Another close ratio racing transmission, this time a 5 speed unit for /6 & /7 machines. This NOS unit just came out of the box, and is still coated in cosmoline. I'll be putting this set into the gearbox of my 1977 R100RS. When it was last available from BMW, the retail cost on this set was $2,750 (US)! Ouch!  No... I didn't spend near that much on it!

When the K100RS first came out, I fell in love with the looks of the bike, and it wasn't long before I figured out a way to afford one. This is me on the day I picked it up. It was a Madison Silver 1985 model that I bought new in early 1986.

This R12 and Royal sidecar combination was imported from Spain in the 1960s and was reportedly used at the German Embassy in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. The previous owner split it up, and I ended up with the sidecar, which I wanted to mount on my R51. It was interesting to find a bullet hole in the trunk area, which I decided not to fix! The angle of the hole indicted a shot coming down from a roof, or maybe an airplane!

Another photo I took in the Deutsches Museum in 1973. This is a photo of a cutaway R50. The bike was beautifully finished, and a real treat to study. This R50 has the early (1955-56) spoke pattern wheels, but oddly enough the air filter is the newer (1957 & later) style.

This is the early airfilter for the 1955-57 machines, seen here in an unrestored state on my 1955 R50.

This is the one that started it all, my first BMW. This is a 1960 R50, which I bought during my senior year in High School with money I made working part time evenings and weekends.

Here's a shot of my R17 just before I sold it to get an R75. I managed to find a set of original fenders in Belgium along with most everything else it needed over a period of 5 years. I would be nice to have this one back, but for the last 14 years it's been in good hands with a friend of mine.

Circa 1983, here's a shot of me riding a fellow BMW Vintage club member's pre-war R51 around the parking lot. Always lots of nice people at these meets.

Here's another view of the R51, this time without me blocking the important stuff! The fenders and handlebar controls are post-war, but otherwise it would be an easy restoration.

Back in 1973 I spent two weeks backpacking around Germany, and during that time I picked up some German motorcycle magazines to see what was going on in Europe. One of them contained this ad, which shows an R27 with a Hoske tank. I've never forgotten this photo, and I saved those old magazines to this day. I've yet to find one of these tanks, but I still keep looking. Someday I'll find one, you wait and see!