BMW OWNERS NEWS – A PUBLICATION OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
FEBRUARY 2017
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FEBRUARY 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS www.bmwmoa.org
www.olympiamotosports.com www.firstgear-usa.com/mens-gear/jackets.html
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The BMW MOA and MOATM are trademarks of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.
Inside features
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female Motorcycle Relief Project: First ride By Bex Becker #192550 PTSD affects thousands of military veterans, so it should be no surprise to find women suffering from its effects. The Motorcycle Relief Project’s women-only therapy ride is one way to help.
infectious enthusiasm: Wayne rainey and MotoAmerica By Wes Fleming #87301 Motorcycle racing legend Wayne Rainey thought he knew what he was getting into when he took over a racing series; the reality was more than he expected but well worth the effort.
FIM superbike world championship at doha, qatar By Will Guyan #56198 The final round of World Superbike’s 2016 circuit saw a strong finish from Spain’s Jordi Torres of the Althea BMW Racing Team.
G 310 R: a little bmw set to make a big impact By Bill Wiegand #180584 Will BMW’s first sub-500cc roadster be a hit? This first ride report looks at the pros and cons of the single-cylinder machine being made in India. ON THE COVER: Tracy Jeffries #113168 and Rob Watt #189002 ride a gravel road during the film expedition ride of the Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route. For information regarding the route and release date of the Nevada BDR film, visit backcountrydiscoveryroute.com Photo by Bill Wiegand #180584 Photo by Bill Wiegand #180584
the club 4 Owners News Contributors 8 Headlight Happy Birthday MOA, by Bill Wiegand 10 President's Column Brrrrrr, by Wes Fitzer 12 Shiny Side Up Welcome to My Nightmare, by Ron Davis 14 Picture This Postcards from the Road 16 Rider to Rider Letters from our Members
discovery 46 Adventure Log Traversing the Andes, by Shawn Thomas 50 Simon and Lisa Escaping Reality,
Member tested/ product news 20 Touratech’s Waterproof Adventure Dry Bag, Wunderlich handlebar
lifestyle 80 Jack the Riepe The Evolution of Moto Camping,
muffs, AdMore SMT Light Bar with Smart Brake Technology, REV’IT Defender Pro GTX jacket and pants.
30 2017 BMW MOA International Rally preregistration is now open,
Aerostich mini LEDs, X-lite’s new X-1004 helmet, LemonRock Tours expands offerings, the Pikes Peak Rapid Release-Rack Plate System by Wolfman Luggage, Happy 45th Birthday BMW MOA, BMW MOA raises more than $8,000 for the Motorcycle Relief Project, 2017 BMW MOA Getaway schedule announced.
tech 40 Keep ‘em Flying Frame Straightening and Wheel Bearings,
by Simon and Lisa Thomas
skills 78 Ask a Pro Learning to Manage the Risks, by Lee Parks
by Jack Riepe
events 82 2017 BMW MOA International Rally Riding Salt Lake City
84 2017 BMW MOA International Rally A First-Timers MOA Rally Experience
88 When and Where Places to go and things to see 95 Advertiser Index 96 Talelight
by Matthew Parkhouse
44 Nicht Uber Max Questions and Answers, by George Mangicaro and Wes Fleming
February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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CONTRIBUTORS 1 . G eorge Mangicaro #136221 was born with a wrench in one hand and a Pepsi in the other, and his mother still hasn't forgiven him. Despite trying to cut off one thumb with a table saw, George was a Master Certified Technician for nearly 20 years and collects Beemer parts like it's his job...because it actually IS his job! He runs Beemers Uber Alles, an independent BMW and Ural repair shop in Manassas, Virginia. 2. Will Guyan #56198 began his riding career in the mid ‘60s on British machinery, when he rode solo around Europe and North Africa. He became hooked on BMWs thanks to the R 100 GS. Will lives in northern California, is a Friend of the Marque, and is a former editor of On The Level BMW Magazine. He owns several BMWs and earned his 25-year MOA badge several years ago. 3. Calep Howard #118864 “Some 20 years ago, a friend was getting married, and his fiancé would not allow him to ride a motorcycle. His offer was simple: if I could get the motorcycle running, I could have it. At this point, many have suggested that I should have encouraged my friend to find a new fiancé, but selfishly, I was very interested in getting a free motorcycle. I’ve still got that 1977 R 100/7, and it is ridden regularly. In fact, I rode that bike to my first-ever MOA rally in July of 2015! Since then, I’ve added a more modern version of my beloved airhead to my garage—a 2003 R 1150 R—but only to split mileage, not to retire the airhead.”
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4. Terence Hamill #14629 started riding motorcycles in the early '70s and in 1978 bought his first BMW motorcycle, a 1971 R 75/5, and joined the BMW MOA. Thirty-nine years later, he still owns and rides that Slash 5 along with another Airhead, an Oilhead and a K-bike. Having recently retired and with his children grown and a very understanding wife at home, Terence is currently whittling down his motorcycling bucket list with much success. 5. After a chance meeting in 1992, Simon and Lisa Thomas realized lives focused on work and success really weren’t what they truly wanted and decided to leave their “normal” existence behind them. With a large map taped to their kitchen wall, the couple began to plan a motorcycle journey they believed would safely take them through 122 countries over seven continents in 18 months. In 2003 they began their journey and 13 years later are still following the same itinerary created from the comfort of their former home. After three years they realized they’d become “adventure junkies” and going back to their normal, routine lives was impossible. Learn more about Simon and Lisa Thomas and follow their journey by visiting 2ridetheworld.com.
www.remus.com
Four hooves and two wheels
While our desire to see what lies beyond the next corner or over the next mountain has remained constant, only our modes of transport have changed over the years. Photo by Bill Wiegand 180584
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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headlight Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America MANAGING EDITOR
Bill Wiegand bill@bmwmoa.org
Happy Birthday BMW MOA By Bill Wiegand #180584
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ron Davis • Wes Fleming • Joe Tatulli ART DIRECTOR
Karin Halker karin@bmwmoa.org CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
David Cwi • Marven Ewen • Deb Gasque Lee Parks • Matthew Parkhouse Jack Riepe • Shawn Thomas ADVERTISING
Advertising materials, including chartered club rally display advertising, should be sent to our Advertising Office. Please contact Chris Hughes for display rates, sizes and terms. Chris Hughes chris@bmwmoa.org 11030 North Forker Road, Spokane, WA 99217 509-921-2713 (p) 509-921-2713 (f ) BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601 864-438-0962 (p) 864-250-0038 (f )
Submissions should be sent to the BMW MOA office or editor@bmwmoa.org. Submissions accepted only from current members of the BMW MOA and assume granting of first serial publication rights within and on the BMW MOA website and use in any future compendium of articles. No payments will be made and submissions will not be returned. The BMW MOA reserves the right to refuse, edit or modify submissions. Opinions and positions stated in materials/articles herein are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of BMW MOA; publication of advertising material is not an endorsement by BMW MOA of the advertised product or service. The material is presented as information for the reader. BMW MOA does not perform independent research on submitted articles or advertising. Change of address notification and membership inquiries should be made to the BMW MOA office or membership@bmwmoa.org. BMW MOA membership is $40/yr. and includes the BMW Owners News, which is not available separately. Each additional family member is $10 without a subscription. Canadian members add $12 for postal surcharge. The BMW MOA and MOA™ are trademarks of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.
OUR MISSION To foster communication and a sense of family among BMW motorcycle enthusiasts
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BEFORE 1972, THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA DID
not exist. Instead, small independent groups of BMW motorcycle enthusiasts existed around the country. In his personal history of the BMW MOA published in the January 1977 issue of BMW MOA News, Frank Diederich #0003, describes events leading up to our organization’s creation. “My favorite theory is that the early BMW owner bought a different machine because he was, or hoped to be, different himself. He’d heard the machine was unique. He’d heard it was the best all-around touring machine available. It was rare and it was expensive. To own one was to be different, to have a piece of the mystique that had already developed around the marque. To have one he’d risk being alone, different, helpless and weird. In many cases, he was,” Diederich explained. Diederich continued to say that after buying these “superb” machines, riders found that good dealers were just as rare. While some areas enjoyed great dealer support, others were cursed with dealers guilty of “overpricing parts, doing work that was shoddy or worse, charging for work performed only in his imagination.” Local clubs saw the benefits of a national organization of clubs and the support each could offer to the whole. It was on a frigid, 13-below-zero January day that Vern Hansen from Detroit, John Moore from California, Charlie Smith from New York, Frank Diederich from Chicago and Jeff Dean from Madison, Wisconsin, met at a motel near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Conceived at that meeting 45 years ago was the organization the group named BMW Motorcycle Owners of America. According the Jeff Dean, “Now we know a world with many BMW motorcycles. Through BMW MOA, it is a world where we can know many BMW motorcycle riders.” While much has changed over the past 45 years, I believe the camaraderie, enthusiasm and willingness to help other BMW riders exhibited by our founders has not. Our chartered club and national rallies, Anonymous Book, BMW Owners News and social media platforms prove every day our mission statement, which entreats us to foster communication and a sense of family among BMW motorcycle enthusiasts. Recently, on the BMW MOA Facebook page, Cassie Maier asked the question: “What does being a BMW MOA member mean to you?” Though there were several negative posts, the vast majority of responses were like that of Karen Mans, who said, “After close to 20 years as a member, I have found friends that I would never had met, the opportunity to volunteer and help out at the nationals, a destination for summer vacations, used and been used from the Anonymous Book, bought and sold on the marketplace, lurk on the forum and Facebook page. The support from this club after my accident was overwhelming. It is what you make it. Either be involved and make it more to your liking, go away if you don’t like it, or sit quietly and let the rest of us like it.” Eric Rossier said, “The BMW MOA means fellowship to me. An opportunity to reach out for mechanical help and have a network of hands there.” Richard N. Baker said, “An opening into a way of life that I may not otherwise have had much access to. We have off-road, on-road, track, dual-sport, classic, etc. members here. It is to everyone what they want it to be.” The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America isn’t just a magazine subscription, Anonymous Book, national rally or handful of benefits. It’s a community. As Dan Andrews says, “I can travel a thousand miles to a rally and even if I don’t know anyone there, I still feel at home.” Happy 45th birthday, BMW MOA.
www.corbin.com
www.aeroflowscreens.com
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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PRESIDENTSCOLUMN
Brrrrrr....... BMW MOA OFFICERS
Wes Fitzer, President 918-441-2114; jwfitzer@yahoo.com
By Wes Fitzer #170126
Jackie Hughes, Vice President 509-928-3261; jhughes@bmwmoa.org Reece Mullins, Secretary 334-470-7770; rangerreece@mac.com Jean Excell, Treasurer 719-650-6215; jeanexcell@bmwmoa.org BMW MOA DIRECTORS
Sam Garst 414-704-7767: guanocave@gmail.com Stan Herman 719-250-4358; hermanhaus1@msn.com Lisa Malachowsky 925-759-4360; lisa.malachowsky@gmail.com Marc Souliere 613-828-1798; beemer1@sympatico.ca Chad Warner chad.warner@bmwmoa,org BMW MOA VOLUNTEER STAFF
Steve Brunner, Mileage Contest Coordinator 910-822-4369; steveb@bmwmoa.org Jim Heberling, High Mileage Coordinator 309-530-1951; jheberling@bmwmoa.org David Swider, Ambassador Liaison 415-479-8075; teamkbasa@comcast.net Lee Woodring, Consumer Liaison 770-331-2419; lee.woodring@bmwmoa.org Joe Leung, Consumer Liaison 403-689-9939; joe.leung@bmwmoa.org Greg Feeler, Pat Carol and Brian Burdette 2017 BMW MOA Rally Chairs 2017rallychair@bmwmoa.org BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601
Robert C. Aldridge, Executive Director bob@bmwmoa.org Ted Moyer, Director of Membership & Marketing tedm@bmwmoa.org Ken Engelman, Director of Business Development ken@bmwmoa.org Bill Wiegand, BMW Owners News Managing Editor bill@bmwmoa.org Karin Halker, Art Director karin@bmwmoa.org Ray Tubbs, Digital Marketing Manager ray@bmwmoa.org Wes Fleming, Associate Editor Digital wfleming@bmwmoa.org Lesa Howard, Membership Services lesa@bmwmoa.org Noelle Boiano, Membership Services noelle@bmwmoa.org
WELCOME TO THE WINTER DOLDRUMS. FOR ME, FEBRUARY IS
always the coldest and longest month despite it being the shortest month of the year. Here in Oklahoma, March signals the beginning of the spring riding season, a time when a smile returns to my face, a smile only riding can bring. How do I make it through the long, cold and dark month of February? By making BMW Owners News and my trusty road atlas my new best friends, that’s how. Each February I scour the previous year’s issues of the Owners News, searching for any tidbits of travel information I might have missed during the height of the riding season. I read and reread every travel story, dreaming of far off places described so eloquently by our member contributors, looking at all the pictures and imagining myself and my bike where the writers have traveled. I’ll also reread the member reviews to see if there may be an item I’ve overlooked which might make my travels easier and more enjoyable. Personally, one of the things I’d like to upgrade this year is my sleeping bag, and I’ve been looking through the Owners News for a packable non-mummy bag. I’ve been using a backpacking mummy bag for some time now, and though it’s warm, I’ve never been a big fan of mummy-style bags and am determined to find a reasonably small rectangular bag, pad and cot. Wanting to be thorough, I may wait until the MOA Rally in July to finally decide what to do. While reviewing old issues of Owners News takes a great deal of my free time, what I probably spend most of my time doing is sitting in front of a warm fire reminiscing about the trips I’ve taken and the friends I’ve made over 2016. Last year my wife began riding her own bike, a three-wheeled Spyder and along with my son, attended a Basic Rider Training. After her completion of that class, we rode together to the Marble Falls Getaway. We have already started to make plans for rallies and Getaways that we are planning to attend and are working to coordinate our yearly rendezvous to make sure we have plenty of opportunities to meet up and make new memories. Additionally, this spring my son and I have made plans to ride the eastern half of the Trans-America Trail. While we’ve started planning and gathering gear, our next step will be to purchase the route and figure a way to get the bikes to the beginning of the TAT. This year the MOA Board of Directors has added several new Getaways for our members with most dates and locations outlined in this issue. I’ve said many times that one of the best things the MOA offers members is the opportunity to bring like-minded BMW motorcycle enthusiasts together. Speaking of a great place to ride and meet new people, be sure to join us at our annual International Rally scheduled this year for the Utah State Fairgrounds in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City promises to be a great rally, surrounded with fabulous riding in all directions. If you don’t’ want to camp, Salt Lake City offers many hotels close to the rally site, most serviced by the light rail service leading directly to the rally grounds. With an abundance of grass for camping and indoor vendor space, this may go down as one of the best rallies ever. Well, it’s time for me to get back to drawing lines on the pages of my atlas as I plan routes to places I’ve yet to visit. Ride Safely.
Wes 10
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Fitzer
www.ceebaileys.com/cycle
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shinysideup
Welcome to my nightmare By Ron Davis #111820 WHEN ON MY BIKE
in a parking lot, I’m typically as jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It isn’t that I’m worried about that oil patch or coolant puddle the last vehicle left behind or my bike falling over because of the spongey asphalt (I’ll never park a bike without a kickstand foot or pad again!). It’s because I fear for my life. Apparently most drivers don’t feel that way. According to a survey done by the National Safety Council, 66 percent of drivers feel comfortable talking on the cell phone while driving through a parking lot. Fifty-six percent feel comfortable texting, and 50 percent feel comfortable using social media, watching videos or writing email. If that wasn’t troubling enough, at least 42 percent said they would video chat while they cruise for an open space or search for the exit. Those people are nuts. The insurance industry claims one out of five accidents happens in a parking lot, and as a result of the 50,000-plus accidents that happen there every year, the National Safety Council reports, on average, 60,000 injuries and 50 deaths. Though drivers may feel secure because of the slower speeds there, NO ONE should feel comfortable in a parking lot, especially when you consider the looming wild card of demographics. As of 2010, the U.S. Census indicated those citizens 65 and older represented the biggest chunk of the population in terms of size and percent, and they’re getting older, many obviously on the cusp of that awkward intervention with their kids over shredding their licenses and donating their vehicle to the Car Talk Vehicle
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
Donation Program. To wit, a little story: A neighbor of mine whom I love dearly but who is at that watershed age parked his manual shift Toyota on an inclined lot in front of a Kmart, but forgot to yank the emergency brake as he went in to shop. His car rolled backward all the way through the quarter acre lot, across four lanes of traffic, up and over the curb and into a dealership lot on the other side where it gently came to rest against a power
pole. Miraculously, not a single a car or pedestrian had been touched. When he was done shopping and emerged from the automatic doors, he figured he had again forgotten where he parked, then noticed the pulsing squad car lights down across the highway. Don’t think this is another curmudgeony rant against cagers; pedestrians are often just as much a hazard. The number of injured “distracted walkers” (a phrase unknown to most as late as 2000) doubled from 2004 to 2015 and was expected to
double again by the end of 2016. In the words of Deborah Hersman, head of the National Safety Council, “There’s a lot of inattention out there.” What parent hasn’t ever had a breathless moment when one of his or her children stepped out between parked cars without looking? Distracted drivers, aging drivers, zombielike pedestrians, children, not to mention the usual idiots you find behind some steering wheels…all these physical hazards coupled with a false sense of security and an “anything goes” traffic mentality have the minefields known as parking lots giving “Adventure Motorcycling” a whole new meaning. Do we even need to discuss the three shootings that occurred on the last Black Friday in disputes over parking spaces? No, we do not. Personally, I can recall four or five close calls with cars on those vast seas of blacktop. What can we do? Experts on safety like David Hough suggest constantly scanning for exhaust coming from parked cars and flickering tail lights, covering your brakes, anticipating escape routes, and only rolling along as fast as you feel safe. I’m not above standing on my pegs and toggling my auxiliaries to the modulate setting in the biggest, most congested lots. Call me superstitious, but I also stay out of mall lots on the weekends before high school proms. On one of my last commutes of the year I had to navigate the parking lot of a big box grocery store. As I was cautiously threading my way through the lanes to the exit, a blue SUV suddenly squirted out in front of me. My saving grace was that I could see the driver and had noticed she had never even glanced in my direction. As I followed her to the street, I noticed her oversize bumper sticker fully spanning the hatchback panel: “IN GOD WE TRUST.” That may be a fine guiding principal for her, but when it comes to parking lots—really anywhere I’m riding—I prefer my own motto: TRUST NO ONE.
www.progressive.com
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Picturethis
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We asked MOA members to submit their photos showing
Postcards from the Road 1. W haley Homestead in Stevensville, Montana, photographed while riding cross country with Alexander Smith. Craig Smith #194972 Rochester, New York
4. T he remains of St. John's Lutheran Church in the ghost town of Arena, North Dakota. Michael Milner #209152 St. Simons Island, Georgia
7. A t the summit of Loibl Pass connecting Austria and Slovenia. Rob Kirkbride #204625 Grand Rapids, Michigan
2. W aiting for sheep to pass while riding over Transfagarasan Pass in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains. John Blackwell #107518 Portland, Oregon
5. M y 1998 K 1200 RS at the John Hall Grocery in Cecil, Alabama. Brian Hinton #135269 Wetumpka, Alabama
For May, send us your Best Shot. One photo may be submitted per member and the best selected for publication in the BMW Owners News. Send your high resolution image, image description and member number to editor@bmwmoa. org.
3. S hot somewhere near the northwest corner of Newfoundland. Byron Backenson #169296 Clifton Park, New York
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6. T aking a break after riding Goler Wash in Death Valley. Peter McMullan #131122 Pasadena, California
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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
Anonymous praise
Folks, the first things I read each month are the member letters. I wish more responses from members were included. As an 85-year-old rider of 35 years, my health is still holding up, and I have enjoyed riding. A favorite ride was a trip from Michigan to Boston. I shipped my R 1100 RT to Boston for transmission repairs and then purchased a used K 1200 GT which I rode back home. What a comfortable bike. As a lifetime member, I received my biggest gift from the BMW MOA when I had two breakdowns, one at Mackinaw City, Michigan, and then later near the Killington Ski area in Vermont, where I experienced a fuel line connector failure. Using my Anonymous Book I found a BMW owner in the area who even had the part I needed and loaned me tools. I have high praise for the Anonymous Book and urge any new motorcycle friend I meet to join the BMW MOA for the help that book provides. David Hathaway #56147 Lexington, Massachusetts
Don't postpone your ride
I’ve been a BMW Owners News reader and club member since 2001 after I fell in love with a fuel injected boxer engine on a rented R 850 R in the Italian Alps in 2000. Upon returning to the U.S. that year, I promptly bought a new 2001 R 1150 GS and over the next 15 years rode everywhere in North America, six times across the continent, exploring the back roads of every state and most of the Canadian Provinces. In between were trips on rented bikes in New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia. On April 4, 2015, all that ended when I was struck down while riding a bicycle. That’s right…200,000 miles riding motorcycles without a collision with an auto, truck or trailer and they get me on my
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bicycle! I was wearing a high-viz yellow riding shirt, helmet, riding pants, and my road bike had a blinking headlight and tail light. I was in the designated bicycle lane on a sunny Saturday afternoon riding through an intersection on a green light. Bam. The SUV turned right into me as if I wasn’t there. After doctors, hospitals, back surgery, and therapy, I still can’t ride without debilitating pain. I’m going to try yoga next. My trusted blue and white GS sits in the garage yearning for another long trip. If I can’t ride again, it will be hard to let her go. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t wait to make my rides. At the time, it meant less time with my wife and kids and less money earned. I guess you could say I sacrificed some things to gain the freedom of the road and the exhilaration that comes with challenging the unknown. I placed a lot of stickers on my Touratech panniers to document my adventures and my attitude about riding. One of my favorites is: “Live Your Dreams.” My advice to my brothers and sisters is “Live Your Dreams…Now.” Tomorrow may never come, and “next year” could be too late. Steven Befera #96635 Miami, Florida
Roadside Assistance
Recently, when I renewed my membership I chose the MOA’s upgraded plan with the roadside assistance with tire protection, and on a recent trip out west, we unfortunately had to use it. One night, Michael's bike was vandalized, and in an attempt to steal the bike, the would-be thieves hacked up the ignition and broke off a screwdriver in it. Luckily the steering lock was on and the bike couldn’t be easily moved. It was a Sunday morning, which meant the closest BMW dealership wouldn't be open until
Tuesday. When we called the roadside assistance, the operator took our information and then went above and beyond to find a motorcycle tow operation that could pick up the bike, store it for us and then bring it to BMW dealership for repairs. The truck was there in under an hour. After Michael's bike was picked up, he borrowed my X-Challenge, and luckily we were able to go on our trip anyway. When we returned at the end of the week, we picked up his GS and headed home. Having MOA’s roadside assistance saved our trip! Dawn Hein #169208 New Paltz, New York
Knowing When
Well, there’s clearly still hope and other choices. A close riding buddy of mine of 20 years has been a lifelong motorcycle rider. He was into all kinds of bikes, but switched to BMWs when I met him in 1996. He and his wife were a tremendous help to me with many BMW motorcycle rallies —including BMW MOA Nationals. About five years back he and his wife were rear-ended in California, and their BMW RT was totaled. They carried him off in a helicopter, and eventually he had a hip replacement because of the damage. It never did heal quite right, and he never regained strength in the leg. He switched to Harleys so he could swing a leg over a lower bike. Then he got a little stronger and bought another RT. One day he called me at work and said, “Steve, could you come over to my house and help me? I dropped my bike in the garage and can’t pick it up.” When I got there he said, “I’m done. I can’t be out somewhere with my wife and drop the bike or hurt her and not be able to get it back up. I’m getting rid of it.” For many of us, that is a life-changing event, and it sent a warning shot across my bow as well. Within a couple months
he called me to trailer his bike to a dealer, where he made a deal and to trade on a CanAm Spyder. That was less than two years ago, and he said he wished he had done it a few years earlier. So now he has put many thousands of miles on it, riding in the wind, riding to cool places, making no excuses for getting out and having a good time. We still ride together all the time—not quite as aggressive as years gone by—but a large part of the thrill is still there for him even though it’s a different slice of the experience. He’s quick to say, “Well, it’s NOT a motorcycle.” And of course, it’s not one of his beloved BMWs. But he’s back in his motorcycle gear and back in the saddle—and this one doesn’t fall over. Steve Cantrill #38304 Payson, Arizona
Then there are manuals...
Wes Fleming's nice piece in the November 2016 issue of Owners News about the importance of reviewing the manuals for our beloved BMW's made me chuckle about a recent experience I had with a BMW manual. Upon opening the packaging to a factory equipment rack for my 2009 G 450 X, I found it to be accompanied by a manual and not just any manual. What I found was a 57-page 8 1/2 x 11-inch tome written in ten languages, all intending to fully instruct the world community as to how to install…four screws. I included a photo of the rack being dominated by its all-encompassing manual. Being the son of two German immigrants, I got a hoot out of BMW's sledgehammer approach to developing a written manual for a simple accessory part which could have just as easily been accomplished by a one-page pictograph. Hey, at least no one on seven continents will be confused as to how to install this accessory! Eric Deyerl #158472 Culver City, California
From the MOA Facebook page... Cassie Maier #203304 posed the question:
"What does being a BMW MOA member mean to you?" Walt Eschmann
Lisa Gilbreath
I'm been a member now for about 7 years and enjoy the magazine, the anonymous book, rally dates and stories of other adventures. I don't get into the politics of the organization, and don't really expect them to cater to me personally, but feel the information they provide is well worth the price of membership. I especially enjoy their association with the GS Giants, and have blocked out the entire month of July for the past 5 years now to attend both the Giants pre-rally and National. Whether it's meeting new friends while attending or helping out through volunteering at the events, it's always a great activity for me and I hope to continue well into my advancing years with my membership.
I don't like most of the magazine and don't go to rallys (work every weekend) My first year of membership I applied for and got a scholarship to help off set the cost of Superbike school. I renewed late October and added the Roadside and tire protection and 28 days later had a flat. So at this point I have spent $119 on my 2 years of membership and received $450 in just those two benefits. Would have been more if I used the towing when I had the flat. (plugged it myself) It was seeing people on this page talk about it that got me to originally join.
Geoff Goins I am joining this year, and going for the full on membership. I have seen story after story where the tire repair and road hazard has been a godsend.
Richard N Baker An opening into a way of life that I may not otherwise have had a much access to. We have off road, on road, track, dual sport, classic, etc members here. The MOA is to everyone what they want it to be.
Karen Mans After close to 20 years a member, I have found friends that I would never had met, have volunteered and helped out at the nationals, used and been used from the Anonymous book, bought/sold on the marketplace, lurk on the forum and FB page. The support from this club after my accident was overwhelming. It is what you make it. Either be involved and make it more to your liking or sit quietly and let the rest of us like it.
Eric Rossier The BMW MOA means fellowship to me. An opportunity to reach out for mechanical help and have a network of hands there. I joined at the request of a senior member of our charter club in VT: Ted "Der Heffeirmeister " Hall. Ted is known through the USA and beyond. Some of his adventures are featured in my interview of him on my blog. I have been rescued by the A book and had the joy of lending a hand. Both are humbling and forge life long friendships.
Rick Rutel I belong to MOA for a number of reasons. I love the magazine, especially when Jack R has his columns published. Mostly it's because I am a staunch proponent of rider safety and training. I think the MOA and the vast majority of the members are representative of what I find most alluring in an organization. MOA and for the most part, BMW riders seem to have a different outlook on the sport of motorcycling that fits exactly with how I feel. I hope MOA continues to be a solid representative of the riders who chose education, safety and knowledge as a feature worth joining for.
February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
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Touratech Waterproof Adventure Dry Bag By Ron Davis #111820 shoulder strap is included. The Touratech/ Ortlieb bag fairly bristles with attachment ket gear vendors Touratech and Ortpoints that should accommodate just about lieb had teamed up to produce a new any mounting configuration a rider could line of dry bags, my reaction was, come up with. D-rings and pass-through what could go wrong? slots provide lots of mounting options, As is turns out, practically nothing. though curiously Touratech does not proOrtlieb has established a global repuvide any mounting straps. Rok-straps are tation since 1982 for waterproof, roadrecommended by Touratech, but I’m a big tough luggage for all kinds of uses. fan of their ingenious Arno Touratech’s massive catand Zega-belts, which are alogue of general and not elastic and are fail-safe model-specific advenreliable. ture gear is a wish-book Ortlieb’s distinctive for riders the world over, welded-seam polyurethane and the German comfabric has a well-earned reppany has a history of utation for toughness. Apart teaming up with other from encounters with sharp gear manufacturers to objects, these dry bags save on the costs of should offer life-of-the-user research, development, service, but of course this is and manufacturing. For soft luggage, so it doesn’t example, Touratech’s offer the security of hard Adventuro Mod helmet cases. In use, I found the is a result of collaborabag’s versatility, not to mention with Schuberth. tion the ease with which a Tourtatech’s partnership bag like this can be mounted with Ortlieb on a drybag and unmounted from my also made a lot of sense bike, is a saving grace. I also since there was already a like a soft luggage bag like plethora of dry bags out Though mounting straps are not provided with Touratech’s new Adventure Dry Bag, there; the price point “Arno Straps” are a good choice for a secure mount on a bike through any of the many this since it can be compressed down when it isn’t had to be kept down to attachment points. stuffed full. remain competitive. If the partnership of big-name marquees Touratech’s Waterproof Adventure familiar horizontal roll top opening, a stanbehind these bags wasn’t confidence inspirDry Bags, added to their catalogue in dard Ortlieb touch which provides watering enough, consider Touratech’s five-year 2016, are offered in three sizes: proof protection unless the bag is totally warranty covering manufacturing defects medium, large, and X-large. An incursubmerged. Stiffeners in the opening edges and five-star customer service. The able packrat, I first tried the X-large. It make closure easy, and compression straps medium-sized dry bag retails at $104.95, is hu-u-u-uge (15.7 x 28 x 15.7 inches); with polycarbonate buckles (two across the with each step up in size adding another in fact, I found it was too huge for my top and one at each end) keep the top closed $10. For more information, visit touratechbike, encroaching on my derriere up tight. usa.com. space when used across my pillion For toting the bag into a tent or motel seat in front of a top box. The friendly room, the Adventure Dry Bag has carrying customer service rep suggested the handles which mate together using a padPROS: Tough, reasonably priced, ease of use medium (11.8 x 21.3 x 10.6 inches) ded hook and loop wrap, plus a padded CONS: No mounting strap WHEN I READ THAT AFTERMAR-
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
would work better for my bike (BMW F 700 GS), and of course he was right. Touratech’s new dry bags are available in six colors, including the hi-vis yellow, orange, and red, but I went with the silver, thinking it would reflect heat and match my bike’s trim. Whatever color is chosen, there is also 3M Scotchlite reflective material on the ends and handles. The bags use the
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Wunderlich handlebar muffs By Wes Fleming #87301 IT MAY BE A STEREOTYPE THAT
BMW riders are tougher than other motorcyclists, often riding through rain, sand, mud, sleet and even snow to reach their destinations across town or on the other side of the world. A hundred and two degrees out and headed through Death Valley? No problem. Five below zero and off to grandmother’s house for Christmas dinner? NO PROBLEM! We all know a BMW rider who doesn’t hesitate to mount up no matter the weather or temperature. When it comes to winter, though, we should also all know that cold can kill, and it can do so quickly. It’s important to not only protect the rider’s extremities—fingers, hands, arms and toes, feet and legs—but to also ride with some measure of comfort. Every brain cycle spent thinking about those frozen fingers is a brain cycle that should be going towards operating the motorcycle and situational awareness. Heated grips work well, but at highway speeds on a cold day, their effectiveness is minimal. Heated gloves can pick up the slack there, but that cold wind is still blowing past them at high speed, pulling the heat right off their surface. That’s where handlebar muffs come in handy. Wunderlich isn’t the only company making handlebar muffs, and it may surprise some to learn that Hippo Hands isn’t the generic name for these items. They all have the same basic purpose, which is to prevent the wind and rain (or sleet or snow) from even reaching the rider’s hands in the first place. All the muffs similar to these Wunderlich ones do about as good a job as the others, but little details set Wunderlich’s offering apart from the competition.
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
First and foremost is the clear plastic window that allows the rider to see both sets of handlebar controls. We all operate our motorcycles on muscle memory most of the time, rarely looking for the highbeam or horn button, but not being able to see those controls at all can be disconcerting to some riders. The windows in Wunderlich’s muffs stay clear and pliable down below freezing, enabling quick looks to reassure riders where their controls are.
While Wunderlich’s muffs might be a tad more fiddly to install than those made by other manufacturers, taking a little extra time to fit the opening over hand guards and around the mirror stalk and brake and/ or clutch master cylinder is worth it. Once they’re in place, securing them is simple, with a drawstring opening that closes as tightly around the handlebar as the rider wishes. The loose (and by now long) end of the drawstring secures to a clip inside the
muff and can be wrapped around the mirror stalk or something else to provide a slipfree installation. Though the Wunderlich muffs work well and are durable and rugged, they may not fit every motorcycle. A GS with stock or average-sized hand guards in place is fine, but if you have extra-large hand guards on your bike, these muffs may not fit. Also, if your bike does not have handlebarmounted mirrors, the muffs may obstruct your view of the rearview mirrors. Fortunately, if either of those things applies, a quick call to Wunderlich’s customer support number can get you squared away with a refund or suggestions for alternatives. Because the muffs are semi-rigid, you don’t have to have a GS to use them; Wunderlich says they made these muffs with BMWs in mind, but they should work on a wide variety of motorcycles of any marque. The hand opening is not adjustable, but once you get the hang of inserting your hands into the opening, it comes to you easily on repeated use. The opening is big enough to wiggle through for most folks, but not so big that large amounts of wind will seep through around your jacket sleeve. The big benefit of handlebar muffs is that you can get away with either using gloves with less insulation in them (for better feel on the grips) or, by using gloves with heavier insulation, you can ride in comfort in lower temperatures than you could without the muffs. Wunderlich’s muffs have a light layer of insulation built in, which boosts their utility over muffs that are only wind and waterproof. They are well made, with quality stitching throughout and excellent materials. I expect to get many (cold) seasons of use from them. Wunderlich Handlebar Muffs Black, $139.95; Hi-Viz, $179.95 wunderlichamerica.com
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February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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AdMore SMT Light Bar with Smart Brake Technology By Matt DeWald #174635 the center. The Light Bar is completely CANbus compatible as well, so there is no riders, we like high-performance issue installing it on late-model BMWs. machines dressed as Christmas trees. With a power draw of only eight watts, Adding lumens on the bow of our many older-model BMWs with limited rides is commonplace, but what about electrical capacity can still use this as a the stern? Being seen from behind can workable accessory. make all the difference in gaining a I found changing the settings to be simdistracted driver’s attention before it’s ple, but in truth the default settings were too late. That’s where AdMore proalmost perfect. The license plate illuminavides a solution. tor can be turned on or off Introduced in 2016, the based on the installed locasecond generation tion, local regulations, and AdMore SMT Light Bar user discretion. The included with Smart Brake Techlightweight aluminum nology includes an eyebracket should last the life of popping 81 Cree LED the motorcycle without corlights, plus three super rosion, while the waterproof bright white LEDs situwiring outfit, body, and plasated in a central-strobe tic lens of the Light Bar (availpattern. And that’s only able in clear or smoke) is the beginning of the prodrugged enough for a broad uct’s features. The Light range of applications, includBar differentiates itself ing off-roading. from other offerings by Depending on the user’s incorporating not just electrical skills, installation static red brake lights, but can be DIY using basic tools amber turn signals in a and the included instrucprogressive lighting tions. I opted for professional sequence as well. But the product’s key The AdMore SMT Light Bar features begin with progressive amber direction signals, installation, which took an accelerometer for brake light actuation during downshifts, white strobe lights feature is its on-board during brake application, and programmable settings. I opted to install the AdMore approximately one hour of labor. integrated accelerometer, SMT Light Bar below the license plate on this 2013 R1200R. The AdMore SMT Light which continually gauges Bar is an excellent addition for safetyhelp ward off distracted New Jersey deceleration and, if necessary, actuminded riders who want to be noticed drivers. ates the brake lights without the rider going, not just coming! It is available Measuring 8 inches wide, 1 1/4 inches having to apply the actual brakes. The through Twisted Throttle (www.twisthigh and 1 inch deep, the AdMore Light Bar latter is extremely useful in certain edthrottle.com) or straight from AdMore provides a menu of lighting options, all cussituations, such as quick downshifts (www.AdMorelighting.com). This Canatomizable through a microUSB connection when there is traffic behind the rider. dian-made device retails for $199.99. The between your computer and the light bar. During our 400-mile test ride back kit contains all the necessary wiring and Configurable features include brake light from Das Rally to central New Jersey, hardware, including an aluminum mountbrightness, accelerometer sensitivity, we put the accelerometer to the test. ing bracket, wiring harness and wire-tap license plate illuminator, and enable/disable Using the factory settings, we connectors for easy installation. control of the strobing white brake lights in observed accelerometer-actuated CONSPICUITY! AS A GROUP, BMW
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
brake light illumination with moderate deceleration resulting from moderate to severe downshifting. Obviously, this brake light warning increases the conspicuity of the rider during downshifts, without having to disrupt the balance of the bike by using the brake lights. To AdMore’s credit, the sensitivity of the accelerometer is adjustable to the user’s liking. I ultimately increased the sensitivity two notches to
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REV'IT Defender Pro GTX By Bill Wiegand #180584 THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE PAR-
ticular I get about the gear I buy. I guess I’ve been too cold, too hot or too wet too many times to put up with it anymore. There’s a lot of great gear out there, and if money were no object I’d have a dozen different sets of outfits to wear. But, money is an object, which makes my decision even more difficult as I know I’ll be living with whatever I choose for many miles. After spending way too much time surfing the web researching options, I realized I kept coming back to the REV’IT Defender Pro GTX jacket and pants. I took that as a sign. REV’IT’s website says the Defender Pro GTX is designed for “those who dream of exploring uncharted horizons and don’t stop until they fulfill that dream.” Well, as a dreamer and a sucker for marketing hype, I placed my order. Then, with the tracking number generated, I impatiently followed my order from Philadelphia to my Illinois home. Hearing the deep rumble of the UPS truck stopping in front of my house, I arrived at my front door just as a man in brown did. My new gear was here. I hoped I had made the right choice. Out of the box, I found the Defender Pro GTX jacket and pants comfortable and easily adjustable over the base and mid-layers I put on. So far, so good. The Defender Pro GTX jacket and pants are made using a proprietary Teflon-coated fabric called PWDshell 750D, with a heavier PWDshell 1000D material used in the impact areas of the elbows, shoulders and forearms. Other materials used include leather on the inside of the knees and antislip pads on the butt to grip the seat.
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
While the Teflon coating on the outer shell helps repel water during light showers, the real rain protection is offered by a zip-in Gore-Tex liners. While the liner also offers an extra layer adding a bit of warmth in cool weather, for cold weather riding an additional mid-layer or heated gear is necessary. To accommodate the use of mid and base layers, the Defender Pro GTX offers an adjustable rail system on the forearms and waist to allow riders to move adjustment straps as needed. On the forearms, a single strap can be moved about six inches up and down the “rails” while on the waist, two straps offer adjustment from just under the armpit to the waist. A zippered gusset on each hip offers additional jacket sizing, and Velcro straps at the wrists secure cuffs over gloves. Impact protection is offered by Seeflex CE-Level 2 armor in the shoulders, elbows, back and knees, while Seesoft armor provides hip protection. Jacket venting is provided by two large chest vents, two mid-body vents, full arm vents and a horizontal back vent just below the shoulders. Front and rear thigh vents offer flow air through the pants. Ample storage is offered by two midchest pockets, two lower pockets with hand warmer slits, an expandable rabbit pouch in back, a left sleeve pocket and two inside pockets. There is also a “secret” pocket sewn into the hem of the jacket in case you need to stash some cash or documents when traveling in suspicious places. The pants offer two zippered hip pockets. One of my favorite REV’IT features, the fleecelined collar and its five-position adjustable snap along with the hook to hold the collar open when needed, is designed into the Defender Pro GTX. Reflectivity is offered by front and rear panels No doubt about it, REV’IT’s Defender Pro GTX comes with an impressive list of features. After nearly 40,000 miles over
nearly two years, the Defender Pro GTX has proven to be a solid choice. Riding in sub-freezing temperatures, I was comfortable with my heated gear. Wearing only a t-shirt and with all the vents open, I was just as comfortable riding in the desert of southern Nevada with temperatures above the 100-degree mark. I can also attest to the protection offered by the Defender Pro GTX. Riding the Washington BDR, an ankle-twisting lowside and a rib-cracking highside proved the gear’s durability with only a buckle showing damage. With my cracked ribs healed, a couple of impressive get-offs along the Nevada BDR left me only embarrassed. Some riders hate Gore-Tex liners and prefer gear with a Gore-Tex outer shell. In choosing the Defender Pro GTX, I chose lighter gear with the option to add rain resistance as needed. With 20/20 hindsight, I now believe a Gore-Tex shell may have been the better choice. Perhaps it’s because the Teflon coating on the jacket and pants weakened over time allowing the outer shell to become saturated in the rain, but the gear seems to take longer to dry. That’s not a problem in the heat of the summer, but putting on gear still damp from the previous day ride and heading out into 40 degree temperatures is no fun and has me surfing the web again. Wet weather aside, I can say that overall, I’ve been happy with my purchase of the REV’IT Defender Pro GTX jacket and pants. The outfit looks good, is comfortable, offers solid protection, vents well and with the Gore-Tex liners, keeps me dry. As a motorcyclist, can I really expect to be perfectly comfortable in every riding condition, or is occasional discomfort simply part of the charm of being a rider? The REV’IT Defender Pro GTX carries an MSRP of $899.99 for the jacket and $639.99 for the pants. For additional information and to find a dealer near you, visit www.revitsport.com.
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
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PRoductnews Rally preregistration is now open
You know you’ll be there, so why wait! Preregister for the 45th annual BMW MOA International Rally today and take advantage of a discount on your rally fee. Surrounded by incredible roads, Salt Lake City, Utah, promises to be a fantastic rally and the highlight of the upcoming riding season. To preregister and save, visit bmwmoa.org and click the “Rally ’17” link.
A new helmet from X-lite
Built with the touring rider in mind, X-Lite’s new X-1004 model comes with a dual-action, double-safety chin guard latch system and a full ventilation system. The removable washable interior is made of “carbon fitting racing experience” comfort material, and interchangeable cheek pads are available to customize the fit. Additional features include an ultra-wide visor, a VPS sunscreen with UV 400 protection, an “Eyewear Adaptive System,” and a Microlock2 retention system. The helmet is also ready to accept the N-Com X-Series communication system. The X-1004 helmet is available in sizes from XS-XXL and is DOT certified. For more information, including pricing information and where to buy, visit www.x-lite.it.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
Aerostich mini LEDs
Cognitive science research shows that unexpected visual irregularities of any kind stand out and catch people’s attention. Adding even one of Aerostich’s 10w white mini LEDs somewhere near the standard low-beam headlight on your motorcycle creates an irregular lighting pattern that can help set your bike apart from the rest of traffic without use glaring illumination which could annoy oncoming drivers. Sold in pairs, the Aerostich mini LED lights are rain and weather proof. Mounting hardware for the machined aluminum bodies is included, and the 12V units measure 1.18” x .8". They are available in solid white, solid red or flashing red for $23 per pair. For more information, visit aerostich. com.
Happy Birthday BMW MOA!
LemonRock Tours
LemonRock Bike Tours of Killarney, Ireland, has recently expanded its tour offerings along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, which claims the distinction of being the longest defined riding route in the world. The route covers 1,600 miles from the southwest of Ireland at Kinsale to its most northerly point at the Inishowen Peninsula. For such a small country, Ireland offers an unsurpassed divergence of scenery, and while many countries boast magnificent scenery, few share Ireland’s combination of scenery and friendly, warm people. Providing primarily water-cooled BMW GSs in its rental fleet, LemonRock offers a range of tours to show off the best of what Ireland and its people have to offer. For 2017, LemonRock has also created a new form of self-guided motorcycle tour. Described as “Ride in Company,” riders can depart on fixed dates in groups using routes preprogrammed into the bikes’ Navigator V GPS units and avoid the cost of a tour guide. In addition to the Wild Atlantic Way tours, LemonRock has created other tours to the North West 200, the Ireland Bike Fest and the Isle of Man TT. For more information, visit lemonrockbiketours.com/tours.
New from Wolfman Luggage
The Pikes Peak Rapid Release-Rack Plate System by Wolfman Luggage allows riders to quickly and easily remove and attach any of their rack-mounted saddlebags. The adaptive system attaches to any rack-mounted saddlebags ever made by Wolfman as well as other brands including Touratech, Givi, Hepco-Becker, SW-Motech and many more. The mounting system is built using aluminum and Delrin, along with stainless steel hardware, and features a lockable latch. The universal mounting system is easy to set up and does not require users to punch holes in their soft bags and compromise bag integrity. The Pikes Peak Rapid Release Rack Plate system carries an MSRP of $324.99. For more information or to order, visit wolfmanluggage.com.
It was 13 degrees below zero that day when Jeff Dean and his wife Jill drove from Madison, Wisconsin, to O’Hare Airport outside Chicago for a meeting with representatives of some other BMW motorcycle clubs. Together with Vern Hansen from Detroit, John Moore from California, Charlie Smith from New York, and Frank Diederich from Chicago, the group met at an airport motel to talk about starting a membership-based national BMW motorcycle organization with elected officers and a board of directors. The group agreed to form an organization, and after naming Smith newsletter editor, Moore the treasurer, Hansen the president and Dean in charge of writing the association’s first bylaws, they named the new club the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America. “There is no way that I, in 1972, could have envisioned what would happen to the little organization we started on that frozen day in Chicago,” Dean said. “I doubt that any of the founders would have conceived of what the organization would become by the 21st century. The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America (BMW MOA) is now the largest association of BMW motorcycle owners in the world, with a full-time staff, an excellent monthly magazine, a rider education program and North America’s largest annual BMW motorcycle rally, which is held throughout the United States and in Canada. I am proud to be a life member.” Happy 45th birthday BMW MOA!
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MOA donates to MRP THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS
of America recently presented a check to the Motorcycle Relief Project in the amount of $8,112.73. The check represented charitable donations received from the MOA's fall Getaway events held last year in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; St. George, Utah; Black River Falls, Wisconsin; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Marble Falls, Texas. Tom Larsen accepted the donation on behalf of Motorcycle Relief Project at a recent fundraising event in Denver, Colorado, where BMW MOA Director Stan Herman was on hand to present the check. The MOA's donation was made possible by the purchases of silent auction items made by MOA members at each of the fall Getaway events. MOA members bid on the items graciously
donated by MOA suppliers and advertising partners and included Kathmandu riding suits from First Gear, Ztechnik windscreens, GlowRider jackets from Adaptiv Technologies, Stop & Go tire kits, Abus Security disc locks, Euro Moto Electrics horn kits, Park 'n Move motorcycle stands, Moto Skiveez apparel and Wolfman luggage. Additionally, MOA donated 5 percent of the proceeds from each event to make up the total donation. Motorcycle Relief project is a registered 501c3 charitable organization that provides relief to veterans with PTSD and other injuries by taking them on multi-day motorcycle adventure tours. MRP's mission is to honor and encourage veterans while providing them with opportunities to decompress, get unstuck, and connect with other veterans. Several recent participants of MRP's adventure tours were present at each
Getaway to represent the charity. The MOA has announced the continued support for Motorcycle Relief Project at MOA events in 2017.
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February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Explore new roads this year with an MOA Getaway THE BMW MOA GETAWAYS HAVE
2017 Schedule
been a huge success with MOA members. Spread across the United States and Canada, MOA Getaways provide a smaller, more intimate opportunity to meet like-minded BMW riders in fun and exciting locales surrounded by great roads. In 2016 the number of MOA Getaways jumped to nine with nearly all events selling out. Offered to only MOA members and invited guests, these events are proving to be attractive for any riders within a few hundred miles’ ride of the locations. The most popular Getaways from
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2016 are back this year, including the season opener at Fontana Dam in North Carolina and the early fall Getaway in Pine Mountain, Kentucky. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is back as well, but advances in the schedule from fall to spring. The popular on- and off-road Getaway in Muskoka, Ontario, returns, as do events in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We’re also returning to Texas’ hill country with the venue still to be determined. New to the Getaway schedule for 2017 are events in Warren, Vermont; Sedona, Arizona; Tomah, Wisconsin; and Panorama, British Columbia, which remains the only
Getaway with a date as yet to be determined. Event registration fees will remain at $89 for all events except Sedona, which is $129. Only Muskoka's event fee of $179 includes lodging and at all other events lodging must be secured individually by attendees. The MOA negotiates reduced room rates for the Getaways and has a block of rooms set aside, but does not reserve the rooms for each attendee. Contact information for each Getaway’s organizer will be printed in the March issue of Owners News and published on the MOA website, bmwmoa.org.
Date City & State Venue Room Rate 4/21 – 4/23 Fontana Dam, NC Fontana Dam Village $70-229 5/12 – 5/14 Coeur d’Alene, ID Coeur d’Alene Resort $99-129 6/2 – 6/4 Colorado Springs, CO Hotel Elegante $103-169 6/9 – 6/11 Muskoka, Ontario Camp Tamarack TBD 8/18 – 8/20 Eureka Springs, AR Inn of the Ozarks $109-119 9/8 – 9/10 Sedona, AZ Poco Diablo $159-179 9/8 – 9/10 Pine Mountain, KY Pine Mountain Lodge TBD 9/8 – 9/10 Warren, VT Sugarbush Resort $89-99 9/29 – 10/1 Tomah, WI Cranberry Country Lodge $83-117 11/17 – 11/18 Texas Hill Country TBD TBD TBD Panorama, British Columbia Panorama Resort TBD
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2017
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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TECH
keepemflying
Frame straightening and wheel bearings By Matthew Parkhouse #13272 IN 1989, I WAS
riding my Slash Five to a staff meeting at the hospital when an inattentive driver ran a stop sign. I went from around 20 MPH to zero mph—SPLAT!—into the side of his panel truck. I had a helmet and coat and came away with a torn rotator cuff injury. My Slash Five came away with EVERYTHING bent in the front end, and I mean everything: wheel, axle, fork tubes, handlebars and the steering head. I replaced all the parts, which came to $1,600 in used and new parts. The steering
head remained bent, but it was bent straight back, which put the front wheel about an inch and a half closer to the front of the engine than it should have been. I found the bike would track okay, ride “hands off ” in a straight line and was perfectly stable up to around 80 mph. I said to myself, “All right, I just won’t go over 80 until I get it fixed.” That was 36 years and about 150,000 miles ago (of the 400,000 or so that are on that particular bike). Things kept getting in the way, like riding to Istanbul and back. My friend and fellow old bike fixer, Paul Swenson, nagged me from time to time to get it straightened, but I just kept riding. Last week, I FINALLY decided to move on this as Paul has the BMW frame jig and knows a fellow in
Denver who can do the work. I started stripping down the bike and about eight hours later was down to a rather greasy frame. Unfortunately, the next day Paul went into the local hospital with heart issues, and he is still there. I have been visiting Paul and he gave me Clem’s number in Denver. I called Clem, and he said that the fellow who does this sort of work is still around and he’d call him and then get back to me. As this goes to press, that’s where this job is at. While I am waiting, I’m attending to the various parts that are now arranged in a pile in the shop. Today I’m redoing the wheel bearings in both wheels as I mount a set of new tires. The front is just about done. It proved to be ever so loose in the bearings, an
Two Slash Fives; Strider and the Mexico Bike. If you look closely at the front wheels, you can see that Strider's (on the right) is a bit closer to the front engine cover than the Mexico Bike's. Despite the accident-caused shorten wheel base, the bike handled fine, as long as the speed was kept below 80 MPH.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
adjustment that was quickly made by running the spacing ring over a flat file several times. With clean, new grease and adjusted bearings, the front wheel should be good for the next 30,000 miles or so. Rear wheel bearings, which carry more weight, suffer more exposure to dirt and water and carry the power to the wheel should be looked at every 20,000 miles. “Every other new rear tire” is a good way to keep track of when to do the rear wheel bearings (and the wheel is already off the bike). Checking wheel bearings is one of those critical bits of service work that can really strand you if neglected. When the rear bearings fail, it can get VERY ugly and expensive to repair! Both of my wheels were due for service. As the bearing assemblies came out, they had adequate grease. However, right at the bearings the grease was dirty and getting thin. After I’m done with the wheel bearings, I’ll start cleaning up various parts and subassemblies and order new rubber bits for several mounting areas. Servicing the wheel bearings for a Slash Five requires removal of the chrome hub cap. With this off, the five bolts that secure the bearing seal carrier are out, so it can be lifted off. The paper gasket can be reused as there is no pressure in this assembly. With the seal carrier off, the axle is inserted from the inner side of the wheel (where the brakes are). I apply a 4-inch-long piece of three-quarter-inch water pipe as a spacer and then tighten up the axle nut. This preloads the bearing assembly and allows it to be extracted as a unit after the wheel hub is first heated. While it is like this, I spin the axle to give me an idea of how the bearings are working. If there’s a gritty feeling, I’ll replace one or both bearings. If it’s loose and rattles, the bearings could be bad or just out of adjustment. The bearings rarely get too tight by themselves. I use a couple of propane torches to get the hub “spit hot” (a few drops of water sizzle if applied). When hot, I tap out the assembly with a rubber hammer. I stick one end of the axle in a vice and remove the axle nut. The bearings and other parts come off and are laid out in the order they are mounted in the wheel. I clean off all the parts with carb cleaner and paper towels. I check each bearing by putting pressure on the inner race and turning it in the outer
Heating the hub to extract the bearing assembly.
The tear down process begins. After the seat and tank were removed, the bike was rolled into the shop for about eight hours of removing all the parts attached to the frame. After the tank was emptied, the petcocks were removed and the tank set aside to dry out. It's a good idea to do this every year or two, just to ensure that there is no water collecting at the tank bottom.
The stripped and clean-up frame and the BMW factory frame jig. The jig belongs to my friend Paul, who's been at this BMW thing for at least a decade longer than me; starting in the -2 days. Now, to get this collection up to Denver to the fellow who can actually straighten the frame!
tec
keepemflying
race. If completely smooth, I’ll reuse them. With everything clean, I reassemble everything on the axle. With the axle nut tightened down, the adjuster outer part should turn easily and smoothly. You should be able to push that piece to the side, feeling or hearing a “click” as it goes. This tells you there is proper preload on the bearings. If they are loose, you need a thinner “wedding ring” (shim) adjuster. If they are tight, a larger ring goes in. As the bearings wear in, the assembly usually loosens up. If you don’t have a big assortment of these rings, you can make the one you have smaller by dressing it on a flat file. File a few strokes and fit it, file a few strokes and fit it. Just keep going until you get the “clicking” sensation when pushing the outer adjuster part. Once the assembly is properly adjusted, I take it apart again and apply clean grease to the bearings and the adjuster. The four-inch pipe is used, and the axle and greased assembly goes in a plastic bag and into the freezer. After a half-hour or so, I heat the wheel hub, then get the assembly from the freezer and drop it right into the hub. I seat it with a tap of a rubber hammer; replacing the bearing seal carrier and the hub caps is next. That’s it! This is one of those jobs where it is really helpful to see it done before doing it yourself. I would like to have this project finished by the time I leave with Susanna to trailer the two airheads to warmer roads south of here in early February. Should Strider still be in pieces, I’ll take the Mexico Bike in its place. The time-honored Law of Motorcycle Repair still stands: In order to repair a non-running bike, you need one that does run.
The assembly, cleaned up and ready to check for preload. From Left to Right: The spacer, the "inside" bearing, the inner and outer shim carrier, the shim (often called "the wedding band") and the"outside bearing.
The cleaned up and greased bearing assembly being checked for proper preload by pushing on the middle outer spacer. If it moves to the side with a "click" sound or feeling, you are at the right amount of preload tension. It will now go in the freezer for 30 minutes or so before being put back into a heated wheel hub.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
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nichtubermax
A K 1200 S that stalls and sore knees By George Mangicaro #136221 and Wes Fleming #87301
Q:
I have two identical bikes. One K 1200 S runs great, but my backup K 1200 S from the same year is hard to start and doesn’t want to stay running. It’s worse when the bike is cold, but even when it’s fully warmed up, it will still try to stall out. Why don’t these bikes behave the same and what can I do about the one that doesn’t run right? I keep up with regular service, so I’m at a loss about why they act different. –Preston T.
A:
My wife (who loves me) has an identical twin sister that barely tolerates me. Your bikes are not identical. Like my wife and her sister, your bikes have different life experiences that have brought them to this point. The transversely-mounted K 1200 engines (i.e. Japanese style inline 4) are prone to warping air box issues, which could be the reason you gave one of them backup status in the first place. A warped air box causes high idle, degrades acceleration, makes the bike hard to start, and can cause other running issues. Even if you bought a first year K 1200 S, you’d need a final year K 1300 S air box, which seems to be the best solution for these air box issues. Knowing that this bike sits more than its sister, I have to wonder how much does it sit? BMW wants your bike ridden at least 100 miles a month, which they believe will stave off a lot of these kinds of problems. If you’re not riding it that month, you might suffer from excessive moisture in the gas tank, stratification (separation) of the fuel, gummed up fuel injectors, or deteriorated components inside the fuel tank (fuel filter,
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
fuel lines, etc.). These are all common issues that crop up when E10 gas sits for a long time. Start with a common fuel treatment such as Sta-Bil, Star Tron, or BMW’s fuel treatment solution and a fresh tank of high quality gasoline. Follow that up with more fuel treatment and more fresh gasoline—in other words, Ride, Fuel, Repeat. If after three full tanks in a month, the problems persist, you’re probably looking at a mechanical issue rather than a chemical one. You may need to replace some or all of the fuel tank’s internal components, fuel lines and/or injectors. Worst case, your air box may suffer from the warping issue and need replacing. (GM)
Q:
footpegs that the manufacturer (a British company) claims adds long distance comfort. It’s likely that between these two things, you may find some ease for your knees. Buying both kits will set you back over $400, but that’s a lot cheaper than a new bike. Make sure your kit includes both the footpeg plates and the shift lever extension (see the photo and pardon the rusty bolt!). Given my experience with the F 800 ST, which is a fantastic bike on its own (if a little buzzy at high speeds), you won’t find any relief in the knee angles there without modifications similar to what I’m suggesting with your K bike. If you decide to go that route, check out the kit offered by Suburban Machinery for the F series bikes. (WF)
I’m almost 50 and my knees are killing me on long rides with my 1999 K 1200 RS. I love the bike and there’s nothing wrong with it, I’ve had it for eight years, but I’m considering turning it into an F 800 ST. Are you familiar with the seating positions of the two? Will I run into the same knee trouble with the F bike? –John S. via Facebook
A:
I ride a 1998 K 1200 RS, so the ergonomics are going to be identical to your 1999 K 1200 RS. I’ve ridden several F 800 STs, one of them for a couple of thousand miles. I’m also only a couple of years younger than you! I believe you will find the ergonomics between the bikes to be quite similar. They are not identical, but they both have kneeaggressive footpeg locations and similar, though not identical seat-to-handlebar reach lengths. If you want to hang on to your K a bit longer, one thing to look at is a footpeg lowering kit. Pirate’s Lair sells one made by Verholen; it’s not cheap, but the quality is outstanding. They also sell a set of wider
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adventurelog
Traversing the Andes By Shawn Thomas #91122 BUZZ
BUZZ
BUUUUUUUUZ! The alarm prodded mercilessly. I jolted awake, groping for my phone and the oversize snooze button. It took several groggy moments to realize it wasn't my device making the racket. MY alarm tone had a soft, “tiptoe-through-the-tulips” manner, not this menacing affront to the senses. Two beds down, someone silenced their device and flopped back to bed. But I was up, and probably for the best. I checked my watch: 4 a.m. I slid from the bunk and staggered toward the smell of coffee. The sun was far from up, and already the sticky Argentine heat was upon us. I cringed at my heaps of riding gear, layers upon layers of warmth and protection draped atop a nearby
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
chair. It was going to be a damned uncomfortable set of garments to bear in this heat, but it had to be done. I started with the thermal liners and socks, then added a heated vest and down jacket. Then came the riding suit, followed by a two-piece windbreaker over the mess. Quickly the heat inside exceeded comfort, sweat beading on every bit of flesh. I stepped outside, and riders in my group gawked. I looked like the Michelin Man. "I know it's hot now, but in an hour we’ll be frozen to the core." I reminded them. "Probably good to layer up." Soon we were on the move, enjoying what little airflow made it through our gear. The dirt roads of the village behind us, we found a strikingly clean swath of asphalt leading west. Ahead, the Andes Mountains loomed in spectacular form, brilliant shades of purple, red and green dotting the rocky landscape. I throttled up, leading the group along twisty backroads toward the summit.
An hour into the ride, the weather began to assert its will. We had climbed to 10,000 feet, the cold leaching its way into unprotected flashes of skin. We stopped for a roadside break, riders blowing on their hands and hastily grabbing for more layers. We continued up, passing the tree line at 14,000 feet, tucking in tight behind windscreens for protection. The BMW F 800 GS and R 1200 GS motorcycles struggled ahead, fighting against a growing lack of oxygen. The little snowflake glared on my display, warning of freezing temperatures. I checked the readouts and cursed the declining temperature, 29 degrees, 28, 27. My joints ached, my face screamed against the cold. We could not take much more of this. We reached the summit, marked by a ragged sign indicating our altitude, just a tad over 15,000 feet. Ahead, a long, flat landscape marked the high, lifeless desert. The road led dead straight to a sprawling single story building, cracked and peeling. Men in uniform stood abreast at a hand
operated gate, rifles slung haphazardly at their shoulders. This, I knew, was the border crossing. Paso de Sico checkpoint was one of several separating Argentina and Chile. It was remote, and therefore sparsely manned. Employees could expect five, maybe ten vehicles a day to pass through, far less than most crossings. It was normally a smooth and relaxed experience. Except for today. Months earlier, the countries of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia had been chosen to host the Dakar Rally. This was arguably the most grueling land race on the planet, with cars, motorcycles, trucks, just about anything on wheels competing in a two-week marathon of insanity. I was leading a group that had flown in to enjoy the festivities, which meant chasing the Dakar racers wherever they went. Today, the competitors were heading straight over Paso de Sico. This was of concern for the border officials, who had summoned additional manpower to accommodate the hundreds of support
February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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adventurelog
said. "Until all racers pass." vehicles, racers, Press and spectators My heart sank. I understood the dangers, that would be passing through their and had planned the early arrival in part to checkpoint. Still, the process would ensure we were up and over the mountain take a while. before the first racers intercepted us. I made Knowing this, we had hatched a my case to the agent, choosing words careplan to get ahead of the rush by leavfully both in consideration of the language ing as early as possible. If we made it barrier and the weapon at his arm (I never to the top first, we could traverse the Andes and arrive in the Chilean basin with plenty of time to enjoy the races. So far, so good; the checkpoint was nearly empty and our crossing seemed a simple matter. I rolled up to one of the guards and offered greetings. "Dakar?" The man asked with a thick accent. "Si, Dakar," I answered, exhausting 20 percent of my Spanish vocabulary. "You racer?" He asked, following the logic that anyone stupid enough to be on a motorcycle in this cold must be a Dakar competitor. "No, We Espectadors," I replied, explaining that we were race spectators, which, as it turned out, was a mistake. For the safety of race enthusiasts, law enforcement had tried their best to keep civilians from driving on the same roads as race vehicles. It was common sense, as there were obvious dangers in having 1,000 horsepower juggernauts mingled among the usual commute fodder. So far we had circumvented Kllling time while waiting to get over the border. this rule by being on motorfor a second thought he might use it, but it cycles, as it was assumed we were racdidn't hurt to be cautious). "Por favor sir, ers and therefore welcome to ride any We will go quickly over the mountain. We road we wished. A nice perk, if not a will be safely over before--" little foolhardy. "You. Will. Wait." he said sternly, emphaBut there was only one road to sizing each word with a jerk of his pointed Chile from where we stood. And for finger. I dropped my head and acquiesced, our own safety, this border agent leading our group to a parking area. I dismade a decision that would become mounted and explained situation. "Our the bane of our South American support driver will be here soon," I said. "He adventure. "You must wait here," he
might have better luck getting us across. In the meantime, take a break and get comfortable." For the tour, we had teamed up with Nacho, a local guide and driver who knew the area and culture better than we could hope to. Occasionally when our meager negotiating skills would fail, he would step in and make lemonade of the situation. He was behind us, still climbing the mountain in his old pickup. Hopefully he would arrive soon and work some magic. We dismounted and waited. Surviving at 15,000 feet is no small matter. Cold weather aside, the lack of oxygen was physically draining. Headaches, nausea, even hallucinations and fainting were real concerns. We needed to get this done and move on as quickly as possible. Soon the support truck arrived, and our guide Nacho went to work at negotiating passage. An hour passed, then two. Race support vehicles began to arrive; a few soon became dozens. The border agents took their time, methodically checking documents and directing drivers to the customs building. We waited by our motorcycles, lying in the shade of our engine blocks and protecting ourselves from the rising sun. We were exhausted; every move sapped our energy. I kicked myself for not doing more cardio training before the trip. Four hours in, Nacho returned with good news. "We have been granted passage," he said with his usual nonchalance. "We must get our passports stamped, then we can go." As we approached the customs building, motorcycle competitors began to arrive at the checkpoint. We watched in awe as riders hammered in, received marks on their race cards, and blazed on into Chile. These folks were hardcore. One rider arrived, stopping and literally
Images from along the route.
falling off his motorcycle. As emergency personnel removed his helmet, our group got a good look at him. He was young, and clearly underdressed for the cold. He was ashen, almost blue in color. A folding chair was produced and he was lifted on it for examination. "He has no warm gear?" Farook, one of our riders asked. "It doesn't look like it," I responded. Motorcycle competitors had their spare parts and gear shuttled along via support trucks. If this guy had something warm to wear, it was probably packed away and inaccessible.
"I'll be right back," Farook said, and walked toward the racer. He introduced himself and they shook hands, engaging in conversation as the medics finished taking vitals. Then Farook removed his winter clothes, fitting them on the exhausted racer. Gently he slipped the windbreaker suit on him, zipping the gear and checking for proper fit. Reenergized, the racer stood, thanked John with a vigorous handshake and mounted his motorcycle. With a kick the machine came to life and he was off. Our group marveled at Farook’s effort, praising his kindness and producing scraps
of warm gear to replace his own. Our papers in order, we passed into Chile and began our descent, riding with caution among the passing competitors and support drivers. I thought about Farook and the racer, strangers in a chance meeting made from difficult circumstance. Motorcycling might be a solitary endeavor, but when the path became difficult, a helping hand always seemed close by. It was an oddly comforting riddle. I smiled, shivering and tucked against the body of my machine, and knew that on this mountain, in this cold, on this day, there was no other place I would rather be. February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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simonandlisa
Escape from reality By Simon Thomas #138988 YOU
CAN’T
BUY
ADVENTURE.
After all, where’s the fun in that? My wife Lisa and I came across our adventure some 78 countries, six continents, 450,000 miles and 14 years ago, at the start of our journey around the planet by motorcycle. “So, what are you taking on this world trip of yours?” “Well, err… two BMW motorbikes, a tent, a really, really big map, a decent pair of boots and, oh yes, my wife.” “Yeah right! You’re going to ride around the world with just your wife, 24-7? You must be completely mad!” “No,” I replied, “I’m just really lucky.”
In The Beginning
arrived 30 days later on a cold, wet midsummer Monday morning in the UK. With a few deep breaths, we agreed. We’d sell everything and make our dream a reality. Two people with a passion for travel and things two-wheeled and more curiosity than should be allowed. We would use two BMW bikes, a 1999 R 1100 GS for me and a purpose-bought 2002 F 650 GS for Lisa.
The Big Picture
On paper, the plan was simple: circumnavigate the planet, raise funds and awareness
It had been a long time coming. For years we’d laughed off our comments of chucking everything and riding off into the wild blue yonder, but wondered how we could do it. Though our careers were beginning to take off, Ready to begin our journey. we were plagued by the nagging sense that there was more to life, and we’d allow ourselves for three charities that held a place in our to consider the idea. Hell, why not? hearts and set or break a few world records We’re capable, self reliant, deterfor the hell of it. We excitedly told people of mined. Surely we could do it, but then our idea. While we’d hoped for awe, admithe real world would flood in: what ration and enthusiasm, what we received about work, the bond, pensions, from most of them was, “What do you want career paths, insurance, blah, blah, to do that for?” Those who really knew us bloody blah. More importantly, how didn’t seem surprised and just smiled and could we afford it? asked when we were planning to leave. Over the years, the topic of a big trip raised its head with noteworthy Bike Preperations frequency until finally, it became clear Energized by our newfound direction, that this was more than just an idea. things began to move quickly. The bikes So we gave ourselves a month to seriwere going to need some major modificaously think about our fantasy journey tions if they were to carry us safely across before making a final decision. D-day 122 countries on all seven continents,
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
through the frozen north of the Arctic, the blistering heat of the Sahara and the jungles and passes of South America. Tinkerbell, my R 1100 GS, was first. We replaced her standard tank with a longrange Touratech 10 gallon system and mounted two massive Touratech aluminum boxes for carrying our kit. Tarzan, Lisa’s F 650 GS, was fitted with the Touratech panniers and beefed up with two extra fuel tanks, giving her almost 10 gallons in total. Frames were welded and gusseted for extra strength; suspension was beefed up with heavy-duty rebuildable shocks. The standard exhaust and catalytic converter were slung in favor of something lighter and louder. Handlebars were raised; foot pegs widened and farkles were added, and in May 2003 the bikes looked ready to take on the world, so we did. We began our new adventure on the easy, undulating hills of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, a warm-up ride through the familiar and undemanding landscape close to home. A month later, we were aboard a ferry and silently cruising from The Shetland Isle’s toward the Norwegian port town of Bergen. In Bergen we checked over our new gear, kicked the tires, took a deep breath and looked north. Ahead of us was just over 1,500 miles of rugged coastline, prehistoric glaciers and a multitude of fjords to be crossed as we headed deep into the frozen Arctic. The relative comfort of Bergen soon seemed a warm memory as we headed north for nine exhausting days, our first real test. It was on Lisa’s forty-first birthday that we stood astride the Arctic Circle for the first time at 66˚ 33’ 38” N and took a few rushed photos, grimacing rather than
Near the Arctic Circle.
smiling at the camera. We’d peeled ourselves from our frozen machines and savored the sensation of warm blood slowly rekindling the feeling in our painfully numb extremities. Over the next few days, things got tougher. Heavy snow made visibility poor. Changing gears became a battle, as numb feet clumsily tried to snag the gearshift. Insulated Gore-Tex gloves and heated jackets and grips were having little effect on my painfully numb hands and fingers. The slow driving on slippery roads required more attention than we had available, and the stabbing cold made concentrating difficult. My thoughts wondered off, until I thought of Lisa. How was she? How much further could she go?
A Harsh Reality
As the harsh reality of our adventure took root, we caught our first glimpse of the kind of stamina and sheer miserable determination we would need to face this trip. As the cold sapped our strength, we were forced to stop every 40 minutes, peel ourselves off the bikes and draw warmth from Tinkerbelle’s scalding cylinder heads. The town of
The obligatory photo at Norkap.
Hammerfest couldn’t come soon enough. By the time we’d ridden to Nordkapp, the northern most point in Europe, we’d ridden in -15˚F temperatures, broken icicles from the bikes, and been stunned by the harsh, unquestionable beauty of this country. We
heroically displayed our, “I’ve been to Hammerfest, the most Northerly town in the World” sticker.
Serenity
We sought sanctuary in Finland at Inari
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simonandlisa
paper work and frowned. After a few tense moments, he shook his head and waved his hand at us. Not sure what this meant, we gingerly tiptoed outside. The barrier was raised and—bloody hell—we were in Russia. The first three miles from the border was a poorly tarred road which crumbled into loose sand and rock. I went ahead, aware that Lisa was looking at my body language to determine the difficulty of the track in front. I urgently tried to recall all that we’d been taught at the BMW Off-Road Course
Our campsite in Norway.
Lake, the spiritual home of the Sámi people, who have inhabited Northern Scandinavia for more than 9,000 years. It is one of the most serene places on earth. It was also the perfect place to recover from the grueling Arctic leg of our trip. After a few restful days and with our energy and body temperatures rekindled, we waved goodbye to Lapland and made our way back into Norway’s northeast and to the small border town of Kirkness en-route to Russia.
make ourselves understood in a very alien country—and would only have each other to vent our frustrations. Back in 2003, the Russian border lived up to its formidable reputation with razor-wire fences, cameras and Kalashnikov-toting guards in green uniforms to ensure nobody wandered off. A chisel-faced Russian behind a grey desk checked our At the Russian border.
Border crossing
The western Russian leg of our trip was going to be a test. Lisa and I had already flirted with needling tension as we endured a few hours of angry outbursts and imaginative expletives. On bad days, we’d keep score as to who won the most “f–k-offs” for the day. We thought of it as rough verbal foreplay. Though we’d been together for 12 years, we knew we were going to have to rely on each other more now than ever before. Even though we were seeing the world, our relationship was becoming more insular and potentially more explosive. Unable to interpret the written word (Russia uses the Cyrillic alphabet), we would battle to Near Red Square.
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in the UK: stay off the brakes on loose stuff or they’ll lock up and you’ll slide. Keep your hands and grip relaxed. Stay loose. Aggression and speed are key. My 1100 GS squirmed unhappily underneath me, my new TKC80 tires scrambling for traction in the loose dirt. As the bike slid, only controlled “blips” of the throttle were keeping the GS upright. Three miles later, as I looked back in my rear-view mirror, I saw Lisa’s front tire diving into a large pocket of dust and sand and sliding out from underneath her as she hit the dirt. Two oncoming trucks screeched to a halt, their route blocked by Lisa and her downed motorcycle. It was the first real spill of our long journey. Lisa was lucky to come away with only bruises and cuts, her confidence shaken but fine. It was a tough introduction to Russia but nothing like the “big off ” I would have in Africa months later, dislocating my shoulder and cracking ribs. Such spills are part of the deal, I guess. I remembered what a good friend of mine once said, “If you ride a bike and never fall, you’re simply not riding hard enough.”
www.adriaticmototours.com
A Russian Education
Our journey through Russia was an education with a steep learning curve. We left Murmansk to cheers and waves of those who’d seen our UK number plates and stared in disbelief as we rode past Nickel, a town described by our Lonely Planet guide as “Hell on Earth.” Over the years, strip mining has torn up the land around Nickel, releasing enormous amounts of sulphurdioxide into the environment and killing off everything. Unchecked brush fires killed everything within 35 miles around the town. If I was a film director shooting a film about a post-apocalyptic world, Nickel would be my location of choice. It took two weeks before the acrid stench of Nickel finally left our nostrils as we arrived in Moscow. Moscow is a country all to itself with its own rules (or lack of rules), depending on how connected or wealthy you are. The cliché about the Russian mafia running the place is threateningly accurate, and one could spend a lifetime here and still
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simonandlisa
At the Kremlin's gate.
not understand it. While we were there, Chechen suicide bomb attacks were increasing, and when when a bomber killed 13 people innocently drinking coffee in a street café a half mile from our hotel, we knew it was time to leave. Three weeks later, when we learned that a young Chechen woman had walked into the lobby of our hotel and pressed a button, killing herself and 27 guests, we knew we had made the right decision. From Moscow we wanted to head west toward St. Petersburg and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Instead, a career police officer with other ideas, chased us for five miles before shoving us into a “questioning room” for four hours. Suddenly our adventure was turning into a nightmare. We struggled to understand why but somehow understood that we were being threatened with legal action, but for what? “Rubles orrr prrrotocal!” he kept demanding. Lisa’s short fuse was getting shorter, and I struggled to control myself as Ivan and his colleagues interrogated her. All they needed was an excuse and they’d keep us here for days—or until we paid them what they wanted. In the end, we crossed Ivan’s palm and promised to put a photo of him on our www.twistedthrottle.com/mydealer
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
The desolation of Nickel.
website (www.2ridetheworld.com) to make him famous. Finally, the lowlife let us go. The Baltic countries gave us the chance to relax a bit, but we needed to keep moving if we were going to reach Africa as planned. By the time we’d reached southern Spain, we’d enjoyed the sophistication of Budapest in Hungary, been shocked by our visit to Auschwitz in Poland, ridden, skidded and fallen in the mountains of Slovakia, and pitstopped in Austria where I spent 14 hours replacing the A beautiful sunset. clutch on the big GS. We both knew this was only the beginning. “Adventure” is a simple concept, yet still
misunderstood. It is dealing with the unexpected and, if you’re lucky, it is dealing with it with someone special. “Adventure” isn’t glossy Hollywood stuff. It’s taking a chance, staring down an unknown path and finding that the unknown isn’t always dangerous, just unknown. It’s now 11:30 p.m., and the sky is lit with a trillion tiny gems. We have no idea what to expect tomorrow, but we are certain of one thing: doing this together has been the biggest adventure of all. Besides, if I don’t make it back, Lisa tells me she’ll hide the body and claim the insurance. Ain’t love grand? Africa…here we come! www.twistedthrottle.com/sw-motech February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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FEMALE MOTORCYCLE RELIEF PROJECT
First Ride
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2017
By Bex Becker #192550
warm and dry week beneath Utah’s seamless, sunny sky proved to be the perfect setting for a group of women to meet, ride, share and heal. For most of them, it took the persuasion of family or friends to commit to the event, but once they were there, it didn’t take long for them to relax with the Motorcycle Relief Project. This was to be no ordinary week away from home, and their apprehension was soon replaced with excitement. Created to help returning veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other invisible injuries, the nonprofit Motorcycle Relief Project was formed to take veterans on multiday motorcycle “Relief Rides” as a means of helping them decompress, connect with others who have had similar experiences, encounter nature and beauty, and learn valuable techniques for managing their injuries. “I find motorcycling to be incredibly therapeutic in my own life and could not help but think that, for many veterans, motorcycle riding would do the same, while also satisfying the thirst for adventure that inspired them to enlist in the first place,” said Tom Larson, founder and executive director of MRP. “We want to offer the
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Participants in the first all-female Motorcycle Relief Project ride gather for a group photo.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
Relief Rides as not only a way of honoring and blessing veterans and thanking them for their service, but also to provide some tangible tools for reducing stress and moving toward recovery and re-integration.” Right from the beginning, the trust each rider put into the MRP team and the itinerary that lay ahead set the tone for a journey into genuine self-discovery. Five days of riding dual sport motorcycles along with the carefully crafted evening workshops proved to be the perfect prescription for those who had struggled to find a mainstream therapy that works. The women who registered for the ride were all looking forward to the chance to ride motorcycles off-road—something most hadn’t ever done—and the opportunity to learn and practice basic off-road skills was going to be invaluable. As an avid supporter of basic skills coaching, I was more than happy to help. The approach I like to use when teaching novice riders is to begin by deconstructing the intimidating reputation that riding big adventure bikes has, while stressing important safety issues and then encouraging the discovery of how to control these machines. The impressive riding skills I witnessed from the outset were a testament to how well the group had listened. Coupled with
their eagerness to understand and their desire to master these new skills, we were ready to venture out and discover some of Utah’s dirt roads. As the week went on, each rider’s comfort level grew. The women also grew more comfortable each other, and evening workshops gave everyone the opportunity to develop personal coping skills useful to each of us, not only in our every-day lives, but in times of crisis as well. By the end of the week, the group had bonded beyond expectations. Describing her experience, Cindy told me, “I've always considered myself a cruiser type of girl, relegating the dirt bikes to highadrenalin youth who clearly didn't have a very strong survival gene. Then came the Motorcycle Relief Project, complete with BMW GS bikes. The whole experience of the first-ever, all-female veteran's MRP ride is too all-encompassing to write about here, but I have been thoroughly enlightened regarding dirt vs. road bikes. The GS is a beautiful marriage between road and dirt, solving challenges like carrying extra equipment on your bike to the dirt-friendly areas and eliminating the need to have two bikes. A huge relief was knowing that in the extremely likely event of dropping the bike (ahem, was that really twice?), I wouldn't be cursing about ruined paint or dented metal.
The array of female veterans was impressive, from tattooed biker grandmas to a Boston comedian to the millennial selfproclaimed cat-lady. Having been "just" a scooter rider, I was anxious about 1) killing myself, 2) embarrassing myself (kind of the same thing, don't you think?) and 3) irritating everyone else by being a slow-poke beginner. Instead, I was cocooned by a sea of estrogen and guided by an experienced badass with a great accent. Those first rides were thrilling and terrifying (refer back to #1 & 2), and I was too scared to worry about #3. My world shifted, however, that first day I put that beautiful red 700 GS on dirt; it was like she and I were home. The world around me disappeared as I felt her bucking and shifting beneath me on the uneven ground, and I was thrilled as she responded to my shifting weight and leaning knee, akin to how a horse responds to its rider. Bex tells me this can be my ‘therapy,’ and I'm happy to agree. I think I've found my happy place.” Additional discussions focused on good riding gear, motorcycles and accessories and left everyone seeing the benefits of riding less-travelled dirt roads. Overcoming fears of riding grand, adventurous roads on big, adventurous motorbikes was just the beginning, and one participant bought a GS
I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED WOMEN WHO JOINED THE MILITARY TO BE TOUGH, BUT THESE LADIES WERE AMAZING. THEY WERE FEARLESS WHEN IT CAME TO LEARNING HOW TO RIDE ON DIRT FOR THE FIRST TIME AND FEARLESS WITH SHARING STORIES ABOUT THEIR TRAUMA AND THEIR STRUGGLES.
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a month after her MRP ride. The success of the whole program was apparent, and hope through healing was happening right before the riders’ eyes. Spirits were lifted, and smiles were encouraging and widespread. “We came together in our pain but bonded in our joy,” said Jody. A few women were even able to picture themselves taking their admittedly sometimes rather “over-spirited” riding style on tarmac to getting their therapy at much lower speeds on dirt roads that challenged them much more, mentally and physically. From an incredibly beautiful Utah backdrop to the impeccable service and support of the MRP team of volunteers, generous donors and supporters, the first all-female MRP event could not have run smoother. “I was nervous going into the ride since we’d never done a women’s ride before,” said Tom Larson, founder and executive director of MRP. “I knew what to expect on our men’s rides, but had no idea what to expect from female veterans. Fortunately, all my anxiety proved to be unfounded. The women on the ride were awesome in every way and in some ways even tougher than some of the male veterans we’ve had. I guess I should have expected women who joined the military to be tough, but these ladies were amazing. They were fearless when it
came to learning how to ride on dirt for the first time and fearless with sharing stories about their trauma and their struggles. It was a fantastic week; we plan to make this an annual event and look forward to healing more of our great veterans.” Personally, I am in awe of the great work of the entire MRP team and have been motivated by the strength and soul of each of the women with whom I had the privilege to get to know and to share my passions for riding and self-improvement. The Motorcycle Relief Project is living proof that our community of motorcyclists continues to grow not only in members, but more importantly, in its relevance to society. I know I can speak for all past and future participants in thanking all for supporting the Motorcycle Relief Project. You are the change. According to Larson and the Veterans Administration, PTSD and other invisible injuries are major concerns for many military veterans. A minimum of 250,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD, while more than 8,000 veterans commit suicide every year. The Veterans Administration says that “a final transition to home and to the community is a goal for many veterans, and recreation therapy helps create the catalyst for successful community reentry.”
The Motorcycle Relief Project continues to grow not only in members, but in its relevance to society. February 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Wayne Rainey and
MotoAm
By Wes Fleming #87301 Photos by Brian J. Nelson 62
BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2017
erica
Steve Rapp
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Jeremy Cook
ayne Rainey may never have raced a BMW, but he is a legend in the racing community nonetheless. He won races on Kawasakis, Hondas and Suzukis, but his best seasons (and three consecutive world championships in the early 1990s) were aboard a Yamaha YZR500. Rainey’s racing career changed after a back-breaking crash in 1993 that paralyzed him from the chest down. He shifted to managing a motorcycle racing team and races to this day aboard a hand-controlled superkart. He lives in Monterey, California, in a house with a view of his favorite track, Laguna Seca. “I had a lot of success there as a racer, and I’ve lived in the area since 1993—almost 24 years. It’s home, and that’s my home racetrack, so it’s impossible to not say it’s my favorite. Laguna Seca appeals to me for a variety of reasons. Everyone always told me when I started out, ‘Just wait until you race at Laguna Seca,’ and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve won a lot of races there, by far more than
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
any other. Having my home Grand Prix there was one of the highlights of my career. If you can win your home Grand Prix there’s nothing that can top that. Winning in front of your fans, family and friends is special. I can count on my hand how many tracks I didn’t like. For example, I was never a big fan of Donington Park, but I won my first Grand Prix there. So there’s not many I don’t like.” After heavy criticism and a very public dispute in 2013 over coverage of AMA Superbike events that conflicted with FIM events, the AMA turned over commercial rights to road racing to a group led by Rainey; this led directly to the establishment of MotoAmerica, which held its first races in 2015. The first season’s nine races were chased by nine races in 2016, and 2017 will see 10 race weekends at tracks across the USA from New Jersey to California and from Wisconsin to Georgia. Rainey says he’s partial to the Superbike class, not just because it’s the class that helped build his career and win his
championships, but also because it’s MotoAmerica’s headline event and “the bikes are the fastest, the most powerful and that’s where the very best riders and teams should be.” He’s of the opinion that riders who want to make a career of racing have to rise through the class structure, but their goal needs to be the Superbike class. One of his goals for MotoAmerica is to find riders who dominate at every level and in every class. When it comes to his other goals for MotoAmerica, Rainey says the aims haven’t changed much since 2014. “We want to give our racers an opportunity to race in a series that is competitive and one that helps raise their game to the point where they can compete in any series in the world. I think we have racers now that are capable of going to the next level, and our goal continues to be to make this series good enough for that to happen. I think you can see how far we have come in the first two seasons of MotoAmerica, so we have to continue to push, continue down the same path and get
the series to where it needs to be. We’ve got to grow our fan base, we have to grow our brand. We’ve only been doing this for two years, and everybody in our paddock appreciates what we’ve done, and we’re all in it together to make this work. We need them to continue to support, to push it and to strive to make it better not just every year, but at each and every race.” Despite decades of experience in motorcycle racing, Rainey admits that running an entire racing series isn’t easy. He says, “As a racer, I showed up to race, and I was so focused I didn’t pay much attention to things like how the races were actually run. Now I know and I can tell you first hand it’s a big job with many different facets. I think getting the series up to speed so the racing was top-notch, the rules were fair and well received, and the paddock was a good place for people to work again wasn’t easy, but it may be the easiest part. The promotion of the events, the marketing, etc. is what’s difficult. There’s a big push now to try to get our series more exposure and to bring more fans to our races. Once we get them there,
we’re confident they will like it and come back the next year, hopefully bringing their friends. As a racer, you wouldn’t even think about that. You’d have a schedule and you’d go out on track, and then you were done. But there’s much more to it than that. This job never stops. It’s seven days a week and 15 hours a day, and it will continue to be that way. That’s the way it works. From where we started, we know where we want to be, and it’s going to take three to five years to make all this happen. We want riders from everywhere to come to our series because it’s the best national series in the world—as it once was.” One thing that has eased MotoAmerica’s path is extensive coverage of every race in 2016 from beIN Sports, a sports-oriented network that started in France in 2012 and is broadcast in about 30 countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. beIN shows soccer, rugby, handball, tennis and basketball games worldwide, but in North America the focus skews more towards motorsports, including rights to MotoGP, World Superbike and MotoAmerica as well
as the World Rallycross Championship. Of MotoAmerica’s relationship with beIN, Rainey says, “Our partnership with beIN Sports is one we are really proud of. The TV package turned out to be extremely popular with both our fans, our teams and riders because they did such a great job of showcasing our sport to a growing audience. The benefit to the racers and teams— from top to bottom—is huge because of the exposure to potential sponsors. This TV package can help make them stars and that will lead to bigger and better things for the series and everyone involved in it. The relationship with beIN is important for us, but also for beIN as they want to grow their network into the network where you go to watch MotoGP, World Superbike and now MotoAmerica. We are lined up with the exact championships we want to be lined up with. The fans can go to one place and watch all of those and that’s rare to have that sort of collaboration with a network. “I think you appeal to general motorcyclists by not only offering great racing, but also a great day or weekend of activities for
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them,” Rainey continues. “We’re trying hard to offer our fans a full slate of things to do over the course of the weekend at our events so it’s not just about the racing, though that will always be our primary concern. We also think our events are perfect for groups of motorcyclists to ride to together… like a destination for group rides. The fans are also going to have their favorite riders or brands that they root for, and what we’re trying to do is create the rules in such a way that other manufacturers can participate and help us all grow the sport.” Running a motorcycle racing series isn’t all about TV coverage and doing interviews, though. Rainey has to pay attention to what’s going on with the other major series and the changes the sport’s governing body, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), institutes from year to year. A big change sanctioned by FIM for World Superbike for the 2017 season involves the gridding procedure for Race 2 - the top nine riders from Race 1 will grid in reverse order for Race 2; so the rider who wins the first race will start the second race from the third row. MotoAmerica decided to wait a season before implementing this change, preferring to see how it shakes out in WSBK before bringing it to their series. When it comes to other rules, Rainey
says, “We are going on year three and the rules we’ve done for year three were supposed to happen in year four. We didn’t want to push too much too soon, but the reality is that we are a year ahead of where we were supposed to be as far as the rules package goes. The TV package helped drive that. We’ve lined ourselves up with what the World Championship is doing – not because that’s how the FIM was doing it, but because the bikes these guys are riding now are so good now that for us to be judged against the World Championships we needed motorcycles on the same level as theirs so the judging would be fair. The teams and the riders that we have are very close. We also thought to get the other manufacturers in our series we need to have our rules close to World Superbike and thus take away the excuses some of the manufacturers had not to race in MotoAmerica.” On the manufacturer front, it’s not hard to see that BMW Motorrad does not have a big presence in MotoAmerica. There are only two riders racing BMWs, Jeremy Cook (#81) and Steve Rapp (#15). Rainey says, “We’d love to have BMW have a bigger presence in our paddock. When they have raced, they have done so successfully. We’d like to think that the more BMWs that are in our series, the more exposure that would
www.mortonsbmw.com
give them and the more motorcycles they could sell in this country. They build a bike that slots right into our Superbike class and with some factory involvement they could be a serious player for years to come. BMW has one of the most sophisticated sportbikes on the market, so there’s not many changes you’d have to make to one to be at the front of the Superbike pack. This could be a class-winning bike with the right rider and an experienced team to help. This is a tailor-made series for BMW—not for them to just be on the podium, but for them to win races.” Rainey’s enthusiasm for racing and his excitement about MotoAmerica is infectious; during a casual introduction at the beIN booth at the AIMExpo in October, 2016, it was all he could talk about for the better part of a half an hour. His eyes light up when he talks about his series, and his pleasure at the growing success of a series he and his partners have worked hard to build is apparent. MotoAmerica will race in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Wisconsin, Utah, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Alabama in 2017. Racing takes place on Saturday and Sunday and more information is available on their website, motoamerica.com.
www.mortonsbmw.com
Final Round - FIM Superbike World Championship at Doha, Qatar. By Will Guyan #56198 THE 2016 WSBK ROAD RACING SEA-
son's final round was held on October 30, 2016 under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Spain’s Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) claimed the best results of the BMW riders, finishing the final two races in eighth and sixth. In the overall world championship standings, Torres secured sixth place, ending the season behind five factory riders and as best rider on a privateer team. This is a very good result, and his top finish this season was in fourth place. Althea’s Italian rider Raffaele De Rosa was crowned champion in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup on his superstock S 1000 RR. The leaders this season all rode Kawasaki and Ducati and were factory supported, meaning they were well-funded and had the best race Jordi Torres components. Kudos to Althea for its great record this season. The other privateer BMW race team, Milwaukee BMW, saw riders Markus Reiterberger and Joshua Brookes end their season after a gallant, hard-fought campaign against much better-funded teams. Let’s face facts: In the USA it’s not easy to watch these premier races without paying for special channels or subscribing to live online coverage. Most of the riders are unfamiliar to American road race fans. Our favorite race series remains MotoGP, the Formula One of motorcycling, where factory-backed riders vie for world supremacy on prototype machines that are
nothing at all like the ones you see in dealerships. BMW sponsors this series, but has no plans to compete in this most expensive series in motorcycling, as budgets of around $25 million plus create a very substantial barrier to most teams. BMW could compete with its own prototype, but their focus remains first and foremost to turn a profit for their shareholders. We now look
to 2017 for the possibility that both BMW and Ducati may compete in WSBK on their carbon fiber-framed, limited edition superbikes. This will only happen if the factories build enough machines for homologation, which is unlikely. Road racing is the most action-packed form of motor competition, with thrills and spills part and parcel of each round. In fact, many of the riders undergo surgery to repair their limbs from get-offs at ungodly speeds in the off season so they can heal in time for next spring’s renewed battles. Motorcycle road racing is certainly one of the most dangerous forms of racing, with speeds well over 200 mph seen at almost
every track. Riders perform on the edge of traction, with bike-to-bike contact a regular, terrifying result. Back to superbikes and our own national series, MotoAmerica, where well-funded factory teams are at the front in almost every race. The heady budgets these teams enjoy mean they’re able to attract the top riders to win these races, often over 20 laps and 45 minutes long. That’s a very strenuous and harsh environment in which to compete successfully. Just ten years ago, the top Bavarian bike was the HP2 Sport, but even this most sought-after boxer ever sold was unable to compete successfully with the Japanese fours or the Ducati twins. The appearance of the S 1000 RR in 2009 changed that. Hats off to Canadian Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke, who won the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. He was awarded the winner’s trophy and 20,000 euros. In addition, his Mopar Express Lane BMW Superbike Team earned 7,500 euros for winning the title in the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK), and Jordan received a further 2,500 euros as the rider’s championship bonus. In 2016, Jordan proved to be unbeatable in the Canadian SBK championship, winning all seven races held this season and starting from pole position in every race with his RR. This was his second title win in a row and his 11th title in total. Kudos, Jordan!
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G 310 R BMW's
A little BMW set to make a big impact
By Bill Wiegand #180584
BMW Motorrad has always danced to the beat of its own drum, never following fad or fashion but pursuing motorcycle design in typical German form following function. Whether it be the Luxury and Sport Touring markets, the Adventure, Sport or Roadster classes, BMW builds models proving their commitment to rider safety, technological advancement and its desire to build the world’s best motorcycles.
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THE NEWEST MODEL IN THE BMW
Motorrad lineup, the G 310 R, continues that tradition and marks BMW’s first roadster in the sub-500cc class. It also marks an important step toward Motorrad’s ambitious goal of annual worldwide sales of 200,000 motorcycles by 2020. Developed in Munich and produced in India through a partnership with the TVS Motor Company, the G 310 R carried the burden of high expectations before the first bike rolled off the assembly line. It seemed fitting, given the importance of the bike to the world market, that BMW Motorrad chose the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood to introduce the bike to the world press. Just a block from Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, the G 310 R was unveiled and ready to roll down the black tarmac of Hollywood Boulevard and up the twisting canyon roads that lay beyond. Upon initial inspection, the little roadster looks impressive with headlight and chiseled fairing, muscular-looking tank, gold upside-down forks and brake calipers, and lattice-like molding of the aluminum swing
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arm. With the large “R” decals on either side of the bodywork, it doesn’t take ancestry.com to see a family resemblance to the S 1000 R. Detailed touches like the high-gloss embossing and roundels on the motor, fuel tank and instrument panel are typical BMW and remove any thoughts that this bike isn’t worthy to wear the roundel. Up front, braking is controlled by a single 300mm disk using a four-piston caliper. The front fork uses a progressively wound spring allowing 5.1 inches of travel. In the back, a two-piston caliper squeezes a 240mm disk while the single shock offers 5.5 inches of travel. The G 310 R’s instrument cluster offers a large liquid crystal display detailing MPH, RPM, odometer, engine temperature, fuel level, time/date, remaining fuel range, fuel consumption and average speed. The centerpiece of the G 310 R is its newly developed, fuel-injected 313cc liquidcooled, single-cylinder engine that produces 34 horsepower and 21 foot-pounds of torque tied to a six-speed transmission which delivers power to the rear wheel via
chain drive. The unique feature of the four valve, DOHC motor is its reverse cylinder design using a backward-tilted cylinder and head rotated 180 degrees, positioning the intake in the front and the exhaust in the rear. The design allowed engineers to create a straighter airflow through the engine to maximize performance. According to BMW, the backward-angled cylinder also helps keep the bike’s center of gravity lower and shifted forward to allow for a longer swing arm in the 310’s relatively short wheelbase. Like all BMWs, the G310 R comes equipped with ABS as standard equipment. Seeing 45 identical motorcycles lined up in perfect German precision along Selma Avenue was a beautiful thing. As we mounted the bikes, another journalist likened the long line of 310s all dressed in white with Motorsport color highlights to piano keys. I had to agree and with a turn of a key and the push of the starter button, they all came to life, not with a familiar boxer motor’s shake and rumble or the turbine-like rev of the S 1000 power plant, but
canyons. have the horsepower, but it will keep up with a rhythmic staccato of microwave No ride on Mulholland Drive is complete with its bigger siblings as long as it’s in the popcorn. Intimidation factor: zero. without a stop at The Rock Store. Originally right gear. As we pulled away, I found the relationbuilt as a hot springs resort, legend has it What the G 310 R lacks in simple horseship between the handlebars, seat and footthat during the days of prohibition the power, it makes up for in spades with it’s pegs relaxed, and at the first red light, both owner was a bootlegger, with the resort easy handling and agility. The short wheelboots rested comfortably on pavement. As attracting Hollywood heavyweights of the base and light weight allow for quick and we wound our way through the morning day with hot water baths and whiskey. Later, predictable cornering which combined to rush-hour traffic, the comfortable ergoit was a gas station and a grocery store make the bike a blast to ride through the nomics were welcome, and the 310's spirited before becoming a hot destimotor was always willing to nation in the 1960s when Steve please, provided the correct McQueen began blasting gear was chosen. Once on the through Mulholland on his 101, the 310 R weaved easily Triumph. The road’s popularthrough the surrounding trafity grew over the years, and fic, with the motor humming even an aggressive crackdown along at 7,500 RPM while on speeding and a temporary pushing the bike along at a closing in the 1990s did little to comfortable 75 miles per hour. slow the “The Snake’s” Just as I was beginning to popularity. think I was riding back home Back on the 310, we contindown a straight and boring ued onward, eventually intercentral Illinois highway, we secting State Route 1, the exited onto Topanga Canyon Pacific Coast Highway. With Boulevard and then west on the day growing longer, it was Mulholland Drive. Jay Leno has compared The G 310 R's large instrument cluster details speed, RPM, time, gear and much time to head back. BMW route more. (Below) The unique feature of the 310's motor is its reverse cylinder design Mulholland Drive to the Nür- using a backward-tilted cylinder and head roated 180 degrees, positioning the masters spend a great deal of time creating routes to illusburgring, the race track in intake in the front and exhaust in the rear. trate a new model’s capabilities, Nürburg, Germany. Known to and with the canyon-carving most as “The Ring,” it’s widely ability of BMW’s newest roadconsidered to be the toughest, ster now proven, we were most dangerous and most shown how the G 310 R handemanding race track in the dles commuting duties. Our world. Mulholland Drive is ride on the PCH took us the most well-known of Los through Malibu and along Angeles' scenic drives and Sunset Boulevard past UCLA, sports eight scenic overlooks the Hollywood Bowl and other along its 55-mile length. Signs area landmarks before turning along many of the tight curves onto the circus that is Hollywarn riders of the consewood Boulevard. quences of being seduced by In my brief time getting the breathtaking views of the acquainted with the G 310 R, Los Angeles basin and San I’m convinced BMW Motorrad Fernando Valley below. Other hit all the right chords, and signs warned of horseback with the new bike’s sub-$5,000 riders and mountain bikers. It sticker price, dealers will have a took only moments to realize I difficult time meeting early wasn’t riding in Illinois demand. anymore. Most of us began riding Unlike the other bikes in the small displacement bikes and BMW family, the G 310 R were eventually seduced by requires an active left foot to multiple cylinder models with keep the motor happy. Forget lots of ccs. The G 310 R proves about relying on a big disbigger is not always better and placement and a couple gears a rider can have a lot of fun on to get you from corner to cora small bike. ner. The G 310 R just doesn’t
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BMW G 310 R Specs
Engine
Type liquid-cooled, single cylinder, DOHC
Capacity 313cc Bore/Stroke 80mm/62mm
Valves per cylinder
Output
34 hp at 9,500 rpm
Torque
26 foot pounds at 7,500 rpm
Compression/Fuel
Electrical System Alternator
Headlamp Starter
330 W
Battery 12V
10.6 : 1/premium unleaded
Emission Control Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter
4
Transmission
Clutch
H4 12V 60/55W 0.5 kW
Multi-plate wet clutch
Gearbox Constant mesh 6-speed gearbox with helical cut gears Rear wheel drive
O-ring chain
Suspension
Front wheel Telescopic forks with 5.5 inches of travel
Rear Wheel Aluminum swing arm with a directly mounted spring strut with 5.15 inches of travel
Wheelbase
Steering head angle
Brakes
ABS
Wheels
54.09 inches 64.9 degrees Front, single 11.8 inch disc Rear, single 9.45 inch disk BMW Motorrad ABS 5-spoke light alloy die-cast Front 3.0 x 17" Rear 4.0 x 17"
Tires
Front 110/70R 17
Rear 150/60R 17
Dimensions / Weights
Length
Width (incl. mirrors)
Seat height
78.9 inches 33.42 inches 30.9 inches
Dry weight
Fuel capacity
Fuel consumption
72 mpg
Top speed
95 mph
Performance
349.4 pounds 2.9 gallons
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You rode through a construction site on a brand new set of tires! This could definitely ruin your ride. But not if you have the MOA’s new Platinum Roadside Assistance and Tire Protection membership. With 24/7 Roadside Assistance, you could be towed to a repair facility and have your tire replaced for free! All for only $79 a year, including your MOA membership. Join online at www.bmwmoa.org bmwmoa.org or convert your current BMW MOA membership by calling 864-438-0962. BMW MOA Platinum Roadside and Tire Protection. Another great benefit of your BMW MOA membership.
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skills
askapro
Learning to manage the risks By Lee Parks #162125
Q:
My friend has been in a medically induced coma for six days now from a motorcycle accident that was not his fault. He can’t breathe on his own, and it’s causing me to rethink my commitment to riding. What advice do you have for reconciling my passion for riding with wanting to be there for my family in the future? —David B.
A:
David, there is no greater job as a rider than learning to manage the risks. Part of that job is knowing when the risk outweighs the reward. Only you can make that decision. Fortunately, you are not alone in that struggle. This summer I dislocated my shoulder while downhill mountain biking even though I was fully geared up, including a full-face helmet and chest/shoulder/back protector. The pain was the worst I had ever experienced in countless injuries I’ve combatted in over a dozen action sports. My poor girlfriend and employee (who were on the same ride) had to listen to me cry and scream like a little girl for an hour and a half until the emergency room doctor was able to force my shoulder back in its socket from the other side of my body. I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy. The inevitable question came up: Was going to ride again? I have to admit, even I did a mental doubletake. The answer, however, was an undeniable “Yes!” In fact, I bought a second, more appropriate bike for downhill riding while I was still in a sling. It’s been six months since my
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crash, and I still can’t ride off-road on my mountain bikes or any of my off-road motorcycles. I was just able to raise my arm straight up three weeks ago for the first time, though it still hurts to do so. Strength will be my next goal in therapy, and it will probably be spring before I attempt riding off-road again. To add insult to injury, I received a call that a young rider from Tijuana named Ryan, who was in the process of getting trained to bring Total Control courses to Mexico, died in a head on crash with a car last week. In these types of situations, the motorcycle inevitably loses. But so did Ryan’s family, friends and coworkers. Twisting the knife of disappointment, he was two weeks away from graduating college in San Diego. At times like this, I find that my own eloquence is inadequate, and I need the words of wiser folks than myself to help put things in perspective. As the Native Americans say, “Death comes, always out of season.” In other words, there is never a good time for terrible news. This somewhat begs the question of why do we choose to take such risks as riders? Perhaps United States Navy Rear Admiral Grace M. Hopper said it best, “A ship is safe in port, but that’s not what ships were built for.” As riders, we can all nod our heads as to the significance of that statement. For those who don’t, the old Harley adage of, “If you have to ask, you wouldn’t understand” comes to mind. Nothing was as personally devastating as when my best friend Scott died at Summit Point raceway in 2001 after hitting a wall at over 100 mph on our backup endurance race bike. I was not there on that fateful day, but I remember getting that phone call and feeling like someone kicked me in the groin while simultaneously knocking the wind out of me. First came shock, then survivor’s guilt, then the realization that our team was
two weeks away from possibly winning our first national championship. We just needed to finish no more than four spots behind the current second-place team in points, and we would be champions. As yet one more body blow, someone had to ask his parents what we should/could do since Scott owned the team, transporter and most of the equipment. As the eldest rider on the team, I was unanimously nominated by my teammates to have that most uncomfortable of conversations with Scott’s parents. After all, how does someone who is deeply grieving himself even bring up the topic with such deep sorrow permeating the very fabric of space and time. Scott’s stoic father and I did our best get through the conversation without sobbing when he regained focus and boldly told me what we were supposed to do. “Of course, you’re going to go to the last race,” he interjected. “You’re going to go to that race and win the championship for Scott!” The intense pressure of winning for my dead friend was eclipsed only by my being asked to perform the eulogy at his funeral. How could I do justice to a man that I had only known for one year? My experiences with him primarily related to motorcycle racing, yet with him having such a rich, kaleidoscopic life, anything I said would surely not be enough for his grieving parents. Again, I turned to a writer who was able to put into poetic prose what I could not. I ended my seemingly hodgepodge eulogy with a poem called “Risk” by Janet Rand:
Risk
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk being called naive. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their certitude, they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is truly free. Half wanting to know and half fearing to know the answer, I sheepishly asked Scott’s father if the eulogy was adequate. “I wouldn’t have changed a word,” he said. “You perfectly captured the essence of our son.” His response was perhaps the most meaningful compliment I ever received as we each did our best to hold back a river of tears. That experience was part closure and part redemption for me. I only hope these words help you find the answer you’re looking for in your riding journey.
Lee Parks (162125) has been riding and racing motorcycles for well over 33 years. He has been the editor of both consumer and trade motorcycle magazines, manufacturers his own line of motorcycle gloves, and is a WERA national endurance champion. His riding skills book Total Control has sold over 100,000 copies in five languages around the world. Lee’s Total Control Training company manages—and is the curriculum vendor for—the California Motorcyclist Safety Program as well as several large military contracts. If you have a question you’d like to him to answer in this column, send him an email at lee@totalcontroltraining.net.
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Touring Sport BMW 1431 Laurens Rd Greenville, SC 29607-2340 864-232-2269 www.touringsport.com
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FORUM ADMINISTRATORS NEEDED The team that manages the BMW MOA Member forums needs your help! We’re looking for a few, good people to help with the daily administration of our online website forums. If you are knowledgeable in online forum administration, and want to help your club, please contact us! Send an email that summarizes your experience and a little about why you want to help to: Sam Garst Chairperson of Volunteer Committee sam.garst@bmwmoa.org sam.garst@bmwmoa.org
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jacktheriepe
The evolution of moto camping By Jack Riepe #116117 THERE
IS
AN
ancient Asian philosophy that contends a man in his lifetime will be a farmer, a soldier, a teacher and a priest. There is another that suggests a man will be a social sperm donor, a bartender, a writer and ultimately an ex-husband to many. The tools of the former are a plow, a sword, a blackboard and a soul. The equipment for the latter includes a “battered baby harp seal look,” cigars, a motorcycle and the ability to change form to aid in escape. Some gentle Owners News readers will identify with the first group. Dedicated “K” bike aficionados will appreciate that I am the poster child for the second. While a lifestyle philosophy is a handy thing for impressing people who rate such things highly (like discerning women), reality is likely to bend a philosophical outlook over time. A man in his teens or early 20s is naturally drawn to fire-breathing motorcycles that idle at 14,000 rpm. He doesn’t mind riding in a nearly prone position with his testicles in his shirt pocket and the gear shifter mounted on the rear axle. In fact, he will claim to prefer it. In his 30s, the same man is more likely to appreciate a motorcycle that can carry a tent, a weekend’s gear and provisions, plus a woman, more than 350 miles on a testicle-sensitive seat at a reasonable speed of 95 miles per hour—without generating enough heat to melt iron, vibrating the fillings loose in his teeth, or causing the lady on the back to develop a hatred for the operator.
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
After his first divorce, a man just wants a motorcycle that starts in two seconds and provides 87 percent of available torque in first gear. It is assumed the seat will cradle his butt like a catcher’s mitt, there will be enough lash points to carry gear sufficient for a new start in the Witness Protection Program, and that the tank will carry enough gas to get two states away before needing fuel. It’s reassuring if the onboard computer system monitors the air pressure in the tires, the oil pressure in the engine, and the social pressure on FaceBook, but not necessary. The same is true for moto-camping. For a man in his late teens or early 20s, nothing compares with the pure romance of pulling off the road in a desolate stretch of deep mountains or endless desert and following a trail to a campsite that is just a level patch in undisturbed wilderness. The tent, a two-person triangular tube of spaceage polymer, is guaranteed to conform to the body shapes inside it. A little camp stove will make soup, coffee, ramen noodles and instant oatmeal. The campsite is just big enough to be illuminated by the campfire. The bike headlight is floodlight enough for contingencies. The woman padding around the campsite will have changed her riding boots for soft moccasins. She is wearing a cotton t-shirt that beats the hell out of space-age polymer for conforming to body shapes. She laughs when she squats to pee. The water is boiling for the ramen noodles as the sun goes down. The man is smiling because he has all this while saving 140 bucks on a hotel room. Reality sets in at dinner. “This is it?” the woman asks. “Ramen noodles?” The man responds, “There is also instant oatmeal,” but the suggestion does not go over well. He breaks out the bottle of wine. It is good they are romantically involved, because they are forced to conform to each
other as there is no space in the tent. She does not want to be on the bottom as the floor of the tent is conforming to a huge tree root that has sprung up in the last 30 seconds. She does not want to be on the top as the tent’s clammy roofline is pressing unto her back and butt. It is midnight, and the rider has to go outside. He has to pee…and also to fart. He knows what will happen if he farts in the selfconforming tent. It will conform to the shape of a mushroom cloud. It will wake up the woman and her criticism. He manages to get outside without disturbing her. The moon is peeking from behind a cloud that is as dark as a shroud. He is naked except for his moto boots and the night air feels good. Draining the lizard next to the bike feels good, too. On a whim, he switches on the headlight. Fifty sets of eight eye clusters glow back. The campsite is surrounded by tarantulas. As fast as he moves back to the tent, the first big, fat raindrops land on his back. It will rain torrentially for two days. The woman’s hatred for him, ramen noodles and that tent will conform the conversation for a month. The rider in his 40s will also camp, but in an old-fashioned motel where the parking space is right outside the door. There is a diner 200 feet from the motel. The cook is somebody’s grandmother who knows how to make everything on the menu, but who will be glad to do liver and onions if that’s what he wants. The motel was built the year I Love Lucy debuted on television. The window unit air conditioner is diesel, or at least it sounds like one. The water is hot in the clean bathroom. The chamber maid is “Lizzie,” who is the girlfriend of “Stevie,” who is the grandson of “Maudie,” who is the grandmother cooking in the diner and who happens to own both places. The rider covered a respectable 400 miles that day. Maudie made him liver and onions. It is the end of the day, and he has the room door open to watch the sun set on his K 1300. He turned the television on, briefly. The motel
gets 15 free cable stations. Wolf Blitzer’s face filled the screen. The rider switched it off. He took three little gin bottles (one ounce each) out of a bag, along with a bottle of vermouth and a jar of cocktail onions. He mixed a Gibson Martini in the plastic cup by the sink and pulled out a worn copy of The Sun Also Rises. He will call the woman he loves in a little bit, hoping she will have that “I miss you” tone in her voice. She is not one for conversation in the evening, as she is never sure when her husband might walk in. The rider in his late 50s was three and a half days in the saddle when he pulled into Salt Lake City. He was in town for a three-day rally to talk bikes, ride bikes and look at bikes—all German bikes. He was “camping” in a five-star business hotel, and he tipped a guy at the door to keep his K 1300 under the hotel marquee. There were two other bikes parked there: a flawless K 75 and an R Slash Something. All the R bikes looked the same to him. His K 1300 was custom painted jet black with a red black widow spider depicted on the tank. The license plate read “POIZN.” His first night in the room was spent alone. The air conditioning soundlessly kept the temperature at “Christmas in Norway,” or about 30 degrees cooler than outside. The bed was huge and a Valentine to sleep. Breakfast—two eggs, a steak, fried potatoes, toast and a pot of coffee—materialized by pressing a button on the phone. The bathroom was bigger than his first apartment. He didn’t mind spending the first night alone. This was the risk of adventure. Sometimes you ride alone and sometimes you don’t. He knew 25 people in the lobby and the rally started… even though he wasn’t quite there yet. Now purists will argue that the last two examples aren’t really camping, but purists will argue over anything. I say it is my kind of camping. See you in Salt Lake City.
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www.bohnriderprotection.com
The revised edition of Conversations With A Motorcycle is back in print. The classic black “Secret K Bike Riders Club” charter member tee is also back, joined by the new, red “Outkast And Damned” and the red “Secret K Club” shirt for 2017. To get any of these, please specify book or t-shirt, what color shirt, shirt size, plus your name, address and phone number. The phone number is used to verify personalized book inscriptions. Email to jack. riepe@gmail.com. Please put Book/Tee Shirt order in the subject line. www.euromotoelectrics.com February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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RALLY
2017 BMW MOA INTERNATIONAL Rally
Riding Salt Lake City By Jeff Thurmond #110159 ONE OF THE MANY THINGS UTAH
offers riders is great roads, especially those running through canyons. A ride visiting Big Cottonwood Canyon, Guardsman Pass, Midway, Heber Valley RR, Provo Canyon, Sundance, Alpine Loop and Timpanogos Cave National Monument can take a halfday, or if you explore the different destinations along the way, it’ll easily take a full day. Along the route, there are plenty of places to get refreshments and food and depending on the size of your fuel tank, you may need to buy gas before getting back. Total ride is 120 miles The Wasatch Mountains are on the east side of the Salt Lake valley and at the ends of many of the canyons are ski resorts. To start this ride, get on I-15 heading south in downtown Salt Lake City, then in a few miles pickup I-215 heading east. Exit at Exit 6 for the Ski Resorts. Take Wasatch Blvd southeast to Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, 7200 S (known locally as Brighten Canyon). For reference,
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there is a traffic light, and a 7-11 store on the southwest corner of the intersection. Turn left at the traffic light and head east up the canyon. It is just over 14 miles to the top of the canyon, with the road following Big Cottonwood Creek—very lovely ride on a meandering canyon road. There are two Cottonwood Canyons within 10 miles of each other, and this is the longest, hence the “Big” in the name. The canyon is named after the cottonwood trees that grow along the creek. As you ride up the canyon you will see many turn-offs for camping and picnics. Near the top of the canyon you will pass Solitude Ski Resort, and at the top of the canyon is Brighton Ski Resort. There is a one-way road making a loop around the resort. Brighton is the oldest ski resort in Utah, dating back to 1936. It started with a rope tow pulled by the motor from an elevator. The base elevation in the parking lot is 8,766 feet and the top peak is 10,750. As you enter the one-way road, on the left is the Brighton General Store, a good place for coffee. Across from this is a ranger station and Silver Lake which has a fairly level 0.9
mile trail around it plus some hiking trails off the back side that take you up to some hidden lakes at over ten thousand feet. Nice walk around the lake even if you don’t hike up the mountain side. Just past the lake on the right is Millicent Chalet, which offers a variety of okay food and outdoor seating Ride around the one-way loop and start down the canyon. In 300 yards you will see a fire station on the left and on the right is State Road 190, Guardsman Pass Road. Turn right onto this. You will be using first gear a lot as you climb rapidly up the side of the mountain. There is a parking area at the top of the Brighton side of the mountain— great scenic overviews from this 9,700 foot high vista. Head down the somewhat paved road, keeping to the right as the road forks in just over a mile. If you took the left of the fork you would come out in Park City. That is a ride for another day. The road from here to Midway used to be dirt, then gravel. The county put down asphalt a few years ago, but it is not a smooth service; watch for potholes and loose rocks on the turns. The
road designation changes to RT 222, and you will be heading southeast through heavily forested terrain, which is a fun ride. From Brighton, it is a twisty 12.8 miles over Guardsman Pass to Midway. You will be headed south as you come into Midway, and you will intersect Main Street which runs east-west. Midway attained some fame during the 2002 Winter Olympics when it was the home of the cross-country and biathlon events at Solder Hollow just outside the city limits. The town of Midway was founded in 1864 as a mid-way point between neighboring towns in this agricultural area. Today, Midway is becoming a high-end residential area and prices for homes and at shops in town reflect that. You will find a number of good restaurants as you ride east along Main Street. For affordable food and refreshment, try the Fill’er Up Coffee Station or the Café Galleria on Main St. Continuing east on Main Street will bring you into Heber City. If hungry, Heber City is minutes away, and Sundance offers some good, though rather pricy vittles. Heber City was settled in the late 1850s as pioneer settlers found the surrounding valley a great place to farm and raise cattle and sheep. Like Midway, this once quite community has become a residential area for more expensive homes, and the northsouth Main Street, a.k.a. US 40, continues to add stores, shops and restaurants. If hungry when in Heber City, try Chick’s Café between First and Second South on Main; Chick’s is one of the oldest continuous
operating cafes in Utah; famous for breakfast (yes, served all day). The Spin Café at 220 North Main has good sandwiches and a dozen flavors of gelato. There are a number of other good food emporiums, all on Main Street. For a cool ice cream treat, stop by Granny’s at 500 South Main. Heber City is home of the Heber Valley Historic Railroad, known locally as the Heber Creeper. This narrow-gauge railroad is from the mining days when ore was carried from the mines, and today it is a scenic and fun ride through Provo Canyon. The RR depot is at 400 South and 600 West, some six blocks west of Main Street. Even if you don’t take a ride, visiting this historic railroad yard is worth the time. Leaving Heber City, ride south on Main Street, US 40, and when the road forks at a traffic light at the south end of town, turn right onto US 189, Provo Canyon Road. You will ride past scenic Dear Creek Reservoir as you head down the canyon. In 14.5 miles down the canyon from Heber City, you will turn right toward Sundance, a property made famous by its owner Robert Redford. This ski resort is just two miles up the Alpine Loop canyon road and is well worth a stop to walk through. The resort is home to a good sandwich shop, a decent bar, a very good restaurant, an outdoor amphitheater for evening concerts, nifty shops, and great hiking; of course, the winter skiing is good, too. The walk around the small resort takes 15 minutes and is a good excuse to get off the motorcycle and smell the fresh alpine air. Base elevation is 6,100 feet
with the top of the lift at 8,250. You can ride the lift in the summer and walk down. When you leave Sundance, continue on the Alpine Loop canyon road. This is a narrow, twisty blacktop road with many blind corners. There is no center line on the pavement over the mountain top, so watch for oncoming cars that think this is a onelane road. The views from the Alpine Loop are magnificent, going from mountain vistas to dense forests of aspen trees. There are only a few turn-outs for viewing; so ride slow to see as much as you can and watch the road markers, as there are a couple of side canyon roads, and you want to stay on the primary Alpine Loop, RT 92. You will be over the mountain side and headed down American Fork Canyon in about 27 miles. As you get near the mouth of American Fork Canyon, you will come to Timpanogos Cave National Monument on your left. You might want to stop here and check out the cave information at the visitor center. If you have time, consider taking the cave tour. The hike to the cave is 1.5 miles and has an elevation change of 1,092 feet. There are three interconnected caves, and the entire tour, including the trail hike up and down, takes a few hours. Timpanogos Cave provides some of the best spelunking in the country. When you leave Timpanogos, continue west down American Fork Canyon, staying on RT 92. This will intersect with I-15 in 11 miles. Head north on I-15 to get back to Salt Lake City.
February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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RALLY
2017 BMW MOA INTERNATIONAL Rally
A first-timer’s MOA Rally experience By Calep Howard #118864 ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, A GOOD
friend of mine needed to part with a motorcycle and a 1977 BMW R 100/7 rolled into my garage. I always wanted one, and after parting with some cash, I installed a new battery, fresh plugs and points, and I filled the tank. I was in love. I rode that motorcycle to work, and people thought that was cool. I rode that motorcycle to the home office in the Twin Cities, and people thought I was nuts! I had a blast! Eventually, I joined the local BMW club and then the MOA. While I like tent camping and traveling on my motorcycle, what I really like is sitting by a campfire while drinking a cold beer and telling completely true tales of all of my amazing adventures. While spending a few dreary winter days back in 2014 rereading back issues of the Owners News, I realized that something was missing from my life. I realized I had never been to the MOA International Rally. After a few more cold days reading about what I was missing, I made plans to attend the 2015 rally in Billings, Montana. Stitching all of my disparate experiences and interests together, I began preparing my bike, my camping gear and myself to take the
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biggest motorcycle trip of my life, from my driveway in Overland Park, Kansas, to Billings, Montana. The summer of 2015 was going to beat all previous summers! Once I arrived in Billings, I was initially overwhelmed when I was directed to the camping area. After surveying the area, I found a place to make camp and just like that, my rally experience began. Once through registration, the reality of being at this event began to sink in. While I was excited to get my bag of swag, the most important part of the rally was the information I was given. With my camp set up and registration complete, I grabbed some food, made my way back to my camp and started figuring out how I was going to spend my time at my first MOA rally. For me, that time spent planning made my first MOA rally a success. While a couple of the seminars I attended helped expand my knowledge of motorcycle touring, others discussed gear choices, and I learned how to lighten my touring load and pack correctly, valuable knowledge I was able to use on the ride home. I really like motorcycles and just as interesting as I found the seminars, I also learned a great deal by simply wandering the rally grounds and looking at motorcycles, simply seeing what others were doing to and with their bikes. From those who ride a stonestock bike, to riders who have mastered the art of farkling and completely customized
their bikes, the rally grounds held the largest collection of motorcycles I’d ever seen, and the inspiration was incredible. I found the campsites to be equally inspiring with tents from ultralight to palatial on display. The best part of the rally was the people who ride these motorcycles and camp, all there to tell you their stories. It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert like me; once there, you’ll immediately feel comfortable introducing yourself to other riders and getting to know them. I’ve found that every MOA member, myself included, is more than happy to talk about his or her motorcycle and the gear we use. This approach has helped me meet new people and make lifelong friends. As winter drags on, I once again find myself reading and rereading past issues of Owners News, but now it’s different. This year I’m not debating whether I’m going to Salt Lake City in July for the MOA’s 45th BMW MOA International Rally, but instead debating when I’m leaving and what route I’ll take. I’ve begun to chronicle my adventures aboard my beloved airheads online at www. thetwowheeledtourist.com. I launched “The Two Wheeled Tourist” not only to tell everyone about where I’ve traveled, but also to share my experiences with other riders. See you in Salt Lake City. I’ll be the guy on the black BMW motorcycle!
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Join the BMW MOA FACEBOOK page today! Get the MOA Newsfeed via Twitter for more BMW and motorcycle news – www.twitter.com/bmwmoa www.alaskaleather.com February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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The
Benefits of
Membership
We have lined up some of the best discounts in the industry worth way more than $40 per year. Whether you need product discounts, travel discounts or specialized services, your MOA membership can save you thousands of dollars with our partners.
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event
WHENANDWHERE
Email your event information to editor@bmwmoa.org
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February 1
2/10/2017 – 2/12/2017
Progressive International Motorcycle Show, Chicago, Illinois Location: Rosemont, Illinois Contact: motorcycleshows.com It’s time to gear up for your exclusive pass to preview the new BMW vehicles before anyone else.
2
2/16/2017 – 2/20/2017
Death Valley Rendezvous #25
Location: Death Valley National Park Contact: Gary Jackson 619-559-0108 socalairmarshal@gmail.com This year marks the 25th anniversary of the
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
“Oldest and Lowest” of all Airhead Rendezvouses in the unpredictable weather of February at the Furnace Creek Campground in Death Valley National Park on President’s Day weekend.
3
3/30/2017 – 4/2/2017
March Moto Madness, Adventure Rally Location: Tellico Plains, Tennessee Contact: marchmotomadness.com Come kick off the riding season and join the Madness with 700 plus friends, old and new! March Moto Madness is taking place again in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and is a gathering of adventurous riders from across the world.
April
4
4/7/2017 – 4/9/2017
Hill Country Hangout
Location: Kerrville, Texas Contact: Paul Mulhern 210-279-6074 pmulhern@swbell.net The best roads in Central Texas plus motorcycle museum, wineries, shopping, and more.
5
4/21/2017 – 4/23/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Fontana Dam, North Carolina Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Join us amidst the pristine beauty and fantastic roads of the Nantahala National Forest in the mountains of western North Carolina for an event you’re sure to remember. An $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar,
Detailed information for all events is available online at: bmwmoa.org
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Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Fontana Dam Village at 800849-2258 for room reservations.
6
4/29/2017 – 4/30/2017
32nd Annual BMW Motorcycle MotoExpo and Flea Market Location: Pecatonica, Illinois Contact: Earve Brauer/Steve Frank rockbmw2000@yahoo.com Until 8:00 PM 815-962-8911/ 815-761-0048 Huge indoor BMW MotoExpo and Flea Market, open both Saturday afternoon and Sunday! We welcome buyers, motorcycle andaccessorydealers,vendorsandenthusiastsellers.
May 7
5/5/2017 – 5/7/2017
3rd Hopewell Road Rally
Location: Logan, Ohio Contact: Sam Booth samrbooth@yahoo.com Join the Southeastern Ohio Beemers again for a weekend of early spring riding in the hills of southern Ohio.
8
5/5/2017 – 5/7/2017
The Original Mini-Rally, 45th Year
Location: Sturgis, Michigan Contact: Mike Hart 269-317-9951, bathartx46x@comcast.net Welcome spring with us in Sturgis, Michigan, at the Green Valley Campground, S/W of town on Fawn River Rd.
9
5/5/2017 – 5/7/2017
Georgia Mountain Rally
Location: Hiawassee, Georgia Contact: Geoff Maffett president@bmwmoga.org This is a great venue for both street and dual sport riding adventures. Your rally fee includes two nights camping, chili dinner, steak dinner and two pancake breakfasts.
10
5/12/2017 – 5/14/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Coeur d-Alene, Idaho Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway There’s something magical about Lake Coeur d’Alene that’s hard to define, but it begins with the spectacular North Idaho sunsets and moonrises, the glowing lights of downtown Coeur d’Alene reflecting across its waters and the wonderful roads. An $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Coeur d’Alene Resort at 855999-7998 for room reservations.
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5/18/2017 – 5/21/2017
European Riders Rally
Location: Burkesville, Kentucky Contact: ridersrally@bmwmcon.org We’ll offer a weekend of great riding for both the street and dual sport enthusiast. Explore the area on your own, or stay onsite and enjoy seminars, movies, motorcycle games and more.
12
5/19/2017 – 5/21/2017
43rd Annual Great River Rally (GR3)
Location: Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin Contact: rally@madisonbmwclub.org Join us for the 43rd Annual Great River Road Rally in beautiful Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, located at the epicenter of the best riding roads in the state.
13
5/19/2017 – 5/21/2017
2017 DownEast Rally
Location: Phippsburg, Maine Contact: Sanford Peabody rally@bmwrsm. org, 207-272-2367 Join us as we return to Hermit Island at the start of the New England riding season for another DownEast Rally! Enjoy three days and two nights of Oceanside camping at Hermit Island Campground.
14
5/19/2017 – 5/22/2017
32nd ABC Rally
Location: Ontario, Canada Contact: Rich Stevenson johnnydundas@gmail.com The Forest City Motorrad Club of Southwestern Ontario (MOA #159) will be hosting its 32nd rally at the Springwater Conservation Area, in S.W. Ontario.
15
5/25/2017 – 5/29/2017
45th Annual 49’er Rally
Location: Mariposa, California Contact: bmwnorcal.wildapricot.org Join us for the 45th annual 49’er Rally at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds, Memorial Day weekend, 2017! Mariposa is the gateway to Yosemite National Park and located on scenic State Highway 49.
16
5/26/2017 – 5/29/2017
2017 BMW Motorcycle Owners of Alabama Rally Location: Dunlap Tennessee Contact: bmwmoal.org Come join us at our Memorial Day Rally in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley in Dunlap Tennessee. Situated just west of, and close to Chattanooga, Tennessee, we’ll have some great suggested rides for you to explore the area. The rally grounds are the historical Coke Ovens Park and Museum.
June 17
6/2/2017 – 6/4/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Sitting at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains and within sight of Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs offers a delightful mix of western charm, sunny skies, crisp mountain air and wonderful roads. An $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event
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event
whenandwhere
and contact Hotel Elegante at 719-5765900 for room reservations.
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6/2/2017 – 6/4/2017
2017 Land of Oz Rally
Location: Atchinson, Kansas Contact: Don Hamblin bmwscooter@gmail.com, 256-479-5606 Treat yourself to a weekend the whole family can enjoy at beautiful Warnock Lake, Atchison, Kansas! In the heart of the “best kept secret” of the midwest, you can enjoy scenic touring roads, ADV riding with the GS Giants, Championship KC BBQ (with special kids meals), Field Events, an Old School Bike Show, Live Music, Door Prizes, Awards, 24 hour gourmet coffee or explore historic sites in the most haunted city in the state.
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6/8/2017 – 6/11/2017
41st Annual Iowa Rally
Location: Middle Amana, Iowa Contact: purestodge.org, Steve Carson 319-330-2844, psta.rally@ gmail.com Hosted by the Pure Stodge Touring Association. Enjoy shaded camping at the Middle Amana Community Park or nearby hotels. Enjoy area Amana shops, hospitality and restaurants. 6/9/2017 – 6/11/2017
MOA Getaway
20 Location: Muskoka, Ontario Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Recognized by National Geographic Traveler magazine as one of their Best of the World – must-see places, Muskoka offers a unique experience for every rider. A $179 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift, a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project and lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the Muskoka Getaway.
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6/15/2017 – 6/17/2017
24
7/20/2017 – 7/23/2017
17th Annual Red Rock Rendezvous Rally
46th Annual Top O’ The Rockies Rally
Location: Panguitch, Utah Contact: beehivebeemers@hotmail.com The Rally site is the gateway to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Grand Canyon National Parks; plus there are 10 additional state parks within one hour riding! Make plans to attend the best little rally in the west.
Location: Paonia, Colorado Contact: Matt Baroody matthewbaroody@msn.com The Paonia area boasts some of Colorado’s best riding, both on and off road. Your rally fee includes three nights shaded camping, Saturday meal and two nights live entertainment. Great place to stop after the MOA rally!
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6/23/2017 – 6/25/2017
The BMW Riders of Oregon Chief Joseph Rally Location: John Day, Oregon Contact: Doug Tewksbury 541-543-7320 bmwro.rallymaster@gmail.com The fairgrounds has it all - green grass camping, hot showers, clean restroom facilities, a large pavilion building for meals, improved Wi-Fi connections and an RV park.
July 23
7/13/2017 – 7/16/2017
BMW MOA International Rally
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Contact: Greg Feeler 2017rallychair@bmwmoa.org Utah is a rider’s wonderland with 21 national parks and monuments, 40 state parks, and seven national forests. Easy day rides from the Fairpark will take you into the mountains to Park City, the Utah Olympic Park, and the year-round resorts of Alta, Solitude, and Snowbird.
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7/20/2017 – 7/23/2017
45th Annual Cascade Country Rendezvous Location: Republic, Washington Contact: wsbmwr.org Join us for the 45th annual Cascade Country Rendezvous in beautiful Republic Washington. Camp at the Ferry County Fairgrounds or stay in a local motels.
August 8/5/2017
26 18th Annual 100,000 Ft. Ride Location: Lakewood, Colorado Contact: Carl Thomte 303-753-662 rcarloski@msn.com Ride enough mountain passes in a day to equal 100,000 ft.! This ride can go from 300500 miles depending on the final route.
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8/11/2017 - 8/13/2017
40th Annual Daniel Boone Rally
Location: Boone, North Carolina Contact: rally@carolinasbmwmoa.org Join us for the 40th Annual Dan’l Boone Rally at the KOA Campground in Boone, North Carolina. Some of the best motorcycle roads east of the Mississippi River with three states in easy distance. Ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, High Country of North Carolina and much more. 8/17/2017 - 8/20/2017
28 Nakusp Hotsprings Rally Location: Nakusp, British Columbia, Canada Contact: Grant Fengstad
nakupsrally@beeceebeemers.com The areas around Nakusp, BC boasts some of the best riding roads in all of British Columbia. Whether you come for the workshops, talks, camaraderie, riding or to relax in this picturesque location you will not regret your visit. 8/17/2017 - 8/20/2017
29 19th Beartooth Rendezvous Location: Red Lodge, Montana Contact: Charlie Greear/Carla Tooth registrar@beartoothbeemers.org (208) 661-5639/(406) 696-2114 You can’t ask for a better view! Join us at the Lions Camp located 10 miles south of Red Lodge, Montana. Ample camping space is available in and around the camp and there’s even a mountain stream nearby. 8/18/2017 - 8/20/2017
30 MOA Getaway
Location: Eureka Springs, Arkansas Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Nestled in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas and surrounded by rivers and lakes, Eureka Springs is known for its healing waters and ribbons of highway curling around majestic bluffs and over hills revealing the area’s breathtaking scenery. An $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Inn of the Ozarks at 800-8148307 for room reservations.
September 31
9/8/2017 - 9/10/2017
MOA Getaway
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9/8/2017 - 9/10/2017
MOA Premier Getaway
Location: Sedona, Arizona Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls and lush pine forests, the Sedona area offers some of the most scenic rides in the southwest through postcard perfect rock formations and beautiful landscapes. A $129 event fee includes a Friday welcome party and dinner, Saturday dinner and awards, $500 in door prizes, t-shirt, special MOA gift and silent auction benefitting the Motorcycle Relief Project. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Poco Diablo Resort at 928-282-7333 for room reservations.
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9/8/2017 - 9/10/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Warren, Vermont Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Set in the Mad River Valley between the two ranges of the Green Mountains, Sugarbush Resort offers four season activities and some of the best riding in the New England area. An $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Sugarbush Resort at 800-537-8427 for room reservations.
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www.ztechnik.com
Location: Pineville, Kentucky Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Set in the Kentucky Ridge State Forest and surrounded by mountains, this secluded resort offers peace and tranquility and is
the perfect place for fun and great riding. A $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact Pine Mountain State Resort Park at 606-337-3066 for room reservations.
events
whenandwhere
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9/22/2017 - 9/24/2017
31st Annual Hoosier Beemers Rally Location: North Vernon, Indiana Contact: www.facebook.com/ hoosier.beemers Join us for great riding in scenic southern Indiana. Rally fee of $30 includes two nights camping, Friday night gourmet hot dog roast with all the fixins’ and live bluegrass band, Saturday night dinner, door prizes and awards.
35
9/22/2017 - 9/24/2017
14th Thunder Mountain Rendezvous Location: Hotchkiss, Colorado Contact: Gary Campbell 970-2102604, gcampbell44@yahoo.com Come join the 14th Thunder Mountain Rendezvous hosted by the BMW Riders of Western Colorado! We will be at the Delta County Fairgrounds in downtown Hotchkiss on Color Weekend on the sestern Slope of Colorado and once again offering great camaraderie, a beautiful venue, and the greatest riding in Colorado. 9/29/2017 - 9/30/2017
36 Oklahoma BMW Rally Location: Talihina, Oklahoma Contact: Mike Truel, mtruel1@cox.net Come join the Central Oklahoma BMW Road Riders for this multi-club camp out in southeast Oklahoma! The Talimena State Park marks the Oklahoma entrance to the Talimena National Scenic Drive, a winding road through the Winding Stair Mountains that is known for spectacular foliage.
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37
9/29/2017 - 10/1/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Tomah, Wisconsin Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Experience a unique combination of quiet Midwest charm in an area untouched by glaciers. The Driftless Area is characterized by its beautifully sculpted topography, forested hillsides with valleys cut into limestone bedrock by cold-water trout streams. An $89 event fee includes a Friday welcome party and dinner, Saturday dinner and awards, $500 in door prizes, t-shirt, special MOA gift and silent auction benefitting the Motorcycle Relief Project. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register for the event and contact the Cranberry Country Lodge at 608-374-2801 for room reservations.
November 11/17/2017 - 11/19/2017
38 MOA Getaway
Location: Texas Hill Country, Texas Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Join us this November in the rumpled terrain of Texas’s famed Hill Country, an area laced with endless miles of appealing twolane blacktop running through wooded canyons cut by spring-fed rivers. A $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
advertiserindex Action Stations/Bohn Armor................. 81 Adriatic Moto Tours................................... 53 Adventure Designs.................................... 33 Adventure New Zealand Tours............. 25 AeroFlow..........................................................9 Aerostich-RiderWearHouse.................... 45 Alaska Leather............................................. 85 Alaska Motorcycle Adventures............. 77 AlpsTours.com............................................. 21 Ayres Adventures....................................... 18 Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures........... 21 Beemer Boneyard...................................... 23 Beemer Shop, The...................................... 94 Best Rest Products..................................... 23 Bike Log......................................................... 77 Bing Agency................................................. 35 BMW MOA Forum...................................... 79 BMW MOA Foundation............................ 38 BMW Motorcycle Magazine................... 93 BMW of Southeast Michigan................. 33 BMW Performance Center...................... 28 Boxer Works Service.................................. 45 BullRack......................................................... 77 California Motorcycle Rental................. 28 Cardo Systems............................................. 53 Cee Baileys Aircraft Plastic............... 11, 77 Colorado Tourbike Rentals..................... 35 Compass Expeditions............................... 94 Continental Tire.......................................... 36 Corbin Pacific..................................................9 Cyclenutz....................................................... 45 DMC Sidecars............................................... 36 Edelweiss Bike Travel................................ 86
EPM Hyper Pro..................................... 25, 79 Euro Moto Electrics................................... 81 First Gear......................................................IBC Geza Gear...................................................... 79 GS-911 Diagnostic Tool............................ 36 Global Rescue.............................................. 45 GSM Motorent............................................. 29 Haynes NA/Clymer Manuals.................. 43 Heidenau Tires............................................ 25 Helmet Sun Blocker................................... 77 HEX-ezCAN................................................... 21 Ilium Works................................................... 29 IMTBIKE TOURS................................... 23, 33 International Motorcycle Shows.......... 19 Kermit Chair Company............................. 77 Lee Parks Design........................................ 85 Legal Speeding Enterprises................... 43 M4Motorcycles.................................... 25, 94 MachineartMoto........................................ 35 MC Wheel Repair........................................ 29 MOA Member Benefits............................ 87 MOA Platinum Roadside Assistance... 76 Morton’s BMW Motorcycles................... 66 Moto-Bins...................................................... 21 Moto Machines........................................... 21 Moto Machines/Capital Cycle............... 81 MotoDiscovery............................................ 43 Motonation..................................................BC Motorcycle Releif Project - psa............. 32 Motorcycle Tours Puerto Rico............... 85 Motorcycle Travel Network.................... 29 Motorrad Elektrik....................................... 86 Motoskiveez................................................. 28
Mountain Master Truck Equipment...... 18 MTA Distributing/Olympia Moto Sports..IFC Overseas Speedometer........................... 77 Palo Alto Speedometer............................ 36 Parabellum................................................... 29 Peru Motors.................................................. 43 Progressive Insurance.............................. 13 Rawhyde........................................................ 37 Ray Atwood Cycles.................................... 45 Redverz.......................................................... 43 Remus USA......................................................5 Re-Psycle BMW Parts................................ 93 Rider Magazine............................................ 85 RoadRUNNER Magazine.......................... 85 Russel Cycle Products............................... 45 Sargent Cycle Products............................ 18 Scenic Wheels Motorcycle Tours.......... 28 Side Kicker.................................................... 35 Spiegler.......................................................... 86 Stop ‘n Go...................................................... 45 Street Eagle Motorcycle Rentals............. 81 Suburban Machinery................................ 33 TecMate......................................................... 93 Total Control Training............................... 35 Touratech.........................................................1 Touring Sport BMW................................... 79 Twisted Throttle................................... 54, 55 Venture Heat................................................ 93 Wilbers USA........................................... 33, 93 Wolfman Luggage..................................... 33 Ztechnik......................................................... 91
BMW ON (ISSN:1080-5729) (USPS: 735-590) (BMW Owners News) is published monthly by BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Inc., 640 S. Main Street, Suite 201, Greenville, SC 29601. Periodicals postage paid at Pewaukee, Wisconsin and additional mailing offices. Opinions and positions stated in materials/articles herein are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of BMW MOA; publication of advertising material is not an endorsement by BMW MOA of the advertised product or service. The material is presented as information for the reader. BMW MOA does not perform independent research on submitted articles or advertising. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO BMW ON, 640 S. Main Street, Suite 201, Greenville, SC 29601 © 2017 by BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Inc. All information furnished herein is provided by and for the members of BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, Inc. Unless otherwise stated, none of the information (including technical material) printed herein necessarily bears endorsement or approval by BMW MOA, BMW NA, the factory or the editors. The editors and publisher cannot be held liable for its accuracy. Printed in the USA. Volume 47, Number 2.
February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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talelight
The view from above
The Beartooth Highway is a road created for motorcycles and surrounded by spectacular scenery. Photo by Terence Hamill #14629
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2017
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FEBRUARY 2017
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