nice ride

[DAVID THOMPSON]

Took my annual summer ride
to the 4 winds bmw rally in New Bethlhem Pa

about 65 miles northeast of pittsburgh pa
aug 18-21 2005
502 miles total miles on bike 225 to 230 miles each way
and about 53 mpg (us gallon)

this was the first time for the saxon tour on this run
the past 3 times i have taken the RT125
it also does a good job
but the saxon tour sure climbs the hills better
took about 5 1/2 hours as i stopped a lot ...
the shocks on the tour are a bit on the hard side and i must get off and walk around about every 100km or so to return my tail end to normal
a fellow on a scorp tour was there on sat . nice looking bike
i had fun
this was my 32nd time to this rally in 33years it will be 40years old
next year

[phlat65]

how is that possible, you can't be THAT old....

[DAVID THOMPSON]

i will be 60 on 17 sept 2005
i took the first solo cross country on a harley hummer
in the summer of 1955 one month before my 10th birthday
550 miles in 10 days in the mountains of central WV
yes i was 9years 11 months old and no i did not have a drivers license

i was the go-fer for my dad he built houses and i used a hummer
with a little trailer to haul stuff ....the cops never stopped me because i behaved and was doing what i was supposed to do

my dad's father passed away very young and he raised his brother's and sister's so by the time i came along he knew how to get the job done
and had me ready for the real world at about 8years old

i have been going to the 4 winds rally since 1972

[phlat65]

harley hummer, is that the cushman type thing?

my buddy in canada has one of those, and a beautifully restored 69 glide. and he is under 30!!

[DAVID THOMPSON]

here is a picture of a bike like my HD and a picture of the dkw
it was copyed from
the bike i used was black not green
other than color it was the same as pictured and it had some mods to make it not break as often these things had a very sick electrical system
so you can now see why i like the MZ RT125
its a lot like what i learned to ride on only MUCH MUCH better

[phlat65]

very cool!!!!

[jbthumper]

wow! that's a real piece of art Dave!

[phlat65]

my buddy has a Harley Davidson Topper. it is original, and clean!!

[jbthumper]

cool. I think it really needs commitment to keep a classic....