1974 March

The German Elephanten Treffen Rally was held after all, on the third, fourth, and fifth of January. The turnout, however, was about half that of last year, due mainly to the late announcement (in face of the oil crisis) and the Sunday pleasure driving ban placed on most of the surrounding European countries.

Regardless, all who attended had a good time. Our group, 15 in all, consisted of 9 BMWMOA members: Charles Cook #2433, Mike Eaton #3171, Ed Kane #2496, Robert Kirkpatrick #1994, Paul Lewis #2924, Lou Petterson #3152, Will Price #3034, Frank Whitecraft #3032, and yours truly. The trip to the Nuerburgring, where the rally was held, took five hours to cover only 145 miles due to the frequent coffee stops to warm up. The road along the Rhein river was clear, but once we started climbing up the curvy Eifel mountain roads, the cold started to seep in, and the slushy and slippery road conditions made for some difficult riding. However, we all made it, except for Will who managed to put his head through the windscreen when his bike slid from under him, 200 feet from the campsite. Luckily, only his pride was hurt.

After pitching our tents, we visited the pit area to browse among the various motorcycle and accessory dealers. This year, only German firms were represented – I think the oil crisis kept the others away. Of interest to BMW owners was Karl Heinrich, one of the last custom gas tank craftsmen left in Germany. Karl specializes in oversized tanks in 31, 36, and 39 liter capacities. They are beautiful in design and the quality is excellent. From the pit area, we walked to the track to watch the torchlight ride around this famous track, held in memory of those riders who lost their lives in races last year.

Back at the campsite, we sat around the cozy campfire, cooked supper, and chatted with others who came from Italy, France, Belgium, and England, and who, like us, took pride in having tackled the elements to come to the rally. Saturday evening, we arrived home exhausted, dirty, and cold, and started planning for next year’s rally.

January saw the loss of Frank Whitcraft #3032 and Bill Marshall #517. In February, Reggy Morrison #3035 departed for the states. This month, we are losing Charles “Chuck” Cook #2433. Chuck has been a riding buddy of ours for a long time, and we’re sorry to see him go. Known gains have been Lou Pettersen #3152 and Mike Eaton #3171. Welcome to both of you!

Some of us have received the January issue of the BMW News during the first part of January. However, I still need to hear from more of you to determine whether 1^st class mail gets you the News faster.

Space permits only one tip that I had promised to give you last month. If you are travelling through Germany, be sure to carry along some 5 Deutsche Mark pieces. Most gas stations close early in the evening, but are coin operated throughout the night. Five marks will get you a little over one and a half gallons high test.

Auf Wiedersehen