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We Have Slide Shows!
More Coming All the Time!
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Now in our Second Decade, MotoEuro Garage is a Private, Non-Profit Organization
Dedicated to the Preservation and Restoration of Significant European
Motorcycles.
In addition, we provide a broad range of services, ranging from tour planning
to web site development. These are provided free as a function of meeting
our mission.
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MotoEuro Garage is a long term supporter of Riding
Into History.
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Our
Other Stuff:  
 
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The MotoEuro Collection,
currently includes three of the legendary German BMW motorcycles. Our primary touring bike is a
2005 R1200GS. This bike is a little unusual in that it is a non-ABS,
alloy wheel example. Finding the standard colors quite boring we
repainted it in a Lime Green Pearl. I've also performed a number of
modifications to make it more sport-tourer than adventurer-tourer. It's
got a Remus exhaust, reshaped windscreen, and a few
Touratech and Wunderlich farkles. Sargent Cycle Products made the custom seat,
I use a Chicane tail bag for short rides and a Vario top
case for long tours. The original Dunlops were replaced with Avon
Azaro ST road pattern models. This is a
great bike and hopefully it will provide the kind of service we got from
our 1998 Anniversary
Edition R1100GS, a wonderful motorcycle, that
carried us over 97,000 faithful, fun miles.
Unfortunately in August 2010 I crashed the GS
doing it (and myself) serious harm. I've sold it to club member who did
a great job of resurrecting it. To see the replacement click on the
Triumph logo above.
After three years of work
the MeGa1 vintage cafe racer project was finally
completed in late 2006. MeGa1 is
powered by a hot rodded 1,000cc airhead
motor in a highly modified /5 SWB frame, with Morris alloy wheels,
triple discs, and upgraded suspension. It
was unveiled at the 2006 AHRMA Vintage Weekend at Barber Motorsports
where it was warmly received as an entry in the European Concours d'
Elegance, winning the 1970's class. For more detail and
specifications click here.
In April 2008, while
visiting in Texas (and attending the HSTA STAR rally) we found a
one-owner, low mileage 1995 R100GS-PD. Mutual
friends said it was a very nice bike, that the owner took excellent care
of it. So we purchased it sight unseen. It arrived at the Garage in May
and within days was on display at Riding Into History as seen here.
One last BMW in the
collection is a real oddball. It's a 1996 Limited Edition bicycle
honoring BMW's role in that year's Atlanta Olympics.
MotoEuro Garage developed
the original website of the BMW
Motorcycle Owners of NE Florida and for a decade our Executive
Director served as the editor of that club's noted newsletter, The
Shop Rag. We continue to support this fine organization.
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| Spain's
most famous motorcycles have been a passion for over 30 years, and we still have the first one
I ever owned. It's a 1973 M85 Alpina,
bought in November 1972, used and abused through the 70's and restored
in the MotoEuro shop in the late 90's after time spent as a kid's yard bike.
We were careful to retain virtually all the stock parts, even the battle
scarred fenders, as well as the many Sammy Miller period mods from its
competition days. Our 1971
MkII Metralla,
is a Euro-spec machine that we imported from Canada in 2002. I always
wanted a Metralla and this one had received a fine older restoration which I
freshened up to award winning status. Truth be told both of these bikes
are now true garage queens kept in a climate controlled showroom.
If you love the old
Spanish iron, support SMOG, the Spanish Motorcycle Owners Group. Check
out the brand new web site at SpanishMotorcycles.org.
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| Much though
I love the Eurobikes, there are a number of others that occasionally strike our
fancy. Hondas seem to be a recurring theme. It sure would be nice to still have that immaculate Honda
1977 400F,
it's with a collector in Japan now, Today we have a 1989 Hawk GT, that
I bought new in 1991, sold to a good friend and was lucky enough to buy back. When new
Hawks were a tough sell, but they are now considered a cult
bike. It's been continuously upgraded over the years
and now serves double duty as our regular track day
bike.
There have been other
Hondas of the eighties, an NX650 a
Transalp,
and later a TLR200 Reflex. Interesting bikes all,
and I was fortunate to have owned exceptional examples of each.
In the fall of 2006 we
acquired a 1968 Honda CL175 Scrambler.
This little metallic copper beauty is a very early transition model nicely
restored by a VJMC member. In 2007 it
received an Award of Merit at Riding
Into History. I lusted for a
Baby Scrambler in the 60's but could barely afford a Yamaha
80, so now
40 years later...
Speaking
of Yamahas, the 80 was
followed by a series of Yamaha strokers including CT-1
and CT-2
enduros and culminating with an R5C. Then I moved on to more exotic machines
and never looked back. Never that is until early '03 when I spotted
this FZ1 in Kenny Roberts replica livery. There is
no question this is quickest and fastest bike I ever owned. 130 hp
at the wheel provides assurance that keeping up with traffic is not an
issue. After six rapidly passing years, it now resides with friends
here in Florida. I thought I was finished with Yamahas but at the Bike
Week 2009 auction in Deland, FL I picked up a "barn fresh"
1972 R5C for $400. We quickly found it worse than expected (as
usual) and a bare frame restoration has ensued. After sorting out the
carburetors and custom electronic ignition, it is a first kick starter
and runs great. Here's a photo of
it at this year's Riding Into History show.
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I
got my MZ ( say M-Zed) in 2003 pretty much by accident. While browsing
on eBay here's this odd
looking Supermoto sort of thing called a Baghira. It was virtually new, seemed
reasonably priced and was located here in Florida. We had been
considering a Supermoto conversion on an F650GS, and here was this
near new bike already done for half the price of the stock Beemer. It's got a 660cc
five valve Yamaha motor, White Power adjustable suspension, Behr alloy
rims, Grimeca brakes, all the good stuff, and it weighs less than the
BMW. Came with a nice loud M4 pipe, too. It's great fun to ride around
town and a pretty handy occasional track bike.
For more on the long, distinguished history of MZ, read
this.
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| One of our newer acquisitions for the MotoEuro Collection, a Laverda
750SF/C.
This 1973 750SF has been rebuilt to full SFC ("competizione")
spec by renowned Laverda expert Wolfgang Haerter of Columbia
Car & Cycle in British Columbia. I stopped at his shop outside
the rural village of Nakusp during a summer 2007 ride up to Alaska. The
bike was only about 75% completed at that point but it was obvious that
it would turn out great. On the return trip I stopped back, we discussed
the project and made a deal. It took another four months to complete the
Laverda then Wolfgang delivered it to the Federal Shippers depot in
Spokane. A week later it arrived here via Allied Van Lines .I've had other Italian bikes
in the past but nothing as exotic as this one. And boy does it sound
great!
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| Another
Italian that just found its way into the MotoEuro Garage in January 2011
is a Moto
Guzzi V7 Sport. The V7 Sport marked the company's return to its
pre-war sporting roots. That they were successful is reflected in the
fact that BMW felt compelled to respond with their equally iconic
R90S. It's
Lino Tonti designed frame became a mainstay of Guzzi's Sport and Le Mans
twins for the next 15 years. Ours is a 1973 Series
II, it's all original
except for NOS tins the original owner, a Guzzi dealer, sourced from the
factory many years ago. One interesting thing about these motorcycles is
that Moto Guzzi sourved their parts all across Europe; electrics were
German Bosch, main lights Italian CEV, turn signals British Lucas. It's
very much a time machine right down to the French Michelin tires. In
November 2011 the V7 was judged Best International Motorcycle at the Hilton
Head Concours d'Elegance (and the Laverda finished 2nd!).
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| A
2010 arrival at the Garage is a completely original 1960
Triumph Tiger 100 Streamliner (aka Bathtub). It's a SoCal bike,
originally sold by Bud Ekins Triumph in Hollywood. In 1977 John Hateley
bought it from the original owner, a local dentist. John was an AMA
flat-track racer (#98) and son of Triumph of Burbank owner Jack. Both
father and son are members of the Trailblazers
Hall of Fame. The Tiger (officially a T100A) has never been
repainted and has a lovely patina as befits a well kept family toy.
Thanks to Dan of DL Transport,
a motorcycle only shipping service, for a safe cross-country delivery.
Here's the Tiger as seen
at the 2010 Riding Into History concours d'elegance where it received an
Award of Merit.
A second Triumph entered
the Garage in Spring 2011 when the replacement for my R1200GS arrived, a
brand new Tiger 800 The
latest from Triumph, the 800 has received rave reviews. They are well
deserved, this is a great bike. A couple of weeks after picking it up I
rode it out to Utah for the WSBK races. Other than a rock in the
radiator, certainly not the fault of the bike, the Tiger provided a
great, trouble free, ride. I expect this to be a long term relationship.
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| I
have been riding a fair amount the past 15 years or so, mostly touring on BMW's from our Florida base. Destinations have
included the West
Coast three times, Alaska
(also thrice), the Yukon and the Arctic Circle, and to Labrador.
All told, since 1997 I've hit 49 states and all the Canadian provinces.
In addition my wife, Terri, and I have toured over 20 European
countries. In September 2001
BMW gave me a neat bronze medal and a certificate
for riding over 100K miles on their bikes. 2007 saw us in New Zealand and
Australia, and eastern
Europe. To document these travels we've begun to create slide shows,
the links for which are at the top of this page. There is also a sign
slide show composed of some of the sign pictures I've shot over the last
15 years. During the summer and fall of 2007 Neil Fogelberg and I
completed an Iron Butt Master Traveler Gold ride by visiting 74 national
parks in 60 days in all four corners of the country. As a result I'm now
Iron Butt member #32576. Despite a lot of miles compiled on other brands,
I qualified
for BMWMOA's 200K mile award in the spring of 2009.
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| In late 2007 we purchased a nearly new '06
Pleasureway conversion of a Sprinter van. Ours is a 20th Anniversary
Edition badged as a Mercedes-Benz by the previous owner. It's got the
original five cylinder turbo which provides excellent performance and
over 20 mpg on diesel fuel. In 2008 we spent five weeks on the road
covering 9500 miles as we traveled to the northwest and back. We pulled
our little Baxley trailer with the MZ for transportation around the many
scenic areas we visited. In truth, trailer was a bit of a pain. So
we began looking for something we could take along without a trailer.
What we found was a lovely retro Vespa
LXV150. It'll do over 60 mph,
gets 80 pg, and weighing about 250 pounds, it rides nicely on a hitch
mounted carrier. A little extra pressure in the rear air bags and you
don't even know it's there.
Ever seen a Maxton
Rollerskate? Bob Sutherland and a few friends built about fifty of
them in the early 90's. As the ex-owner of a Lotus 7, I was very
attracted to the minimalist approach to a sports car. I found this
low-mileage, one owner example a few years ago. Unfortunately, I haven't
really made use of it and am considering letting it go. For more
information on these neat, little cars check out the Maxton
Register.
About thirty years ago I amassed a nice
little Porsche toy collection. Some of the nicest were made by an old
line German company, Schreyer & Co., better known as Schuco. When
the interest in Porsches faded I began to concentrate on these
mechanical tin and diecast marvels. Schuco shut down a few years later.
It has since come back into production but, much like Triumph, it's just
not the same. I've managed to gather over 100 original issue Schucos
to date. In 2000-01 the Museum of Transportation (aka Lars Anderson
Museum) in Brookline, MA hosted an exhibit of the MotoEuro collection.
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Here are some shots of
other past motorcycles:
1993 R1100RS, 1983 R80ST, M61
Bandido,
1986 V65
Lario, 1997
M900 Monster, 1997 F650,
1997 KLR650
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Contact:
MotoEuro
Garage
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