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My Favorite Mount: The Old Beemer

The predecessor. When I graduated high school and up to my second year of college I had a 1980 CB750F (that followed my first strictly street bike, a CB 750 K). I had a lot of grins with that old bike with my friend Doug as a faithful passenger and also cruising the Rockies and the Florida Keys on it with my Dad and his bike. One Spring at a bike show a nicely priced leftover BMW R/65 caught my dad's eye as a good bike for me. We almost pounced on it right away, but decided to shop around at least one more dealer before we spent the cash. The Beginning. We found a leftover 1984 R80ST in Sellersville, PA. It was love at first sight. Not the typical BMW, it was very similar to the BMW GS series (their off-road bikes). But this was a street bike with elevated exhaust, higher clearance and longer suspension travel, single swing arm, mono shock and light as a feather (at least compared to my two old CB 750's). It seemed perfect for me. I could tour the country and ride in the dirt with the same bike. For instance in this picture I am launching the Beemer out of a dry creek bed at Millersville University where I finished college.

Incidentally, my generous father forgave my loan for the bike as a college graduation present. Thanks again, Dad. The Resume. Dad and I took a lot of nice rides while I had that bike; Acadia National Park, Nova Scotia, New Foundland, the Canadian Rockies and the Smoky Mountains. A Favorite Memory. I remember touring Nova Scotia and finding a dirt road to explore. When my dad couldn't go any further on his Gold Wing, I went on ahead with his blessing. The road got narrower, rougher, steeper and higher the further I went. I finally had to turn the bike around carefully by hand when there was no longer any room to turn around while still on it. I was a few hundred feet above the Atlantic Ocean. The End. The old BMW met an untimely and anti-climactic demise; a broken shaft in the transmission. I was too financially strapped to afford repairs so I had to sell it. Otherwise, I think I would have liked to keep that bike forever.