…in classic Bol D’or Red
Photos by Ian Thorne of Vulture Motor Works
Age and Occupation?
I am 62 years old and a recently retired Vocational Educator. I taught electrical wiring in grades 9 thru 12 at a regional vocational high school for 30 years.
Miles at purchase and current miles?
The R75 had about 30,000 miles on it when I purchased it. I’ve since put on about 8,000 miles, so current mileage is 38,000
How often do you ride it?
The bike isn’t my primary rider, but it has never been a garage queen. I kind of just ride it when I’m in the mood or special occasions. I have the good fortune to live at the cusp of some of the best riding roads in America: Vermont, Western Massachusetts and New Hampshire are literally out my backdoor. Afternoon jaunts to a ice cream shop or all day explorations are frequent destinations for a little moto-theropy.
What is your maintenance and care protocol to keep the original finish and parts in order?
As far as maintenance, in addition to regular fluid changes, I just keep it clean with consistent washes using regular car wash soap, paying attention to the hidden areas where road stuff accumulates. One product that I can recommend for maintaining the bare aluminum surfaces is Brite-Plus oxidized aluminum cleaner.
First airhead to be recognized by the AMCA for Marque Excellence; What is this and what is the criteria for this honor?
The criteria for achieving Marque Excellence by the AMCA is showing the bike at a series of National AMCA events, each time achieving a minimum score and advancing thru the categories. (85) Junior Second, (90) Junior First, (95) Senior, (95) Winners Circle, (98) Marque Excellence. Junior Second thru Winners circle judging takes place at the show, but Marque Excellence is judged by a discriminating panel of Marque expert judges.
It kind of started on a fluke. I was not an AMCA member, but saw where the Yankee Chapter was holding its annual meet in my neighboring town of Greenfield, MA. I knew that I had a pretty nice, mostly original airhead and thought ….“for short money I can enter the /6 and have it evaluated by a team of experts”. The bike received a score of a little over 90, and the Junior First award. Not only did I get a written evaluation of what was needed to be corrected on the bike to return it to original condition, I received a shinny trinket with the promise of more shinny trinkets if I made the corrections and continued to show the bike. I was hooked, I was on a mission!
Corrections were simple (fuel taps, shocks, hand grips, foot pegs, cleanliness, etc) but it pushed me into becoming a bit of an industrial archaeologist and meeting a lot of airhead enthusiast while sourcing the needed bits.
How did you come to know about this bike AND how long did it take to convince the owner to part with it?
A few friends and I concluded a ride at my buddies place and as we were sitting around enjoying refreshments I noticed a bike under a tarp. Pulling the tarp back, I was instantly in love! Thus began a five year open “if you ever want to sell it” invitation. Then, one day this same friend walks into my shop at school and says “if you still want it, I’ve decided to sell the airhead”. I just happened to have enough free cash tucked away that I didn’t even have to ask my wife!!!!
An interesting note is that we made the trip to pick the bike up the weekend before everything got shutdown for Covid. If I had waited a week, I may have never owned it.
Other accouterments that came with the bike like the tool kit, folding or knob key, original owners manual?
The bike came with correct crash bars and backrest which I removed just because I don’t think they add to its design. The bike had a tool kit and pump, but no manual.
Other airheads you own ?
Our first airhead was an R65 in Silver Beige that had a color matched fairing and Krauser bags. My wife and I purchased that from a friend in 1988 and road it extensively. Since then we have owned about seven other airheads including a 1974 R90/6 and a 1992 R100RT I rescued as a crash survivor and am building into a café bike.
For you, what is the appeal of an original paint/survivor bike like this?
The appeal of an original bike is in both the preservation of history and the opportunity to experience riding it as it was engineered to be ridden. The opportunity to study and learn what is correct for that bike, sourcing the bits and presenting a machine as an example of what it looked and performed like before any changes or improvements made over the years.
