Anderwerks

If Dave Anderson had been handed the keys to any motorcycle other than a BMW boxer, he might still be painting houses for a living. His northeast Calgary shop, Anderwerks Motorrad Spezialist, might also be filled with something other than lovingly ridden, expertly maintained German motorcycles, some nearly brand new, and some dating back more than 85 years, yet still purring like kittens.

This was no ordinary bike Dave held the keys to, that fateful day: it was a top-of-the-line BMW R100RS, then praised as the best-engineered, most advanced motorcycle in world. “I got to test drive a BMW motorcycle back in 1977, and my test ride was from North Battleford to Winnipeg,” says Dave. What started out as a favour to a friend needing a motorcycle delivered across the Prairies ended up as a Bavarian love affair lasting four decades and counting , with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

“It totally changed the concept of how I knew motorcycles," he says. "I’d ridden Norton and Triumph up until that time. I ended up buying the BMW and spending eight months on the road.” The result of that fateful ride is Anderwerks Canada’s largest independent BMW service, repair, restoration and performance tuning facility.