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Lifelong obsession: collector loves antique BMW bikes

Jack Wells describes himself as a “rabid” BMW motorcycle collector.

Chances are if it’s an antique BMW bike, Wells probably has it in his voluminous antique motorcycle collection that he began in 1973.

“Having started as a youngster at 12-years-old on a Cushman and continued on and eventually found BMWs and was impressed by their very good engineering and the very desirableness of the motorcycle,” Wells said.

His obsession with antique motorcycles began with collecting single-cylinder BMW motorcycles. That obsession led to collecting twin-cylinder BMWs, which led him to begin collecting other antique bikes by other manufacturers, such as Harley-Davidson, Sunbeam, Indian and others.

Today, Wells has about 100 motorcycles in his collection, 16 of which are on display this week at the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America International Rally in Gray.

Wells traveled from Lake City, Fla., with part of his collection packed away in a large military rig, so he could proudly display some of his favorite bikes for all to see.

“The motorcycles themselves are a wonderful machine and the new models are great, but we love the old models from whence we came,” Wells said.

One of the crown jewels in Wells’ collection is a 1943 BMW R-75 M, a German military-grade motorcycle. Attached to the large motorcycle is what Wells called an “unusual” sidecar, which is driven by the rear wheel.

Wells said the bike, which he has been in possession of for about 10 years, was recovered from the Eastern front in Romania where it was being used to pull a plow. Also attached to the bike is an MG-34 machine gun, which has been mounted on the sidecar. The R-75 typically carried three to four soldiers.

Another bike Wells is proud to call his own is an unusual Harley Davidson from 1938. This particular model was copied from a BMW R-61 that was captured in Norway. The original BMW motorcycle was taken apart piece by piece and rebuilt using the American system of measurement. Wells said only 1,000 of these bikes were made and he owns two of them.

Other antique BMW motorcycles from his collection are on display in Gray include an R-3, which had a total of 644 bikes produced, the smallest number of BMW single-cylinder bikes ever produced, and an early 1960s R-27, which was the last single-cylinder motorcycle BMW produced until 1997.

Rally officials hope to have about 50 vintage BMW motorcycles on display by the end of the convention on Sunday. Other bikes on display include an original German police bike and an R-68, one of the rarest post-war twin-cylinder BMW motorcycles available.

“Their owners have proudly displayed them and they are very worthy examples of fine motorcycles. Many times they are more beautiful than when they left the factory, frankly,” Wells said.

Wells is just happy to get an opportunity for others to see why he’s so passionate about collecting antique motorcycles.

“You’ll probably see my name on some asylum wall somewhere at some point, but I enjoy getting the motorcycles out for people to see ... I see them all the time, but it’s nice to have other folks get an opportunity to see some bikes that are so rare that most of us will never see those particular motorcycles,” Wells said.

More than 10,000 expected for BMW Rider's Rally

By Jeff Keeling
Johnson City Press Business Editor

Johnson City has never seen so much protective, reflective riding gear as it will later this week – and it probably never will again.

The advance troops for what BMW Motorcycle Owners of America expect to be their largest international rally ever are already here, preparing for an event expected to bring more than 10,000 enthusiasts to the region’s restaurants, hotels and scenic two-lane roads.

Local authorities and the local tourism industry are preparing, too, for what Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Brenda Whitson said will be the most lucrative single event Johnson City has ever hosted. Electronic signs on North Roan Street near the Bristol Highway/Kingsport Highway split flashed “motorcycles in area” and urged motorists to “look twice” and “save a life.”

The rally, centered at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, officially runs from Thursday through Saturday, but some attendees began arriving as early as last weekend.

“Most of the riders are getting in tomorrow,” Whitson said Tuesday.

Even though it’s by far the biggest event she’s handled, Whitson said the run-up has been eerily smooth, thanks to the BMWMOA’s approach, which brings to mind the German-engineered bikes they favor: quiet and efficient, but with plenty of fun built in.

“They are a well-oiled machine that’s been doing this for about 38 years,” Whitson said. “We’ll have a booth at the event and be there to provide maps, information on rides and restaurants and other things that they as a visitor will need to know.”

In return for the local hospitality, the area’s economy can expect a high-octane return, to the tune of close to $6 million in direct impact. Beyond handling the basics and providing little extras like daily 5 a.m. coffee for the early birds, the locals are expecting to simply enjoy observing a gathering that’s large enough to draw acts like Delbert McClinton to its evening concert series.

(The event at the Fairgrounds is not free. Passes are $35 for BMWMOA members and $45 for non-members.)

The BMWMOA is billing this year’s event as a “Rider’s Rally” due to the abundance of scenic and curvy mountain rides available throughout the region. The group’s Web site builds rider anticipation, saying “you will be close to some of the best riding in the country (and) from the rally site you can ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Cherohala Skyway, the infamous Deal’s Gap and more curvy roads than you can imagine to connect all these exciting places.”

And while the rally moves around every year and the economic boost is likely to be a “one-shot deal,” Whitson said the CVB, the Fairgrounds and local governments are trying to make it the best rally ever.

“I can’t say enough about how everybody has worked together to make it happen, and we hope the guests who attend remember this as a place they want to come back to,” Whitson said.

The event will be a great shot in the arm during a slow economy, Whitson said, but even without it, the area’s tourism numbers have maintained surprising strength considering national trends.

“We have seen that we are vying very favorably in comparison to others,” Whitson said. “Even our friends down the road (Sevier County) are seeing some larger decreases in their lodging tax and tax collections, and fortunately we have not seen that.”

A youth baseball tournament the city is also hosting this week has had a drop from the norm in the number of teams attending, and Whitson said other cities have reported the same in regard to summer tournaments. Taking both of this week’s events out of the equation, though, still leaves the local tourism numbers holding pretty steady from last year.

“We feel very blessed with that,” Whitson said. “If you look at our cost of doing business here, and the hospitality and the location, I think that absolutely does make a difference.”