
BMW Airhead: Certified Cult Member
When I was young, I was the proud owner of a ‘71 BMW R75. An ‘airhead.’ When not in class or working, I’d strap my big, old Kelty external frame pack on the back and be gone. Ultimately, I had to sell my airhead to pay tuition, which left a hole in my being. A while back, 40+ years later, I finally replaced it with this ’86 BMW R80. My new old ‘airhead.’
It took me a couple of years to get the bike back in shape, and then I had to put together a whole new motorcycle camping kit. The Kelty backpack is long gone, but my old original green Gerry goose down mummy bag is still with me.


This summer, 45 years later, I finally got back out into the mountains on my new old airhead! These photos are from camping along the Warm River in Idaho.
Old, simple and low-tech: the description applies equally well to both bike and rider.

