1975 February

In past articles, I’ve given you some tips on riding in Europe. Well, here are some more that Tim Shaffer wrote to me about.

A lot of the racing events give NATO discounts; show ID cards at the ticket boxes. Every spring, the Deutsche Motorrad Verein (DMV) publishes a list of all German and international races of all types, that can be obtained for about DM 3 by mail from their Frankfurt office. Around the first of April, “Das Motorrad”, one of the better German motorcycle magazines, also publishes a similar listing.

“Das Motorrad” is a good source for parts and accessories. About everything from veteran BMW’s to Halogen H4 headlight units are found in the classified section. A pocket German-English dictionary will help you read the ads.

On parts, etc., almost anything can be ordered C.O.D. from German dealers through the German mail, but to a German address only. G.I.’s who live in barracks are out of luck unless they can have the ordered items sent to a friend residing off-base. C.O.D. rates are reasonable.

Bellstaff and Barbour riding suits are cheaper if sent direct from England to an APO address. Takes a bit longer but no import tax is charged. These rain suits are very expensive if purchased from a German dealer.

Tim’s preference is for Aral roadmaps which are good for long distance touring. They are not too cluttered, and they show all the better back roads. My preference is for Esso roadmaps that show the location of Esso stations along the Autobahns (a necessity for the long distance traveller using Esso gas coupons).

Carry an air pump, tube repair kit or a spare tube, and a tire boot along with your tire tools on a long trip. The tire boots are not available here, and must be purchased from the States.

Soon after submitting last month’s article for printing, I found out that the Elephanten Treffen is to be held from the 13^th to the 16^th of February this year. Normally, it is held on the first weekend of January, and we’re at a loss to explain this change from the norm.

We had quite a few European members who rotated to the States last month. Tom and Jan McCartney from Mannheim, who were good friends of ours, Mike Eaton from Hanau, and Vick and Jeanne Diedrich also from Mannheim who just became members this past December.

We’ve had two members who have joined us from the States. Maxton Scarborough is now stationed in Naples, Italy, joining Ed Johnson. Ed may now have better luck in getting something going there. Ed Hill is the other member and he joins Thad Lee in Karamürsel, Turkey. Thus, we now have two members each in Italy and Turkey.

Auf Wiedersehen