Hello everyone!
I came across this forum today and just had to join. I've only been riding from 2003, and only WWII motorcycles until last year as a German WWII reenactor. So, my experience has been all VERY old school.
I was the second owner of my first bike, a 1939 DKW 3PS. This little machine was typically used as a cheap civilian transportation and training of potential motorcycle couriers for the German Wehrmacht.
My second motorcycle is a 1944 DKW NZ-350/1, which was a Panzer Division's scout and courier bike. It was found in Belgium and I completed its restoration to serve the Wehrmacht once again, this time for historical reenactments.
So my motorcycle experience is quite unique, never having ridden a truly modern machine. Two years ago, I purchased a friend's 2003 BMW R1150GS Adventure and started riding off road more and visiting national parks. This past summer I covered 3500 miles in one 9 day trip through 7 national parks after carefully teaching myself how to ride off road, mostly without incident. Well, I got stuck ONCE....
Back country riding and adventuring is new to me on land, being a former Merchant Marine ship's 2nd Engineering Officer, used to touring the world by sea.
If anyone in Minnesota needs a travel partner for a trip out west to Yellowstone or Glacier, or just about anywhere else that's scenic, drop me a line. Ich habe Wanderlust!
Gruβ aus Minnesota !
Kurt Suleski