BMW Calendar

The “Calendar Wars”’ have started in our shop. It all started when a co-worker put up a Harley Davidson motorcycle calendar. Now, a Harley Davidson is not a bad motorcycle, but those of you who know me are aware of a certain bias that I have for BMW motorcycles. One of the reasons for my bias is 8,300+ miles in 24 days without a single mechanical glitch. If you are planning an intensive motorcycle tour like that, I have three pieces of advice for you: don’t underestimate or discount the toll such a trip will take on your body, so plan your route to insure frequent access to Red Bull and aspirin and wear all the protective gear you can get your hands on (I recommend Aerostitch); take a camera and keep a log and a journal so you can ‘capture’ the trip in as many ways as possible, who knows when you’ll have the opportunity to take such a trip again—if ever; finally, take a motorcycle that is dependable (operable in a full range of road and weather conditions), chock full of safety features (ABS dual front and rear disk brakes, engine guards, wind and brush deflectors, auxiliary lighting), and low daily maintenance requirements (shaft drive, oil cooled, synthetic oil, fuel injection), in short a BMW.

My dilemma is that I’m confronted every day, all day, with the image of a Harley Davidson, and it will be a different image every 30 days or so for the next 11 months. I’d like create an ‘equal opportunity’ motorcycle exposure environment where the Marines in my shop are exposed to a quality motorcycle of a different manufacturer, Bavarian Motor Works, to be precise. Problem is, though there are undoubtedly BMW dealerships/outlets in this area of the world, I don’t have access to them. If you DO have access to such a place, and are also inclined to insure BMWs are adequately represented in an arena in which they are currently noticeably (to me and my co-workers) absent, could you please send me a poster calendar (with only the motorcycles pictured, so the Commandant would approve its display in the work place) to increase our available vistas featuring two wheeled vehicles. Additionally, I can use the calendar to count down the days until my return.

Semper Fi, Jon G.