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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
Kudos to Wunderlich
I was pleasantly surprised to open the July issue of ON and see the excellent write-up about Wunderlich America, in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I happen to live in Hendersonville and have thoroughly enjoyed having this shop here in town. My ‘03 R 1150 R has also enjoyed spending some time receiving top notch care from Eddie Plam. These guys know their stuff, and I’m glad you gave them such a great shout out, so that others will use them, and their business continues strong. These kinds of places are few and far between and I am thankful to be a local beneficiary of their expert services. I appreciate the ON magazine and look forward to each issue. Keep up the good work. David Stanford #202005 Hendersonville, North Carolina
Just like Bob
As another octogenarian who regularly rides a BMW motorcycle, Bob Lardinais’ letter “Still riding a BMW” in September issue of BMW ON was especially meaningful to me. All the more since, just like Bob, I too used to ride an R 1100 RT and, again like him, I finally ended up with an F 800 GT. I was more fortunate than Bob, however, in that I did not total my beautiful Glacier Green R 1100 RT and was therefore able to ride it for 18 years. I bought it new in December 1995, when I traded an R 80 ST that I had bought new in 1984. As you can see, I tried to be as eternally faithful to my motorcycles and cars as I am to my wife of 57 years, though the latter two have not been as faithful to me
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BMW OWNERS NEWS | November 2021
in return. And I cannot at all compete at all with Bob’s amazing record of 72 years of riding. Not only because I am younger than he is (I’m only 82), but mainly because I was not able to start as early as he did. But that wasn’t for lack of a burning desire. Like so many German kids of my generation, I have always dreamt about those magical 500cc BMW Polizei motorcycles, ever since I was seven years old. And that dream never left me. But after elementary school, I worked on a farm and could barely afford a bicycle. In 1952, my two older brothers emigrated as farm workers to Colorado and I was able to follow them as a 20-year-old in 1961. I got a full-time job with the ground crew of an airline, worked in the afternoon, and attended the University in the morning, married, had a child and, alas, continued to dream of a BMW motorcycle while driving a used car instead. But I am patient man and held on to my dream. I knew that I would get my BMW bike one day: namely when I got my BA degree; then when I got my MA degree; and then when I finally got my Ph.D; and finally when I get my first job as a professor. However, it so happened that at any of these junctures, the most irresponsible and unreasonable purchase for a sensible family man would have been that totally unnecessary BMW motorcycle. I was a 45-year-old professor when I finally put my foot down and told myself and my family that before I got any older and die of some cancer without having ever had a BMW motorcycle in my life, I am buying one right now. It was a wonderful R 60/5 with 30,000 miles on the odometer. I rode it for many years until I bought that brand new R 80 ST. My present F 800 GT has a 200,000
miles MOA sticker on it, and my license plate holder reads “Senior Citizen Mobility Scooter.” I have now ridden more than 240,000 miles on BMW motorcycles and am unbelievably blessed to have never been down. My F 800 GT is not as comfortable as the ‘96 R 1100 RT was, but it is the right bike for me now. Because in those 18 years with my R 1100 RT, I too got 18 years older. Therefore, I now needed something lighter and sportier on which I look and feel younger and sportier again. My hat goes off to Bob Lardinais for going on 200-mile rides at age 86; he has more stamina than I do. I just ride my bike around town and to Daytona during Bike Week (where I’m a demo ride junky.) But I regularly enjoy some wonderful curves in my neighborhood, and I know a deserted country lane where I can redline my little GT in second gear and savor that marvelous push between 6,000 and 9,500 revs. And this is my first BMW that I can take to 60 mph in first gear! Therefore, just like my soul brother Bob Lardenais, I am so thankful that I could live long enough to enjoy BMW’s little belt-driven marvel, which seems to have been built just for me. Karl-Heinrich Barsch #32097 Orlando, Florida
C'mon BMW
As most K 1600 GTL owners know, a fuel pump recall was issued by BMW. I’ve got the 2013 model and made an appointment in April with my dealer. As we approach October, not even one has arrived–I’m sure I’m not the only one at the dealership who needs one. Why hasn’t BMW at least given us a revised statement on the issue explaining/