Photograph at charity ride, Summer 1998

1978 BMW R100/7

"Big Red"

In 1988 it looked like my job might send me to Europe for a few years. Shipping the bulky sidecar outfit was prohibitive, and there would be no way to protect it over there. Just then an R100/7 appeared in the Louisville paper for not much money. The bike had spent a hard ten years and 35,000 miles n the hands of college students in Iowa who had left it outdoors. Somehow it had gotten to Fern Creek where it lanquished, covered with dust, under some old rugs in the back of the garage of the latest parents. I decided it would be the perfect bike for Europe - fast, easy to fix, cheap, and disposable. I got it for $1,650.

But the fork rubbers were torn, the fork seals leaked, the shocks were shot, the motor ran poorly, and the bike was sort of weathered out. I could not leave it alone, and began a mechanical rehabilitation. A countertop was set up in the front of the garage hold all the parts. I removed the transmission and motor and took them to T&B BMW in Linton, IN, for new seals. The heads were sent to C&D BMW in Freeport, IL, for a valve job, and the carbs were sent to Bing for overhaul. The torn JC Whitney seat was replaced with a good used seat from Bobs BMW.

The bike had a lot more electrical parts and connections than my R69S. Soon the counter top was covered with little plastic baggies of parts, and pages of wiring sketches and notes. The back of the bike was taken off, the frame and drive paint touched up, and the battery box replaced. Then the front of the bike was taken off for fork rebuilding. The summer of 1988 was one of the hottest on record, and the hot evenings and weekends in the garage were wearing. Finally after 200 hours and another $1,700 the bike was done.

The bike was completed just in time to ride it to the 1988 BMW MOA National Rally in nearby Madison, IN, where a set of new Krauser bags were bought from a vendor. Ironically, the transfer to Europe never happened. What had started out as a "beater bike" proved to a comfortable and reliable tourer. Elsie soon dubbed it "Big Red" and it was our main bike for 12 years until vintage bike interests took precedence.