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New member from Western PA

Hi everyone,

New member from the Pittsburgh PA area here. My name is Scott and this is the third time I've joined the MOA. I let my membership expire the last two times. My first MOA National rally that I attended was Rutland, VT way back in 1978 when I was a teenager. My ride at the time was a '72 R75/5. I've owned a few BMW's since then: '78 R80/7, '75 DO R90S (which I sold in 2005) and currently own and ride a '76 R90S (33K miles with both DO and SS bodywork) and a '78 R100RS Motorsport (17,600 original miles). I've also owned a few other brands as well: '81 Kawasaki GPZ1100, '79 Honda CBX, '91 Kawasaki ZX-11, and a '07 Candy Plasma Blue Kawasaki ZX-14 with 8k miles which I currently own.

I'm looking forward to going to the National this year as it's about a 3 hour drive from my home. Any suggestions on which bike I should take? Thanks.
 

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Hi everyone,

New member from the Pittsburgh PA area here. My name is Scott and this is the third time I've joined the MOA. I let my membership expire the last two times. My first MOA National rally that I attended was Rutland, VT way back in 1978 when I was a teenager. My ride at the time was a '72 R75/5. I've owned a few BMW's since then: '78 R80/7, '75 DO R90S (which I sold in 2005) and currently own and ride a '76 R90S (33K miles with both DO and SS bodywork) and a '78 R100RS Motorsport (17,600 original miles). I've also owned a few other brands as well: '81 Kawasaki GPZ1100, '79 Honda CBX, '91 Kawasaki ZX-11, and a '07 Candy Plasma Blue Kawasaki ZX-14 with 8k miles which I currently own.

I'm looking forward to going to the National this year as it's about a 3 hour drive from my home. Any suggestions on which bike I should take? Thanks.

I'd vote for the R100RS.

Not to be critical, but interested in the reason...........why did you leave your membership expire? You seem to have a bit of an interest in the bikes:)
 
Welcome Back

Welcome back - I'd also be interested to hear why you let your prior memberships expire.

I'm the odd man out I guess - I vote for the R90S

Thanks for being a member!!
 
Thanks for the "welcome"! This will be the third time I've registered for the MOA. I very much enjoyed touring many years ago when I was a young pup and the MOA membership was always very gracious and welcoming wherever I went. I've been to three nationals: Rutland, Brainerd, and Moodus. I look forward to getting back to exploring the countryside especially since I have the Motorsport. I do have a set of Krauser bags.

I owned two BMW's through 1980. Unfortunately, I got in an accident and totaled my R80/7 that year. I then bought a Kaw GPZ1100 in '81 and got away from BMW's altogether, so I let my membership lapse. I always loved the DO R90S but thought it too expensive and by the time I was in the market they were no longer in production. However, eventually I had the means and in '92 bought my first DO R90S. I re-joined the MOA and took the S to Moodus with a very good friend who owned a Ducati 750 Paso at the time. I eventually sold my S to my friend with the Paso in 2005 (he still has the Paso and my old R90S) and let my membership lapse yet again. I missed the S though :) and went back out on the search again in 2013. A fellow from the R90S Sport Owners club contacted me. He had three and was willing to let one go. He was open to selling any of the three but when he said the one '76 model he had was a late production number I was sold. There were only 162 more imported into the states before introduction of the /7 series so it has all the /7 engine upgrades. He had a wee bit of sellers remorse when I loaded it in the van but he still had the two. Nice part about the purchase was it has original SS bodywork and a full set of NOS DO bodywork which came with the deal. So I can exchange colors when the mood strikes. Hope that's an adequate explanation without boring you all.

Thanks again for welcoming me into the group! :wave

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I have been blessed and feel fortunate to be given stewardship over some fine pieces of machinery that will outlast me, no doubt, provided I don't do something foolish like get into an accident. Stewardship is a privilege and responsibility I do NOT take lightly. My intention is preservation of what I believe to be historically significant BMW's that I dreamed about when I was a kid. Thank you, Mr. 36654, for appreciating the same form I do.
 
I have been blessed and feel fortunate to be given stewardship over some fine pieces of machinery that will outlast me, no doubt, provided I don't do something foolish like get into an accident. Stewardship is a privilege and responsibility I do NOT take lightly. My intention is preservation of what I believe to be historically significant BMW's that I dreamed about when I was a kid. Thank you, Mr. 36654, for appreciating the same form I do.

If you've ever documented any restorations or repairs, I'm sure it would be an excellent ON story.

Since, you've been doing this for a few years, who has been your local BMW shop(s) over the years? I'm guessing your BMW experience goes back to, almost, the Butler&Smith days.

At the Bloomsburg Rally, back in 2011, a gentleman from the Easton/Allentown PA area was trying to start an airhead restoration shop/business. He had a couple of R90s on display for sale, but I've never heard of his business, since.
 
My affiliation with BMW DOES go back to Butler & Smith in Norwood, NJ. Also, I used to "hang around" AMOL's BMW/Honda dealership and full service machine shop in Dumont. Some incredible things came out of that facility. Oscar Liebmann was the "OL" in AMOL. I believe he co-started the machine shop and BMW dealership, which his son Richard took over. His other son, Kurt, was the racer. Many know of Kurt. I bought my R80/7 from AMOL's back in '78. Over the years, I had all three of my BMW's serviced there and was VERY disappointed when they went out of business. Apparently, they didn't meet the BMW NA criteria of a modern dealership. I'm still miffed about it when I think of it. Back in the day, the service manager there was Richard Dampf. He went on to be a pretty big name at BMW NA motorcycle division which was headquartered in Montvale, NJ where I grew up. It's interesting how much BMW NA racing history is locked into AMOL's. Ian Falloon mentions them in his R90S book and talks about Udo Gietl and the machining work he had done through AMOL's on his race bikes. It was great to relive a little of that history at the R90S 40th anniversary rally in Buckingham, PA a couple summers ago. Many of my heroes were there including Todd Schuster, Reg Pridmore, and of course Hans Muth! It was R90S celebration nirvana. I look forward to the next one Todd Trumbore will host in 2017.

As far as work performed on my bikes, I most recently had Craig Immel do a detailed reconditioning on the Motorsport. Craig lives in Greensburg which is about an hour from me. The Motorsport is a one owner bike (I'm the second owner) that sat from 1992 until 2015. Underneath all the dust was a jewel. I have a copy of the original title and have the original bill of sale. I'm disappointed I had to surrender the original title when transferring the bike to my name. I'm still in "shake down" mode after getting the bike back from Craig a couple of Sundays ago. Weather is bad here in Western PA, so I hope to get out this week as 60's are predicted. I'll see how the seals hold up.
 
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As far as work performed on my bikes, I most recently had Craig Immel do a detailed reconditioning on the Motorsport. Craig lives in Greensburg which is about an hour from me. The Motorsport is a one owner bike (I'm the second owner) that sat from 1992 until 2015. Underneath all the dust was a jewel. I have a copy of the original title and have the original bill of sale. I'm disappointed I had to surrender the original title when transferring the bike to my name. I'm still in "shake down" mode after getting the bike back from Craig a couple of Sundays ago. Weather is bad here in Western PA, so I hope to get out this week as 60's are predicted. I'll see how the seals hold up.

Is Craig Immel, the Craig that had Heritage BMW in Mckeesport?
 
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Welcome back to the club. Your bikes look awesome. I hope to see you at national. It's a little more than 3 hours from lower Alabama. This national will be my first. I'm looking forward to it. It sounds like you have a lot of experience with beemers. I'm glad you decided to rejoin.
 
Yes, Mr. 36654, I believe that we are speaking of the same Craig Immel. Please share your thoughts.

Rangerreece you say you live in Alabama? Perhaps I'm mistaken but I believe the National MOA rally is in Hamburg, NY. Finger Lakes region or thereabouts. Perhaps you're speaking of another rally or I'm guessing you're suggesting a three hour plane flight to Hamburg, NY? Thanks for the kudos on the bikes in my garage. I appreciate it!

I do have one other beast of a four wheel variety taking up residence in my garage. It doesn't play well with the two wheelers though. I have to keep them separated and covered so they don't see each other. :fight :brow
 

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By a "little more than three hours" I meant like 2 days of riding. You know... just a little. Sir, you have lots of nice toys.
 
Yes, Mr. 36654, I believe that we are speaking of the same Craig Immel. Please share your thoughts.

Rangerreece you say you live in Alabama? Perhaps I'm mistaken but I believe the National MOA rally is in Hamburg, NY. Finger Lakes region or thereabouts. Perhaps you're speaking of another rally or I'm guessing you're suggesting a three hour plane flight to Hamburg, NY? Thanks for the kudos on the bikes in my garage. I appreciate it!

I do have one other beast of a four wheel variety taking up residence in my garage. It doesn't play well with the two wheelers though. I have to keep them separated and covered so they don't see each other. :fight :brow

After the dealership in Windber folded, Craig's dealership did all my service until it closed in the very late 90's Originally, they were located east of Monroeville, but then moved to a location in McKeesport. The prices were fair and they were nice, honest people in my experience.

But, back to your story, how did you get to Pittsburgh from Northern NJ? Sounds like you made the move in the last good years of the old steel industry.
 
But, back to your story, how did you get to Pittsburgh from Northern NJ? Sounds like you made the move in the last good years of the old steel industry.

Actually, I lived in Ridgewood, NJ until November of '09. Loooooooooong story short... my three adult children attended Grove City College and are on their own. My oldest was living in Indianapolis at the time and my middle one was living in northern NJ while my youngest was living north west of Pittsburgh. She settled in this area after college. Pittsburgh is in the middle of Indy and Northern NJ... so here I am. :type In the interest of space and my inability to type, I skipped all the details.:gerg
 
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