Some motorcycles come and go.
Others shape the way you travel, the places you visit, and the memories you carry for the rest of your life.
For Thomas Braccini, that journey began with a used BMW R100S.
He bought it in 1981 with 20,000 miles already on the odometer. By the time he finally let it go, it had covered almost 89,000 miles. Along the way it crossed the United States more than once, becoming far more than just transportation.
Back then, long-distance motorcycle touring was very different.
“You really didn’t see many motorcycles on the interstate highways,” Thomas recalls. “Every cross-country ride felt like a real adventure.”
When work eventually took him across the country, he reluctantly sold the R100S.
It wasn’t long before BMW unveiled the new R1100S.
Thomas saw a magazine review of the 2000 model and immediately knew he wanted one. Just two weeks later he placed an order with Ride West BMW in Seattle.
The R1100S became the natural successor to the motorcycle that had already carried him across America so many times.
Even today, long-distance riding remains his passion. One of his most recent rides covered nearly 1,900 miles in just four days on a trip to visit a friend in Nevada.
For Thomas, the destination has never been the main point.
“There’s nothing quite like the freedom of seeing the country from the seat of a BMW motorcycle.”
After more than forty years, countless miles and two iconic BMW boxer twins, that feeling clearly hasn’t changed.
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