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Post a pic of your Airhead

Eagle River Red

This is a classic tale...with recent great success. But the tale begins far away and long ago when, as a young man in 1972, a hard charging former Marine with a Yamaha R5C 350 two-stoker in Southern California, found myself out of curiosity in Irv Seaver's shop on Main Street in Santa Ana. I had previously been exposed to the BMW marque just once, in Abilene Texas in 1971, but I remembered the quiet and impressive putter putter sound of a white /2 after it was kick started and settled into calm operation. So there I was around May of 1972. Irv Seaver politely showed me around his dealership, and I was introduced to Evan Bell, the present owner, who I am sure does not remember me, but anyway there I was. I bought, for I think $400 a nice running 1960 R60/2 with handlebar mounted wind deflector (Wixom ? Bates ?) and leather bags. Let time fast forward, through numerous motorcycles and life events, to May 2010, at which time I sold my then-current BMW, a nice 1977 R100S, and was ÔÇ£without BMWÔÇØ. I had enjoyed my /2, and a new 1974 R90/6, and a 1961 R27, and a 1983 R65LS, and a 2000 R1100RS, and two 1977 R100S bikes and a 1977 R100/7....but I had decided, partly for nostalgic reasons, that I wanted an R60/5. And I wanted a 1973 LWB. And I wanted it in Granada Red. The hunt began. A fellow BMW enthusiast, Charlie in Oshkosh, WI, noticed an eBay ad for a red 1973 R60. That listing timed out without reserve being met. Hmmm. Emails to the seller went unanswered. Well, it was way premature to give up, so Charlie and I dug out BMW Anonymous and located Beemer Bob as the sole listing for Eagle River, WI which was the advertised location of the R60. Beemer Bob did some sleuthing and came up with an email address for the seller. Still no go. Then a second eBay listing ran, and again the reserve was not met. One email to the listing address got a muted response. The bike was restored by Cycle Werks of Barrington, Illinois around 1998, had been ridden little - maybe 200 miles - since then and was mostly stored with a caretaker in a hanger at the Eagle River airport along with a Piper Cub and what not for family vacation use. Well, I made a final appeal to Beemer Bob and he gave it another shot, and I finally got connected with the seller. Charlie and his bride drove to Eagle River and inspected for me, money and title exchanged hands, and Charlie rode 150 miles back to his home in Oshkosh, at night, on surface roads, among deer, using a bolt for a key in the ignition circuit, on 1996 tires (they looked good) on a machine that we later realized had not had an annual service since 1998. Last week Paul and I loaded the R60, now showing ÔÇô yes ÔÇô a genuine 11,741 miles on the odometer ÔÇô in an enclosed U haul and ÔÇ£Eagle River Red the R60/5 LWBÔÇØ , manufactured in January 1973, now resides in Texas and is wearing 1973 TX motorcycle plates courtesy of the generosity and tenacity of 3 BMW enthusiasts, Charlie, Bob and Paul, that helped me secure this very sweet ride. The so-called ÔÇ£barn bikesÔÇØ are still out there.
 

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Eagle River Red

A better photo
 

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Eagle River Red

A little elbow grease...
 

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Very nice, that is one beautiful /5 Congrats and have fun!

I am working on a friend to sell me his Granada Red 73' R75/5 26,000 miles, but he will not budge ...yet.
 
83 R100RT 60th Ann

Just bought this great bike. Brought it down to Phila from Utica. Nice ride down rt 12 into Pa. Lots of friggin deer! Will continue down the Skyline/Blue Ridge this sept. to Assheville. And then on to Naples. Not a bad ride after a 12 year pause
 
A year ago, at post #1256 I posted a couple shots of the four boxers in my life -- an update to the family :D

A matched set:
CIMG1766cropped.jpg


And a sorta-airhead, circa 1980 (hey, at least the head's air cooled! :bolt)
CIMG1781.jpg
 
Put over 100 miles on the (new to me) R75/5 today, what a wonderful motorcycle! :heart

She ran flawlessly all day, and a beautiful day it was. Here she is at the Oregon coast with Heceta Head lighthouse in the background.

R75Photos2-1.jpg
 
well here she is 1994 gs100 stock

well mostly stock its a great ride .....not one to part with all smiles
 

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R80 on the road

1978 R80/7, takes me as far as I want to go. I've had it for 15 years with only minor issues that were sorted out at an Airhead Tech Day in South Carolina.
 

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Here is my 78 R100RS. Bought it from the original owner in early 86. Ed Zack was his name, unfortunately not with us anymore. The bike has been bulletproof for the most part. I put on fresh paint, (original scheme) last winter and finally broke down and had the heads done as well. Just rode from Cheney, (Spokane) to Redmond, then to Crater Lake, then to Portland, rode up to Mt St Helens and back to PDX, then home last weekend via the East side of St Helens, across the desert then home. (Thanks Destination Highways). Met some great people, saw some awesome bikes, joined the club, put 1500 troublefree miles on the bike, and ready to go again, (when time permits). :dance
 

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Nice bike. Hard to tell from the photo, but has the front snowflake rim been changed to the modified versions? Information on the recall is here:

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/19inchrecall.htm

Pretty sure it has, my main parts and tire supplier is in Boise, Idaho and I have always bought my tires and had them installed at Big Twin. I'm sure Fred would have taken care of it or noticed by now. But, it doesn't hurt to ask. Someone mentioned this to me at the rally in Redmond, and thanks for the reminder. The guy I talked to thought the wheel was upgraded. I'll check though.
 
Pretty sure it has, my main parts and tire supplier is in Boise, Idaho and I have always bought my tires and had them installed at Big Twin. I'm sure Fred would have taken care of it or noticed by now. But, it doesn't hurt to ask. Someone mentioned this to me at the rally in Redmond, and thanks for the reminder. The guy I talked to thought the wheel was upgraded. I'll check though.
Just went out and checked my wheel. It falls in the post mod category. The date is 4/85. A year before I bought it. It definitely has the reinforcement webs from the hub out about half way out on the spokes. I was pretty sure Ed had told me that he had dealt with it. And I am sure Fred would have noticed by now and let me know. Thanks for asking though. There are several websites devoted to BMW bikes. Every one has been a great source of info and encouragement for me. And since this is my first venture into this board and had a great question posed to me right off the bat, I remain encouraged and happier than ever to be part of the BMW Motorcycle community.
Thanks again,
Bill
 
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