Is The BMW R1100S A Classic Already?

Flickr user “Classic Dreams” has an extensive collection of pictures from all kinds of classic motorcycles. The albums are about bikes from Indian, Zündapp, Harley-Davidson, BMW, and more – even Ducati makes the list ;-)

And sure enough, the BMW R1100S is one of the subjects. Classic Dreams‘ photos of the R11S do a great job of illustrating the elegance of this particular model. Here’s a sample illustration of the lightness that the design of this bike projects, with the rear wheel perfectly and fully visible when looking at the left side of the motorcycle. A fine bike, yes indeed, shown off perfectly in these excellent pictures!

This is just one of the pictures in the R1100S album of ‘Classic Dreams’ (click on the picture to see them all)

It’s clear that the BMW R1100S is indeed a classic bike, at least in the eyes of “Classic Dreams” – and in mine, of course ;-)

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Long Weekend, Long Rides ;-)

Yes, I took to the road with my motorcycle during the (four-day) weekend. What motorcyclist would not do that, given the splendid weather we had for Easter? Most cyclists did the same, by the way ;-)

(Click on the image to see the big version on Flickr)

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Time To Get My Motorcycle Out Of The Garage!

The weather is not yet perfect, but I have taken out my bike for a couple of little rides the last few days. It’s nice to be back on two wheels, in preparation of the summer and the extended bike trips I already have planned. Fun when riding a bike, that’s what this picture I found on Flickr also shows:

Picture titled ‘BMWs on the Angeles Crest’ by ‘thelostadventure’ (Click the image for the full version)

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The R1100S Remains Fascinating

Most motorcyclists know it: no matter what bike you’re riding today, there’s always another, very special bike that no other can replace. Perhaps you rode it already, perhaps you are just wishing you owned it. Readers of this blog know of my love for the BMW R1100S, and I’m just adding this post as further proof of that fact.

Pelican Parts user ‘LGB’ expresses this feeling very succinctly: “It was fun while I owned it… sold to a friend. Now I’m looking for another.” I can dig that, and his bike was truly made for touring: it even includes additional lights low on the fork – nice touch!

I’m not (yet?) looking for a replacement for my F800GT. But the R1100S remains in my heart, that’s certain.

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A Late Autumn Ride Turned Out Better Than Expected

Past Sunday saw us ride our annual Autumn Motorcycle Trip – us being a dozen like-minded bikers of different walks of life. Usually we plan this trip in October, to hopefully enjoy the last summer-like days of the year. But we had to change our plans this year, and the weather forecasts weren’t too great. It is November, after all.

But somehow the ten of us managed to ride the whole trip with just a few drips of rain, not enough to don our rain gear. Better: we even had a few minutes of nice sunshine, right in the middle of the Dutchess Hedwigepolder (sorry, in dutch only) in the Netherlands.

Yellow is the best colour for a motorcycle in this autumn sun!

We went there for a last visit – on a bike – to a part of the Schelde estuary that will soon be returned to the river and the Northsea, in order to diminish the risks of floods further up the river. Combined with the “Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe” the Hedwige and Prosper polders will be converted to a single natural reserve. Perhaps I will be able to go there on a bird-watching safari in a few years?

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Last Chance To Visit The Hertogin Hedwigepolder?

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon on my motorcycle. My tour included a visit to the dutch Hertogin Hedwigepolder, a piece of land that will be “given back” to the river Schelde in 2019, together with the belgian Prosperpolder. It was a bit strange to see that were so many people cycling and walking on the remaining roads and dykes, on a piece of land that will soon be mud and water. But migratory birds will be happy in the future: there are already large flocks of geese that use the meadows and the creeks as a stop on their travels.

I snapped a picture of the marker that indicates the border between the Netherlands and Belgium on the dyke next to the Schelde, wondering whether there will still be a way to get to it a year from now…

(A larger version can be see on Flickr –
just click on the picture to go there)

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BMW R1100S Pictures From The Past

BMW R1100S rider ‘John Lyon’ recently added a few great pictures to the Pelican Parts Forum for this bike. And this time it was not just a photo of his bike, he managed to upload a picture of an R1100S meeting somewhere in 2006. Nice work, John!

Just click on the images to got to the original posts, so you can read the comments as well ;-)

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