BMW Mastery of Speed
by Anton Largiader, some photographs by Daniel Falgerho

The AMA's Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum launched its new "BMW: The Mastery of Speed" exhibit on Wednesday, July 20th. Located on the lower level, this featured eleven BMWs manufactured between 1927 and 2005 as well as a collection of trophies from BMW racing legends Ernst Henne and Max Klankermeier. Most of these trophies had yet to be displayed in Germany, so it was a real treat to see them here.

In addition to the trophies, the main part of the exhibit featured six bikes from Peter Nettesheim's museum and some smaller display items. Standing apart from this were newer bikes ranging in age from an R90S, R100RS, K1, Legends R1100RS, and K1200R.

Except for the trophies, the exhibit had little to do with BMW's racing past and was more of a Nettesheim/BMWNA show. The motorcycles shown were all immaculate but stock machines, and the pre-1970 bikes were given center stage. The trophies shared display space with sample wares from BMW Mobile Tradition. The bikes most closely associated with racing by most people were the two Battle of the Legends bikes (Gary Nixon's R100R was in a nearby exhibit) and the R90S, but their positioning made it clear that they were not the focus of the display.

Udo Gietl admires the R90S of RA member Mac Kirkpatrick

Two R90S-based race bikes have been acquired by Mobile Tradition in the last year; they (along with older race bikes which Mobile Tradition owns) would have been excellent additions to this exhibit. Furthermore, there are many existing BMW race bikes still in the US, from early '70s GP racers to recent Paris-Dakar winners, which could have been shown.

The deaths of BMW racing legends Ernst Henne and Gaston Rahier have been publicized in OTL and elsewhere this year, but BMW's racing heritage covers more than the '30s and the Paris-Dakar. Who could forget that BMW captured the first Superbike championship with the R90S? Someone did. Udo Gietl, the architech of the Butler & Smith racing program in the '70s, attended the event at the request of the AMA but wasn't mentioned once during the dedication ceremony. Don't despair; we'll be covering Udo's accomplishments in upcoming issues of OTL.

Laurence Kuykendall at the mike, with museum director Mark Mederski

OK, so the "Speed" part was a letdown. Is it worth seeing as a vintage display? I say yes, because any opportunity to see Peter Nettesheim's bikes is worth taking. However, it's best to try to see them when Peter is around, because he has ammassed a wealth of knowledge and he's infectiously enthusiastic about his bikes. BMWNA used his collection at AMA Vintage Days last year and will surely be using more of his bikes in the future, so if you can't make it to Pickerington, keep your eye on the calendar for upcoming vintage BMW events.

The main display in the museum is an enormous motocross exhibit, which is worth seeing as well.