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Click here for The Outpost archives. Click here for our gps route files. BMW Outriders is a community of BMW motorcycle enthusiasts who also enjoy riding other marques. This is a welcoming place wherein you will find folks unconstrained by brand allegiance. It's not simply WHAT you ride, but HOW you ride. We ride "BMW-style"; wear good gear, ride long distances quickly and safely, and try to serve as good ambassadors for motorcycling. BMW Outriders has been granted BMWMOA charter #345 and BMWRA charter #331. We are an internet based "virtual" club catering to a particular group of BMW riders. Like other internet clubs, our events are limited, thus most all of our members also belong to local clubs. As we are still in the early stages of establishing our organization, we are not yet in a position to accept online memberships. For membership information, please contact the Lead Outrider. January Update: The latest issue of the Outpost is now available. You'll find a wide variety of topics, ranging from a how-to on dealing with rust to a number of event reports. Happy reading.
Jack Wells was at it again in November winning large with his military bike display at the Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance.
September Update: They did it! Jack Wells' BMW, ridden by Norm Nelson and tended to by Larry Meeker and Chris Alley finished the 4,000 mile NY to San Fransisco Cannonball completing every mile of the event and finishing third overall. A great achievement. August Update: Several Outrider members led by Jack Wells are preparing Jack's 1928 BMW for entry into the 2012 Cannonball rally. We wish them well. Results in the September update. July Update: Lots of Outriders on tours all over this summer. Neil Fogelberg and Alan Singer are in Scandanavia on the Ayres Adventures Viking Run tour that includes a stop at Nordkapp, Europe's northernmost point. Look for a report in the next issue of the Outpost. Additional photos posted on www.MotoEuro.org. June Update: Ed Youngblood in his well regarded Motohistory blog has posted a link to this site referencing our "excellent story" on the 2012 Riding Into History in the latest Outpost. May Update: A big month. We Outriders form the backbone of the organizing committee for Riding Into History. This fabulous vintage motorcycle event, held each May for the past 13 years has raised $275,000 for charity. This year donating $25,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project. Look for the next issue of the OUTPOST to provide full details. April Update: It has been a slow quarter but we've just released the latest edition of the OUTPOST. Now's the time to be preparing your vintage ride for next month's Riding Into History, a great event rasing funds for a terrific charity - the Wounded Warrior Project. February/March Update: Quite a few bike shows in the early part of the year. We'll have coverage in the next OUTPOST due out in early April. What you won't see is any Bike Week stuff because the Old Grey Mare ain't what she used to be. The noise remains but the racing has definitely suffered; where is the star studded field of yore? Gone, killed by economics and a faded reputation. December/January Update: Not much activity during the holidays, but we did hold our traditional Penguin Ride on New Years Day. The full story and more is in the OUTPOST now available. Check the coming events page as there is a lot going on. November Update:
In the meantime here's a shot of SPEEDTV's Dennis Gage at the Hilton Head concours d'elegance with two bikes entered from the MotoEuro Garage Collection.
September/October Update: October is generally highlighted by the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Weekend. This year we had many Outrider attendees including Bill Jones whose newly restored Moto Guzzi V7 Sport starred in the European bike concours. Bill also provided a report and photos for the latest issue of the OUTPOST which is now available. August Update: Not much to report here. Quartermaster Bill "B9" Wilder attended the MotoGP in Indianapolis but failed to provide any photos. He did however sign up a few new members. More on all this in the next OUTPOST. July Update:
Hot! It seemed no matter where we went there was record breaking heat. In northern Wisconsin for the BMW RA rally it was close to 100º. Two weeks later at the MOA rally Pennsylvania was burning. Really.
June Update: On the day after Riding Into History three Outriders left Florida heading for Utah and the World Superbike races at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, about 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. A fine time was had by all despite some very wild weather. Look for the 3rd quarter of the Outpost early next month for extensive reports on all of this. May Update: May in Florida means Riding Into History. Outriders have supported RIH since before there was an Outriders. This was the twelfth annual event. We changed the format a bit this year, making it a bit easier to put on and more economical to attend while still retaining the character of the weekend event. Record setting numbers for the dinner, ride, and concours seem to indicate we did the right thing. Just as importantly, we were able to donate $25,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project. April Update: A good month. We held our annual lunch and business meeting on the 16th. Full details in the next Outpost. We heartily recommend a visit to the Cafe Bleuu in Welaka, FL. Really excellent food and a lovely riverfront setting found in an out-of-the-way location. The Lead Outrider's Triumph Tiger finally arrived and it is all that was expected. With a couple of Outriders on new F800GS BMWs there should be some interesting comparisons coming up.
Look for a report of Bike Week activities in The Outpost due out in early April. Meanwhile, there was big BMW news at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Outrider John Duss heads up the motorcycle exhibit at this event. After several years of negotiations he convinced BMW to allow their fabulous R7 out of Europe for the first time and to show it at Amelia Island. It's seen here with fellow Outrider, Larry Meeker 2011 Riding Into History chairman. Click here for our 2011 Amelia Island Concours slide show. February Update: Our local dealer hosted the Triumph Demo Fleet just before Bike Week. I was able to ride a couple of bikes a total of 45 minutes. Here's what I reported immediately after the rides. "It is the sweetest bike I've ever ridden. The motor is incredible, sewing machine smooth to near redline. I rode it at 75 mph on I-295 in third and it felt perfect. I also rode it at 28 mph (2,000 in 6th) and whacked open the throttle; it pulled, and hard. It's much faster than either of the BMW 800 GS variants. I suspect it is faster than a 1200, at least quicker than mine was anyway. I couldn't really test the handling but the suspension felt quite plush. The non-ABS version I rode stopped better than the single disc F650. The clutch is non-hydraulic but very light. The gearbox was a big surprise, both bikes I tried were superb shifters, better than my Hondas which have always been my hallmark of great shifters. I liked the sound of the Arrow aftermarket pipe, the stocker is a bit wheezy. January Update: Here we are in 2011. Our first issue of The Outrider is in the (e)mail. The year began on a great note: with absolutely perfect weather on the first our Penguin Ride attracted nearly ninety participants for a 100 mile ride and a fine buffet lunch. See The Outpost for details. December Update: Happy Holidays Outriders! Be sure you don't overdo it on New Years eve as we will reprise our annual Penguin Ride celebrating the new year Florida style. The Outriders have had a great year, our club has doubled in size and been recognized for its enthusiastic participation in a number of events. November Update: Early this month four members took part in an invitation only Concours d' Elegance at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. We brought home two trophies and many very nice comments. More on this in the next issue of The Outpost. Meanwhile I've posted a slide show here. October Update: The latest issue of The Outpost has been posted on this site and copies mailed to members. Back in July, we had thirty members attend the MOA rally in Redmond. They came from three countries and represented nearly half of our active membership. Recently I received a surprise package from the MOA. It contained a plaque awarded to The Outriders for having the fifth highest attendance of all virtual clubs. Well done! September Update: Call this the lost month as the Lead Outrider spent the entire month in hospital and rehab facility after a big off while riding to Indianapolis for the MotoGP. See the next issue of the Outpost for more details.
August Update #2: I've posted a slide show of our summer travels on my personal web site. Find it (and others) at MotoEuro.org June/July Update: Whew, it's been a pretty busy six weeks. Five days each at a pair of rallies, one in New Mexico the other in Oregon, with a trip to Hyder, AK in between. Iron Butt? Nah, I have to confess that we (Terri and Mrs. Katz, aka Kitty) drove the Sprinter and trailered the GS. 10,000 miles driven, 1,500 miles ridden. And a great time was had by all, with the possible exception of Mrs. Katz. Plenty on the rallies in the next Outpost available on August 1st.
Suffice to say that we raised $25,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. I am proud to say that Outrider members performed brilliantly in virtually all the key positions at this concours.
April
Update: The Scooter Superstore is a chain of ten stores currently retailing several brands of scooters as well as the full line of Piaggio products - Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa. On or about May 15th the Jax store will become their first BMW franchise. Congrats also to member Ken Lucius (on the left in this photo) who will be BMW ombudsman.
Did you see that we finally got our BMWRA charter? Yep, this month we were officially accepted and became RA #331. Also this month Outriders manned the Riding Into History tables at two Bike Week events, raising money with shirt and poster sales and promoting this fine charity event. We shared space with our good friends Sally and Don Bradley. Don is a fantastic artist; he has provided the artwork for many RIH events. This year his seventh features a Norton Isle of Man racer.
February Update:
December Update: Our first
ever event, the lunch at Rogers BBQ, was a nice success.
November Update: We've
reached a milestone in our club's growth by signing up our 50th member
this past weekend. October Update: Forget about the September Update. After 1,800 miles we can report the Honda NT700V is a Dog with a capital D. It's slow, fat, and boring. The Brits call it a "dullville" and rightly so. If you were considering one of these just go on out and buy a BMW F800ST for the same money. Enjoy the second issue of The Outpost and be sure to check the back page for information on our November 28th member outing. September Update: Looking for a smaller, lighter alternative to the BMW KLT or Honda ST1300? Check out the Honda NT700V Deauville. After a decade in Europe, Honda is finally bringing it here as a 2010 model.
Coming Soon: The
4th Quarter issue of The Outpost will be
published October 1.In addition to some
enjoyable reading, look for information on our
initial Member Outing. July Update: The Outriders attended our first MOA Rally at Johnson City, TN. While there we picked up four new members and had the highest percentage attendance of any so-called virtual club. Here's a photo of some of us taken at the closing ceremonies.
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November
Update:
Outriders
have played significant roles in a couple of events this month, one in
Texas and another in South Carolina. We'll have full stories in the
next issue of the OUTPOST. 
March
Update:
August
Update:
May
Update:
We
are getting a BMW dealer! The Outriders' home base, Jacksonville FL,
has been without a dealer for at least a dozen years. But no longer.
March
Update:
