flashback 25 years ago
JUST LIKE THIS YEAR’S OCTOBER issue, the BMW Owners News issues published in October 1990 and 2005 served as rally recap issues. In 1990, over 4,100 members made
the trek to the site of our annual get together in Rapid City, South Dakota. Just as was the case this year in Bill- ings, Montana, popular destinations that week included the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and Badlands National Park. Rally temperatures were said to be
perfect throughout the rally, even reported to be on the chilly side, as they didn’t quite reach the mid-70s, and for the first couple of days, brightly colored rain suits were the fashionable BMW motorcycle attire. One of the top rally awards given
that year was the Grand Tour Award, earned by Glynn Roberts of Notting- ham, England. About his
tour of more than 84,000 miles aboard a 1981 R 80 GS, Roberts wrote, “Left Notting- ham, England in September, 1978, through Europe and Yugoslavia. Met friendly BMW police riders in Istanbul, Turkey. On to Cairo, Egypt, via Greece. Asked twice by police if I had any drugs to sell! Arrived in Jordan when the Arab League met in Amman and all riding all motorcycles was banned; I was detained. Freighted to Kara- chi, Pakistan, and a drug bust in my hotel room–thank goodness they didn’t plant any.” Later in his article Roberts said, “Sailed
from Sydney in August, 1989, working my passage to California. Spent the winter in Mexico, returning for Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Daytona Bike Week. Up to the Yukon and Alaska via Vancouver. Took in the Last Frontier Rally outside Anchorage and clocked 100,000 miles on the bike at the Arctic Circle en route to the Arctic Ocean. And here I am at the National after 23 countries, 15 tires, 36 oil changes, four batteries, four suspension units, five break- downs, about 2,000 gallons of fuel and over 84,000 miles.” Another item of interest at the rally was an immaculate 1972 R 75/5 “toaster-tank” brought to Rapid City by Steve Schatzer. Steve was trying desperately to keep the bike under 2,000 miles. With 1,998 show- ing on the odometer, he was having a dif- ficult time.
Returning home from the rally, Jeff Dean wrote, “As we traveled east across South Dakota on 1-90 after the rally, I was struck by how much billboards have become cul- tural landmarks in a landscape that is so wide and open. The billboards help inform d en er
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“Even more impressive,” Dean wrote, “was the marriage of western sky and land. West of the Missouri River, you know you’re in the West, and the patterns of clouds in the sky become the most domi- nant feature of the landscape. As you head east of the Missouri, the horizon is bro- ken by trees, fir occasionally and then frequently. By the time you leave South Dakota, trees are everywhere, near and far, and awareness of the power and sweep of the sky decreases.”
” D n w e of wes ern s y a d l 94 BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2015 e cul- 10 years ago
BENEATH THE HEADLINE “BEEMER- ville Rally Wrap-Up,” Rally Chairs Sue Rihn-Manke and Brian Manke wrote, “Beemerville, USA is now just a fond mem- ory–a twinkle in your eye, a smile inside your helmet. But if you have time on this autumn morning while you linger over your coffee, you can almost hear the laugh- ter of an old friend and the soft ticking of that R 69 as it purrs past the cobwebs in your mind. With a little effort, you might still be able to smell the chicken roasting outside of Seminar 6. You might even be able to feel a touch of the breeze that brought with it a brief respite from the oppressive summer heat wave. And maybe, out of the corner of your eye, you might even see the red and white banner dancing in the breeze on Main Street.” A total of 8,300 BMW MOA members
traveled to Lima, Ohio, in the summer of 2005 for a family reunion of major propor- tions. Street signs around the fairgrounds including Airhead Way, Oilhead Alley, Hawk’s Road and Chain Drive left little doubt to all gathered that Beemerville was real.
The 2005 Rally was a record breaker not
only for the attendance, but also because of the 131 vendors, 241 recreational vehicles, beer garden sales and lack of hotel vacan- cies within a 30-mile radius. One of the many highlights of the 2005
rally was the private concert by George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. More than 6,000 rally goers crowded around the stage to hear hits including “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer,” “Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job” and “Bad to the Bone.” The Grand Prizes that year included three motorcycles. The BMW MOA gave
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