My New Mule

[Robert Vigurs]

I have found recently, that to go shoot from Santa Cruz, just up the coast, north, a ways, my fuel costs are more than film! With shooting planned in the Southwest this year, I needed a more cost efficient means of travel. So the new "mule" enters the "picture". My new to me, 1982 BMW R100. I know I can pack the 4x5, and most likely the 5x7. The large G glass on the 8x10 I would worry about, but I'll see. Sure to be an adventure, at 40 miles per gallon.

[Ari]

Great idea, and the R100 is as solid as they come.
You are presently my hero, but I can be fickle

[Roger Cole]

Nice bike but...only 40 mpg? My Mazda3 iTouring consistently gets 32-35 overall (manual transmission.)

Don't get me wrong, I think photo touring by motorcycle would be tremendous fun and adventure, but if I just wanted to save on gas I'd get a cheap (highly used but functional) fuel efficient car and pack lots more and not worry about a big GG I wanted to take.

[Ron McElroy]

That's a way cool airhead. I used to have a R75/5. Be sure to pad you gear well as the vibrations of a M/C can work all sorts of screws loose.

[John Jarosz]

I have a '79 R80/7. They are very simple very reliable bikes. There are very few things on it that cannot be fixed on the side of the road if necessary.

If you plan to work on it yourself I can suggest that you search out the Airheads email list where common problems, fixes, etc are discussed on a daily basis. You can also find recommendations for shops to do the work if you don't want to. There are 4 or 5 BMW mechanics that provide expertise free to anyone who will listen. It is a stone-age organization that is an email based text only list. Highly recommended nonetheless.

I don't think my 8x20 will fit on it though.

John

[Vlad Soare]

Only 40 miles per gallon? That's just a tiny, tiny bit more than what my car does. It doesn't look like much economy to me...
Unless you're scaling down from a 6 liter V8 muscle car, in which case I agree, you'll save a lot of money.
But it certainly is a nice looking bike.

[goamules]

Great bike. I had a BMW R80 for 10 years...rode it down Baja, took the ferry across to Mazatlan, continued south. Spent about 6 weeks in Mexico and drove it coast to coast, and on many great trips. They are bulletproof. My new mules are not....they're real mules!

[Henry Ambrose]

I had one of those, but an '81 model.
Great bikes.

[Daniel Stone]

it certainly is a very noble looking steed!

ride safely!

-Dan

[rguinter]

I have found recently, that to go shoot from Santa Cruz, just up the coast, north, a ways, my fuel costs are more than film! With shooting planned in the Southwest this year, I needed a more cost efficient means of travel. So the new "mule" enters the "picture". My new to me, 1982 BMW R100. I know I can pack the 4x5, and most likely the 5x7. The large G glass on the 8x10 I would worry about, but I'll see. Sure to be an adventure, at 40 miles per gallon.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was licensed in 1968... before Easy Rider hit the theaters.

But it's not something I would consider as a (get there) machine for photo ops.

Much better with a minivan and a rugged trail bike (i.e., bicycle) tied on the rack.

My philosophy is to keep my hobbies focused and well separated.

If you like riding then by all means ride.

But rationalizing it for photo-op access with 40 mpg seems a stretch.

My 2 cents.

Bob G.