Bike-wise I seemed to have grown up. I was tired of chain maintenance and the greasy remainders on my hands, the vibrations of a thumper and the limited power of a 500cc machine. I traded my Clubman for an 11 years old
BMW R80 a.k.a. Rubber Cow. She provided a comfy seat, a shaft drive, and had enough power to carry all my stuff plus camping gear. My then-friend had meanwhile swapped the Transalp for a
BMW R1100GS. Again our travels would lead us to the south of France.
The R80 prove herself to be a solid, reliable, but rather plain boring bike. Like in some relationships, it wasn't love, it was pure convenience that kept us together for many miles. I didn't have any regrets when I finally sold her in 1998. I had regrets that I gave up on motorcycling, though.
Where does the nick name "rubber cow" come from?
ReplyDeleteBets wishes, Nikos
The beemer R series (of the mid 60s to mid 80s) was nicknamed "Rubber Cow" (Gummikuh in German) by a German motorcycle journalist because of the way that the rear shocks would stand up in the curves. It reminded him of the way that cows are getting up, by lifting their rear end first. The Rubber was obviously added with references to the tires.
ReplyDeleteDanke!
ReplyDelete