Monday, April 4, 2011

April Airhead Mtg.

This evening was the monthly "meeting" of our Airheads Beemer club. It is actually referred to as "Barley Therapy" as it is held at the local microbrewery. There was a pretty good turnout and George Rahn, who used to own the BMW dealership in Fairbanks until 2008, showed all the other riders up by arriving on his Royal Enfield. The roads were still pretty wet with large patches of ice but he made it out without any mishaps. He has a number of sidecar rigs including a Cozy on his Royal Enfield but for some reason he chose to arrive on two wheels. When asked why he rode the simple answer was the car doesn't work. For anyone who hasn't met George, he is a bit eccentric but very knowledgeable about the old Beemers. His shop has a lot of old "R" and "K" bikes laying around mixed with a bunch of newer Enfields and a whole pile of "stuff". It sort of looks like a motorcycle junkyard. He is currently a dealer for Royal Enfield but still does a lot of work on the older BMWs. I had talked to him in the past about my valve issue and he said that he would just replace everything with OEM parts and call it good. "After all, how long do you plan to keep the bike?" I guess that wasn't the solution I was looking for but probably a reasonable question.

4 comments:

  1. Dear Richard:

    I think you got the best advice — though not the least expensive — to getting out on the road for an early spring ride. Bolt-off, and Bolt-On has always worked well for me.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads

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  2. Richard,

    Eccentric is OK if he knows his Airheads....the one I used to frequent is a bit quirky but knew his stuff. Other things have driven my business elsewhere.

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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  3. At least he can't be faulted for getting out. (And I am not making any references to people not riding.) :) It is encouraging that the roads are clearing up a little.

    Any news on yours?

    -Lori

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  4. Jack Riepe:
    I agree that the Beemershop was a good choice though I wish they would call and give me status updates without me having to pester them.

    Charlie6:
    He does know Airheads and is one of the wonderful sources of information to the Airhead group for doing their own repairs. He's even brought by tech bulletins that he has received from BMW for specific issues.

    BeemerGirl:
    No news but I haven't called. I had to rush up to Barrow again due to failing equipment....

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