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RIP Kari Prager Cal Moto

Followed Kari around on my first dirt ride ever. Nobody was going to tell him an old air head beemer wasn't a dirt bike.

:rose RIP Kari
 
Like a few others here, I'd met Kari at a few dual sport clinics he'd hosted at Cal Moto. I'd hung out afterward and chatted with him a couple of times, and he was truly a class act.

RIP Kari- I'm sure the riding is epic where you are. :rose
 
Wow...awful. I met him at the San Gregorio general store and he was quite simply the nicest guy in the world. I was looking forward to someday buying a bike from him and riding with him.
 
:rip
 
I raced against Kari's R27, aboard my equally slow Suzuki X6. Then ran into him in the mid-90's while working on a CityBike story about a bike that had been built at his shop. While there, I ran across the R27. ..after not having seen it for almost 30 years.

Very cool guy. This sucks.

scot
 
Kari new what customer service was all about.

I was not able to pick my new bike the day it arrived. He delivered to me in Campbell that night. Free of charge. I didn't ask for this, he just did it. Great guy.
 
Thank you for starting the thread, Hornet.

I was very fortunate to work for Kari briefly. Even after I left CALmoto, we stayed in touch.

I got to spend some time with him last Monday and Wednesday. His enthusiasm for life was just so high that there was no sign whatsoever of things to come.

I'm still at loss of words. Rest in peace, Kari.

Photos
* The fast guys from CALmoto. I was the last one behind Kari, and he was on his Scrambler.
* A candid portrait of him from last Wednesday.
 

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RIP Kari

Requiescat in pace my friend. I did not know of your illness, but I hope that your passage to the other side was swift and painless. You will be sorely missed by us all.
 
I've been a customer of Kari's and joined him on countless shop rides he ran rain or shine each month for years. A truly great man, ran a fine business, friendly to all, and could ride the wheels off of any motorcycle.
 
Happy Hornet said:
Cal Moto (the BMW Triumph dealer in Sunnyvale)
Click to expand...

Just in case anyone's actually looking for this shop, it's in Mt.View, walking distance from my house.

I went in once, asking if they'd work on my V Star. No, but they were super nice about it. And seemed genuinely interested in another rider starting out.
 
Thank you. I will edit.
 
Kari had quite a following among Bay Area rec.motorcycles denizens in the '80s and '90s. Their respect for him is what persuaded me to visit Cal BMW occasionally when I lived in Walnut Creek. I got to know Kari and always enjoyed visiting with him.

Eventually I bought an R1100RSL used from a private party, but it was Cal BMW where I went to get it properly accessorized and to have it maintained. I always enjoyed the special treatment I got as a Cal customer, such as the loaner bike that made it worth the 60mi ride to have the bike serviced there.

Here's an excellent tribute to Kari in the Mountain View Voice:
Local motorcycling figure Kari Prager dies

Kari Prager, longtime owner of the California BMW and Triumph motorcycle dealership in Mountain View, passed away at his home unexpectedly on Sunday after suffering from respiratory problems, leaving behind a number of shocked family members, friends and employees.

Prager, a 63-year-old resident of Mountain View's Waverley Park neighborhood, owned the dealership on Old Middlefield Way for 29 years. Two years ago he opened another one in Livermore.​
Follow the link to read the whole thing.
 
I have worked at CalMoto for 3.5 years, and can't come up with something bad to say about Kari no matter how hard I try.

I came into work today and found out of Kari's passing and am still in disbelief.

Everyone here has lost a father figure, and the world has lost a truely great person.
 
Our thoughts and prayers are with Kari and his family...
 
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