29 years until August 29, 1990, when everything changed for Jerome Mouton. On that date, his house and everything he owned, including his R 90 S, spent three weeks underwater when Hurricane Katrina ravaged his Louisiana home. “Katrina had no mercy on this very spe-
cial motorcycle, and I cried for three weeks for something I could not replace, my 1976 R 90 S,” he wrote. In the true spirit we all share as MOA
members, a Rider to Rider letter by Clint Adcock of Lafayette, Louisiana, described
lifestyle
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