Kansas City BMW Motorcycle Club

Club History

by Barb Scott


In the winter of 1982-83 I came home from work and Don informed me that he had just bought me a Cadillac and it was in the basement. I thought he had lost his mind as there was no way a car would go through the basement doors. As I went down the stairs I saw the strangest looking motorcycle I had ever seen. Of course I was really not familiar with any kind of motorcycle. He explained that it was a BMW and he had been told it was the Cadillac of motorcycles. I informed him immediately that he was crazy if he thought I would ever ride on that thing. In the spring he began to coax me to just try riding with him to the end of our road. A few weeks later he took me for a 10 mile ride. I was still not hooked.

Don went to Engles one day for something and Bobby told him about a thing called a motorcycle rally that was coming up the next week in southern Missouri. It was sponsored by a group called "The Hillbillies". He decided to give it a try and on a 103 degree Friday afternoon with nothing but his BMW and the clothes on his back he took a ride to see what this was all about. He came home on Sunday and told me that he had never had so much fun in his life and wanted me to go with him over Labor Day weekend to Mexico, MO. to another rally. I replied that I was not spending my three days off on the back of that motorcycle and hang out with other people that rode them. After a lot of persuasion and promises I agreed to go. We bought a small tent, packed a couple of blankets and some clothes and took off. As we were attempting to put up the tent a man putting up his tent near us asked where we were from. We told him we were from KC.  He said, "my name is Ed Sack and I'm from KC too." I replied that I didn't know anyone else in KC had a BMW except us. He pointed to another group of people nearby and said they were all from KC and belonged to a club. Ed took our name and phone number. We did have a great weekend, met a lot of nice people and I was totally in shock that they were not all a bunch of criminals.

A couple of weeks later Ed phoned us and invited us to a club meeting at Al Glickley's home. We decided to give it a try and that was the beginning of 12 of the best years of our life. We made so many good friends and traveled to 48 states and all of the Canadian Provinces during those years. Don rode to Canada with Art Brown as I had a broken arm due to a small accident in Columbus, Ohio the week before. During our years with the KC Club Don severed on the Board for several terms and also served as Co-Ride Captain. Don built the cook stoves for the Rally when we moved  to La Cygne. The first year he cooked with charcoal. The second winter Al and Don equipped the stoves with propane. For several years while Don and I were cooks we hauled all the equipment (stoves and fridges, electric roasters, pans, groceries and paper goods) down on Thursday and them loaded them up and hauled them back on Sunday.  We did four meals. Hot dogs, chips and cookies on Friday night, pancakes and scrambled eggs for Saturday and Sunday breakfast and a Saturday evening meal of brisket, baked beans, slaw, bread and dessert. We had unending coffee and hot chocolate. We also served at different times as assistant rally chairman and gate registration. In 1988 the Kansas City Club awarded us a plaque naming us official ambassadors of the Kansas City Club.

We made most rallies within a 400 mile radius  of KC from April till October. Weekends that we didn't have rally plans there seemed to always be many motorcycles at 2915 Ridge in KCKS. where the food, beer, and bull and braggin' went on for hours (a couple of times until daylight). We had a wonderful time with dear friends

We attended every National Rally from 1984 until 1998 and in 1991 we were chosen to be ambassadors for the BMWMOA. We worked hard for the MOA all the years we attended. For several years Voni Glaves and I chaired the Kids Events at the National and Don worked the gate with Dave Swisher. We were co-chairs in Arizona for Door Prizes and for the next several years were co-chairs with Bud and Jennifer Deetz in the treasurers office. I also worked the treasure's office with Harry Hawkins and Nancy Graham. The last three years that we were chairmen we had the Gofer Job with Leland and Slina as our co-chairs.

It was a wonderful time in our lives - in between raising kids and getting to old and feeble to ride. As most of you know we had to give up riding because of Don's eyes. He no longer felt that his vision was sharp enough to be safe. Of course, you all know that I have 2 artificial hips and one fake knee but if Don would let me carry a step stool I think I could still swing my leg enough to get behind him and ride.

HAPPY 25TH RALLY ANNIVERSARY BARB AND DON SCOTT
KEEP THE RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!   

Club History

by Roy Merriott


To Teresa Meyer -A little of my history with the K.C.-B.M.W.-Club # 46

My name is Roy Merriott and I joined the Kansas City BMW # 46 club in 1977 along with my wife Beverly. It was a small group of BMW owners and their wives at that time. I think a total membership of about thirty members. Our group had a monthly meeting at the homes of members that would volunteer their home for a meeting place.

Our first rallies were at Milford Lake Res. north of Junction City, Kansas and after a few years of traveling that far and putting up with their lack of facilities, we moved our rally site to Lake Clinton. After a couple of years our rallies got bigger and they would not allow our rallies to consist of more than a total attendance of one hundred so we had to find a new location. Al Glickley, Leland & Slina Prothe and myself volunteered to scout for a new rally site. We looked at several sites that were not suitable, then we went to La Cygne, Kansas and found one of the best rally sites in the country. We instantly feel in love with the new location and we presented it to the club for a unanimous yes vote. I think the year was 1984.

I was voted in as president and my first task was to put on the best rally that we could possibly put on. And with the hard work of Paul Bigler, Al Glickley, Leland & Slina Prothe, Don & Barbara Scott and many other club members we did that very thing. After that first rally at "The Land Of Oz" we had set a precedent and they just got better with time. And there you are twenty years later still doing one of the best rallies in the whole rally chain, and that makes me proud to be a part of that first of many fun filled events.

When I took over as president of our little group of riders, BMW came out with A Grand Slam called the K-Bike. It brought a whole new perspective to the motorcycle buyer. Engle Motor's was selling more bikes than ever before and with all of the new riders we had prospects for our club membership to expand. So working With Bobbie Bond, Engle's office manager, I was able to obtain the names of new BMW owner's and invited them to our club meetings. Within the three years that I was president our little group of thirty, turned out to be well over one hundred strong.

And again I want to say that I am proud to have been a part of the founding group of BMW riders of Kansas City many of which are still riding. Some have passed on, the other's have taken different paths of life. And after over fifty years of riding motorcycles at age 68 I have retired to Sun City West, Arizona were we still ride 12 months a year, minimum of three days a week, both tour riding BMW's and off road desert and mountain trail riding other brands. And after all of these years of riding I found out were all the old motorcycles riders go when they get old, because Arizona is like a motorcycle haven full of old motorcycle riders. Keep on riding, age is just a excuse that we don't believe in, in Arizona.

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