Description:
Before Kirk's Motorrad Shop became a one-person BMW motorcycle shop in Crystal Lake, Illinois, it began with a restless kid, a fascination with machines, and a lifetime spent learning how things work.
In Zen and the Art of BMW Motorcycle Maintenance, Kirk Johnson shares the stories behind the motorcycles, the shop, and the hard-earned philosophy he calls Time, Tools, and Talent. His journey stretches from childhood experiments and twenty years as a paramedic to the BMW K1200LT that changed the direction of his life.
Along the way are mysterious mechanical failures, roadside breakdowns, long-distance rides, violent storms, difficult customers, unforgettable friendships, club politics, and the lessons that can only be learned when machines and people refuse to behave as expected.
This is not a repair manual. It is an honest, humorous, and sometimes harrowing memoir about motorcycles, work, family, community, and the satisfaction of solving problems with your own hands.
For riders, mechanics, lifelong tinkerers, and anyone who understands that the most memorable journeys rarely go according to plan.
Foreword by BMW motorcycle technician Chris R. Harris.