Saturday, April 19, 2014

2014 Airhead Tech Day

I rode Scarlett to where Dick Paschen once again hosted a great tech day get together at his home in Centennial, CO today. There was quite the turnout of airhead motorcycles, from models from the 60's to mid-90s. Most folks came to socialize but all who came with mechanical issues got helped and most would ride home with better running motorcycles.

Airheads is the nickname given to the motorcycles which have air-cooled Boxer engines.  These engines are the common element shared by Airheads along with the simplicity of their design and the always willing helpfulness of their owners to help out fellow riders.

It was good to see younger riders show up on their vintage motorcycles, learning from the older riders, the tips and tricks to keeping these wonderfully simple yet soul-satisfying machines running.

Matt Parkhouse, former Colorado Air Marshall for the Airheads Motorcycle Club showed up on his trusty R75/5 and proceeded to dive in where needed with his expertise and advise. There were other gurus in the mix, to include our host. There were drinks to keeps us hydrated and good chili to keep hunger away as wrenches and tools were used to tweak/repair and otherwise maintain the airheads which needed it.

My thanks to Dick Paschen for hosting this event again, he runs a good tech day, providing a welcoming atmosphere and never strangers for long during events such as these. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 Rider Chris of Redstone, CO. Brought his new to him '94 R100 GSPD

 Sporting motorcycle plate #7 from Wyoming, this gentleman successfully changed out his front fork oils.

 Dick Paschen, our great host and airhead guru

 If we'd had a prize for most unusual airhead, Pokie would have won it with his sidecar rig. 
The engine is from a '67 R60 Airhead but most everything else he fabricated! 
The tub started as a fuel drop tan and then a carnival ride before he made it his rig's tub.

 A side view of Pokie's hand made motorcycle sidecar rig, he must be quite the machinist.
He made the motorcycle's frame, headlight, fuel tank....salvaged parts from Beemers, Indian and 
who knows what other marques to create the above unique ride.

 Fellow rider Eron T's '67 R50 /2. Quite the restoration he's got going on it, and its ready for a sidecar someday as well. Very nice.

 One of the airhead gurus, helps out a new rider with his Airhead's electrical issues. 

 A very nice looking R90S with the distinctive paint job and fairing 
which made such models an instant hit in the 70's.

 Some of the many models of BMW Airheads which showed up for the tech day.

 This airhead's fairing caught my eye, she's for sale folks and is quite clean.

 Quite the turnout this year, Dick's driveway was full at times and the streets near his home were lined with BMW motorcycles of yesteryear....along with one URAL Sidecar rig and Dick's Vintage Fiat 500. 

Cool little car eh?

Matt Parkhouse works with the airhead's owner to diagnose a faulty charging circuit on the motorcycle.

 Matt Parkhouse demonstrates the shorting plug method of synchronizing the carburetors 
on Chris' GS PD Airhead. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! I drove a 1972 Fiat 500 all around Europe back in the mid-80's. That one there looks very nice and just about the same year as mine too.

That home-built "Beemer" is awesome. I wish I had those skills.

Cheers,

Dan K.

RichardM said...

The airhead tech days are a great opportunity to keep these machines running. Pretty unusual front suspension as well as right hand shift on Pokey's rig. Though the lack of rear suspension seems odd.

Spat said...

Looks like a nice vintage show, thanks for sharing

Canajun said...

If there was ever a BMW to turn my eye it was the R90S. I'd be happy to have one of those in my stable any day - beautiful.

Unknown said...

Dom:

I've always liked the GSPD. There was one for sale a couple of years ago but now they command a high price and hard to find, up here

I like that white airhead that was for sale. I've often thought about something like that to ride around town and to tinker on

It's great that you can get together and learn from each other

bob
A weekend photographer or Riding the Wet Coast