A tour with classic BMWs – column

If you're invited for a ride with some classic BMW drivers, you accept that invitation. It is always good to be in good company. Especially if you are two Moto Guzzi riders.

Guzzi's are the least fancy Italian motorcycles Italiaanse

And the V-twins have BMW-compatible solidity. It was all the crazier that Guzzi 1 was without a transmission after four kilometers. We decided to repatriate the thing and borrowed a piece of rope from a house that happened to be there from a man who had been tinkering with his camper but had turned his attention to the pieces of engine. We tied the Guzzis together. My comrade sat down on his dead horse. I started my Guzzi. We exchanged a few words with the motorhome owner who suddenly asked if we needed another piece of rope.

Underneath my obedient Cali, bobbing at no load, suddenly lay an impressive puddle of oil. Closer examination revealed that an oil pipe to the head had burst. We fiddled with sand over the oil puddle and decided that our Italian beauties didn't want to face the blue and white competition. We talked some more about campers and motorcycles and were taken to our base in the camper. There we thought that the carrier in Guzzi's cardan housing had to be 1 piece. Our collective trailer was picked up a village further and the dead Guzzi's were put in the garage driveway.

Score some parts

With my Lief's BX we went at full trot to TLM, where they have a lot of used parts in stock. TLM mainly sells globally, but the takeout counter is still functioning. A used cleat cost €80. A set of fresh oil pipes to the cup cost something like €60. The coffee and socializing were free. Arriving at home base, a BMW driving friend was already drinking beer in the garden. He beamed: “You didn't show up. I thought you were out of luck and I came to have a look.” Broken steel transmission components and bursting oil pipes were interesting novelties for the satisfied BMW driver.

We also grabbed a beer

And got to work under the supervision of the mild superiority radiating BMW owner. The neighbor across the street came by. He praised classic BMW motorcycles and found a willing ear from the BMW driver. This way we as Real Motorcyclists could just do what we were best at: taming unruly foreign technology. Because those big old Guzzi's are technically about as complicated as a brick, things went well. The rear wheel regained its firm commitment in the transmission line. The engine block of the oil boat was wiped dry and the new hoses, including the new sealing rings, were carefully mounted. A three-quarter liter of fresh oil went into the block. And everything was great again.

Swap strawberries for a Guzzi

Meanwhile, a neighbor a few houses away had come by with a freezer box of strawberry-rhubarb compote plus the question if he could borrow a motorbike the next day. Gerrit is a happy 1600-year-old who sold his XNUMX cc BMW six-cylinder engine last year because he had started to find it a bit too heavy. But for the annual ride with his old friends from the Babberich motorcycle club, he still wanted to borrow a motorcycle. A Moto Guzzi for example. That was of course no problem.

The mobility guarantee

Gerrit looked pleased: “But if there are more things that break, then you have to sort them out first.” Under the sympathetic gaze of two BMW enthusiasts, we explained that Moto Guzzis never break. It was warm. We collectively took a cold beer and chatted a bit stupidly but satisfied. You should never refuse an invitation from some BMW drivers. There is always something fun happening. We heard afterwards that the BMW excursion was problem-free and pleasant for the active participants…