INTERESTING TRAVELS AND PEOPLE

A wonderful, unexpected surprise during a really crappy time

or What does Covid19, a tropical storm and an incredible collection of antique BMWs have in common? Pull up a chair. This is gonna take a minute.

An image from the CDC that we've become all to familiar with.

By late October 2020, the Coronavirus was rapidly spreading across the country. In early January that year, I received an unusual email message from a plant manager in China. The company he managed was building a number of exhaust system components for my employer in Florida and it required constant communication between us. This factory was located about 100 miles from the city of Wuhan in China. A week or so earlier I'd heard about Whuan for the first time though a disturbing story in an Associated Press release. The manager told me that their firm would be closing down for a couple of weeks for reorganization. Right. I thought this was weird because they normally only close for a couple of official holidays and nothing else. Thinking there might be some connection to the virus, I probed him for details, but he wouldn’t budge. In a followup email I directly asked him if the closing had anything to do with the virus. He never answered that question, but, I’m absolutely sure he was forbidden by the Communist Party from acknowledging the virus in any way. He was a really decent guy who frequently gushed about his young kids. A day later I received his final email cautioning me to “buy as many N95 masks as I could to protect my family.” That got my attention.

During a press conference the next week, the former president was asked if he was concerned about the coronavirus. His answer was,“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.” I didn’t buy it. In the past, politicians frequently downplay, or downright lie, about calamitous situations until it’s too late to take prudent action. It took me a couple of weeks to mull over the email and the news, but by the the middle of February, I was starting to become really concerned. The first death related to the coronavirus in the US had yet to be announced, but I felt an insatiable urge to get prepared anyway. I stopped by my local paint supplier

A woman grabs one of the last rolls of paper towels in a store. Luckily, we had stocked up before things got this bad.

and bought several boxes of masks for my family and for some friends who couldn’t get out. That weekend, my wife and I started stocking up on cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, hand wipes and paper towels. I’m so glad we did, within a few more weeks, all these items would be cleaned from store shelves. We didn’t panic buy, we just stocked up on what we would normally use for the next several months.

A couple weeks later, it occurred to me that not everyone I worked with would be anywhere near as cautious about spreading the virus as I was. In order to keep me and my family healthy, I put in my notice at work. . Even though I’d miss the paycheck, this “early retirement” allowed me to do what I wanted to do most - work on and restore antique motorcycles full time. Over the next seven months I’d put in a lot of hours and by early October, I needed a break - even dreams can be tiring. My wife was also getting itchy to do something different. Unfortunately, vaccines for the virus were still months away. We decided that whatever we did, we had to be as safe as we were at home. Travel and camping has always been one of our favorite outlets and we figured we could isolate in our camper as well as at home. We’d still have to be cautious about wearing masks when grocery shopping or getting gas, but we were already doing that at home.

The timing case of the BMW. After we removed the crank, we found it had too much end play.

At that time, I was busy working on the engine of a 1966 BWW R69S that badly needed restoration. After dismantling the engine, I found some play in the crank bearings. It wasn’t bad, but in order to make the engine right, I’d have to have the crank serviced and balanced. These crankshafts aren’t exactly easy to come by and I didn’t feel particularly safe about shipping it, even with insurance. The one place I trusted with the crank repair was Barrington Motor Works in Barrington, NH. I contacted the owner, Ande Kahora, and asked if we could drop off the crank. I let him know we'd been staying safe and he kindly agreed to let us stop by his shop. So we made that our destination for a get away.

As it turns out, early October is a great time for “leaf peeping” in the Northeast. Apparently, watching leaves is a thing. This pastime brings hordes of visitors from hot climates like Florida, Texas and Arizona to the campgrounds, state and national parks of the northeast. It's often hard to get a campsite during the first couple of weeks and by the end of October, many campgrounds are closed for the winter. Normally, by November, the leaves are mostly on the ground. We started making immediate plans with hopes to get out of town by the second week of October hoping we

would get lucky with campsites. But, as fate would have it, there were issues with the camper, work that had to get out for customers and doctor’s appointments that couldn’t be missed. Oddly enough,there was also this tropical storm floating around in the gulf and it couldn't decide whether it was going to stop by and see us on the gulf coast of Florida or head further north.

Hurricane Zeta became a category 2 hurricane with landfall in two countries, it accounted for 9 fatalities and $2.2 billion in damage.

By the 27th of October, weather reports had Zeta turning away from Florida, intensifying into a hurricane and heading directly for the coast of Louisiana. Good news for Floridians, bad news for our Cajun friends, with whom we commiserate about hurricanes.

So, we hit the road at zero dark thirty on the morning of October 28. We weren’t in a big hurry but we didn’t want to hit rush hour in Atlanta. The storm was projected to dissipate and possibly create occasional heavy rain in the Atlanta area, but it wasn’t forecast to be all that bad.

As we all know, storm projections aren’t always that accurate - especially if you don’t check them for several hours. By the time we hit Atlanta the skies were black and the rain was falling hard. Turns out, after Zeta came ashore in Louisiana as a powerful CAT 2 hurricane. After crossing the beach, it was immediately downgraded to a tropical storm, but it was a huge storm and it was racing us to our campsite. Talk about driving excitement: Imagine hauling a heavily-loaded truck followed by a 22-foot camper. You’re nearing Atlanta in the dark. It’s ten lanes of wall-to-wall traffic, people passing like they can’t wait to die and everybody’s driving at least 80 miles per hour in heavy, pouring rain, with gusts blowing strong enough to push the camper out of the lane. Needless to say, it was not a lot of fun! As we did in the airlines, I requested a sterile cockpit - that meant no talking or distractions from the spouse until we were out of trouble. The next hour or so was really stress-inducing.

Other than a few dings from the hail, our camper and truck survived a night in a tropical storm. This is the campsite the morning after. I had already picked up the broken branches by the time I remembered to take a photo.

A couple hours later, we pulled into our campsite at the on North Carolina border. The park was dark and the rain was getting stronger. There was no cell service, so we couldn’t pinpoint the remnants of Zeta. The campsite was about 200 feet above a rushing river below, so I didn’t think flooding would be an issue. What we didn’t know was was tropical storm Zeta was headed directly for us. During the night we experienced the sounds of howling winds, pounding rain, falling trees, cracking limbs and hail dinging the roof of our camper. We didn’t get much sleep but in the morning we opened the door to a clear and beautiful sky. The camper had a few new dents in the top from the hail, but otherwise it was undamaged. The driving for the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, except for one late night in Kentucky when the biggest deer I’ve ever seen jumped over our truck and slammed into the camper. Yeah, except for that.

Most of the trees had lost their leaves by late October, but the sides of the mountains that faced the sun still held a surprising amount of color

But that’s another story. I’ve discovered all good journeys have a little unexpected twist that is often unpleasant at the moment.

Believe it or not, the effects of Zeta were felt back at home, more than 500 miles away from landfall. My son called the next morning to inform me that we had a couple feet of water in our driveway, lots of downed limbs and a bunch of debris in our yard. So much for the storm. My wife and I were ready to leave that behind and head into the mountains.

As a native Floridian, I've always loved the first view of the mountains as we near the Great Smokey Mountains. This year was not different.

We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina and into Virginia. Not the quickest route to New Hampshire, but we experienced delightfully cool weather and a late year explosion of color. The abundant beauty and falling temps lifted our souls from the burdens and worries caused by the pandemic. It was November now, and we really didn’t expect much in the way of leaves on our trip, but we were wrong. It wasn’t like the the glorious pallet of leaves you’d normally see just after the early frost, but there were still places where trees on an entire mountainside still held fast to their brightly colored decorations. We probably spent three extra days on the road because we enjoy traveling the less-traveled old highways. It's where you find some really cool gems you'd never see zipping along at interstate speeds.

No, it wasn't all original, but the owner had most of the original parts. It ran and the price was right.

As we wound our way around a New Hampshire mountain, a spotted one of those little gems. Tired from the long drive, a almost didn't stop, but just few miles outside our destination, I saw an 1962 Cushman Trailster for sale on the side of the road. My wife hoped I didn’t see it. Not a chance. It was a narrow mountain road without any pull offs. We finally found a place to park about a half mile down the road. We’d been driving for hours so a little walk to loosen stiff legs didn’t bother us a bit. I assured my wife I was only looking and not in the market for any Cushman - unless it was a steal. Turns out, it was a pretty good deal.

The Trailster had been "restored" by an old guy with too much time on his hands. The original engine was replaced with a Tecumseh snow blower engine. It didn’t have original wheels, fuel tank or seat, but it ran well and the octogenarian (and former machinist) did a really good job of installing the engine and torque converter. I thought it might be a fun little project for my kids. Besides, the price was right. I gave the owner a deposit and headed up the road to the campground where I could unhitch the camper.

The next morning with the Cushman disassembled and in the back of the truck, I pulled into Barrington Motor Works. This garage had been on my bucket list of destinations for many years. The original owners of the shop were Christopher and Barbara Rowe Betjemann. This brilliant team literally wrote the book on BMW/2 restorations. Ande Kahora, a long-time apprentice mechanic, took over the business several years ago when the couple retired.

One of several beautiful books on BMW restorations authored by Christopher and Barbra Rowe Betjemann.

Barrington Motor Works sign is as understated as Ande. He's a great mechanic that works really hard to give the best service available.

A beautiful R69s awaits some restoration work outside Ande's shop.

Barrington Motor Works isn't a motorcycle dealership with dozens of new models lining the floor. If it was, I wouldn't be there. Ande had worked in a dealership like that servicing new and late model BMWs, and while he liked doing that, it just wasn't what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing. Ande's shop is cozy, with all the tools and parts he needs to professionally service vintage and antique BMWs. It's not uncommon to see several, museum-quality BMWs in the process of restoration. Ande is a mechanical artist. He's patient, intelligent and has a great eye for detail. It's the mindset an individual needs to do this kind of painstaking work. That's why I brought him the crank from my R69s.

When I arrived, Ande kindly stopped what he was doing to show me projects he was working on. I particularly remember a couple of nice /2 BMWs and an early 1980s GS, but there were probably a dozen antique BMWs in his shop. I know how hard it is to break away from something you're working on and talk to a visitor. Ande did his best to keep me from feeling like I was imposing - although I no doubt was. We talked about the difficulties and rewards of working on antique motorcycles and about our current projects. After an hour or so, I was preparing to leave when Ande asked if I knew Dave Percival. He told me Dave was a customer of his and that he had a really stunning collection of vintage BMW motorcycles. That immediately peaked my interest. Before leaving, Ande kindly shared Dave’s phone number.

On my drive back to my campground, where my wife was waiting patiently for me, I mulled over how cool it would be to see some really rare and beautiful motorcycles. The icing on top of what had already been a really good trip. But, I tempered that excitement with the prospect that things just might not work out. Even with that possibility, I had to agree that this had been a really lucky trip so far. After all, we'd dodged having our belonging scattered about the campground by a dangerous tropical storm, and we'd played chicken and won, with a huge, suicidal deer intent on destroying our truck and camper. Not to mention, I’d just visited a bucket list destination and that led to an even greater bucket list destination -- I didn’t even know existed. Yep, things had been going pretty good so far.

I always say, nothing like a good campfire and a little grilled barbecue chicken to stiffen your resolve. Well, maybe not back then, but I do now.

I arrived back at the campsite and shared the details of the day with my ever-supportive spouse. "Are you calling him tonight?" she asked. "I'm thinking about it but with Covid I can imagine he's not going to be too keen to have visitors from Florida." She mentioned that opportunities like this are pretty special and all someone can say is no. I need to mention that my wife is one of the greatest sales reps of all time and rejection in the line of work never meant much to her. She just saw it as a new challenge and didn't take it personally - like I do. I knew what she was saying was all well and good, but I was also wondering, "Just how does a person go about inviting one's self to see the rare motorcycle collection of someone he's never met." Good question.

Enough thinking, we were both getting hungry, so I quickly built a fire to grill some chicken (a family camping tradition). As I watched the chicken grilling over the coals, I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number Ande gave me. "No time like the present."

I didn’t know what to expect when I called, but the guy on the other end of the phone was one of the warmest, most unassuming and welcoming individuals I have ever spoken with. This immediately belayed any trepidation I had about calling him. I told Dave we were camping a few miles from Ande's shop. Since there were no campgrounds anywhere near his place, Dave invited my wife and I, people he'd never met, to park our camper overnight in his driveway.

The next morning, we took off for Dave's place. It was a half-day's drive from where we were staying. During the trip, my wife absorbed the beauty of the countryside while my head was somewhere in the clouds. All I could think about was all the beautiful BMWs I'd read about in books but never seen. I hoped Dave might have a few of those bikes. Not in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned what I was about to see.

Moments after pulling up to his beautiful home/museum/workshop/office, Dave invited us to join him for dinner. This man is truly a one-of-a-kind special guy!

Dave built this expansive facility to serve as both his home and a place to house the collection. It's a super smart design with excellent security and designed to run efficiently.

No surprise here, but Dave is every bit as friendly in person as he is on the phone. He knew we'd be making a long drive, so he planned on us joining him for dinner. By the time we arrived, he'd already prepped a delicious stew and had it warming in the crock pot. Dave is a pretty good chef but we soon found out, Dave is a man of many talents. You might be thinking, in the middle of a pandemic, you just dropped in on somebody? Yes, but by that time Covid 19 was such an innate part of our lives, before we left we assured Dave that we have been isolating for months and always wore a mask in public. Dave had been isolating as well, so we felt safe being with him and, more importantly, he felt safe with us.

It took two days to see Dave's collection - but I could have easily spent a month there. There is just so much to see and experience. It's not just motorcycles, it's posters, signs, artwork, unique parts, autographed motorcycles and helmets. And I'm sure almost every piece has it's own story. After spending a couple of days with Dave, I realized I could easily write a book about this guy. There are so many stories and so much I’d like to share, but in this article (and the sake of brevity) I’ll try to stick to some of the highlights.

There are several buildings housing his prized possessions. Dave, the primary architect and contractor, built himself a beautiful, chalet-styled compound that would be right at home in the Bavarian Alps. The interiors of these buildings are chock-full of some of rarest and the most beautiful antique BMWs ever amassed one location. But before we get into the collection, let's talk about the guy that made it a reality.

In this photo Dave shows me around one of the buildings housing his beautiful collection. It seemed almost every bike or display had a compelling story to go with it. As beautiful and captivating as the bikes were, it was just as much a pleasure to meet Dave. He has lived such an interesting life and is the consummate story teller.

My first question to our new friend was a simple one. "Just how did you get into motorcycling in the first place?" His reply was the first of many wonderful stories Dave shared with us.

Like many young men of his day, Dave began his professional career in the military. In 1959 he was stationed in Germany and tasked with making rocket fuel for the Army Core of Engineers - not exactly a safe assignment. Dave mentioned that when you make fuel, it’s a good idea to have an abundant source of water nearby, and the base where he was stationed was next to a river. He told me, “Just above the place where I was making fuel, there was a dyke that ran across the river. One day a fellow rode his

Dave made fuel for rockets like this one during the early 1950s.

his motorcycle up on the dyke. He parked it up there and watched me work a while. He called down and asked me a question in German. But I didn’t speak a word.”

These are some of the early models. His oldest bike is a 1923 R32 that was the one hundred thirty-first BMW ever built.

Dave had never seen a BMW motorcycle before and he’d never had the chance to ride one. But, he liked making new friends and the fact that this guy had a motorcycle was a bonus.

Apparently, the young man parked on the dyke above was curious about what Dave was doing. Through hand signs, gestures and smiles, the two connected and they exchanged names. A week or so later, Walter returned with his BMW. This time he had a passenger, a young German insurance salesman who spoke excellent English. With the assistance of the salesman, Walter and Dave were able to temporarily take down the language barrier and become better acquainted. They remain fast friends to this day and Walter never misses calling Dave on his birthday. Although Walter never got the hang of speaking English, Dave soon learned enough German to make himself easily understood. Over several months, he spent a lot of time riding around on the back of Walter’s bike. But, as any motorcyclist can tell you, the view is always better from the front. So Dave convinced Walter to let him take the BMW out for a spin. It could have turned out badly, because it didn't work out the way either of them had planned. Dave remembered, ”I drove his bike off the road and into a pasture, but I didn’t damage it.” Luckily, that unplanned, off-road excursion didn’t discourage Dave from riding motorcycles. Far from it, as he would soon be hunting for his own BMW.

Dave's collection includes a number of side hacks in both the sit up and lay down style. DP Motorsports is a team Dave put together to race these bikes. With it's low center of gravity and great performance, BMW owned side car racing for decades.

Dave near a row of BMW singles, this one an R27.

Always enterprising, Dave made the best of his time in the military - the vast majority of it spent in Germany. He said, “During one year, I only wore my uniform one day.” Of course there's more to that anecdote. Dave gladly added, that's because he tired out for, and made, the the ski team, the baseball team and football team for the 8th Infantry. Of course you don’t practice or play in your military uniform and, while you’re serving, almost any day you aren't required to put on a uniform is a special day.

A very nice 1960 R50. Who wouldn't want one of these to put around on?

At the time, Dave didn’t know much about motorcycles, but, he’d always had an eye for beautiful cars. I’m sure friends recognized and trusted that instinct. Before he shipped overseas, a friend's father asked the new soldier if he could buy and ship him back a Mercedes. The doctor asking the favor realized it would cost much less that way. Dave picked out a beautiful 1959, 190SL for the doctor. The money was sent to buy the car and Dave sealed the deal. This transaction is significant because, it was then that Dave figured out that shipping cars back to the US from Germany wasn’t all that difficult. A few officers found out that Dave knew how to ship cars home and they requested he handle deals for them as well. For the officers, Dave required money for the purchase, more than enough gas coupons to drive the car to port as well as a coveted, three day pass to make the drive - which didn't take three days. I'm not saying Dave was the inspiration for Ferris Bueller, but he certainly figured out how to make the absolute most of a military assignment - and a few extra dollars to boot!

While stationed in Germany, Dave shipped back several cars from Europe, including the Mercedes, a couple of Austin Healey 3000s and a VW bug. And before he returned to the states, he also shipped back a really nice 1954, BMW R51/3 for himself. Dave admitted that he probably would have shipped back some cars for himself as well, but he just didn’t make enough money as an enlisted man in the Army.

I'm certain Dave's proficiency in German, his shipping skills acquired during his time in the military and his vast network of European friends helped him to acquire many of these really rare BMWs - bikes that were never imported to the US by the factory.

Dave's collection includes racers, prototypes, one-off customs and some really unique motorcycles you just don't ever see anywhere.

This is an exceptionally rare overhead cam BMW racer. Notice the unique valve covers and the size of the massive carbs.

Once he returned to the states, Dave headed off to college where he earned a degree in Forestry Management. He worked in the field for several years. Dave was married then and with a daughter on the way, he knew he could use some extra money. So he picked up a used chainsaw and started cutting down trees for a little extra income. It was just part-time work at first, but his reputation for honesty and getting the job done helped that part-time gig grow into a full-time business. As his family grew with the addition of a second daughter, so did his business. It wasn’t long before Dave had purchased a bulldozer and a truck for hauling the lumber. Before he knew it, Dave’s business had grown exponentially.

In the late mid to late 1970s and early 1980’s, electric generating companies all over the world were looking for alternatives to fossil fuels for powering their plants. That’s about the time Dave went into the biomass business. Most people didn't know what Dave knew then - there was a lot of useful potential fuel being wasted every day in lumber yards. Dave realized (before most other folks) that bark, chips, shavings and even sawdust could make an excellent alternative fuel for powering an electric plant. He wanted to find out more about biomass plants, so he headed out west where he worked as a consultant for several years. When he returned to Maine, Dave gathered some investors, and together, they built their own biomass power plant in Stratton ME. This plant, now called ReEnergy, produces 355,000 net megawatts hours of electricity annually - enough to power 46,000 homes. In 1999 Dave retired (if you can call it that) to devote his energy to collecting motorcycles and motorsports in general.

Dave's collection has been built with skills that only the greatest collectors possess. He's had the dedication it takes to spend years researching and searching vehicles. He has an international network for good friends who are willing to help him chase down leads. He also possess a capacity for recalling the minutest of details. In other words, it takes a lot more than a healthy checking account to build a collection like this. It's a full time job and you have to be really good at what you do.

Dave can recall names, dates and details on hundreds of different items in his collection. It's seems he is truly committed to preserving the legacy of the engineers, racers, promoters, designers and artists who built this brand - names that might be otherwise lost to history. And not all these people worked for the BMW factory. Many were privateer racers with small budgets, others were amateur machinists and engineers. But they all possessed a passion for the BMW motorcycle, just as Dave does.

Dave points out a friend racing a BMW

Dave not only collects, he's a darned good wrench as well. These are a hard-to-find set of wheels for an R51 he's building.

A lot of BMW "experts" claim to know the true origin of Dave's pit bike. It took me a second and at least two double takes but I wasn't fooled because I have one in my garage without that paint job. Here's a hint, this "BMW" was purchased at Montgomery Ward.

These bikes in Dave's shop were recently used for a tour.

Dave's vast collection is housed in three large rooms attached to his house. There are also a couple of nicely appointed shops on site where he works on the bikes, as well as an off-site shop and warehouses where he stores his automobile collections. A incredible collection of pictures, vintage posters and signs fills every wall in the "museum" portion of the property.

The oldest bike is the one hundred thirty-second BMW ever built, a 1923 R32. But it’s not the rarest. That falls to his RE54 Rennsports. These factory built racers came out shortly after WWII, and were built for dominating the sidecar racing world. He has several. They don’t go up for sale too often and several that have been sold are not complete, authentic bike. Back in 2013, Bonhams auctioned one of these bikes. I don’t have the auction result, but it was estimated the bike would sell for somewhere between $145,000 and $165,000. Dave’s bikes have the racing provenance you want in a serious collection. His friends in Germany have included many of the most famous BMW racers and race bike builders of all time. These friends have helped him amass this amazing collection.

When you enter the building from the house, you walk into a room filled with pre-WWII motorcycles. The oldest bike in the collection is a 1923 R32. It's the one hundred thirty-second BMW motorcycle ever built. Wow! If you might think this bike is the rarest or most valuable bike in the collection, you'd be wrong. That honor goes to Dave's RE54 Rennsports. These factory built racers came out shortly after WWII, and were built for dominating the sidecar racing world. He has several. This aren't bike you see for sale very often. And most of those that have are not purely authentic, but pieced together from parts. Dave’s bikes have the racing provenance you want in a serious collection. His friends in Germany include many of the most famous BMW racers and race bike builders of all time. These friends have helped him amass and authenticate this amazing collection.

These are some of the earliest motorcycles in Dave's collection.

His R54 Rennsport are not the oldest bikes, but they are his rarest and most valuable. He has several.

Four really nice R90S models, two in Daytona Orange and two in Silver Smoke.

Along with all the super-valuable antiques, Dave also has a number of really nice vintage BMWs and some very rare, hand-made one-off bikes. He has four R90S's! Four! You know those super cool, bikini faring wearing, candy color painted, Daytona orange or mysterious gray smoke bikes that stood the motorcycling world on it's ear. They did this by being both the first factory cafe' racer as well as the first, true sport touring bike. I wanted one of these bikes since I was in high school and it only took 45 years before I found one I could afford- and it was in really bad shape (he said with a tinge of jealously).

Look around and you’re bound to see your favorite BMW airhead. In addition to the rare antique and racing bikes, there are also some really nice examples of the showroom models most of us have come to know and love, like the beautiful /5 toaster models, the R100RT and RS models, the R65 and many, many more.

One of my favorites isn't a BMW at all. It's a beautifully crafted Mike Hailwood replica Honda built from a CB350.

This Mike Hailwood replica Honda is built on a CB350 four chassis. It's a beautiful work of fabrication craftsmanship.

Being an all American kind of guy, guy also has a pretty decent collection of American cars as well. My favorite being a 2006 GT Ford, which is stylistically reminiscent of the famous GT40 race cars of the 1960s. This beautiful car isn't hidden away, Dave drive it regularly -- and probably scares the hell of of the neighbors.

Wanna see me smile? Just stick me behind the wheel of a GT40.

Dave loves his American Iron as well. These are some of his favorite hot rods.

Dave is also into vintage BMW racing automobiles. Besides owning a really nice, full-race 2002 TII, he also has a number of racing BMW700s. For those of you that don’t know this car, it’s a very small, lightweight car (think of a three quarter-sized 2002) powered by an enlarged version of the R67 motorcycle engine. In the early 1960s, this vehicle helped BMW stave off financial ruin. Additionally, it reestablished the BMW name in automotive racing world after the war.

Every where you turn, there's something even more interesting or cooler that where you were just looking. I probably spent a several hours looking at the bikes and asking Dave questions. Now when I go back and look at the photos, it leaves me wanting to ask so much more. Honestly, I could spend days, maybe weeks admiring these beautiful motorcycles.

The one question I did think to ask Dave was, with all these rare and exotic motorcycles, which one is his favorites. Dave's answer surprised me. "I guess I'd have to say it was the bike I imported from Germany." He explained that the one he has now is not the exact bike, but one just like it. "I'd have to say it's my 1954 R51/3." Dave went on to reminisce about that first ride that took him off the road and into that German pasture, "That's the bike I rode in on, and I guess I'll be riding out on it too."