I know, there is a lot to back fill here, like, who is this weirdo who decided a teal-colored kestrel falcon riding a 1993 BMW R100R made any kind of sense? What even is this page? For now I will ignore the over-explainer side of me and just start with the most recent adventure, and ask you to please be patient with any poor writing structure – it’s seriously been…. *calculating in my mind* … “too long” since I have had to organize my thoughts for any one else to read.
2026 is the 25th year that the PA Airheads group has hosted an event they call PA SuperTech. If you have an Airhead motorcycle (basically, an early BMW motorcycle with an air-cooled boxer engine), and have any interest in learning more about how it works, how to maintain it, customize it, or just generally everything Airhead…. this is a great event to attend!
I drove up to Boyertown, PA from my home in Maryland on Friday afternoon. Since I had attended two Maryland Airhead events already, and hey, the Airheads are very neighborly, it was lovely to walk in and spy some familiar friendly faces who immediately waved me in with a “hey, how are you doing?”
We had some pizza and announcements, some funny “life hacks” for Airhead riders with plenty of hacked items tossed to the crowd – toothpaste (not for your teeth!), ziplock bags, and zip ties etc for entertainment. The MD Airheads had brought the “Sliced Cycle”, a BMW R75 /6 Airhead replica that looks visually like someone just took a giant saw blade and cut a bike in half. They did not; don’t worry – it was constructed from worn out parts, and has a hand crank installed that you can turn to see how all the engine parts work together. It’s pretty amazing.
In addition, the event venue was the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles which, if you like old vehicles or PA history, you really should go see. There were horse carts, motorcycles old enough to still look like bicycles with engines, a gorgeous 1937 Chrysler Royal Six Town Sedan (yeah, ok, I had to get a photo of that, even though it isn’t a motorcycle, because I love the look of 1930s vintage vehicles, and, while it was really green, in my cellphone pic, it really looks teal and it was too gorgeous). I heard that all the vehicles had some connection to Pennsylvania and it’s history as well. Super cool of them to host and letting us be immersed in vehicles even older than the Airhead motorcycles we were there to bond over.
The next day was a bit like a conference – 4 time slots, each with 3 sessions, and you could only pick one! They all sounded interesting but, just like in life, sometimes you are forced to choose, LOL. I learned A LOT about carbs (“not the pasta kind”), reading an Airhead wiring diagram (which will come in handy as I try to figure out why Kestrel kills her batteries, packing for multi-thousand mile trips (prep for bucket list adventures!), and watched the steps for removing and reinstalling an Airhead transmission. That was super cool, and really made me wish I had a garage to work on Kestrel in – he did the removal and reinstall in two hours. It would probably take me about 3 days since I am learning and also an overthinker.
Then dinner, open announcements of rallies and events being held by the various state chapters. The mic was free, and there were 3 women riders attending so I even braved stepping up to the podium and made a quick shout-out for the Women Riders World Relay 2026, and managed to pass a baton to another woman there. It was a groundbreaking event in 2019, with a physical baton carried through more than 100 countries, and we all wanted more, so this year it’s digital, but still woman-to-woman. Go read more, please!
Anyway, after dinner they showed an excellent movie another Airhead had made about his adventures in Europe buying his first BMW as a young man, then a quick clean up and we retired to the hotel. Most of us were in the same hotel nearby, so we continued the fun in the hotel lobby/breakfast room.
Sunday held only one time slot, the three sessions (that darn PICK ONE again), and I got to learn about how ethanol fuels and fuel treatments interact in Airhead engines, along with a bit about winterizing and the history of fuel standardization here in the US. There were beakers involved, so it was great fun for this nerd who minored in Geochemistry back in the dark ages before internet – indeed, I am older than Google.
The SuperTech was over by midday, so folks could get home and back to the real world. If I seem vague, pictures and video are discouraged in the interest of fostering real-time communication, connection, and camaraderie. Take notes (I know, my 24 pages might be excessive, but when you don’t know anything yet…). Be in the moment. It worked; although I had it on me, I didn’t even miss my phone once.
Oh yeah… I almost forgot to mention – it was 4° F. Yes, COLD AF. And yet, a warm, welcoming event, with plenty of folks generous with their knowledge & time. Not to be missed next year.
Sounds so fun! I’m glad you got to go and nerd out with fellow airheads. 😆