Congratulations to Ralph Baker of South Carolina, the lucky winner.
This is the lifelong tale of two men and how their families and a motorcycle brought them back together once again.
Two young men, Mike Faust and Bill Eppley, shared a love of motorcycles, riding together in high school. Both also went on to work for the same Indiana building contractor. Bill then took a job at Hoffy Service, the long-since gone BMW-Honda dealership, in Huntington, Indiana. As Bill recalls, Hoffy was the number 13 Honda dealer in the United States.
Mike has a different recollection. You see, he also worked at Hoffy Service, but after Bill had already moved on. Mike told me that Honda came to the U.S. market and asked Hoffy if they could leave a few bikes in the showroom. "When they came back,” Mike says, “Hoffy had sold all the bikes and Honda made Hoffy Service the number 10 dealership in the country." Ten? Thirteen? Between old friends it doesn't really matter, unless, of course, there's a campfire and a few beers around.
While Mike was working at Hoffy in 1975, two sparkling new Daytona Orange R90Ss came into the dealership. The owner snatched one and Mike Faust the other. Mike recalls that a hot bike at the time was the Kawasaki 900. He said, "Mechanics don't have much to do around the dealership in winter time and the dealership had all the tools, so I lightened the flywheel, rebalanced it and added a deep oil pan. I also swapped out the final drive for one I pirated with a lower gear ratio. After that I could keep up with the Kawasaki until about 3rd gear." (Mike failed to mention to me that Bill had owned one of the aforementioned Kawasaki 900s.)
Mike rode the BMW until 1983 or 1984, logging about 152,000 miles on the R90S. Like many of us, having kids in school and other interests took over and the bike became a memory sitting in the garage. He recalled telling his wife that the longer the bike sat, the harder it would be to restore. He even told her he'd donate it if he could find a good cause.
Mike recalled having read of a tragic plane crash that killed several young musicians, but didn't know of any personal connection. He was unaware, until he read a local newspaper article about a father, the love for a lost son, and a restored 1972 R75/5. The bike had been lovingly restored by a long time BMW wrench and was raffled, with the proceeds benefiting two worthy causes. The wrench, the father, was one Bill Eppley, the son, Garth Eppley. Mike now knew exactly what was to happen, what was to be the second life for his R90S.
The R90S raffle proceeds will be shared between the Garth Eppley Memorial Music Scholarship Fund and the BMW MOA Foundation’s Camp Gears (Gaining Early Advanced Riding Skills). This educational program for new riders was a very important part of Garth’s life. The restoration will be carried out by Bill Eppley and the Friends of Garth (FOG). The bike has been disassembled, items to be replaced or repaired after 20 years off the road have been identified, the frame is being painted, and Bob Henig has graciously offered assistance with discounted service, parts and the contribution of Bob’s BMW airhead aftermarket rear shocks. The bike has the original tool kit and owner’s manual.
All donations of parts for the bike will help maximize the dollars to be used for the Music Scholarship and Camp GEARS. If parts aren’t used, they will be taken to swap meets to raise funds to buy necessary ones. The latest list of needed items for the restoration and photo gallery of pictures about the project are available from the BMW MOA Foundation website: www.bmwmoafoundation.org/fundraising/index.html.
The price for an R90S raffle ticket is $10. Tickets will go on sale in April and can be purchased from BMW MOA at the time of rally pre-registration, through the country store, and from BMW MOA Foundation board members and advisors. The R90S drawing will be held at the BMW MOA Open House in September of 2009. The fortunate winner does not need to be present. Bike delivery is included within the continental U.S.
Mike Faust, Bill and Laura Eppley, and the BMW MOA Foundation Board and Advisors thank you for this bit of good karma in the lives of us all.
Photos by Bill Eppley:
R90S before FOG started their work
Getting to the Frame with Garth’s Stich in background
FOG in action -- Mike Faust (benefactor) and Jim Strickland (in back)
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