Join the
Airheads Beemer Club
joinclub.htm
© Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer
HEY...JOIN THE CLUB!!
Owners of BMW Airhead motorcycles should be Members
of the Airheads Beemer Club (ABC).
Why "BEEMER"? Slang for a BMW motorcycle is Beemer; while
slang for a BMW car is Bimmer.
Why Join?
The Club, and the loosely-affiliated Internet-based Airheads LIST, are THE MAJOR RESOURCES for
/5 and later airheads, for technical information, social
events, etc.
The purpose of the Club is to celebrate OWNERSHIP, RIDING and
WRENCHING of/on BMW Boxers with Type 247 or earlier engines,
better known as 'an Airhead'. The R45 and
R65, which are not Type 247 ARE included. The Club is for all
BMW air-cooled motorcycles. The
Airheads Club does not, except rarely, have much to do with
the K bikes, Oilheads, and F bikes, etc.....although many Airhead owners also
have those... and other types of BMW motorcycles.
Does the Club have an involvement with the Internet-based
Airheads LIST?
The Airheads Beemer Club has no direct involvement or
function with the Airheads LIST. The Club did...at one
time....make an
annual contribution to the LIST owner, Marc Lewis (who
solicits donations from LIST users every January, and who
runs MANY LISTS from "micapeak.com").
The Airheads CLUB has a monthly print publication called
AIRMAIL; which began publication in December, 1991.
Join the Club!! YOU TOO can be an Airhead (note
the capital A for Members, not the motorcycle). This means fellowship, good cheer
,camaraderie, technical tips/articles, and lots more.
The monthly Club magazine, AIRMAIL, has a technical section
by Guru "Oak" Okleshen, an officially recognized Friend of
the Marque. You will find a variety of questions & answers
and sometimes a full-blown article on some problem/situation.
AIRMAIL is the
place for not just Oak's monthly technical column(s), but for social event
listings including TechDays, campouts, Barley Therapy
sessions; free classifieds; additional sharing of technical
information, product finds and reviews, questions, stories,
trip reports, events, gathering of information, and other BMW
motorcycle related topics.
You will want to know the advertisements in AIRMAIL, as advertisements in
AIRMAIL are almost exclusively airhead oriented, and some products may not
be advertised or easily found elsewhere's.
Those of you that are NOT Members of the Airheads Beemer
Club are truly losing out. Decorum forbids me calling you a
loser. For a few lousy dollars, Euro's, Kiwi's, pieces of
silver, whatever, YOU are not receiving AIRMAIL.
Some folks do not join the Club, saying it is due to the
higher cost of Club Membership, due to mailing costs, for
countries other than the U.S. No solution that seems
acceptable to all has ever been found for Memberships outside
the USA, although it has certainly been discussed
considerably in the past; so, YOU must decide if receiving
AIRMAIL, and supporting the Club is valuable enough. Some
folks can easily afford a Membership; yet, still prefer to be cheeep cheeeep cheeeeeep.
The Club does NOT have any fancy high paid staff &
organization, we are almost 100% volunteers in the Club.
AIRMAIL has an Editor, B.Jan Hoffman, who produces the magazine, he is the only
employee. Jan's Airhead
number is 1. Guess what his wife Di's number is?
Club events are usually well-attended. YOU could volunteer
for something too....how about a TechDay at your house? a
Ride? Arranging a barley therapy? A dinner, a campout, or
Bar-B-Q?....?
If you have a thorny problem, or just want to learn more
about your bike, why not organize a "FIX MY BIKE" TechDay at
your place (I am NOT kidding). List it in AIRMAIL; and on
the Airheads LIST....and, also list it on
www.airheads.org;
which is the Club's website...which has all sorts of stuff on
it.....including a huge section on Technical Tips....some
of which, blush, I wrote.
The ABC (Airhead Beemer Club) has eight Canons (comments **
are MINE):
(1) Airheads ride Beemers with
air-cooled heads.
**When we use the word Airhead, we generally mean the
/5 ("Slash 5) models that began production
~12/1969, to the end of production in 1995. This
is
so, even though much earlier models were air-cooled.
If
you are confused, because
prior boxer-engine'd BMW motorcycles
are air-cooled, or are
confused about such as the R1100-R1150-R1200,
etc.,
OILheads being partially
air-cooled, that's fine. MANY of our
Members
have more than one motorcycle, some LOTS more than
just
one. Some have a 10 car garage full of them.
Some are mostly just full of it.
(2) Airheads believe that the
simplest engineering solutions are best.
**UNfortunately, that means that some pervert this
idea, and
add foo-foos
and farkles that DETRACT from reliability. Despite
the
idea of simple engineering, some HAVE purchased
and still own an Oilhead,
K, F; or, other bikes. We have Members that own many
other
makes, including Harley Davidson's and are members of
H.O.G.
(3) Airheads appreciate function
over form, fact over fiction, and friendship
over friction.
**This seems to be very much the norm for Club
functions. I
have NEVER seen ANY friction at a TechDay, CampOut, or
any other
Airhead function.
Some rare times there are fun and games over
something usually innocuous, on
the Airheads E-mailing LIST.
(4) Airheads regard money as a
tool, not a status symbol.
**Your wallet status WILL diminish if you purchase
enough tools
& spare parts, or simply MUST have another
Airhead. We
have humble wealthy Members, poor members, and
everything
in-between.
(5) Airheads are earthy people who
like to camp.
**Some even drive their pickup trucks, loaded with
foodstuffs and
cold beer to our campsites.
Airheads and wannabee Airhead
owners are welcomed whether
camping or not.
(6) Airheads maintain their own
motorcycles.
**Some do this way better than others. Some are absolute
beginners; others have years of experience at breaking
things.
Only a few of us have NEVER broken ANYthing....and we
all
lie about it.
(7) Airheads don't take themselves,
religion, or life too seriously.
**This does NOT mean they are against religion,
or irreligious,
just that personal seriousness about religion is
just that, personal.
B. Jan, Airhead #1 added
Canon #7. He said this was to
discourage some early
members from proselytizing.
(8) Airheads like to share time,
knowledge, parts and camaraderie with other Airheads.
**Some even return borrowed tools, some share dark
beer; some few even share Cuban cigars and Single Malt Scotch.
Decorum and modesty forbids that I mention my name
in those regards, ...but you could offer me a brewskie, cigar,
or single malt Scotch,
and see if my hand stretches
out......
So, why are you waiting...get in on the FUN!....JOIN!! Give
yourself a Present. Remember, the more Airheads in this
world the
better chance I have of getting a free brewski, Scotch
or cigar.
If this shameful appeal has caused a gut-wrenching sickly
and totally guilty-to-the-bone feeling, read further. If not,
read further anyway.
If you can't read, how did you get
this far? If you got this far, and intend to read farther,
look in the mirror later, perhaps there IS a reason?
Here's more stuff about the Club and
AIRMAIL:
The ABC publishes the monthly snail-mailed AIRMAIL. Our
Editor, B.Jan aka Airhead #1...or is that JUST Airhead1? is
responsible for AIRMAIL. Every magazine
has an Editor. In AIRMAIL, the Editor does an editorial
now and then. Editorials don't imply that YOU as a Member
endorse them, nor the Club, same as in any magazine you
subscribe to. The input from the Editor may be far ranging,
from quotes from the American Motorcycle Association, to
discourse upon government functions (especially if they
affect motorcyclists), and even social comments or ideas or
letters from Club Members. Things would be duller without
Editorials.
AIRMAIL contains a number of sections; and constant
mizpelings of the same 'words' are on purpose:
(1) The "Whair & When" are Listings of TechDay's ...if
you have
not attended one, or sponsored one, why not, ya dumb
@#$%^)(&*, .
Campouts, Rendezvous, Barley Therapies... events of
all kinds of
interest to Airheads are listed. If you do not
know what Barley Therapy is,
drop in at one of these listed events, have a beer,
and ask about Therapy.
(2) There is a section called the Forum, for
letters/opinions from Members.
(3) Stories, pictures, and coverage of events.
(4) News pertinent to riders.
(5) Editor's comments in an Editorial. See above.
Highly variable in content;
will occasionally mess with your emotions
and sacred beliefs.
THREE ADDITIONAL reasons that ALONE, make your
membership exceedingly valuable:
(1) There is a monthly technical article called AIRTECH.
These are written by OAK.
Orlando Okleshen is a BMW wrench par excellence. Oak is
an officially recognized
'Friend of the Marque'. If you don't know what that
means, ask. Oak's AIRMAIL
articles are a must. Unlike other magazines, we 'Headz'
NEVER throw out Airmail's,
they are kept as permanent reference material. Oak has
an "Airtech Index" available.
Oak's technical columns and other writings are not
available on the Internet for
free downloading.
(2) At the rear of the publication is the Classifieds...no
charge to Members.
(3) A Dairectory is published. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,
another cutesy spelling.
Together with the MOA (BMW Motorcycle Owners of
America) "Anonymous" booklet, these
are all you need when on the road, to contact someone
who is a Member of one or both
organizations...and a lot of reference material is also
provided. It is hard to
travel anyplace and not be within range via a phone call
or an E-mail, for anything
from coffee & conversation to really serious mechanical
help. Keep the Dairectory
and MOA's Anonymous booklets someplace on your bike.
The Club even has an 'ABC store' offering, amongst other
things, pins, patches, windbreakers, ball caps, earrings,
banners, coffee mugs, buckles, T's and tanktops, sweats,
stickers, beverage Koozie's, stocking caps, calling cards,
shop rags, ETC. Temporary Tattoos are available for kids
and would-be kids...Airhead logo'd.
AIRMAIL advertising is modest, and is Airhead oriented. You
won't find any constantly annoying attitude, nor hyping of
the latest BMW product. AIRMAIL does NOT toe the BMW factory
line nor grovel at the feet of spin doctors.
I suggest/request, that you join The Airheads Beemer
Club....AND if you join, you don't have to read this
again...unless you want to see the changes in the latest
version of this shameless appeal. I am running out of witty
changes anyway. You will be able to stop feeling guilty.
WE KNOW YOU FEEL GUILTY. Think of the PRESTIGE, your VERY
OWN ABC number.
Here is how to JOIN:
Go to:
http://www.airheads.org
Snoop around, the way to join must be there someplace, EH?
Take a look at all the pages of great information after you
click on the left side under Technical Tips. I even, blush,
wrote some of them.
Our Membership Chairman, has back issues of Airmail
available. You may want some, especially after looking
through Oak's Index (contact Oak for them at: askoak@aol.com).
You already have your mouse ready to click, and the printer
fired up....and your pen and checkbook at the ready....riiight?
WHY not? The only reason must be that you are ALREADY
a Club Member. Club Membership cost is a mere
pittance. In U.S. Funds it is $25 per year for USA
addresses. $32 in Canada; $50 elsewhere's. Secure credit
card processing is available on the
www.airheads.org
website. Please allow some weeks for processing, before you
get your first issue, as the Membership Chairman is, like
most all club officers, a volunteer, and has other things in life
to do at times. Of course, you could always send in some
extra....you'd feel even less guilt for your past
transgressions at lurking without being a paying Member. JOIN
UP! If you want to contact the Membership
Chairman directly by mail it is: P.O. Box 119, McLean, VA
22101. Or; Membership@airheads.org.
rev: 11/20/2011
© Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer