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Sharing a bit of a milestone with the group - I finally reached 100,000 miles this afternoon on my 1985 BMW K100.
I picked it up at Freemans Cycles in May of 1986. Its first long trip was my honeymoon that August. Having a wife who wanted her honeymoon to be a moto-camping trip might say a little bit about why the three of us are still together after all these years.
It has taken a very long time to get to that sixth digit on the odometer, but it's been a great trip. As a young couple, we did quite a bit of two-up camping until the kids came along. The miles dropped off as the family grew, but I was able to ride at least a couple thousand miles every year, even if sometimes they were mostly commuting miles.
In the beginning we were city dwellers. Before she could even walk, my oldest would be sitting with mom on the front stoop, waiting for a ride on the tank from the sidewalk to the shed out back. Years passed, and as each of the kids got big enough we'd start with short trips around the block, gradually increasing distance until they all had bike weekends camping with dad. They all ride dirty now and the oldest is licensed and has ridden her first TTD. The youngest has his eyes on my old MZ and I suspect will be on the street not long after getting old enough for his license.
Riding the K led me to the MSF, which resulted in becoming an instructor and spending countless hours in parking lots sharing my love for the sport with many newbies and not-so newbies.
The K100 also got me on the track. Shortly after picking up the K-bike, Freemans Cycles sponsored a Reg Pridmore CLASS (moto school) at Bryar Motorsport Park. It was my first exposure to the race track. I'll never forget riding on the back of then 16 year-old Jason Pridmore's R-bike in the pouring rain with rivers crossing the track, passing people like they were parked. The next year Freemans had a track day, my first. Like many of you, I was hooked by my first real track day. After that I took the K100 to track days just about every year until 2000. I'd ride the K to the track, prep it, track it, then ride home.
Now my kids are getting older and my beautiful bride and I have started putting in more miles together again. We've come nearly full circle with 100k miles behind us and the hope of many miles ahead.
This might seem ridiculous to anyone except us, but the old K is so deeply ingrained in the story of our lives that it's not just a motorcycle, it's member of the family. Here's to the next 100,000.
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99 + 02 SV650 ex-race - 91 FJ1200 street - 03 KDX220R woods - 12 WR450F motard/ice
Originally Posted by Imbeek
