The history of BMW Motorrad clubs in the USA...

[flyhi2cfar]

Actually Reece; the Detroit BMW Touring Club (MOA Charter #1, because of Vern Hansen) was first established in 1969,
and they Chartered with the "new" national MOA in 1972 of course.

And that's what I was getting at, with the question of 1972 itself.

There were about 10-20 (+/-) BMW motorbike clubs throughout North America before 1972.
So out of those, AND along with any others that formed up because of the new MOA... do we really know the club's that recognize 2022 as their 50th.

Congrats to your Alabama brothers for their milestone as a club, did they by chance also join MOA in 1972?
With Charter #5 I naturally suspect so.

By the way Reece, your tale of enlightenment, when first learning of the Detroit BMWTC during your early years...
is a highlight within their January 22' newsletter.

It's the last day of the month celebrating January of 50 years ago as our historical founding... a toast to the origin!

 

[rangerreece]

John

Gotcha, I understand now, I think: where are the MOA charter clubs that originally “formed” at or around the same time as the national club. The Alabama club basically was one. John Harper is MOA member number 2, and basically formed the Alabama club out of the concept of the national club. Between now and spring I plan on riding up to Anniston and interviewing him for one of Wes’s digital productions.

 

[Visian]

Gotcha, I understand now, I think: where are the MOA charter clubs that originally “formed” at or around the same time as the national club.

I am trying to find that out and trust me, it is not easy. A lot of this information appears lost to history, many of the players are no longer on the road.

Here are the clubs and names that I know of so far:

- BMW Owners Club of San Diego, John Harmer
- BMW Touring Club of Detroit, Vern Hansen
- BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California, John Moore
- Madison BMW Club, Jeff Dean
- Chicago Region BMW Owners Association, no name yet
- BMW Riders Club of WNY, Charlie Smith
- BMW Motorcycle Owners of Alabama, John Harper

There are no doubt more and any help in finding them would be sincerely appreciated!

John Harper is MOA member number 2, and basically formed the Alabama club out of the concept of the national club. Between now and spring I plan on riding up to Anniston and interviewing him for one of Wes’s digital productions.

That story is told in this earlier post...

 

[dennisdarrow]

COBMWRR....Central Oklahoma BMW Road Riders #41 was established by Dave Bolding in VERY EARLY 1972 at a meeting in Norman Oklahoma. Several of us joined the National CLUB at that meeting and time. Several of us went to the second National Rally at the Yogi Bear Campground. I kinda remember it was a hoity toity bunch of folks that was running the thing and the local CLUBS weren't recognized or given ANY honors. Instead, the 'PIONEERS" were given recognition. I remember this tradition followed at the awards ceremony for many years.

Cliff and Betty Smith of Blackwell need to be mentioned at this time, organizing rides and events for a bunch of folks that were riding together. The Tulsa bunch, number 43??? or so, was typically in attendance with their numbers at events challenging the OKC folks.

The OKC numbers as a club grew quite a bit over the next few years with an early January ride down to MT. Scott, called the Candy Ass Ride. It drew riders from all over the USA. A fella, I can't remember his name, was awarded the Long Distance Rider for several years, and the attendance at the Ride itself drew several hundred.

That's about all the history I can relate, as after to many years in the leadership, I moved to Georgia and I noticed the club kinda dwindled in numbers itself; but kept alive by the efforts of LONG TIME member and leadership of the Truel Brothers, Mike and Kurt???..........so sorry.......Anyway, Mike, I have noticed has helped the bunch sponsor a ride in the fall over to the Talimena Trail area and a Rally type get together.......A really good bunch of folks!!!! Go #41 COBMWRR......HAPPY 50th and several folks qualifying for lifetime membership..God bless

 

[Visian]

The OKC numbers as a club grew quite a bit over the next few years with an early January ride down to MT. Scott, called the Candy Ass Ride. It drew riders from all over the USA.

Oh, I had to look that one up! Looks like it's an HD event, and it's been a few years since the last one.

Good stuff

 

[flyhi2cfar]

COBMWRR....Central Oklahoma BMW Road Riders #41 was established by Dave Bolding in VERY EARLY 1972 at a meeting in Norman Oklahoma. Several of us joined the National CLUB at that meeting and time. Several of us went to the second National Rally at the Yogi Bear Campground. I kinda remember it was a hoity toity bunch of folks that was running the thing and the local CLUBS weren't recognized or given ANY honors. Instead, the 'PIONEERS" were given recognition. I remember this tradition followed at the awards ceremony for many years.

Cliff and Betty Smith of Blackwell need to be mentioned at this time, organizing rides and events for a bunch of folks that were riding together. The Tulsa bunch, number 43??? or so, was typically in attendance with their numbers at events challenging the OKC folks.

The OKC numbers as a club grew quite a bit over the next few years with an early January ride down to MT. Scott, called the Candy Ass Ride. It drew riders from all over the USA. A fella, I can't remember his name, was awarded the Long Distance Rider for several years, and the attendance at the Ride itself drew several hundred.

That's about all the history I can relate, as after to many years in the leadership, I moved to Georgia and I noticed the club kinda dwindled in numbers itself; but kept alive by the efforts of LONG TIME member and leadership of the Truel Brothers, Mike and Kurt???..........so sorry.......Anyway, Mike, I have noticed has helped the bunch sponsor a ride in the fall over to the Talimena Trail area and a Rally type get together.......A really good bunch of folks!!!! Go #41 COBMWRR......HAPPY 50th and several folks qualifying for lifetime membership..God bless

Now there's a good story!
Very interesting reflection Dennis. As rider during the formative years, you certainly experienced brotherhood on a different level!!!

Now I'm curious about Club Charter numbers. I know the BMW Bikes of Metro Washington (BMWBMW) have #40... and were a 1974 model.
So I wonder, how did the Central Oklahoma Road Riders become #41 two years earlier, in 1972... with that number ?

Thanks for your input Dennis.

John

 

[pglaves]

Kansas City BMW Club #46. I don't know the year.

 

[Visian]

Kansas City BMW Club #46. I don't know the year.

Do you know any KC OGs, Paul?

 

[akbeemer]

There are two chartered clubs in Montana. The Beartooth Beemers exist for one purpose only, which is to put on the Beartooth Rendezvous at the base of the Beartooth Pass in August. A fun, low key rally located in the middle of beautiful scenery and great riding. I have no idea how many members they have, but likely not very many and they do not seem to recruit new members. The second Montana club is The Montana BMW Riders (MBMWR). They are a fairly active club and hold a variety of rides and contests that entail both on and off road events. Since it is essentially the only active club in the state the membership is spread over a very wide area. In the recent past they began having some area events that all members may attend but are targeted at members in specific area of the state. Three or four years ago the MBMWR had about 75-80 members; today they have 125. I attribute the increase in membership in large part to having a newsletter editor who turned a bland publication into a colorful digital document that is full of pictures, rider profiles of new members and stories. The club used to limit the newsletter to members only, but the new editor posts it online and will email a copy to anyone that even remotely looks like a potential member. If after three or four months of sending a non-member the newsletter he will drop the person off his email list. The guy who brought this fresh approach to the newsletter is 84 years old but he is bringing in 30-40 year old new members. The other reason I believe the MBMWR is growing is having events aimed at off road riders and long distance riders. Our recent past President was a 40ish year old college professor who took a new position in another state and was replaced by a 30ish guy who is in the brewery business (he organized the Beer Fest at the Great Falls rally).

 

[Visian]

There are two chartered clubs in Montana. The Beartooth Beemers exist for one purpose only, which is to put on the Beartooth Rendezvous at the base of the Beartooth Pass in August. A fun, low key rally located in the middle of beautiful scenery and great riding. I have no idea how many members they have, but likely not very many and they do not seem to recruit new members. The second Montana club is The Montana BMW Riders (MBMWR). They are a fairly active club and hold a variety of rides and contests that entail both on and off road events. Since it is essentially the only active club in the state the membership is spread over a very wide area. In the recent past they began having some area events that all members may attend but are targeted at members in specific area of the state. Three or four years ago the MBMWR had about 75-80 members; today they have 125. I attribute the increase in membership in large part to having a newsletter editor who turned a bland publication into a colorful digital document that is full of pictures, rider profiles of new members and stories. The club used to limit the newsletter to members only, but the new editor posts it online and will email a copy to anyone that even remotely looks like a potential member. If after three or four months of sending a non-member the newsletter he will drop the person off his email list. The guy who brought this fresh approach to the newsletter is 84 years old but he is bringing in 30-40 year old new members. The other reason I believe the MBMWR is growing is having events aimed at off road riders and long distance riders. Our recent past President was a 40ish year old college professor who took a new position in another state and was replaced by a 30ish guy who is in the brewery business (he organized the Beer Fest at the Great Falls rally).

Wow... this is indeed a great newsletter... and that is a lot of work. What a great story... an 84 year-old guy reeling in youngsters.

I'd like to go to that Beartooth Beemers rally, I was right in that area in 2020 and stayed in Cooke City.

 

[Visian]

Sorry for the delay...

... this thread hasn't been updated lately... and honestly, I am running into a brick wall when it comes to getting info. Slowly but surely, it will come.

Below is a photo from an earlier post, with some added detail. Circled in red is Bob Beach, who was a major contributor to the motorrad community in the early days, as a member of the BMW Riders of Western New York and to the BMW MOA and BMW RA.

It turns out that Charlie Smith (in a previous post) worked together with Bob on the Beach's dinner table to produce the earliest issues of the BMW Owners News. I learned this from Bob's son Rob (actually from his wife Gretchen) who run the oldest European Touring company, Beach's Motorcycle Adventures. Unfortunately, I've not been able to get any more info from Rob, who is no doubt hard at work planning their 2022 touring season.

 

[susan-nc]

On the right is Turkey Tom and on the left is Ed Culberson.

They're at Tom's High Country Motorcycle Camp in western NC and the event is a meeting of the first dual-sport BMW motorrad club in the USA: The GS International. (I was the newsletter editor )

"From the end of the highway to the international byways, the GS experience is a way of life" - GS International's slogan. Tom was the club's founder and totally understood the then-new "G/S thing."

Ed Culberson rode his G/SPD, named "Amigo", the entire length of the Pan American Highway and wrote a book about the experience: Obsessions Die Hard. I have an autographed copy, Ed was selling them off the back of his motorcycle (they were in the orange box in the pic below) at my first MOA rally in Duquoin, IL. Ed was a Space Coaster (early BMW motorrad local club) and iirc, so was Tom.

Recognized Ed and also have an autographed copy of his book from one of the Bulow Bike Week rallies. Also have one of the John Holmes pancakes t-shirts.

 

[susan-nc]

A brief story heard from someone who was there. He was a 26 year-old "outrider"... which is somewhat the equivalent to an Ironbutt rider today.

In 1971 the outrider crossed the country on his /5, showing up at daybreak on the porch of Bill Harmer's house in San Diego. Bill was a leader in the San Diego club and one of the Californians calling for the formation of a national BMW motorrad club.

The outrider was responding to an article describing that very idea, written by Harmer and published by Roger Hull in Road Rider magazine.

But first, a big to Vince Winkel, who led a large number of volunteers in publishing this book 15 years ago.

At the front of this book we see....

... The BMW Owners of America's first logo.

Interestingly, the outrider played a key role in this logo's design. You see, it turns out that the logo that Harmer had been working on looked exactly like Japan Airlines' logo (of all things)... so it could not be used.

The outrider had seen the logo for the newly-formed BMW Owners of the UK... and suggested to Harmer that the American club could follow suit. And he sketched with a pencil the map of the USA over the BMW's Roundel / Tank Badge.

Back then, there was no such thing as Corporate Identity... or, um, the willingness of a BMW club to actually pay a real graphic designer!

Ian

ps -> another part of the story is that Harmer's advice to the young outrider was to go back home to Alabama and start a state-wide BMW motorrad club. The outrider was so enthusiastic... he became one of the founders of both the Alabama club and the Vintage BMW Owners Club.

Also have this book. On page 16, between the words What A Ride, is a pic that I took at the Germany Road sign. L-R is Tim, Jim B. and Tim's brother Paul on their K75s coming back from a Georgia Mtn. rally.

 

[Visian]

Also have this book. On page 16, between the words What A Ride, is a pic that I took at the Germany Road sign. L-R is Tim, Jim B. and Tim's brother Paul on their K75s coming back from a Georgia Mtn. rally.

Germany Road is an awesome road!

On the lower right corner of the same spread in the book is one of my pics... from the 2007 rally in West Bend, Wisconsin.

Want a laugh...?

 

[41107]

Before MOA

In 1969 I joint the Chicago Region Club.It was all about helping each other out and many hours were spend at Ted Strobl's garage repairing bikes.We used to meet back then on Diversey Ave. on the second floor above a tavern right next to the L-tracks.We invited our local dealer Mike Abt Sr. to complain about his high parts prices.(He didn't do a thing for us as I remember) Interesting reading,seems all sort of like yesterday.lol

 

[Visian]

In 1969 I joint the Chicago Region Club.It was all about helping each other out and many hours were spend at Ted Strobl's garage repairing bikes.We used to meet back then on Diversey Ave. on the second floor above a tavern right next to the L-tracks.We invited our local dealer Mike Abt Sr. to complain about his high parts prices.(He didn't do a thing for us as I remember) Interesting reading,seems all sort of like yesterday.lol

Some things never change!

Do you have any pictures? If you need, I will be glad to scan them.