A New Members Story

[bdaman]

I was into motorcycles as a young kid/man but got into a career and family and left it all behind. 4 years ago I was in Las Vegas on business and we used the Guggenheim Art of the Motorcycle space to launch a new product line.

Spending that much time with all those beautiful bikes brought back all the things I loved about motorcycles. When I got back a co-worker announced he was selling his 97 BMW F650 ST, funny how these things happen, so I immediately bought it. It has been the perfect bike to relearn and have fun on for the past 3 years.

Last February in Vegas again, I go every 6 months, I rented an 1150RS and some of the local BMW club members took me out for a day riding in the local area. From that day I have lusted after an RS.

So I had been actively searching since March, in June I found the bike I always wanted a red 96 1100RS with only 8,600 miles on it in Santa Cruz, CA at a dealer. I got someone from the F650 board that lived in the area to test ride it and after a month of hard negotiating I finally said, “I do” on July 10.

Between paperwork, shipping and vacations (I got a great deal on shipping, $650 from California to Maine if anyone needs a referral for shipping bikes) the bike finally was in my garage on August 22.

Since then I have put on over 500 miles and am so happy I can’t put it into words. I wish I had more time to ride, but work and family keep interfering. My only compliant is after 3 knee operations my right knee gets very stiff quickly from the more compressed riding position, I find myself flexing my leg a lot while riding.

My wife also has a one-motorcycle limit so I am trying to sell my F if anyone is interested. Anyway, I have been lurking for some time here and it’s a great board, I look forward to learning a lot.

Sorry for the long post, but I had to share.

Cheers
:Beer:
Bruce D

[moa_lek]

Welcome, Bruce!

Congrats on the RS. Although I think you shoulda left the bike in Santa Cruz and come out to enjoy the California fun!!!! :yo:

cheers,

Doug

[Joisey]

Welcome Bruce! Great story, and great luck to find a '96 with so few miles, especially on the Left Coast. I've been riding continuously since age 10 (nearly 35 years; no kids to interrupt the fun) but I love to hear the enthusiasm from riders who have rediscovered the sport.

I bought the peg-lowering kit from Bob's BMW (http://www.bobsbmw.com) and have been very pleased. It lowers the pegs about 1-1.5" and moves them forward about 1", which might not sound like much but made a big difference in comfort, at least for me (35" inseam). I suppose it compromises cornering clearance somewhat, but the tradeoff was well worth it for me.

I also mounted "Elf" pegs to be able to change leg positions a bit during long hauls. They're pricey but very well designed and manufactured, IMO.

Hope your bank account is healthy - there are LOTS of goodies to buy for these bikes!