Boxerworks.com

I just got the news that Kari Prager died yesterday. He and his wife Gail are the owners of California BMW in Mountain View, California.

I have no details yet, but will provide them as they arrive. I spoke with him at length a couple of months ago and he told me of serious health problems that nobody could diagnose.

This is quite a shock as we go way back. Basically, I trained him in BMW mechanics back in 1972. Gail worked for me in the showroom with customers and parts etc.

Pass the word around, as Kari impacted the BMW world greatly. He was a giant.

I'm sorry to hear that Duane, not for me because I didn't know him, but for you because you were obviously friends, and friends that kept in touch. Loosing a friend can be the toughest of them all.



Ken

You spoke of him with great respect. I remember reading of your admiration for him. I'm sorry you lost a friend. And I hope for comfort for his family.

Chuey

I remember talking on the phone with him back in the '80s when I was building my conversion rig.
I bought two 'flakes and the front brake from a R65 from him to upgrade the front brake. He was very helpful and a pleasure to do business with. Duane taught him well.

Wow....I am sorry to hear this.

I did know Kari and was fond of him. He always went out of his way to help me and loved to talk about my airhead projects. He will be dearly missed.

Kari sat and talked to me for quite a while at one of the 49er rally's. He admired my R80ST and made great suggestions. Only later did I find out he owned Cal Moto. Totally normal guy, interested in bikes, no pretensions. Kari was a Dartmouth grad and dropped out of a Harvard Ph.D program to work on motorcycles.

The motorcycle world will not be as good a place without him.

Kari Prager,

Kari’s passing was quite a shock for me. I decided that I should write up the history that I know. Forgive me if I ramble a bit, as “stories” have been coming back to me that relate to Kari.

In the summer of 1972 (I think) a tall beauty, named Gail, rode her R25/3 into BMW of Marin in San Rafael, California. I only remember that we were all so impressed that we hired her as a parts person, as she had some experience with BMW. Soon after, her boyfriend returned from a trip abroad. That was Kari and he also rode a BMW and even had some mechanical experience. We hired him too. That was the start of a wonderful friendship that has lasted these 38 years.

Kari preferred to work on the older /2 and we had more of it than one mechanic could handle, so he got his fill. He never complained about having to change tires, or any of the other drudgery work. I remember once we were very busy and I spent nearly all of my time in the front. I needed Kari to do something, so I went into the back to talk with him. He was still working on an old beater /2 that had seen better days.

The job was a full service, or about 3 hours of labor and a few parts. He was still working on it after at least 8 hours. We used a standardized worksheet for each series of bike. Not only had Kari filled it out on the front and back, he had written up 3 more pages of small hand written notes. Since his academic study was archeology and the bike was “old” I asked he was doing his master’s thesis.

We had a second floor for storage of used parts and it was quite full. Kari had gone up and selected good, but ratty, old parts to replace many faulty items on the bike. I pointed out that the parts weren’t listed on the work order. He defended his position in that we had plenty of them and didn’t need to charge. Kari really wanted to fix everything and for nothing. He would only put on his time card the requested service labor, not the actual hours spent. He only got paid for the hours claimed, so he was working for nothing. He was just a nice guy.

One summer Kari got the chance to go to the Artic circle for an archeological dig. As you know, summer is the very busy time in the shop. I called a meeting and Kari explained his opportunity. The other three mechanics volunteered to work as long as it took to get the work out the door. We were often there quite late into the night, but I didn’t hear a single complaint. That is a measure of the respect and affection that we all had for Kari.

The /2 was famous for needed frequent valve adjustments. The /5 had solved that problem with long studs that held the cylinder, head and valve gear to the case. Kari was racing a R27 250 cc bike. He gutted the case and had it welded up to take the long studs. Then he machined a R69S cylinder to slide down the studs. He then had a stable top end and a 50 cc increase.

The shop sponsored a R75/5 road race bike and it did well. Along with that project was Kari’s R27 that he raced in the 250 cc class. Many of our customers would attend to watch and even help as needed. These were small local club races and very few unrelated spectators would be in attendance. However, the BMW riders would show up in actual numbers to show support for the BMW racers.

Just before a race, Kari would take a nap. Yes, he was able to get to sleep within 30 minutes of his race. He said it took the stress away.

I last visited with Kari about two months ago. My work has me traveling all over Northern California and I always liked to stop in at his place and chat when in the south bay. He took me outside for privacy and told me about his recent, possibly serious, health issues. We discussed this a bit, as Kari knew that I had spent some time working in medical research years before with the artificial heart.

My comment was that we never knew if we would live to see the next day and that I was so pleased that my life had turned out to be far better than I could ever have imagined. Kari responded in like and expressed just how happy he was with his wonderful family and life work. It was so nice to see a dear friend who also felt fulfilled with his life.

There are more stories, but this is enough for now.

If there is a memorial service, I will do everything to attend and spend time with those that cared for him so much. His memory has been in my mind many times since I got the sad news.

I try, but can’t imagine how I would find the strength to bear a similar situation. My heart goes out to Gail and the girls.

Duane,
Thanks for posting the stories.

Thanks for sharing the stories Duane, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.

Thank you kindly for sharing your personal stories of Kari. Kari's legacy can live on in the hearts and minds of those he left behind. Your thoughtfully crafted tales of him shared with a captive audience here, on the list and elsewhere is the the legacy he leaves behind and what we all can take with us of him - even after his death.

I am saddened to hear of your loss and my heart goes out to you, his wife, children, family and all those that were close to him.

Your story brought a smile to my face, for as a mechanic and repairman by trade for many years as a young man, I am certain if I were in your employ during that time, I would get the same "Master thesis" treatment or get out right fired for identical behavior with regard to how I billed and my desire to keep the higher quality "antiquated" equipment in service. I talked many a customer out of purchasing new (and what would have been far more profitable) appliances, lawnmowers and the like from my parent's hardware business; something my parents were never too pleased with me for, so I could readily identify with your tale. There are still elderly folks in town that have 50-60+ year old washers and dryers that are STILL in service and in tip top shape that have not been revisited since my last repair trip now nearly 20 years ago...

Kari and his legacy can always live on through yours and others personal experiences with him while he was still with us. Your open willingness to share these stories with others allows the legacy that was the man to be absorbed, enjoyed, respected and learned from by a much wider audience and one can pay no higher homage to a man. I thank you ever so kindly for sharing no matter how painful the topic is. One thing is certain, in my experience, if he earned your respect, he was a gentleman of the highest character and intellect (and while I can not speak for others here...) - just as you are yourself.

Again thank you Duane for sharing and please post any information on how I (or others) may be of any assistance to you, the family or friends in the matter.

Kind regards,
Douglas Wire