My first four motorcycles

I finally got my scanner working again, so I have access to my vast archive of negatives and slides.

This photo dates from the autumn of 1985 and is a sequential lineup of my first four motorcycles – a Kawasaki KR-175, a 1971 BMW R50/5, a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650, and my latest acquisition, a 1981 BMW R100RS.

The R100RS sat on the showroom floor at Cycle Werks BMW in Indianapolis for several months, apparently not appealing to anyone – probably because the previous owner put a stupid-looking too-tall windscreen on it. I saw past that flaw and made it my own for the next six years, after restoring its appearance to stock with an OEM windscreen.

I have fond memories of all four bikes, but the R100RS is the one that took me to California and opened my mind to the possibilities of long distance motorcycle touring. It changed my life.