Greetings, my name is Eric Landstrom.

For those of you who don't know me, this is my rat-bike that is lovingly referred to as the "turd" (don't ask). I'm doing a wheelie for Jesus in this picture. I figure that if God created us for His amusement, then when I'm on a bike, He's having a good time.

Sometimes I bring friends out riding. The subject of religion comes up all the time....

But most of the time, I'm just a holy roller.

This is the bike I should be riding. But in one season I smoked two driveshafts, one transmission, and the engine. The year before that I had clutch problems and so I beefed it up--but at the time I didn't think about the rest of the drive-train. Although BMWs are widely regarded as the most reliable motorcycles around the world, this motorcycle's problem is the loose nut behind the handlebars. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me riding any monster wheelies on this heavy pig. But now you know why it is in pieces again.... BTW, if you know where I can get my hands on a 16 valve K100 or K11 engine or cheap salvage, get a hold of me. Really.

Three years later, over winter vacation, a new engine was finally found and shipped in. As of February 2002, the motorcycle is hanging like a giant-green piñata. This is what I call progress. I even got excited enough to write a story about it.

In April of 2003, I rode down to the local hangout, parked my BMW and was socializing. As I stood on the corner chewing the fat with some friends, a guy in a Chevy truck took off around the corner doing a burnout. All of us watched. We watched the burnout and we watched the guy freak out as he lost control. Then, for reasons nobody can explain, we watched the driver saw on his steering wheel and drive straight into my bike while still standing on the gas.

KA-POW!

I sipped from my coffee.
One of my friends flatly said, "That was stupid," in disbelief.
"So what kind of bike are you getting?" another asked me in an epiphany.
Then, as antifreeze gushed onto the curb, from inside the coffee shop I heard somebody shout, "That idiot just hit Eric's bike!"

And fifty people poured out onto the street to investigate.

Anyway, my BMW was totaled.

So I've replaced the BMW with a Kawasaki ZX900-E2 off the showroom floor. Trouble will doubtless follow me home while I figure out how to hang bags off of it.

I snapped this photo right after I came home with my new ZX-9R about a week after my K-bike died. I ended up parting out my K-bike and at least one other beemer is now back on the road now using my old K's parts. I must admit that I miss a bike that I can knock out 1,000 mile days on.

During the summer of 2004, I fell in love with supermotos and I ordered a 2005 Husqvarna SM510R as a replacement for the Turd that I'd given to my brother. Doubtless, I will be the source of trouble riding my new SuperTurd!

Motorhead Christian: A page leading to my other interests