Greg was 13 when his parents bought him
his first motorized two-wheeler; it was a Lambretta motor
scooter. One
day when (Greg was about 14 years old, a motorcycle policeman
pulled him over and took him to the police station for driving
without a license.
Because of that “encounter,” his parents made him
park it until he was 15 and could get a scooter license. Being very determined,
Greg saved his money and paid for a private drivers ed course
and got his driver’s license as soon as he was turned 16.
Cars took center stage for a short time.
When he was 17 he took out my first loan -- for a
brand new 305 Honda Scrambler.
It was 28 degrees the day he picked it up, but he
rode it all day and almost froze.
(ah…. youth!)
Greg sold the Honda just before going
into the Army. For
two of the three years spent in the Army he was stationed
in the south and was able to ride some of his friend’s bikes.
Just before he was discharged,
he bought a really beat up 350 Yamaha Big
Bear. He trailered
it home to Michigan.
Shortly after getting back, he was showing his dad
how to do a wheelie and took it a little too far (actually
a lot too far). There
wasn’t much worth saving after that.
In 1972 he bought a new 350 Suzuki, but
after a couple of months found the bike just wasn’t big
enough to ride two up so he traded it in for a 1972 550
Suzuki. In
1975 he sold the 550 and bought a Kawasaki 900.
In 1978 he bought a 1972 Super Glide
for a winter project.
The engine needed new pistons, cylinders, crankpin,
bearings, etc. The
trans needed third gear, and the whole thing needed paint.
By spring, most of the major work was done and Mary
and Greg started riding it.
They liked it so much that they sold the Kawasaki
and kept the Harley.
They rode this bike for 19 years.
During the late 70’s and early 80’s Greg
was a member of the Wednesday Night Motocross club at Mustang
Acres. He
rode several different brands of bikes but settled down
on a 250 Husky. After
a number of years Greg found he was limping more and enjoying
it less so it was time to stop the dirt bike racing.
In 1994 he bought a 1980 850 Suzuki and
rode it to Alaska with a friend.
We sold the bikes when we got there and flew back.
In 1996 he decided to buy a GS -- originally
bought it for “riding to work.”
What happened then was that he hardly rode the Harley
anymore so he sold it in 1997.
Mary was not happy, she really liked the Harley and
wasn’t very happy with Greg L.
Greg bought my current R1100RT in 1999.
He thinks Mary is finally coming around -- she even
complained about a loud Harley this summer!
The Nolff’s first long trip (other than
the weekend trips up north) was on the Kawasaki 900 down through the Smokey
Mountains.
They joined the TCD in 1996, and tell
us they are not a really big rally people, but do enjoy
the BMW National Rally.
They also had a good time at the Silver Lakes Rally
the one year they went.
Greg’s favorite BMW story is when he
and Dave Allgood were at a Pennsylvania BMW rally sitting
at our picnic table drinking a few of beers.
A couple of neighbors were sitting with us when another
rider walked up and sat down.
We thought he was some officer from the MOA, but
weren’t sure. During
the conversation someone asked Dave and Greg if they were
married -- Greg said:
“No, we’re just good friends.”
What made this so funny was they were not sure if
Greg was kidding or not.
Greg still laughs when he thinks about the look on
their faces.
Mary has been in book keeping most of
her career. Several
years ago she decided to get her four-year accounting degree.
She did that while working full time.
Her grades were mostly A’s. She took the CPA exam
and passed it the first time, only about 10% of the people
who take the test pass it on their first try.
She starts a new job next month and after two years
of working for a CPA firm she will be an official CPA.
Greg has been a serviceman much of his
career. He
started out servicing fork trucks and ended up servicing
machine tools. He
is currently the Electrical Engineering Manager for a company
called Control Gage in Ann Arbor.
Greg says that he really enjoys the BMW
people. It’s
a friendly group that enjoys motorcycles because they like
to ride and not because they look good sitting on one.
Written by Greg Nolff
(with a tiny bit of editing by Kay Shaw)
