JUST JIM Perfect Place to Crash While serving in the Army, in 1969, I decided to buy a 1951 BMW motorcycle. The man who sold it to me gave me a 10 minute demo ride that would have left “Evel” Knievel stressed! The man selling the bike did not speak much English and I did not speak any German, so I became the owner and he smiled all the way to his bank.
Editors note: Representative picture only, not the actual motorcycle
A gentleman who worked on the base where I was assigned, came to my office and inquired about the BMW “500” parked outside. He had the exact same bike only 3 years newer. Franz was a gentle sort, but was so particular that his bike had to be absolutely perfect in each and every respect. He suggested I bring it to his house about two blocks from the base entrance. Once there he told me that he was a self-employed part-time mechanic, in addition to working on the Army Base during the day. He gave me lots of pointers and suggested I ride slowly on some of the many roads leading from town. On my day off he suggested we ride for an hour and really see some pretty sights. I was delighted as he had become a good friend from our first meeting. It seems that Franz was acquainted with the man who sold me the bike and he had no time for him. He shared some information about this man and said the bike was in his service station partially dismantled for a long time. When I saw it sitting there and inquired about it, he quickly assembled it and told me to come back the next day and it would be ready to purchase. Franz suggested we take a short ride before supper so I met him at his home and he led the way out of his yard. Since I was to follow him, I had to stop and close his gate before I could ride anywhere. Once on the roadway, I had to drive slowly through the town as it was a pleasant afternoon and lots of people along the side of the street. When I finally caught sight of Franz, he was nearly half a mile ahead of me and picking up speed as he drove around a pretty sharp curve bordering an old grave-yard with tons of large tombstones. In trying to catch up with him, I had not accounted for the really sharp curve going around that cemetary. I was going approximately 60 mph when I decided 10
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