By Carl Saccoccio
This is Part 3 of a three part history of my journey to 300,000 miles on BMW motorcycles. CS
My 8th BMW was a 2006 R1200GS I bought at Razee’s in May 2012. The reason I wanted an R1200GS over my roadster included many things, but mainly it was a bigger motor and a taller motorcycle that I could stretch out on. I had rented an R1200GS when I did a trip to Spain with fellow Ocean State members and Yankee Beemers in 2009. The big GS is loaded with all the accessories I usually put on a bike, and it came from a BMW shop in Washington state. It was also owned by a gentleman from East Greenwich, and he only put on 20,000 miles in six years, so this bike was now my main ride. I kept it until May 2017 having ridden it for 35,600 miles.
My 9th BMW was a 2002 R1150RS, a bike I had been looking for for years. I was hoping it would satisfy me like my 1977 RS. I bought it from one of the Ocean State members who had decided to quit riding, and it came with his RI license plate number 169 as an extra bonus. I kept it for two years and put on 4,900 miles, but I mainly used it as a fill-in bike since I had my R1200GS that I really enjoyed riding. It turned out to not be what I expected, and I sold it in June of 2016.
My 10th BMW was a 2013 F700GS that basically landed in my lap in July 2015. I was at Razee’s on my R1200GS, and Bob Pipes from the Yankee Beemers rode in and said he was selling his motorcycle and going back to a 600 Yamaha. Two years earlier I bought his Yamaha for Tammy for our 10th wedding anniversary. I have known Bob for 30 years and knew that his bikes were completely loaded with extras, and were also well maintained. He had put 20,000 miles on it in two years which is about his average. So we struck a deal and I bought myself a birthday present. Now I had two GS’s in my garage, along with my 72 R60/5 and a 77 R100RS. This F700GS became my main ride for the next eight years. The motorcycle fit me well, and was a lot lighter than the R1200GS; and had all the farkles I could ever want. I sold it in April of 2023 after putting on 29,400 miles. I decided to step up to an F800GS.
My 11th BMW was a 2017 F800GS Trophy edition. This model was a motorcycle I had admired since it first came out. It had a red frame, was white with black accents and had wire wheels. The one I found also had a factory lowered suspension which made it much more enjoyable for me to ride. The bike was bought at Max’s in Troy NY, and I bought it from the original owner in May 2023. He had had it for five years and only put on 5,400 miles. The bike was from the factory with no extras except for a BMW comfort seat the owner had installed. This meant I had to set it up the way I like with a taller windshield, soundbomb horn, luggage, rear rack, driving lights, rear light, etc.; all the things I wanted on a bike. The reason was, I knew this was going to be my last BMW for a long time. After riding it for 16 months I have put on 8,215 miles.
It had been 12 years since I received the 200,000-mile award and now it was time to add up my miles once again. During those (12) years I rode 90,471 miles which gave me a total of 302,318 miles on BMW motorcycles which qualified me for the 300,000 mile award. This was a goal I had set for myself back in 1983 when I first found out about the MOA mileage award, back when I joined. So here it is 48 years later, and I have reached that goal. On October 10th, 2024, Gordon Razee presented me with my plaque to hang on the wall and a metal medallion to put on my motorcycle.
When other motorcyclists see that I have ridden 300,000 miles, they ask me if I’m going to go for the next award of 400,000 miles and my answer is I don’t think so. At 76 years old riding another 10 years would mean averaging 10,000 miles a year, which is something I have not done recently due to some health issues I have been dealing with. I do not see riding long distances or logging 10-12 thousand miles a year in the future. I obtained the mileage award that I set my sights on, and that achievement is where I end my quest for high mileage awards.
If you haven’t read Parts 1 and 2 here are the links to those stories:
Part 1 – The First 100,000 Miles
Part 2 – The quest for 200,000 Miles
8th BMW – Not mine, but this is a 2006 R1200GS like the one I had 
9th BMW – Not mine, but this is a 2002 R1150RS like the one I had 
10th BMW – My Red 2013 F700 GS 
11th BMW – My 2017 F800GS Trophy 
This is my granddaughter’s Moto Rocker, handmade by grampa of course … 
… as well as this X-Wing Fighter rocker… 
… for my grandson.