Jlewis > Jlewis's Blog Posts > My BMW World

March 23, 2007 04:36

A lot of people ask me how I got into BMWs. It is very different than most, but I’m gald I here. It was through racing. I’d ridden a lot of BMW bikes in the past as an editor at _Cycle World_but I never gave the bikes a chance. I was usually just riding them for work, transporting a machine to a destination. Then when I got an offer to race the 900RR in rallyes, I needed something to practice on. Well I took out an 1150GS and rode around in the desert. Not too fast, mind you, but just enough to get used to riding such a big bike off road. And I was impressed with what the bike would do. I had a very similar experience with riding the R1150S Boxer Cup bike. I’m not good enough on a road race circuit for a true front-line sport bike. I’ve had way more fun on a Suzuki SV650 than a GSXR600, but when invited to race the Daytona Boxer Cup, I took a Replica bike out to the track to see if I was up to it. Man was that fun. There wasn’t too much bike to get in over my head and plenty to make me feel like I was a hero (though I wasn’t even close on the track!). BMW bikes have their own character and I’ve found that they do what they are intended to do very well. And if you don’t believe me, watch me ride an HP2, which I was lucky enough to be involved in the development of. If anyone told me that BMW was going to build a 100 Hp dirt bike I’d have said they (and BMW) were crazy. But there’s one now.

Its funny that a lot of my friends have hopped on the adventure tourng bandwagon. Most of us never really aspired to be BMW riders, but it didn’t take but a ride to get hooked.

Sure I have a racing history with the company, but the best thing that has come from it is the apreciation for the ride. And the unique riders I meet along the way that have the same fun and enjoyment as I do.

JIMMY

Tags

Rate this post