Turbo Roll Call

Cycle World's May 1992 issue included a call by then TMIOA President Allen L., who had recently taken over the reins of the club from founder John N., for all factory turbocharged motorcycle owners to organize themselves by means of an international directory,

“to establish a communications network among as many owners of factory turbocharged motorcycles as possible”.

The response was so great that Allen decided an annual gathering of Turbos was in order and he chose June 5-7, 1992 as the date of the first Turbo Rally and the location as Penn Larid, Virginia which is in the heart of one of the best riding areas in the eastern United States. Just one mountain pass away from the Skyline Drive which leads to the finest motorcycling road in the country, the Blue Ridge Parkway and its 469 miles of non-stop, ridge-top, twisties, this location served as headquarters for five of the twenty-one rallies held over the next nineteen years.

TMIOA membership peaked in 1998 with 164 dues-paying members spread out over eight countries each receiving a slickly-produced, quarterly, Turbo News newsletter full of members' comments, technical articles, and rally reviews. Turbo News ceased publication in 2003 after fifty-one issues and sixteen years, maninly due to the establishment of our website, but the “annual” Turbo Rallies continued for another thirteen years. To learn what made the Turbo Rallies infamous, visit the “Rallies” and “Photos” sections of our website. Thanks to Steve K. for sending this tidbit of TMIOA history along.