BMW OWNERS NEWS – A PUBLICATION OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
FEBRUARY 2018
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FEBRUARY 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS www.bmwmoa.org
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Inside features
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building a bobber By Dave Arundel #194789 The most elegant piece of clothing a man can wear is a tuxedo—it's also the simplest. After wondering how simple elegance would translate to a motorcycle, Dave Arundel had one built.
touring morocco By Victor Cruz #91428 Where water meets desert, Morocco is a land of contrast amid sameness. Touring the colorful country left Victor Cruz with vivid impressions of this friendly Arab culture as well as a bit of culture shock..
ON THE COVER: D ave Arundel wanted a simple motorcycle. This is what he had built. Photo by Brian W. Tice.
Photo by Mark Janda #1985130
the club 4 Owners News Contributors 8 Headlight Facing the Inevitable, by Bill Wiegand 10 President's Column Welcome to February, by Wes Fitzer 12 Postcards from the Road 14 Rider to Rider Letters from our Members Member tested/ product news 16 Motorcycles Speak Louder than Words, Head Check, Lone Rider, No Thru Road, Motorcycle Vagabonds, dodging iguanas — A handful of good reads to get you through the cold of winter, Continental ContiRoadAttack 3 sport-touring tires, SAENG/ta Top-Down “Q” mount, Aerostich sheepskin saddle pad.
32 2018 MOA Getaway locations revealed, 2018 BMW MOA Rally
Registration is now open, Scott Sherrow wins MOA Foundation R 80, Greg Feeler recognized by BMW Council of International Clubs as a Friend of the Marque, MOA Volunteer Committee approves changes to summer and annual mileage contest.
tech 36 Keep ‘em Flying Finishing work on the Europe bikes, by Matthew Parkhouse
42 All I needed was a clutch, Part two by Wes Fleming
skills 64 Foundation News Upgrading Rider Performance, by Jim Foreman
66 Riding with Confidence, by Jon DelVecchio lifestyle 68 Jack the Riepe How to Avoid another Valentine's Day Gift Massacre, by Jack Riepe
72 Final Journeys 74 High Mileage Riders, by Jim Heberling BMW MOA RALLY 78 What to Expect when Riding Iowa, by Brian Dutcher 79 2018 MOA Rally Update, by Deb Gasque 80 From the Board Open Session Board Minutes from the October 21, 2017, BMW MOA Board meeting
events 90 When and Where Places to Ride and Things to See 95 Advertiser Index 96 Talelight
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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the club
CONTRIBUTORS 1. Since 2003 Victor Cruz has written more than 20 articles for BMW Owners News. He’s a 15-year member of the Yankee Beemers, serving as Secretary and Editor and has organized group tours through Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Canada and Europe. He also contributes to Backroads magazine and is Principal of MediaPR.net, a tech marketing firm in Boston.
2. Dave Arundel, #194789, has been riding motorcycles for more than 47 years, though his parents told him years ago that he couldn’t own a motorcycle “as long as his feet were under their table.” As soon as his feet were no longer under their table, he bought a 1967 Norton Atlas, and over the years he has owned Triumphs, Nortons, BSAs, Hondas, Ducatis, a Harley Davidson and about 10 BMWs. His current daily ride a 2011 R 1200 GS Triple Black.
3. Splinter Wrenn has been riding motorcycles legally since he was a sophomore in high school in 1966. His first BMW came along in 1979 with the purchase of an R 65 and since then, he’s owned five others. His current stable includes a ’79 RS, an ‘81 R 65 and a ’05 1200 GS. Since retiring from school counseling and coaching lacrosse, Splinter has filled his riding seasons rambling around the western states, chasing points in the “Team Strange GTs,” especially the Whispering Giants and LOVE & Merci tours. During his remaining time, he’s been riding around SoCal with his daughter and chasing through eastern Oregon with another mischief-making pal.
4. Roger Wiles #32797, is a retired MSF RiderCoach and former BMW MOA Rider Education Coordinator. He has ridden for many years and miles, and lives with The Lovely Norma in North Georgia. Wiles has contributed to BMW Owners News since 1985.
5. Dirt has been in Brian Dutcher’s blood since his first twist of a throttle aboard his 1981 Kawasaki KX80 when he was twelve years old. Now an avid GS Giant, adventure and dual sport riding provide the rush that southern California motocross racing once did. Whether it is on the road, track or trail, Brian is always actively seeking ways to improve his experience and make the most of any ride.
6. J on DelVecchio, #208163, began riding shortly after starting a family—not the typical stage in a person’s life to jump on a motorcycle. The obvious need for self-preservation fueled skill development and eventual MSF coaching certification. After years of riding twisties with friends, he was hooked on sport riding and began studying advanced techniques. Now that the kids are grown, Jon has time to share his experience with fellow riders so they too can have more confidence and enjoyment in the curves.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
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Simple Tranquility
Splinter Wrenn #154370 of Broomfield, Colorado, photographed his RS with Mount Hood towering in the background while riding near Goldendale, Washington.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2018
February 2018  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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headlight Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America MANAGING EDITOR
Bill Wiegand bill@bmwmoa.org
Facing the Inevitable 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 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 $49/yr. and includes the BMW Owners News, which is not available separately. Each additional family member is $19 without a subscription. Canadian members add $16 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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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
JEFF MOHL, #28557, POSED A SERIOUS QUESTION IN HIS “RIDER TO
Rider” submission in the October 2017 issue of BMW Owners News. At the time, I didn’t think his letter to the editor would spark the discussion and introspection it did. Telling us about his passion for riding his K 1600 GT, Jeff described a friend who, though only a few years older, had decided to “hang up his boots” after crashing in a corner after a lapse in concentration. While Jeff ’s own last spill was minor and 15 years earlier, his friend’s experience had him wondering—when is it time? Based on the subsequent number of letters to the editor sparked by Jeff ’s, the topic is apparently on the minds of quite a few of us—myself included. The thoughts of four MOA members facing similar situations have been published in this month’s “Rider to Rider” pages. I’ll bet there are many more of us wondering how much time we’ve got left in the saddle. One writer, Kent Neely, #61006, took a spill while riding to a rally last summer. In the crash, Kent, fractured four ribs and separated his shoulder, and his K 75 sustained extensive cosmetic damage. Though fully healed, Kent says he’s not ready to stop riding or give up two wheels for three. Riding still gives him pleasure like nothing else does, but he says he’s realistic about his riding skills, noting he isn’t as aggressive as he once was and rides more defensively. For Donald Wedum, #106918, getting his R 1100 R off the ground has become a significant issue, and he’s beginning to think about finding a lighter bike. Despite his love for his R bike, Donald said he realizes “old man age” is banging on his door and may soon force his hand. At 82 and holding the low MOA member number of 205, Don Bryan has been riding a long time. Don told us that over the last Labor Day weekend he was part of a 360-mile group ride from Denver to Taos, New Mexico. Describing the ride as “a satisfying, but full day’s riding experience,” Don recalls that not so long ago 1,000-mile days weren’t out of the question. During the ride, Don said he found himself riding lead with the three slowest members of his group and noticed his visual cues through the twisties were off enough to slow him down. If that wasn’t enough, he experienced momentary blindness from oncoming headlights. Once home, he called it “My Last Ride.” Not yet ready to quit, Don intends to limit future rides to daylight hours, for shorter distances and at slower speeds. David Rapley, #83144, took another course of action. At 74 and facing the prospect of parking his K 1600 GTL permanently, he took it to Hannigan Motorsports and had them convert it to a trike. “Cornering is not the same as on two wheels,” David said, “but I’m still riding my BMW motorcycle.” All of us share a passion for riding with these four members. Motorcycling is a part of who we are, and this makes the inevitable “when is it time” question even more difficult to answer. Transportation historian Jeremy Packer offers four categories of dealing with the risks of motorcycling: quit riding, embrace the risk, flaunt risk or adopt a hyper reflective, self-disciplinary approach. The last attitude, which includes self-criticism, constant vigilance, perpetual training and practice and the continual upgrading of safety equipment, defines the BMW Rider. One day, each of us will take our last ride. Hopefully, whenever that day comes, it’ll be our choice and a choice we can live with.
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PRESIDENTSCOLUMN
Welcome to February! BMW MOA OFFICERS
Wes Fitzer, President 918-441-2114; wes.fitzer@bmwmoa.org Jean Excell, Vice President 719-650-6215; jean.excell@bmwmoa.org Reece Mullins, Secretary 334-470-7770; reece.mullins@bmwmoa.org Sam Garst, Treasurer 414-704-7767; sam.garst@bmwmoa.org BMW MOA DIRECTORS
Deb Lower 719-510-9452; deb.lower@bmwmoa.org Tracy McCarty 913-238-3182; tracy.mccarty@bmwmoa.org Marc Souliere 613-828-1798; marc.souliere@bmwmoa.org Roger Trendowski 732-671-0514; roger.trendowski@bmwmoa.org Chad Warner 614-735-8558; 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 Sue Rihn, Ambassador Liaison 262-424-2617; sue@beemerhill.com Lee Woodring, Consumer Liaison 770-331-2419; lee.woodring@bmwmoa.org Joe Leung, Consumer Liaison 403-689-9939; joe.leung@bmwmoa.org Brian Hinton, 2018 BMW MOA Rally Chair 2018rallychair@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, Associate Executive Director tedm@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 Shannon Bossana, Membership Services shannon@bmwmoa.org
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
By Wes Fitzer #170126 WHILE DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH RECENTLY, I DISCOVERED
that the word February refers to a little more than simply a reference for the second and shortest month in our calendar each year. Derived from the word Februa and meaning “purification and cleansing,” the word February was adapted from the Roman “Festival of Purification,” an annual, pre-spring ritual. Februa literally means “I purify by sacrifice.” With this in mind, I decided to purify my 2018 riding season through the sacrifice of my cat. While a traditional Christian ritual is to sacrifice a lamb, I don’t have a lamb. Besides that, the cat really doesn’t do a whole lot and catches few, if any, mice. On top of that, from what I can tell it’s what’s been leaving the muddy footprints on my windshield. I thought this seemed to be a good solution which would not only offer at least a partial purification of my riding season, but a cleaner windshield as well. My wife, on the other hand, seemed to think otherwise, asking if I was really that dumb or if I was eight years old. I didn’t know how to answer. She then suggested that perhaps the purification I was looking for could be attained through a cleansing of my bike. Aha! A fresh perspective. Thinking that’s the purification I was looking for, I rolled my bike out of the shop and prepared to give it a good cleaning. For those of you who know me, you’ll likely know that one of the reasons I traded my K 1600 for an R 1200 GS Adventure was because of my aversion to washing my motorcycle. After staring at my bike on a particularly brisk Oklahoma day and trying to think through how best to accomplish the task at hand, I decided that maybe what purification really meant was for me to clean out my tank bag and panniers instead. In doing so, I discovered another problem. While not a life-changing event, I’ve determined my tank bag has an acute hoarding disorder. What I recovered from my tank bag included not only four knives, but two multi-tools, two flashlights, one headband flashlight, $6 in loose change and at least four tubes of Blistex! After spending a bit of time cleaning out my bags, I encountered a shiny object moment and immediately turned my attention to my riding and camping gear with the grand intentions of sorting through and putting the items I no longer use up for sale. Just about that time I realized it was an NFL Sunday. Not just any Sunday, but a playoff Sunday, and well, there went another Sunday. Despite all of February’s other meanings, around here it’s best known as the month of the Superbowl! I hope everyone is busy preparing for the upcoming riding season. As always, I encourage you to look at our MOA Getaway events when planning your 2018 rides. We’ve added a few new locations and kept our most popular. There are some new style events which I think will become extremely popular. My wife and I have been busily preparing for the 2018 International Rally to be held this year in Des Moines, Iowa. I hope to see each and every one of you there—where else can you find so many BMW motorcycle enthusiasts? As always, Paula and I will be on the road through the riding season, and I hope to meet as many of you as possible. With each new member we meet we share new stories of our mutual passion for motorcycling. Ride Safe,
Wes
Fitzer
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Postcardsfromtheroad
Each month we publish great images sent in by BMW MOA members captured as they tour the globe. Send us your best images and you could have your work published in our Postcards from the Road pages as well. Email your high resolution images, image description and contact information to editor@bmwmoa.org. 1 2
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1. Monument Valley on a beautiful September day. Scott Miner #202047 Williamsburg, Virginia
2. A photo of my C 650 GT at sunset. Mark Novack #208387 Sugar Grove, Illinois
3. Just north of Atigun pass on the Dalton Highway. George Blevins #211491 Walla Walla, Washington
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4. M y 2017 R 1200 RT parked in front of a mural found in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Ed Pedi #29818 North Andover, Massachusetts 5. L iving in San Francisco, I have the good fortune of riding year round. R. Villar #147046 San Francisco, California
6. M y R nineT photographed at Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba on the last nice day of the 2017 riding season. Murray Leckie #154646 Winnepeg, Manitoba
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7. A mural photographed in Chattanooga, Tenessee, near the end of a weekend getaway with my wife. Rustin Crawford #171861 Nashville, Tennessee
8. A n image shot along my route near Petit Rocher in Gloucester County, New Bruswick. Bob Pletschke #186578 Conway, New Hampshire
February 2018  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
Disturbed by Ask A Pro
I found the December 2017 BMW ON magazine “Ask A Pro” article about the least and most dangerous states for motorcycle riding interesting—and disturbing. My home state of Florida came in as the third most dangerous while New Jersey was listed as the safest. Somehow total population became the normalization factor for determining safety levels, yet population alone cannot directly relate to the conditions like the culture of safety or quality of the roadway infrastructure that are just as much key factors in motorcycle safety. The article, using total population, shows Florida has 3.83 times more motorcycle deaths per year per million population. However, using 2015 data I found online, New Jersey had 152,472 registered motorcycles while Florida had 572,754, or 3.76 times as many bikes in use. Fatal accident rates per registered motorcycles would then be 4.19 per 10,000 motorcycles for New Jersey and 9.97 per 10,000 for Florida, or 2.37 times as many. To me the best baseline would be deaths per miles driven as that takes into account the different number of registered bikes and the differences in the available riding season. On-line sources say the average number of miles motorcycles are driven per year in the U.S. is between 6,000 and 8,000 per year. I've see the 6,000 mile number in publications before, but we'll use the median of 7000 per year. We also need to make assumptions on the average riding season. Most references I found cited early spring to late fall, and while that is only a six to seven month season, I would use a national average season of 9 months, so the average miles driven would be 777 miles per month (7000/9). Assuming New Jersey has a six month riding season, that equates to 711,536,000 motorcycle miles per year, while Florida's 12 month riding season accounts for 5,345,704,000
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
motorcycle miles per year, 7.51 times more miles. Deaths per 10,000 miles ridden would be 0.0009 for New Jersey and 0.0010 for Florida, 1.18 times higher rather than the cited 3.83 times higher. While Florida still ranks as more dangerous, the difference between these states is not nearly as significant as the statistics cited in the article would indicate. David Cobb #190091 Palm Bay, Florida
Knowing when it's time
I was catching up on reading the Owners News from last October and read Jeff Mohl's letter, "When is it time?" I know how Jeff feels. I'm 68, and last summer en route to the BMW Riders of Oregon Chief Joseph Rally, I took a spill avoiding an oncoming car while leaving Sisters, Oregon. I fractured four ribs and separated my shoulder. The bike had extensive cosmetic damage on the left side. The bike, a 1987 K 75, is now as good as new, I've regained full mobility in my left arm and shoulder, and I'm riding again. However, that incident made me ask the question that Jeff raised. For me, I'm not ready to stop riding, and I am not ready to consider alternatives (e.g., a trike or side car rig). I've ridden for over 40 years, and it still gives me pleasure that is unlike anything else. I am realistic, though. I'm not as aggressive as I was when I was younger. I'm much more defensive and alert to other traffic and road conditions. I'm also attentive to weather conditions and avoid riding in prolonged rain. Just as important, I feel fully confident in my car driving skills dependent upon sight, response and reaction. Those, obviously, translate to riding on two wheels. I suppose I've not directly answered Jeff's question. I believe the answer is found in a mix of intuition and factual
assessment. Do you want to ride? Does the prospect of riding make you anxious or excited? Can you manage the machine when you are stopped, and can you move it around unassisted in the garage or from a parking spot? Are your physical abilities compromised (e.g., are you fully mobile, is your sight corrected to 20/20, is your hearing good with or without amplification, etc.)? We all face the prospect of an event that makes us stop riding, and, I dare say, we are all interested in maintaining and improving our skills to avoid such events. My advice to Jeff is...life is short, enjoy the ride as long as you can. Kent Neely #61006 Dallas, Oregon
Knowing when it's time, Pt. 2
We all have to face the same age issues. When is it time (to quit riding)? Is it time when your sense of balance is questionable, you feel uncomfortable, and it is no longer fun to ride? If your friend forgot to make the curve, he made the right decision to hang 'em up. You are right, riding in a straight line is boring. I live near the Rocky Mountains and am blessed with numerous canyons and twisty roads. However, getting my R 1100 R off the ground has become a major issue. Now I have become very careful where I park the beast. At 73 and having some real problems with arthritis and other age-related health problems, I think it may be time. I am thinking of finding a smaller, lighter bike, easier to ride and pickup. But I really like my ‘98 R 1100 R; it's just right for riding two-up, is well balanced and handles like a dream. However, old man age is banging on my door. A 40 mph curve is standard fare on many roads around here and dipping through a sweeping curve is a joy. However, when is it time? Donald Wedum #106918 Fort Collins, Colorado
Knowing when it's time, Pt. 3
My letter is prompted by Jeff Mohl's letter in the October issue of Owners News. I'm 82 and on the Labor Day weekend took a group ride from Denver to Taos, New Mexico. We rode down on Saturday, did local stuff on Sunday and rode back home on Monday. It was 360 miles each way and was a satisfying but full day's riding experience for me both ways. I say that because, when a friend and I went to the BMW MOA Rally in Redmond, Oregon in 2010, we rode 600-plus miles from Denver to Salt Lake City the first day and another 600 to Redmond the second day. Before that, I'd done my share of 1,000-mile days as I systematically toured all of the lower 48 States plus Canada and Alaska. I even rented a bike in Hawaii just so I could say I've ridden the whole country. The point is, our endurance diminishes as we age. While on the Labor Day ride, I found myself riding lead with the three slowest members of our group and not the fastest five up front. I noticed my visual cues in the twisties were off enough to slow me down, and while finishing the ride at night I experienced momentary blindness from oncoming traffic headlights. When I completed the ride, I called it "My Last Ride.” I intend to keep riding but in daylight, for shorter distances, at slower speeds, and with age-appropriate caution and care. My mantra now is, "Attention to the Road...This Moment...This Mile and have a nice trip wherever you go.”
(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Manual B107.300-2010, it must be done on NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) approved equipment which must be certified every year. Torque wrenches are required to be accurate to within 4 percent clockwise, and 6 percent counter clockwise at numerous testing points within the wrench’s range. Any wrench that fails the certification process must be sent back to the manufacturer or approved repair facility for recalibration. Any wrench sent in for repair is tested by that facility, and the wrench's certification is good for one year from that date. As with many other things, never judge a wrench by its cover. Snap-On, Mac, Wera, CDI and many other companies make fine, high quality wrenches. But one of the most accurate wrenches I ever tested was a $50 Craftsman from Sears. Any wrench bought without certification papers should be tested before use. Your certification papers will come with the testing results of your wrench showing the actual numbers your wrench tested at throughout the procedure. Hidden damage done by over or under torquing fasteners can be catastrophic. Wrenches that have been dropped, or that have had little use for a length of time
should also be tested. Proper storage is incredibly critical to the accuracy of any wrench. Always follow the manufacturers recommendations for storage procedures. No matter whose wrench you buy and use, just use one, preferably a certified one. David Delcourt #204228 Fairbanks Alaska
Moving to a trike
In the December 2017 issue of BMW Owners News, Hugh Blackstock discussed giving up two wheels and buying a Can-Am Spyder. At 74 I gave up two wheels and tried a Spyder. I did not care for it as it did not feel enough like a motorcycle. I found a great alternative. I had Hannigan Motorsports convert my beloved K 1600 GTL to a trike. As you can see, they did a beautiful job. I’ve had several people comment to me, “I did not know BMW made a trike!” Cornering is not the same as on two wheels, but I’m still riding my BMW motorcycle, albeit now with three wheels. David E. Rapley #83144 Franktown, Colorado
Don Bryan #000205 Boulder, Colorado
Certifiable torque wrenches
Regarding the excellent article from Wes Fleming (#87301) about torque wrenches in the December 2017 issue of BMW Owners News, I have been involved in the certifying of torque wrenches for a number of years, and there are a few things I would like to add that may be of use to the BMW community. In aviation and many other industries, torque wrenches are required to be certified every 12 months, regardless of frequency of use. Certification is not re-calibration and vice versa. Certifying a torque wrench requires following a specific testing procedure spelled out in ASME
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Winter Reading W hen the cold of winter keeps your bike in the garage, settle in and enjoy a good book about the riding adventures of others.
BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2018
Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words, by Jack Riepe A review by Wes Fleming #87301 THE
FIRST
FREEZING
COLD
DAYS
finally descended on the city of Richmond, Virginia, my hometown for both the last year and the next 20. I edged up to the bar inside Babe's of Carytown and the bartender, 60 if she was a day, asked without looking up, "The same?" "Yeah," I said. "But make it with the good stuff this time, not that rotgut you gave me the first time," I continued, completing the coded sequence. She put a glass on the bar in front of me. It didn't matter what was in it. "That'll be six dollars," she said, her voice lowering conspiratorially as her eyes darted furtively from side to side. I handed over a $10 bill and she turned her back on me. Now it was my turn to look around. I used the pretense of adjusting my helmet as it sat on the barstool next to me; tucking my gloves inside it gave me an excuse to check out the clientele. At the table behind me, three women engaged in an agitated discussion about Richmond's new express bus lane construction that has gone on months past its deadline. One of them had those giant, tribal-looking plugs in her ears, they must have weighed a pound each. I wondered if they banged on the edges of her jaw when she walked. Next to them, standing in the least welllit corner of the establishment, were two tall, wispy blondes, aggressively making out with each other. One of them wore Crocs, an odd choice at the front end of central Virginia's rainy cold and flu season, but I couldn't judge the guy. I walked in here looking like an out-of-place member of the Village People in my motorcycle gear. Nobody looked twice at my chaps and boots bottom half, but I could tell plug-ears knew enough about motorcycle riders to
know that my textile Firstgear jacket marked me as a guy who didn't ride anything made in or even remotely near Milwaukee. "Here's your change," the bartender said, interrupting my reconnoiter. She handed me a USB thumb drive, as black and mysterious as the guy making out in the corner that wasn't wearing Crocs. Noticing she wasn't handing me the four dollar bills I expected, I looked at her with surprise. "Riepe says hello," she said, smiling at long last. "Tell that cigar-chomping son of a bitch we're even." Nearly speechless, I could only sputter as she moved sideways to take care of the next customer. Her mission complete, she was suddenly as indifferent to my presence as rain clouds are to a motorcyclist aiming for the distant horizon. Her debt to Jack Riepe repaid, she no doubt felt the weight of a thousand gin and tonics lift off her shoulders. She could live out the rest of her days with a modicum of joy at knowing she could put Bayonne, Riepe, and whatever had brought the two of them together behind her. I took a circuitous route home, making sure I wasn't being followed by anybody from one of the rivals of the Zadic & Deverelle publishing house. It hadn't escaped me that their sea-monster-and-clipper-ship logo was embossed on the flat surface of the USB stick the bartender passed me. It took serious effort to go through my usual coming-home routine when all I wanted to do was rush upstairs, close my office door and plug the USB stick into the $250 throwaway, air-gapped computer I got through a Craigslist ad I was sure a desperate junkie posted with the sole purpose of funding his next fix. It's not that I didn't trust the bartender – I didn't – but I damn
sure didn't trust Riepe. Who knows what he put on that stick. Would I survive? Would my family disown me? Would my government declare me a traitor, hunt me down, and send me off to Guantanamo Bay for the rest of my pitiful life? There was one file on the USB stick. I couldn't resist. I double-clicked on "OPEN_ ME.PDF" and waited for the bits and bytes to reveal Riepe's master plan to me in all its glory. What greeted me that day was an advance copy of Jack Riepe's next book, Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words. It is a sequel to Conversations With a Motorcycle, but it is not a typical sequel. You need not have read Conversations to understand and enjoy Louder Than Words, but if you have, there is a large amount of comfort in coming into this book already knowing who most of the characters are and some detail about the places and situations mentioned in this book. The critical characters from Conversations are back – Jack, Cretin, Spider and the Equestrian – and of course, the specter of the Dark Secret hovers closely at every turn. The stories related by Riepe in Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words will be familiar to anybody who has read the other book, but here they take on added depth and a richer context as Riepe expands and explains more about what happened in, around, through, beneath and above them. Readers of BMW Owners News will of course be familiar with Riepe and his particular style of storytelling. Riepe writes in a fashion that is both elegant and brutal, fleshed out and flayed away at the same time. You should know that if you already dislike Riepe's storytelling style or if you are easily offended by foul language and frank descriptions of public nudity, you'd be well
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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advised to give your pre-ordered copy to a friend who appreciates those things. Riepe's main character Jack – ostensibly himself – is a fledgling writer trying to prove himself to be a grown-up – a hard drinker, a cigarsmoking barfly, a talented writer and a gifted lover. To do that, Riepe (and the narrator) must be fully honest with both himself and the reader. That means exposing every thought of a young, horny, male motorcyclist on his own and in his early 20s. The narrator is interested in just three things – writing the perfect story, riding his motorcycle, and getting laid as often as is humanly possible. Knowing Riepe, I have no doubts this is the most autobiographical aspect of the book. One of Riepe's strong points as an author is his ability to describe something powerfully with a minimum of
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
words. What appears to be a run-of-themill tree-lined boulevard in Bayonne, New Jersey, instead becomes a metaphor for Jack's impending life-altering choice. It is through the descriptive paragraphs framing Bayonne scattered throughout the book that we come to a deeper understanding of Jack's personality, torn as he is between his past and his future. Motorcycles play a central part in this book, and none is more central than the author's self-aware Kawasaki H2. The early1970s 750cc two-stroke was no-one's vision of motorcycling perfection, but its threecylinder engine and funky steering geometry exist in Riepe's world as the narrator's perfect foil. He describes it at one point by saying "an upright player piano could take a turn better than the Kawasaki," and he's not wrong. His motorcycle is sentient; it talks to him, often dispensing the best advice he can handle. During an existential crisis, the motorcycle asks Jack, "Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?" The H2 is pushing Jack to reexamine his path in a romantic entanglement, quickly moving from physical to emotional for the young writer. Jack is struggling to find the woman's place in his life, but he doesn't yet accept the reality of his situation. While Jack has been thinking he's the main character in his own life story, the truth is that he's the love interest in somebody else's life story. His realization of this is tinted with bittersweet awareness, bacon, a savage beating in a bar fight, a haze of twostroke exhaust, and two rainy camping weekends. At its most philosophical, Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words will cause even the most jaded among us to reevaluate our motivations
for our romantic choices and engage in an indepth examination of the fundamental nature of attraction, how love (or at least the perception of love) can be bent by our minds and genitals, the reasons we seek companionship in the first place, how and why we struggle with it when we find it, and perhaps most importantly, why many of us hold on to an escape plan for as long as we can before finally giving in to the near-inexorable impulse to forsake all others and focus on The One. I know from my conversations with Riepe that late in the book's development, he angered his publishers by adding more than 30,000 words to the narrative, delaying its publication by six months. I'll be damned if I can tell you which ones were added, because the story is seamless from start to finish, a testament to Riepe's skill with narrative storytelling. This is the book's shining moment – because even if you never heard of the previous book, Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words holds its own as a tale of personal growth. We often feel as if we're the only one going through what we're going through, and while that might be true as an archetypal concept, Riepe shows us through Jack's journey that we are not alone – even when we might make the choice to exist as a solitary, unattached individual. As Riepe writes towards the end of the book, "Motorcycle headlights put everything in the bike's perspective." In Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words, Riepe puts everything in a young motorcyclist's perspective, and it is through watching his growth that we can find room in our lives for love, pain, gin, cigars, sex and the occasional motorcycle. Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words contains foul language and adult situations involving sex, alcohol, drugs, motorcycles and violence. It may not be suitable for children, anybody who has never ridden a motorcycle, and those lacking a sense of humor. It is available through the author's website, jackriepe.com, as are his other books. Once you finish this book, you'll feel the urge to track down copies of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. These books are not available through Riepe's website.
Adventure Riding Reading By Roger Wiles #32797
Riding poets often say that every ride is an adventure. When the day is over, the winter sets in, or our ability to ride wanes, there are always outstanding adventure motorcycling books to enjoy. Authors Jack Lewis, Elspeth Beard, Clement Salvadori, and Motorcycle Vagabonds Frank and Simone will likely achieve statuses near that of Simon, Pirsig, Pedersen and Culberson, with at least one will immediately rising to the level of cult following among Airheads, who will likely begin carrying dog-eared copies as field repair manuals. All the following four books are available in Kindle and print versions.
Head Check: What it Feels Like to Ride Motorcycles by Jack Lewis
From the subtitle, one would expect a tome dealing with sensations and emotions which spring from riding a motorcycle. While these are used as light seasoning, long-time author of the Motorcyclist column “Behind Bars,” Iraq War veteran and noted author Jack Lewis has successfully attempted to capture what it feels like to be part of the worldwide moto-culture. Sure, the thrills of riding atop a motorcycle, slicing into the wind and strafing the corners are parts of it, but what it does to the human spirit of those who embrace the motorcycling world is a much deeper well from which to draw. Lewis draws deeply and diversely, beginning with the “real rider” culture and its vintage roots in “Crashing Vashon.” A bit further on, his “Riding Home” is the acclaimed tale of Jack’s ride, metaphoric and actual, from active combat war service back into civilian life. Riding back upon Honey, his R 69 US, and in later pieces, Black Betty, akin to a well-muscled, lithe princess of an R 1150 R Roadster, “Riding Home” met with general critical acclaim when published in Motorcyclist, and led directly to Lewis’ position with Brian Catterson’s magazine. Well-flavored personalities are the meat and potatoes of Head Check, and it includes moto-connections to music and guitars, firearms, history, international travel and the burden and joys of manufacturers’ press launch events. The Pretty Girlfriend who becomes Pretty Wife is a delightful
companion both for Jack, and for the reader. Marquees are eclectic, both from Lewis’s personal perspective and including those of his cast of characters and magazine assignments. Blunt talk is offered in “What Kills Us,” speaking solely to military vets, and especially combat-zone vets, who ride motorcycles once back from service. So blunt, in fact, that readers without combat experience are advised to skip to the next chapter; Lewis says it won’t make any sense to those without time in combat, and he’s right. The piece has been used by the military and is available for educational purposes at jaxworx.com. Head Check is more than a collection of past columns; some are quite long, and the book itself runs just under 300 pages—good reading value indeed. The book gets to the heart of motorcycles and what they are, what they do to us, and how they are so much a part of the lives and personal identities of so many of us. One is surprised by tales of Israeli EMS riders saving lives that would have been lost without the capabilities of a single-track motorcycle. These fearless and dedicated Israeli riders
daily make a tangible difference. One meets new friends and joins with Lewis in mourning the loss of past ones; a reader may well meet an acquaintance, especially if one lives in the Pacific Northwest. Once you begin, you will likely say to yourself often; “Yeah, he’s nailed it! It’s just like that.”
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Lone Rider - The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World by Elspeth Beard
This remarkable woman who began riding at age 16 believed that she could ride a motorcycle around the world; no one else believed. In 1982, Elspeth bought a used BMW R 60/6 with some age on the clock, screwed up her courage, secured her money and meager gear, and launched an amazing and heretofore nearly untold story of a two-year odyssey transiting North America, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Subcontinent, the Middle East and Eastern and Western Europe. Written two years ago from copious journals, notes and photos, the rich and meaty tale has the perspective of 30 years of reflection, adding a unique flavor. Airheads will nod knowingly with nearly every chapter,
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as Elspeth, a talented hack wrench, solves every problem, one way or another. Airheads will learn new Airhead tricks! Think about clouds of white electrical smoke billowing from under tank while in the middle of nowhere. Or leaving a key in the fork-lock and then turning the handlebars in India. Fixing a flat tire a hundred miles from anywhere in the desert with a mere halfliter of water left. Soldering with half a metal coin. “Oohh, double engine, selfie start!” Skilled welders as young as five. String, plastic bags and bevel-drive seals. As much a coming-of-age tale as a road story, Lone Rider shares personal parts of Elspeth’s life, her triumphs and tragedies, friendship, love and loss, crashes, sicknesses and recoveries, hospitality and harassment, and the makings of a celebrated architect, mother and adventurer. The R 60/6 remains and has been supplemented by today’s R 80 G/S. Upon completing her journey, Elspeth slipped back into life in England, completing her architecture degree and opening a practice in suburban London. Her home is an award-winning repurposed brick water tower which Elspeth converted it into a beautiful residence. We are privileged to be allowed into the experiences of Elspeth Beard’s grand life and adventure. (320 pages)
No Thru Road: Confessions of a Traveling Man by Clement Salvadori.
Clement Salvadori has been part of the moto-landscape for at least 30 years, perhaps more. Very much a man of the world, military veteran, classically trained scholar, State Department diplomat, adventurer and author, Clement Salvadori has contributed to a number of magazines over the years as adventurer-for-hire, staffer and freelancer. No Thru Road is his latest offering, a collection of escapades aboard motorcycles, in no particular order, spanning 1966 through the present. The chapter headings read like pages of visa stamps from all compass points: Bonneville, Pamplona (yes, Clement ran with the bulls), Vietnam, Kashmir, the Soviet Union, Rajasthan. Adventures include trekking across the Hippie Highway, poking a hole in
the engine case of his new Triumph and losing a bit of flesh as an indirect result, crossing 17,000-foot mountain passes, and discovering places that most of us mere mortals cannot even envision. The motorcycles featured are generally BMWs and Triumphs, with various magazine assignment mounts, tour bikes and rentals included. While he is a self-proclaimed non-gearhead, Salvadori’s cogent comments about the riding behavior and qualities of the bike du jour are welcomed and make sense. Pictures season the mix and are included in the Kindle version as well. No Thru Road is perhaps Clement’s best work to date. (416 pages)
Motorcycle Vagabonds by Frank Pantöfer [translation: Janna Ernestitani]
This engaging tale of Frank and Simone’s
nearly four-year global circumnavigation is broken down into two tomes: Around the World Part 1, The Americas, New Zealand and Australia (270 pages) and Around the World - Part 2, Southeast Asia, Himalayas, Orient and Social Re-Integration (278 pages). Translated from German, the English prose has a delightful European flavor. Riding two identical 2008 Honda Transalp XL700VA motorcycles, crossing 64 borders, and covering over 180,000 km, Simone and Frank left normal society after suffering a corporate downsizing, cashed in their sweeps, sold all and launched themselves abroad to see what all was out there. Machu Picchu and the PanAmerican Way, becoming unwitting rock stars at international biker rallies, Patagonia and a half million penguins in one spot, Kiwi street racing, Camel racing Oz-style in the Outback— Simone and Frank not only hit the high spots expected of RTW travelers but dig their way off the beaten paths and non-roads to discover the people as well as the roads and landmarks. Part 2 begins with the agonies of anticipation as the trip’s road grows evershorter. Imagine four years of total self-sufficiency by default and of missing one’s mother tongue and for dealing with others in a mishmash pidgin borne of many different lands. Returning to jobs, to TUV inspections of bikes, to social transactions
with folks who just cannot have a clue as to the extent of the adventure—how will it all work out? More memories include Thailand’s interesting cuisine, tripping across more biker rallies via kismet, testing the drastic rumors about riding in India (mostly validated), and standing up to corrupt officials. After challenging Earth’s highest mountains and passes, and finding pleasant surprises in the Middle East, Frank and Simone face the biggest challenge: returning home. What do they do after four years braving their way where most have not? Great pair of books!
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dodging iguanas: some motorcycle stories, some not—all true By Ron Davis #111820 DEN KAILL’S NEWLY-RELEASED
book, dodging iguanas, is subtitled “some motorcycle stories, some not— all true,” and though actually only about two-thirds of the book focuses primarily on motorcycle adventure, riders and nonriders alike will likely find the book a good read. Kaill, MOA #59772, devotes the first 88 pages of this 226-page paperback to recounting a journey he made in 1974 from Venezuela to San Francisco on a BMW R 75. With no chase vehicle and no cell phone, the trip is reminiscent of other moto-adventure books like Ted Simon’s Jupiter’s Travels, where riders willingly throw themselves to the mercy of the road. Shelter might mean a hammock strung between two palm trees, lunch—whatever can be scavenged at the local market, mechanical issues are DIY, and new friendships and riding companions wait around every corner. Kaill’s account of his trip, often reading like a series of journal entries, is rich is detail and full of brief adventures. He includes line sketches and photos of some of the scenes and people he encountered in this section; however, his artist’s eye also allows him create vivid images of the waypoints and escapades he has through his writing. A jaguar’s
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
unnerving roar in the night, skiing at 16,000 feet, watching the moon rise over a Mayan temple, climbing a volcano—this section of dodging iguanas will rekindle any rider’s memories of the serendipitous nature of a
moto trek. The account of the trek celebrates a time when border crossings were simpler (though a bit of bribery might be needed) and many natural and man-made
wonders were relatively untouched by development. Throughout his book, Kaill also interweaves local history and world events with his own philosophy and editorial musings. Dodging iguanas then jumps to Kaill’s stay in the United Arab Emirates where he worked during Desert Storm and then to a tour he took of Europe on a new BMW R 100 RS. Much of the remainder of the book is devoted to the author’s experiences on the ocean, progressing from working as a “wiper” with the Merchant Marine to eventually shepherding a sailboat from the West Coast to Belize and later captaining fishing boats through harrowing seas off the coast of Alaska. Though definitely not motorcycle stories, Kaill’s narration is lively and compelling reading, and often there are twowheel digressions—jumping off at ports of call on a Honda 50, a run at Bonneville Speed Week on a Yamaha FJR, an homage to Joey Dunlap, and a brief romance with a Ducati. Though, again, dodging iguanas is not completely a motorcycle book, the writing is good, the true experiences are often fascinating, and readers interested in lives of adventure will find it just the thing for a cold night spent restricted to an armchair. dodging iguanas by Den Kaill is available on Amazon for $13.95 (prime) or in a Kindle version for $4.49.
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Continental's newest sport touring tires – ContiRoadAttack 3 By Mark Hearon # 209373 IN THE LAST YEAR, I’VE CHANGED.
I must confess I’ve become a Teutonophile. When exactly this happened I can’t say. However, I’m pretty sure it happened sometime after I bought an R 1200 RS. Now, everything I care about in this world is German or on its way to becoming so (Italian wife gets a free pass!). Naturally, when the opportunity to test a German tire brand presented itself, I said, “Yes!” quicker than a Texas boy would jump at a chance for free chicken-fried steak. The following represents a 1,500-mile, real-world, first-impressions review of the Continental ContiRoadAttack 3 tires. Before I do that, though, some housekeeping. If we drink the Kool-Aid, this tire will do it all. It’ll out-perform every competitor. You’ll ride harder than
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
that dudette who drags her knee on your local twisties, farther than Ewan and Charlie, and faster than a caffeinated squirrel mounted on an S 1000 RR. This tire’s so great, even ostriches will take note (please watch Continental’s demo video for these tires to get the joke). All this, with (virtually) no break-in, can be yours if you, too, buy this tire. Unsurprisingly (and perhaps thankfully), the truth—from my point of view—is a little more sedate. Let’s be real: a sport touring tire is by its very nature a compromise. I still have difficulty defining just what the term “sport touring” means. The ContiRoadAttack 3 tires might have made that task a little easier, but not by living up to the superlativelaced marketing material we’re likely to read from OEMs and moto-journalists. Prior to mounting the ContiRoadAttack 3 tires to my R 1200 RS, I rode with the
OEM tire, Michelin’s Pilot Road 4. It took mere moments with the Continentals to realize that the ContiRoadAttack 3 tires (comparatively) transmit quite a bit of feel to the rider. For the highway ride home, you might say I was shaken up a bit. I didn’t know how to think of this at first because I’d never known anything other than the surefooted, somewhat muted experience offered by the Michelins. I now attribute much of that stirring experience to over-inflation. At 138 pounds fully fed, I don’t normally run the recommended maximum cold tire pressures (36F/42R) and typically opt for something a little less bloated (34F/40R). Backing off the tire pressures did the trick. While the harshness was abated, the increased road feel remained. I quickly became aware of how much I value this increased road feel compared to the PR4. With Dynamic ESA working to smooth out my ride constantly, I didn’t realize how much of the sport experience I was missing while riding my local twisties. These tires do inspire confidence. Fully recognizing not everyone enjoys the sweeperloving attributes of an R 1200 RS, I nevertheless must convey what a difference-maker these tires have been for my bike. Until the ContiRoadAttack 3 tires got slipped on, terms like “neutral” and “planted” didn’t carry much meaning for me. The tires’ press release mentions something about ensuring “…reliable stability at high speed and only a low kickback thanks to a 0° steel-belt
construction.” Yeah, I have no idea what that means. However, if I’m to believe that has anything to do with the experience I’ve had thus far, I might be willing to buy it. Whether traveling at 60 mph on the highway or 130 mph on an abandoned backroad, the tires feel the same. With the increased stability the ContiRoadAttack 3 tires appear to provide, my corner entry speeds have increased. Not just because of the aforementioned road feel, but because the tip-in is easier for me to judge. I no longer feel like I have to scrub off as much speed to determine just what my tires are doing and how that’ll influence my corner transit. Additionally, getting on the throttle earlier (and harder) is something I’ve found myself doing more frequently as I simply have had little reason to doubt the tire’s ability to carry me through. If you’ve made it this far in the review, first of all, thank you. Secondly, you should know I don’t commute like the first two sections make it sound like I typically ride. Commuting duties are a different beast altogether. The two qualities mentioned above were specifically chosen because they’ve enhanced my understanding of my bike holistically. Further, they’ve made every part of my normal riding schema more enjoyable. As far as performance in various weather conditions, north Texas is experiencing a warmer-than-average late summer (we don’t have fall here). That means mysterious things like sky water (precipitation) and mouth steam (cold weather) aren’t particularly prevalent. I’ve been riding mostly in the mid-low 50s Fahrenheit like a spoiled kid. That doesn’t mean it’s been all fun and games, though. I purposefully waited for a Canadian front to pass through so that I could test cold-weather traction. I bargained for something between 38 and 42 Fahrenheit. Instead, Mother Nature served up a 24-degree morning with a bit of frost. Game on! Traction seems not to be an issue on cold pavement. The increased feel (I keep going
back to that, don’t I?) would indicate a tendency to foreshadow any squirrelly happenings with greater transparency. I felt no such tendency with these tires—score. The sporty characteristics of the ContiRoadAttack 3 tires have enabled me to spend a lot more time getting rid of my chicken strips than I ever expected to. What center tread wear I have noticed has been minimal. At 1,500 miles, the tire profile does not appear to be squaring off. The questions that remain are those that a long trip and more time will answer. I’ll report back on the touring credentials of these ostensibly sport-biased tires once a
little more riding has taken place. Until then, ride safe! PROS: Enhanced feel compared to another leading ST tire, quick turn-in/lively handling, emphasizes the “Sport” in sport touring CONS: Questionable longevity (more research needed), questionable touring credentials (more research needed) RATING: Withheld until part II
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SAENG/ta Top-Down “Q” cockpit mount By Tom Murphy #208880 FOUNDED BY CHUCK SAUNDERS,
SAENG/ta is a company that manufactures accessories for aircraft, watersports and motorcycles. As a child, Chuck learned the fundamentals of aircraft design by building model aircraft and then crashing them against the basement wall at his home. Luckily for motorcyclists, his days of crashing research are long over. Today he manufactures sport touring accessories, and his BMW motorcycle products include cockpit mounts, mirrors and windshield edging. SAENG/ta’s Top-Down “Q” mount attaches to the handlebar control clamps on newer BMWs. Once attached, the mount rotates 360 degrees and can be pivoted up and down. I find the clamp to be the perfect platform to mount a radar detector. Any detector can be used, as the mount uses Velcro to lock the
detector in place with a rubber strap for additional security. I used a similar mount on an older BMW, and when I bought my 2013 R 1200 RT, I contacted SAENG/ta. They supplied me with this updated mount. Installation actually takes less time than it does to read this article. Simply remove the two screws from the clamp, install the mount, and tighten the included screws. Once the mount is secure, you will need to lift the bottom of the rubber sleeve and tighten a mounting screw underneath. As a firm believer in Valentine One radar detectors, I mounted mine on the cockpit mount. Because the Valentine One operates off external power, I needed a BMW power adaptor and a bit of wiring. I also ran an LED off a Valentine Remote audio adaptor to add to the detector. While it can also be used to drive a speaker, the flashing LED really gets your attention, and you won’t have to worry about wind noise or loud pipes overcoming the audio warning.
Installing a radar detector isn’t exactly cheap. The SAENG/ta mount runs $129.95, the Valentine One is $399, and the audio adaptor is $49. However, all of that considered, it only takes one 30 mph over-the-limit ticket to cover the cost, plus the chance to tell your side of the story before a real, live judge. More information on the Top-Down "Q" Cockpit mount can be found at sausa.com, and find more on Valentine radar detectors at valentine1.com.
Two strips of Velcro are included with the Top Down "Q" mount. Place one on the bottom of the radar detector and the other on the top of the mount. Make sure the two screws on top the mount are tight. The safety band slides over the detector.
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Aerostich sheepskin saddle pad By Ron Davis #111820 WHEN I PURCHASED MY BMW F
700 GS, my dealer threw in the optional BMW Comfort Seat to sweeten the deal. The Comfort Seat is an improvement over the standard saddle; however, I discovered as June gave way to July, the upgrade was not exactly what I would call luxurious, and it also seemed to trap the heat in my nether regions. I’ve used sheepskin and air-filled pads on previously owned bikes, but they never seemed to fit quite right and sometimes slid around a bit, and though they were nice in cooler weather, they didn’t offer much relief from the heat. Always the hopeless farkleaholic, after reading the product description
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
and positive reviews of Aerostich’s sheepskin saddle pads, I ordered their tapered model for about 100 bucks. The Aerostich pad uses a short-haired sheepskin laminated to a non-skid foam mesh pad and comes in just about any color you’d want (as long as it’s black). There are four different shapes and sizes to accommodate different brand saddles, and I opted for the 13” x 18” tapered model, which perfectly matched the GS’s seat shape. The saddle pad arrived promptly with four no-scratch nylon hooks, some thin black bungees and two clever adjustable bungee cords that I didn’t need for mounting the seat but have come in handy in countless other ways. Eight attachment points on the pad provide for custom mounting.
I don’t mind admitting I’ve never been dissatisfied with an Aerostich product, and this saddle pad was no exception. There is no slippage with the pad, and I was immediately impressed with the added comfort and venting it offers to my “swimsuit area.” My last ride of the season was December 1 in a brief 50 degree break from the onset of winter, and I found the pad also adds a cozy layer of insulation. The Aerostich saddle pad does add about a centimeter of height to a GS’s already high seat, and obviously a sheepskin pad is not a friend to rain, but those are trade-offs I’m more than willing to make for the extra miles a more comfy perch provides. For more information and customer reviews, visit Aerostich.com.
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news Sena Momentum series Helmets
Sena Technologies, long known for their communications systems, has released their new Momentum smart helmet series incorporating both communication and camera functions into a single, full-face helmet. The Momentum series includes five helmets with each offering a higher level of technology. The basic Momentum helmet incorporates Sena’s 20S system allowing riders to take and make phone calls, listen to music through their phone or built-in radio, hear turn-by-turn GPS directions, chat with up to eight other riders and more. The Momentum line includes the Pro, Lite, INC and INC Pro models, with each model offering added capabilities such as an action camera built into the shell of the helmet, Bluetooth 4.1, noise-cancelling capabilities and an array of four networked microphones which work to phase out harmful helmet noise. All Momentum helmets are type-approved and aerodynamically designed from a composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS. The ventilation system includes chin and forehead intakes and an exhaust port in the back. The pinlock ready visor is scratch and UV resistant and features a quick release system. For more information, visit www.sena.com
Scott Sherrow wins Foundation R 80
Christmas came early for Scott Sherrow of Kirkland, Washington, when his name was drawn from 3,330 entries as the winner of the BMW MOA Foundation’s Completely Vintage R 80 raffle. The drawing was held at Gateway BMW in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, December 16. MOA Board member Sam Garst donated the unrestored motorcycle to the BMW MOA Foundation. Purchased at an estate sale, the motorcycle wasn’t running and was described as having electrical issues. After he bought the bike, Garst took it to fellow Wisconsin club member and MOA Ambassador Randy Boris, an occasional wrench at Anschutz Motorsports in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Boris performed some basic maintenance, repaired an electrical issue and soon was test riding an exceptional 1978 R 80. The raffle raised over $25,000 for the Foundation’s mission to advance rider safety, education and training for MOA members.
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Rally Preregistration is Open
You know you’ll be there, so why wait? Preregister for the 2018 BMW MOA International Rally today and take advantage of the preregistration discount on your rally fee. Set in the heartland of America on the rolling and picturesque grounds of the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, our 46th annual rally promises to be fantastic and the highlight of your riding season. To preregister and save, visit bmwmoa. org today and click the “Rally ‘18” link.
Greg Feeler recognized as Friend of the Marque
The BMW MOA Board of Directors is proud to announce that Greg Feeler #2241 of Boise, Idaho, has been recognized by the BMW Council of International Clubs as a Friend of the Marque. Years ago, Greg fell in love with the marque while working as the parts manager at a Yamaha shop that had just taken on BMWs. “That day our first BMW /5s were uncrated, and that new BMW was beyond anything I’d ever seen or ridden before; I just had to have one,” he said. Greg has been riding BMWs ever since. Greg’s devotion to the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America is extensive and beginning in 2002, includes more than 14 years of service on the MOA Board of Directors with terms as Director, Vice President and President. During this tenure, Greg also served as the Chair of the Data Services Committee at the BMW MOA International Rally for more than ten years. Last summer Greg took on the massive responsibility of serving as Rally Chair of the 2017 BMW Motorcycle Owners of America International Rally held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
MOA Board approves 2018 Getaway schedule
The BMW MOA Board of Directors recently approved the 2018 MOA Getaway schedule adding three new venues for a total of 11. New MOA Getaway venues include the Cedar Breaks Lodge in Brian Head, Utah, the Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyoming and the Copper Mountain Resort in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Each of the new locations offer spectacular riding based around resorts featuring highly desirable lodging, dining and entertainment facilities. The new locations have been added to the already popular locations in North Carolina, Idaho, Arkansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Vermont, Wisconsin and Texas. Getaway registration will open in early February and complete information will be included in the March issue of BMW Owners News and online at bmwmoa.org. Event Dates Location Fontana April 20-22
Fontana Village Resort, Fontana Dam, North Carolina
Coeur d’Alene May 11-13 The Coeur d’Alene, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Cedar Breaks
June 1-3
Cedar Breaks Lodge, Brian Head, Utah
Grand Targhee
June 15-17
Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, Wyoming
Eureka Springs August 17-19 Inn of the Ozarks, Eureka Springs, Arkansas Copper Mountain August 24-26
Copper Mountain Resort, Copper Mountain, Colorado
Pine Mountain September 7-9 Pine Mountain State Resort, Pineville, Kentucky Sedona
September 7-9
Jay Peak
September 14-16 Jay Peak Resort, Jay Peak, Vermont
Poco Diablo Resort, Sedona, Arizona
Tomah September 21-23 Cranberry Country Lodge, Tomah, Wisconsin Kerrville
November 9-11
Volunteer Committee adjusts mileage contests
The Volunteer Committee of the BMW MOA Board of Directors recently announced that for 2018 there will be two mileage contests—summer and annual. The winter mileage contest has been discontinued due to low participation. Each year, both the summer and annual mileage contests will begin on April 1, with the summer contest ending on October 31 and the annual contest ending on March 31 of the following year. Participants must choose either the summer or annual contest when submitting their start form. As in the past, award plaques will be given to the top three male and female finishers and certificates sent to the top 25 male and female finishers in each contest. Finisher pins will be sent to all participants in the contest who submit both their beginning and ending mileage form. Results from both contests will be reported at bmwmoa.org and BMW Owners News with publication dependent upon the receipt of the final tabulation of the results for each contest. Beginning with the 2018 contests, Michelin has become the official sponsor of the event and will be awarding a new set of tires to the top three male and female finishers as well as the “Average Rider” male and female finishers in both contests.
Y.O. Ranch Hotel, Kerrville, Texas
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www.aeroflowscreens.com
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TECH
keepemflying
Finishing work on the Euro bikes By Matthew Parkhouse #13272 SUSANNA AND I
the bikes will be matched. Having had document problems at border crossings before, I want the bike papers to be completely in order when we begin this trip. I doubt if a missing document can be corrected in Europe as it was in Mexico in 1988 with a $20 mordita (bribe) when I processed into the country. The work is pretty well done on the bikes. The R 60/5 lacks a turn signal indicator in the headlamp shell. The very early Slash Fives came without any visible indication that the signals were in use. No fuses either. The bikes now are fused, but the flasher indicator has to be ordered and installed. This will involve drilling a hole about a half-inch across in the shell, right where the later bikes have the yellow or green lamp.
The Slash Fives use an unusual circuit for this flasher, simply bridging the two sides of the turn signal circuit with the indicator light. When you put on the right-hand turn signals, the flasher lamp takes power from that side and goes to ground via the lefthand pair of lamps. Simple, elegant and functional. One other recently completed task: all three bikes now have useable center stands. Two of the bikes had the stands, but the knock down tabs had been broken off. On most of the bikes from 1970 to 1984, this is often the case. Too many people used the thin wire tab to lower the center stand and then stood on it when they pulled the bike back up. You have to move your foot! If you get in the habit of transferring the ball of
have gone out for a few shake-down rides with the pair of Slash Fives I’ve set up for Europe next year. Of the three bikes I recently purchased, I have had problems with the titles on two of them. The one that was the long-owned bike of my friend out on the prairie had its VIN laid out thusly: R755XXXXXXX. Somebody included the model designation along with the seven digits stamped on the frame and engine block. I had to swing by a shop to get an official VIN certification and then return to our local DMV office. I was successful and hopefully a corrected title will be here in two or three weeks. The other issue was with the R 60/5 that I purchased on eBay. It turns out the fellow in Florida who sold it used the title of a fellow in Tennessee. That person had signed the title in the wrong place. I located that fellow, who was kind enough to accept my overnight mail, sign it properly and overnight it back to me. I sent it out on Saturday, got it back on Wednesday. That too required a return to the DMV. The two or three weeks' wait for a new Colorado title applies to that bike as well. On the last of the three trips to the DMV, I returned home with Colorado plates for the pair of Europe bikes. The clerk was See the lower screw that holds the points plate in place? I’ve seen a few situations where the screw was loose, backed nice enough to pick out a out and contacted the spring for the points unit. This creates a short-to-ground that kills the engine. The first one or two took a long time to discover! This system is found in 1970 to 1978 airhead BMWs. pair of consecutive plates, so
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your foot to the heavier pad on the stand, the little wire tab will last a long time. I ordered a used center stand (with a shortened tab) from Larry Stonestreet’s Beemer Stash, pulled the two stands off the bikes and sent the three of them, with a fourth stand that was the example of what I wanted, to a local welding shop. Now, all three Slash Fives have good center stands, and my sample stand is back in the basement. We are departing for Florida in less than a month! Our friend Jeff Ecker is coming down from South Dakota and will haul us to El Paso, Texas, then turn us loose to ride straight east to the Northeast Florida Rally. We’re giving ourselves five to six days, allowing for weather. After the rally, it’s 135 miles to Orlando, where Stefan Knoff will receive the pair of bikes. He will see that the bikes are shipped to Heidelberg and store them for our arrival next year. Once the bikes are taken care of, we will taxi to the Orlando Airport and fly home. An MOA member named Craig Morgan sent me an email suggesting I look into a couple of problems he had recently, both involving fuel delivery on his 1984 RS. One problem was with the venting of the gas cap. Starting in 1977, BMW went to a recessed filler cap design. The problem was that it often sealed the tank too well. The cap was set up to allow air to vent into the tank as fuel was consumed. This venting system was easily clogged, resulting in fuel starvation and poor running. The fix, as per a factory bulletin, was to drill one or a pair of holes in the underside of the cap. I haven’t seen this problem in a few years, so I think most of the caps that were susceptible to this issue have been repaired or replaced. Another problem the screw-in caps had back then was that the ratcheting mechanism would strip, which created the problem of not being able to unscrew the gas cap. The immediate fix I found involved sliding a very big screwdriver under the liftup part of the cap and pulling upward as I unscrewed it. Once back at the shop, a hole was drilled from the top into the lower part and a nail or screw was put in the drilled hole. This locked the upper and lower parts to allow the screwing in or unscrewing of the cap. The other problem Craig had involves the float needles of the carburetor. There are two types of float needles. The early
The two different float shut off needles. The righthand two are the later ones, beginning around 1978. The all steel ones to the left are found on 1970 to 1977 bikes. If severely worn, drippy carbs can be the result.
The marks indicate where to drill additional venting holes in the screw-in gas caps. First drill the one dead center. If the problem persists, drill the additional hole at the “X”. Use the smallest drill that is practical for the vent hole.
type has an all-steel body with a springloaded ball where the float contacts it. Over the years, I’ve seen a couple of them come apart and allow the little ball to escape. I tried redoing the crimping, but it did not work well. Replacing the needle (under $9) is the proper repair. I’ve also found a few of
these early float needles to have rusted, thanks to water that settled out of the gas in that area of the carb. I’ve found that you can clean up that problem by gently rubbing the float needle on some fine sandpaper. If there’s rust in the hole where the needle does its work, you can wrap a bit of fine
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sandpaper around a round screwdriver shaft and burnish the brass on the inside of the hole. These all-steel float needles can develop a circle of wear around where they contact the valve seat in the carb body, so they do occasionally require replacing to cure a persistent drip in one of the carburetors. The 1978 and later brass-bodied version has a rubber tip that seems to hold up to wear a lot better. I keep a good used one in my “on the road parts stash,” as it does not take up a lot of room. Craig has the later brass-bodied needles on his ’84 RS and one of his fell apart, allowing the spring-loaded end to escape. It resulted in a “running out of gas” feeling as he rode the bike. The $17 fix is to replace the unit, but I would try a repair effort to the brass body first. This later type of needle valve is secured to the float tab with a tiny wire clip. This part is easy to lose but is fortunately sold as a separate piece for around a dollar. Along with the annual Christmas activities, Susanna and I are starting to put together a bag of Europe stuff. Her Aerostich tank panniers arrived yesterday. I will create a duplicate of my travel bag of tools and parts that could come in handy on some European roadside. Spare alternator rotors, a diode board, lamps, a soldering iron and inverter to run it off the bike and so on. One item for the bag also arrived yesterday. I ordered a pair of small water boilers from the Ukraine. They are made to run off the 220-volt power in Europe and have the different style of plug they use. We found on our last trip overseas that being able to make our own coffee in the morning in our room saved a fair amount of money as the weeks went by. There’s also nothing like a fresh cup of coffee without having to go and get it. Along with a can of the right size to hold the boiling water we pack a small French-press coffee maker, a bag of coffee, the stuff
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
If your gas cap is spinning freely and failing to allow fuel to go into the tank, this can be fixed by drilling a small hole using the BMW symbol as a guide. Once the drilling into the lower part has been done, a screw or nail can be introduced to lock the two parts together. If you don’t want the nail or screw to show, you can drill the hole at 180 degrees from the first spot, under the lifting handle. You can also use the nail as a rough key, by removing it so that the cap will not spin off.
The parts arrived from MAX BMW. Tomorrow, I will drill a hole in the headlamp shell and install the turn signal indicator that is in my hand. The little plastic bit cost $55.
www.motoelekt.com we like to add to our coffee and a pair of plastic rally mugs. We are not planning on camping this trip but will bring a camp stove for preparing the odd meal. A couple of plastic plates, utensils and a cook pot round out our travel kitchen. Tomorrow I’ll be looking at a 1978 R 100/7 that a woman inherited from an uncle. Like many legacy bikes, this one sat under a cover for around five years. In a phone conversation with the new owner, she sounded enthusiastic, but absolutely brand new to BMW airheads. I talked about her bike being right at the high-water mark of fit, finish and well-running machinery. Bob Clement up in Montana called to ask about an output shaft and flange for a fourspeed gearbox. I stripped down a shaft from one of my open transmissions to pack up and ship, and I just paused to look at the machining of that shaft and the gears and shifting cogs I was pulling off. They really don’t make ‘em like that anymore. The knowledge of how to work with the airheads is also fading – there just aren’t that many people around that have that experience and knowledge. As I looked up Bob’s address in my issue of Airmail, the Airhead club's magazine, I was struck at the collection of people and companies that work on and supply us with parts for these bikes. I would definitely call the Airhead club (the ABC) the single best resource for any airhead owner. Along with the magazine, the club maintains a website and supports a state-by-state network of Air Marshals, who organize events for their individual states. There are a few Facebook pages, email lists and so on that present information. I’ll definitely be suggesting to the owner tomorrow that she tap into the resources of the Airhead network, as well as the Owners News for (ahem) my column.
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February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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All I needed was a clutch – Part two By Wes Fleming #87301 GEORGE ALREADY HAD THE OLD
seals out when I arrived, and the new seals went right in. It helps, of course, to have the proper tools to seat the seals. In a pinch, you could use a socket, which requires a much steadier hand than I trust myself to have. This is one of the reasons it makes sense to take these jobs to professional mechanics – they will have the special tools needed to make things like seating seals 100 percent accurate. Unless you plan on doing a lot of seal replacements, it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the money on those tools. With the new seals in place, it was finally time to install the new clutch components. Months ago, when I first started thinking about this repair, I remembered coming across a Siebenrock part I thought might be a good idea to use – an oil-resistant clutch disc. Since Siebenrock parts are available in the USA through Wunderlich America, I gave them a call to talk about the disc and its availability. I was glad to hear they had one in stock, and it was soon on its way to me. Many people know Wunderlich for accessories like
One bolt connects the counterbalance weight to its shaft; the seal keeps oil inside the engine, where it belongs.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
A clean transmission.
Tip the engine forward to keep oil from gushing out if you have to remove the counterbalance shaft seal. Wipe clean all mating surfaces and anything else you can get at with a rag.
Counterbalance shaft seals – one new, one leaky.
mirrors, handlebar risers (which I have on my GS) and handlebar muffs (which I reviewed in the February 2017 issue of Owners News), but what you may not know is the folks at Wunderlich are hardcore parts junkies. They have a number of excellent parts available for a lot of different BMW bikes. The oil-resistant clutch disc is an upgrade costing essentially the same as the OEM clutch disc, so it made sense to get it and address a key weakness of any dry clutch system, the fact that even a small amount of oil contaminating the components can lead to a quick failure. Even though Siebenrock purports the disc to be oil-resistant, I still cleaned all the mating surfaces between the clutch and pressure plates thoroughly, just like it was any other clutch plate. The bolts connecting the housing cover to the flywheel are short, so it requires a decent bit of concentration and hand strength to compress the spring on the pressure plate and get a couple of the bolts started. It's important to use a special tool that centers the components and keeps them aligned; once the bolts are torqued to the proper specification, the alignment tool goes back into storage. Incidentally, Wunderlich sells those too, and since George's is a little bent, I got him a new one for Christmas. With the clutch components in place and properly tightened, the freshly cleaned and re-sealed transmission went on like a dream. Tightening the transmission back down takes a little finesse; the housing is aluminum and, while it's by no means weak, cranking down one corner of it could lead to disaster. It's best to support the transmission from underneath – either with a helper or a small jack – and get all three bolts started. Hold the transmission against the engine and hand-tighten all three bolts, leaving the support in place. Once they're torqued to the proper spec, you're all set and you can reinstall the clutch cover (you cleaned it, right?), the starter and the starter cover. It's not strictly necessary to replace the starter cover at this point, but it's a lot easier than waiting until the bike is all back together.
You can't install the counterbalance weight incorrectly. The screwdriver points to an extra-wide tooth that marries up to an extra-wide slot on the shaft.
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The counterbalance shaft seal and weight in place. Be sure to look up all torque values and use a quality torque wrench to secure all fasteners.
Shiny new clutch components – pressure plate on the left, housing cover in the middle and Siebenrock oil-resistant clutch plate on the right. The new pushrod is under the housing cover and the new slave cylinder between the pressure plate and housing.
Housing cover and pushrod.
Pressure plate. This is the side that mates against the clutch plate; the hole in the center is where the pushrod goes. It pushes against the circular spring, releasing the pressure against the clutch plate and allowing it to spin freely, which is why you can shift gears.
Siebenrock's oil-resistant clutch plate (imported by Wunderlich) is an easy upgrade that costs about the same as the OEM part. In operation, it has a slightly more positive feel than the stock disc.
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Splines of the transmission input shaft, cleaned and lubricated. Note the clean, fresh seal. Molybdenum-infused grease goes on these splines, but not in huge quantities, so be sure to wipe off any excess. You don't want to start your new clutch's life with a bunch of gooey moly paste slinging around inside the housing and possibly contaminating the friction surfaces.
The clutch assembly is bolted onto the flywheel and the transmission is back in place, ready for the clutch cover to be installed. Note how clean everything is!
Next to the spanking-clean transmission, the starter looks positively disgusting. Be sure to clean any corrosion or rust from the electrical connections – hit them with sandpaper, steel wool or a wire brush to ensure the mating surfaces are fully clean.
Ready to finish the reassembly. Putting the starter cover on at this stage makes it much easier to attach than if you wait until the back half of the bike is back in place. Note the gear shift potentiometer at the bottom of the transmission – this is what tells your bike's computer what gear you're in. It's plastic and costs $219.40 to replace, so be careful not to damage it when you're moving the transmission around.
This is the place in my Haynes manual where it says, "assembly is the reverse of disassembly." Despite the obvious sarcasm inherent when the first author wrote that line, it is essentially the case. It's not always easy, though. We were tired and kept getting interrupted by phone calls and shop business, including a hauling service showing up to take a customer's freshly repaired airhead to his home in West Virginia. When it came to reassembling my motorcycle, the major difficulty we faced besides interruptions and fatigue was my shoddy electrical wiring practices. While we weren't rushing, we were trying to hurry, because George had to catch a plane to get to upstate New York for his brother's 50th birthday celebration. The wiring was confusing, however, and even though it took a little longer, the smart move was to disconnect, reroute and reconnect the wires for all my accessories – auxiliary lights, the unbelievably loud horn, GPS power and the wires for my heated jacket. George chastised me for using wires too big for the application, but we stopped short of replacing them with appropriately gauged wires. Rewiring everything properly is on my to-do list for next winter. The last part of the repair we had to undertake was replacing the clutch control assembly up on the handlebar. When we first started looking at the clutch and its components back in June (after it failed), there was debris in the clutch fluid master cylinder. Clutch fluid is a special type of oil, and it shouldn't have little bits of debris floating around in it. It was an indicator that either the seals in the master cylinder deteriorated, or that I was nearing a catastrophic slave cylinder failure. That's where the Spiegler line I bought came in (see Part 1 in last month's Owners News), and it went on with the new clutch control assembly. It took an extra few minutes to swap out my shorty clutch lever with the stock lever, but everything bolted right up into place. It took a while to fill and bleed the clutch line, mostly because the slave cylinder was totally empty when we started; there was a lot of air to push out of the line as a result. Even after 10 minutes of pumping the clutch lever, we were still getting tiny bubbles in the fluid reservoir. We had to combine pumping the lever with forcefully rotating the rear wheel to get the clutch to disengage, but eventually it started working.
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The test ride was successful, though we quickly discovered hot clutch fluid smells sickeningly sweet as it burns off the exhaust pipes. I'm pretty sure breathing clutch oil smoke for even a few seconds shaved some time off the end of my life. George left to catch his flight and I finished reassembling the bike. I returned the next day with a trailer to take the bike home; unfortunately, nobody was available to give me a ride 100 miles to the shop. The following day was Sunday – my chance to give the clutch a solid breakin ride. I headed to the Richmond BMW Riders' monthly breakfast meeting, excited to be back on my GS after a five-month hiatus. At first the clutch was a bit grabby, and downshifting took more patience than usual. Everything eased gradually, and by the time I returned home – having taken the long way home from the meeting and brunch afterwards with one of the longtime members of the club – my clutch was operating normally. Just to be sure all the air was out of the line for good, I zip-tied the clutch lever in the disengaged position (pulled in) and left it overnight. It's been a joy to ride since then, and I anticipate this clutch lasting through the remaining life of the motorcycle. My pleasure at a job successfully completed aside, I studied the symptoms, events and processes involved in the long story of my clutch failure. One of my goals as a motorcyclist is to learn as much as I can, whether than knowledge is about the act of
Most of the big components are back in place now. Reassembly at this point is all about detail and making sure the wiring is routed properly.
Bubbles in the clutch fluid. It's important to bleed the line at the slave cylinder – until there are as few tiny bubbles as possible. Magura Blood is a special type of mineral oil designed specifically for use in hydraulic clutches like those on BMW motorcycles. Removing the clutch fluid master cylinder lid requires a special flat wrench (photo at left) to squeeze the teeth on the lid that fit into the notches on either side of the reservoir. The lid is designed to be tamper-proof; without the special tool, you can only tighten the lid.
The special release tool for clutch and front brake master cylinder covers. It is BMW part number 83 30 0 402 038 and costs about $15. Any BMW dealer can order one for you
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riding or the mechanics of my motorcycle. The first lesson from this sequence of events is never to pass up the opportunity to measure your clutch material thickness when it presents itself. Last year when I had the bike torn apart, I should have taken advantage of the situation and removed the starter so I could measure the clutch material thickness. It would have stunk to discover I needed a clutch at the time I was
doing the previous work, but it would have been a real bonus to have that information 3,000 miles ago before my bike got sidelined for five months while I looked for a new full-time job. Lesson number two is to plan on replacing all the seals you can easily get to. If I'd prepared in advance with the seals, we could have finished the job in one day. The three seals cost about $75 total, but the
time saved by having them on hand was worth way more than the cost of the parts and the frustration of having to wait a whole day to finish the job. Rounding out the top three is paying closer attention to the drive shaft – not the thing that's part of the transmission BMW calls the drive shaft and we call the input shaft. I'm talking about the actual drive shaft connecting the transmission to the final drive. We cheated a little by leaving it in place in the swing arm and just popping it off the transmission, which came back to haunt us during reassembly. For some reason, it worked itself loose from the final drive during the 28 or so hours the back half of the motorcycle sat propped on the center stand. It would have been more of a hassle to drop the final drive and remove the drive shaft during the disassembly stage, but it would have saved us nearly 30 minutes during reassembly – as well as some barked knuckles and hateful comments possibly blaming our troubles on a lack of intercessional grace from either Saint Catherine or Saint Eligius. Another lesson is to clean everything you can as you go. It's rare to get this far into your own motorcycle, so on the occasion(s) that you do, go ahead and spend an extra hour or two cleaning everything you can get a rag on. We used a wire brush on the rusty splines and I spent 30 minutes hunched over the parts washer getting every nook and cranny of the transmission as clean as I could. The inside of the housing where the clutch goes was covered with an eighth of an inch of sloppy, greasy muck. Now I know it's clean, which means if there's ever a problem in the future, it will be easier to track it down. One thing I can't repeat enough is a twopart lesson: use the manual and use a torque wrench. I didn't impart any torque values in this article because it's imperative you look them up and verify them for your motorcycle. While the process of replacing these dry clutches is similar across all the models, there are parts variations, and with those come differing torque specifications. Buy a quality torque wrench and learn how to use it properly. It could save your life someday. Finally, be methodical every time you touch your motorcycle. I would have benefitted from using more than one box to keep nuts and bolts in, that's for sure.
The author after his first ride in five months on his freshly-repaired R 1200 GS. Ignore the Indian cap – all his BMW hats are dirty! Photo by Joe Sokohl.
Instead, the starter fasteners were in a bag over there and I just tossed everything else in this box over here. While doing this didn't result in any critical problems or lengthy delays, I often had to ask George, "Hey, what's this bolt for?" I was lucky to have an expert on hand for immediate guidance, but not everybody has that resource. Next time I do something this extensive, I'll use sandwich bags and label them as I go. Replacing a dry clutch is certainly at the far end of the scale of do-it-yourself repairs, but it's not an insurmountable job for the home mechanic. It requires expensive parts and some special tools, but it is absolutely
manageable in your own garage. Prepare, be methodical, clean as you go, take your time and – if you're lucky – you won't have a leftover screw like I did. Visit the MOA's YouTube channel to watch a video of this clutch job – the link is tinyurl.com/R1200GSClutch
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I
have been riding motorcycles for more than 45 years. Triumphs, Nortons, BSAs, Ducatis, a Harley Davidson and a lot of BMWs. R bikes, K bikes, Air Heads and Oil Heads. I have also been fortunate to live near some of the best BMW motorcycle mechanics and builders in the world, Charlie Johnson and his step-brother, John “JB” Peterson. I live in Minnesota, and unless there is snow or ice on the streets I ride my trusty 2011 BMW R 1200 GS Triple Black each day on my commute around Lake Minnetonka to work. No one will argue that motorcycles have become more and more complicated. I recently read a review in Cycle World of a
new Japanese motorcycle where 75 percent of the review was a description of the intricacies of the various rider aids such as traction control, ABS, suspension pre-sets, drive by wire, etc. What I didn’t read was the reviewer’s seat of the pants experience of sitting on top of a 1000cc motorcycle with the wind in his face. The most elegant piece of clothing a man can wear is a tuxedo. It is also the simplest and usually consists of a plain black coat and pants with thin lapels and a couple buttons. A simple white shirt and some kind of simple black tie. In many areas of life simple equates to elegance. I wondered how that applied to our motorcycles. Charlie Johnson and JB Peterson work
out of a small, but well-equipped shop in Deephaven, Minnesota. They do not advertise nor do they have a website. To find them you have to know someone who knows them, as their customers do the advertising. Yet even without advertising or a website they stay busy 12 months a year servicing customers’ BMWs and creating BMW eye candy. Charlie began his career at legendary Karl’s Cycle Shop in South Minneapolis doing a little of everything, starting out as a mechanic and ending up as service manager. Before long, BMW NA hired him initially as a district sales manager before eventually making him a national technical manager for BMW North America.
At the time, BMW didn’t have an overabundance of dealerships nor were there many independent BMW shops. In 1992 JB was working at Karl’s Cycle Shop doing a little of everything, and when Charlie set up shop, JB joined him. Charlie is the engine guru, and JB is the fabrication and service specialist. Last fall I teamed up with Charlie and JB to build what I believe to be the tuxedo of motorcycles; a BMW Bobber. A minimalist motorcycle and one that would appear to not even have enough parts to run. A minimum of frame, wiring, gauges, controls, lighting and anything else that didn’t matter. What would it look like, and how would it ride?
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Our donor bike was a 1983 R 80 ST which gave us the advantage of a monolever swing arm, making the left rear of the bike as naked as a newborn baby. From that point, everything that could be stripped from the bike would be removed, and Charlie and JB would build a Bobber with as few parts as necessary that was not only great looking but great riding as well. Charlie began the project by increasing the displacement of the stock 800cc motor to 1000cc by fitting the top end of a 1984 R 100 RS which boosted the output from around 50 hp to around 70 hp. Charlie has a vast collection of BMW parts and chose CC Products valve covers from the 1970s to complete the look we wanted on the engine. Keeping the stock five-speed gearbox, the exhaust is a modified black, ceramic coated Luftmeister 2-into-1 header with a reverse cone megaphone. Both the rear hub and 18-inch wheel are stock, and to maintain a clean look, drum brakes were fit in the front and rear. The front wheel is a rear 18-inch rim from a Slash 6 and the rear wears what just may be my favorite detail, the rear hubcap modified from a Slash 5. Tires are Firestone replicas from Coker tire. My wife hand painted white over the raised letters and logos. While the electronics are stock, the battery, an Anti-Gravity lithium ion battery about the size of two decks of cards has been hidden under the gas tank! The seat is from La Rosa and mounted to a trailer leaf spring modified by JB using an adjustable mounting bracket under the gas tank. JB painted the bike using PPG’s Concept
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Single Stage Black which leaves a finish resembling a pool of black ink. JB finished by adding silver pin striping with tapered ends. The reverse pull levers are copies of 1930s BMW levers, allowing us to hide all but the throttle cable inside the handlebars. The grips are by Bates. There are too many little custom details to point out, but some of my favorites are: • The rear fender appearing to float about
an inch over the rear wheel. • The “Monza” style gas cap. • The custom “CJ 002” label signifying that this is Charlie’s second Bobber build. • The tiny starter and horn buttons on the handlebars. Riding the bike is a dream. Turn on the gas, pull up the chokes, hit the starter button, and the motor fires right up. JB tuned the exhaust to a perfect, deep staccato. Pull in the clutch, slip into first and run it up
through the gears. The Bobber handles like a dream; if you think it, it does it. The suspension is supple, but not harsh and the seat is remarkably comfortable. People often ask me, “How do you ride without a speedometer or tach?” Well…if you have ridden for over 45 years, you don’t use those much anyway. You ride by ear knowing when to shift, and you know
within five miles per hour how fast you are going. I wish I could tell you how much I spent to build the bike. The donor bike was $1,500, but if I told you the total cost, my wife would know and I could be in hot water. Let’s say it is around the cost of a new R nineT. But I have a bike no one else in the world has. I have never owned or ridden a bike that
drew more attention, and it’s hard to not stare at it. The workmanship is world class, with every part new or rebuilt. To me, what catches your eye is what is not there. Simple plus elegant equals outrageous fun. Thank you Charlie and JB for building me truly a world class BMW Bobber! If you’re interested in working with Charlie and JB or simply for service on your BMW, feel free to call them at 952-449-0357.
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TOURING M
BY VICTOR CRUZ #91428 54
BMW OWNERS NEWS  February 2018
MOROCCO:
WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE CENTURIES AGO
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O
n the road from Rabat to Marrakech, a well-fed Moroccan beetle hit me in the face. Getting hit by bugs is nothing new, but this was an entirely new creature. After wiping the beetle’s liquidity from my face shield the stench was horrific. Worse than fermented dung the stink stayed inside my helmet for at least a quarter hour. Three days later I would be
Kilometer marker Marrakech.
riding a camel in the Sahara and climbing a dune while a wind storm that darkened the sky swept in to sandblast my legs. Where water meets the desert, Morocco becomes a land of contrast amid the sameness. Vast swaths of scrub and desert cake the land in monotone beige, giving rise to storied buildings in the same color hue. Rare signs of water from feeble rivers in the
valleys create a profusion of green palm trees hemmed in by three bands of the Atlas mountain chain that towers to 13,000 feet. To say Morocco and its bustling medinas gave me culture shock says little and a lot. It’s not every day you see slabs of chopped, unrefrigerated meat buzzing with African flies or a camel’s severed head dangling in an 11th century food market. I saw my first
donkey parking lot. These pack mules are used for carrying everything from mint leaves to pelts, for pulling carts and for riding. You can draw comparisons to our own culture by what you don’t see. You don’t see strip malls or the mega chains that have homogenized America. You don’t see men wearing shorts, dogs on a leash, or obesity. I was surprised not to see more wildlife, such as turkey vultures, lizards, snakes or any roadkill, despite riding 2300 km under a blaze of sun. We saw stork nests perched high on minarets. Most women wear the Muslim head covering called a hijab, while the Camel head at largest medina in Fez. men dress in a mix of WestCanadians riding 15 BMWs (mostly F 700 ern and traditional djellabas; they sit quiGSs) was a hoot to young boys sharply etly in cafés smoking cigarettes and dressed in school uniforms who would run drinking glasses of sweetened mint tea. up and make the universal throttle-rev Mosques are beautifully inlaid with colormotion. School is not mandatory. Educated ful tiles and mosaic. Armed police set up at Harvard and married to an engineer, checkpoints about every 40-50 miles. They current King Mohammed VI issued waved us through without hassle. Tourists reforms such as giving women the right to in Morocco are treated with a hands-off file divorce. Yet there’s still no free press policy, in support of the King’s directive to (criticism of the King is forbidden) or tolattract tourism. Everywhere, people wave erance for LGBTQ; violations have led to hello. Locals speak French, Spanish, Arabic prison. Every hotel lobby features posters and Berber. of the King: the King sipping tea, the King Large displacement bikes are rare in skiing, the cheerful King smiling. Morocco, so our group of mostly
Donkey parking lot on market day near Erfond.
Like that dung beetle, colorful impressions made an impact every day. Riding through a town, you see a man carrying a cow’s leg over his shoulder. A half-dozen denuded chickens swing from a cart. I came to Morocco to take a break from our Western culture, bending the arm of my friend Moe to join me. On the third night while visiting Jemaa el-Fnaa main square in Marrakech, Moe was run over by a reckless moped. We were in an enclosed tunnel-like alley dating back centuries, filled with vendors hawking wares of every sort.
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February 2018  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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An old woman in a kerchief extended her palm, reciting a jumble of words; a coin makes her flee. A beggar sat with two sleeping babies, their feet blackened. Luckily, Moe didn’t require a hospital. The moped kid took off. A group of men gave chase as news of my befallen buddy traveled up the alley. “Do you want money for this?” someone asked. The road over Tizi-n-Tichka Pass in the High Atlas Mountains from Marrakech to Ouarzazate was full of twisties not for the squeamish. By New England standards, roads are well paved, narrow and in great condition. We rode past a market where men loaded up cars with live sheep. A man walked a black goat by its horn. Ouarzazate is the Hollywood of Morocco, with studios that have produced movies such as Gladiator, Babel, and Lawrence of Arabia. It was here where my pal Moe got blindsided again, this time by some nasty bacteria shipped directly to his gut via the tap water. It left him comatose for 48 hours, missing a
Friendly Tinerhir Berber with author.
Casbah Ait-Ben-Haddou restaurant. 11th century Casbah Ait-Ben-Haddou is the site of much Hollywood filming.
Spice seller near Erfoud.
Above: Kasbah Hotel Xaluca Erfoud. Below: Gov licensed artisan at clay works Fez.
ride into Todra Gorge, a narrow canyon in Tinerhir with walls that jet up 500 feet. We lunched in a Berber home with a family of three generations. Every meal featured tagine, an earthenware cone-shaped pot used to cook everything. Vegetables, lentils, olives, couscous and chicken with cumin were common. Moe also missed a visit to the fossil fields the next day in Erfoud and tea time with a nomadic family living under tents in the middle of nowhere. In Erfoud we stayed two nights at Kasbah Hotel Xaluca, a motorcycle mecca and training grounds for Paris-Dakar racers. The dining room buffet was abuzz with KTM, Yamaha and BMW teams towed in from Spain. Near the tail end of the week we traversed the Rif Mountains on roads tailor-made for motorcycles, where conifers and deciduous trees appeared for the first time. It was strange to encounter Barbary apes in the cedar forest at Azrou. A highlight was the stunning blue city of Chefchaouen where buildings are painted blue to ward off mosquitos, as local lore claims. (The area supplies Europe with 80 percent of its hashish.) The ride north from there to Tangier was spectacular, a road on a high ridge like many others in Morocco, but this one left you stupefied with 180-degree mountain valley views. The tour begins and ends in pedestrian-perfect Málaga, Spain, with overnight stays in Rabat, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Erfoud and Fez. IMT Bike lived up to its tagline, “passion for motorcycling.” Most days were long in the saddle. Clutches out at 8 a.m., we’d clock 250-mile days at top speeds of 75 mph, rolling us in around 5 p.m., ready for a Casablanca pilsner. Morocco is cheap. Bountiful, family-style meals never topped $15. Haggling is commonplace and annoying if you don’t find humor in it. IMT did an excellent job with itinerary, restaurants, hotels, pre-ride briefings and attentive service. The only fault I can cite is that head guide Roger Falgàs didn’t stop for roadside apples(!) More than 1.8 billion people or 24 percent of the earth’s population identify themselves as Muslim. It was a real privilege to get a peek into this friendly Arab culture and to come away changed for the better.
Victor Cruz is a 16-year member of the Yankee Beemers, serving as Secretary and Editor. A longtime contributor to BMW ON, he is principal of MediaPR.net, a tech marketing firm in Boston. Contact him at vcruz@mediapr.net.
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Group shot showing the striking contrast of a palm groove against a desert backdrop.
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Heading toward the blue city of Chefchaouen nested in the Rif Mountains.
FromtheFOUNDATION
FOUNDATION OUR MISSION
The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Foundation is dedicated to supporting motorcycling and its rich heritage for BMW MOA members and the motorcycling public by funding programs that advance rider safety, education and training.
BMW MOA FOUNDATION OFFICERS
Chuck Manley, President cmanley@bmwmoaf.org Mark Austin, Vice President maustin@bmwmoaf.org Bex Becker, Treasurer bex@bmwmoaf.org Greg Straub, Secretary gstraub@bmwmoaf.org BMW MOA FOUNDATION DIRECTORS
Tom Gary tgary@bmwmoaf.org Vance Harrelson vance@bmwmoaf.org Randy Logan rlogan@bmwmoaf.org Will McHardy wmchardy@bmwmoaf.org Peter Perrin pperrin@bmwmoaf.org BMW MOA FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS
2539 John Hawkins Parkway Suite 101-111 Birmingham, AL 35244 866-865-1055 Ted Moyer, Executive Director tmoyer@bmwmoaf.org
Upgrading rider performance
How four great organizations came together to increase the riding skills of members of the South Coast BMW Riders Club By Jim Foreman #160152 A SUCCESSFUL MOTORCYCLIST KNOWS
that the greatest upgrade to enhance one’s motorcycle performance is the one that’s found between the rider’s ears. It was a perfect, southern California Sunday in late October. Twenty-nine riders gathered at Willow Springs International Raceway’s Horse Thief Mile to spend a day mastering cornering techniques and skills. This event was the first of its kind for the South Coast BMW Riders Club. Five women, riding their own bikes, and 24 men, some two-up with their partners, took to the course with gusto and vigor. Lap after lap, on a closed track, Streetmasters instructors increased the difficulty with compounded skill sets. The success achieved made for a day nobody is likely to forget. Riders, both new and seasoned, gained confidence in leaning over their motorcycles. Participants were principled in a safe and smooth path to take corners. Braking skills and slow-speed maneuvering also improved greatly. Most importantly, all 29 riders had a great day of camaraderie, fun and appreciation. At the end of the day, all 29 riders expressed increased confidence, skill and ability with their motorcycle. Each participant received a certificate that many insurance companies will accept for a premium discount. This happy end to an amazing day started with events in November of 2014, when the MOA chartered South Coast BMW Riders Club (South Coasters for short) organized a ride to Kernville, California. During that ride, a couple of riders struggled to maintain a safe travel path on
the twisting roads. One rider in particular, Hugo (name changed to protect the innocent), struggled to keep his motorcycle on his side of the lane. At the end of the ride, Hugo asked Danny Wassenaar how he was doing. Rather curtly, Danny looked Hugo in the eye and replied, “I have one word for you: Streetmasters!” The South Coasters is made up of all levels of riders. Like many riding clubs, the South Coasters look after newer and less experienced riders. During a subsequent club meeting, a suggestion was made to organize a group training session so that all the riders would have an opportunity to notch up their riding skills. At that point, the magic started to happen. Danny’s first move was to talk over the idea of improving rider skills and safety training with Irv Seaver BMW in Orange County, California, the dealership that sponsors the South Coasters. Evan and Lois Bell, owners of Irv Seaver BMW, immediately warmed to the idea. They wholeheartedly supported a day of training and suggested Streetmasters. Streetmasters Precision Cornering Motorcycle Workshops are one-day training classes designed specifically for touring, sport-touring, cruiser and sport bike riders. Former racer and industry veteran Walt Fulton and partner Nancy Foote own Streetmasters. A call was made to see if a specially priced members-only training session could happen. Walt and Nancy were both eager to help the club and extended a generous group rate for training. At this point, three of four elements were in place. The South Coasters, Irv Seaver BMW and Streetmasters were all committed
and moved forward. The last link was a possible sponsorship or grant to help offset the cost of the training, and the BMW MOA proved its worth in carbon fiber. Walt suggested that Danny reach out to the MOA to see if the MOA would help offset the cost of the training. It was as if heaven opened up and light shone down as we were made aware of the BMW MOA Foundation. More specifically, the Paul B. Memorial Scholarship Fund was explained, exceeding the club’s wildest expectations. Named after its benefactor, Paul Bachorz, the Paul B Memorial Scholarship provides BMW MOA members with up to $250 grants for motorcycle rider continuing education and training. The Foundation reviews and awards up to 40 scholarships annually for BMW MOA members to attend the training of their choice. Club members who wished to take advantage of the generous grant were informed of the simple procedure to apply. Registered participants began to fill the roster of available spaces. With all the pieces were in place, it was time to make a fun event out of getting there and staying the weekend. The South Coasters planned an overnight weekend, with a run up one of SoCal’s most storied roads, Angeles Crest Highway (CA2). The adjacent Angeles Forest Highway also gave the riders a real-world baseline to determine their skills before and after the class. Irv Seaver BMW arranged a fourwheeler to take attendee’s gear to and from the hotel; they even picked up the tab for
dinner! The classroom portion of the Streetmasters course took place Saturday night. Attendees were able to reflect on late-apex cornering before going to the closed track the following day. The classroom session focused on specific encounters and potential dangers found on the streets and how to best position oneself and one’s motorcycle to take corners in the safest and most effective way. The class also covered other concepts such as braking, counter steering and pointing one’s nose in the direction of travel. During the track portion, riders went out in groups of three or four with an instructor. The instructors were former police motorcycle officers, racers and longtime motor safety professionals. They were all excellent! All of the riders expressed satisfaction and appreciation of the course, even though a few of those same riders had previously wondered whether they would learn anything before the training day. Edwina Carabajal is a new rider who recently purchased a 2015 BMW F 700 GS. She uses it for commuting in SoCal daily and had only previously taken the MSF Basic Riding Course. Edwina loved that she was not the only woman taking the course and that Streetmasters staff included two female instructors. Based on the day’s training, Edwina desires even more training to give herself higher skills and more options when out riding. She noticed the difference this training made immediately when riding home.
Scott Hale said he had no idea what to expect. Scott had been riding for a year and a half, while clocking 14,000 miles on his 2012 BMW R 1200 RT. Scott said the MOA Foundation grant was a huge factor in deciding to take the course. He also believes now that ongoing training is a great idea and will seek out more. Tom Hooper has been riding for 50 years and currently rides a 2015 R 1200 GS Adventure. He has never taken any motorcycle training, but has read many books including David Hough’s excellent book, Proficient Motorcycling. Tom stated that making left turns and visualizing a pathway of travel have always been difficult for him. Although Tom has been riding for decades, he felt he was never really more than an average rider. The instructor’s specific and immediate feedback made a profound and noticeable difference in Tom’s riding. Tom expressed that he had substantially improved as a rider and will put into practice what he has learned. Most of the riders chose to take Angeles Forest Highway and Angeles Crest Highway back home, to compare their skills. Everyone in the group expressed a significant increase in skill, confidence, and competence on their motorcycles. Streetmasters’ teaching techniques, patience and dedication are exemplary. As a result, my riding has become much better. No more white knuckles while riding through the curves. Thanks to the BMW MOA Foundation for the final incentive to take this course. I would also like to thank Danny Wassenaar. I asked for advice on how I could improve my riding. Without hesitation, he said “Streetmasters.” He was right.
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skill
Riding with
Confidence By Jon DelVecchio #208163 MOST OF EXPERIENCED RIDERS I
meet are fairly confident in their riding abilities. That’s to be expected. Who would get on a motorcycle otherwise? Continuous experimentation and practice can quickly boost mental and physical abilities, especially for new riders. Then, as a rider racks up the miles, autopilot seems to take over and skill development levels off. Think of your typical motorcycle gathering. Are the riders there talking about learning and practicing new riding techniques? Of course not. The conversations usually center around new farkles or the next lunch stop. I’ve had the good fortune of teaching cornering skills classes to at the last two BMW MOA annual rallies, in Hamburg, New York, and Salt Lake City, Utah. To teach advanced riding skills, an instructor must first find motivated and receptive students. The BMW MOA membership has both of these in droves. At the beginning of each of my classes, I’ll ask my students if they
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believe it’s possible to ride a motorcycle with complete confidence through the curves. The question usually catches them totally off guard and forces them to evaluate their own cornering comfort and how effective they believe themselves to be at
controlling their motorcycle. While some will answer yes and others no, most are silent. As I see it, the “yes” responders believe full control is possible and want to know if I can teach it to them. The “no” responders are doubtful and
expect me to reinforce their belief that it’s all a crapshoot, while the silent students seem dazed by the concept. Of course, the correct answer is yes and it is possible to corner your motorcycle with complete confidence. I believe accepting any less presents a dangerous proposition. My challenge isn’t convincing people that maximum control is achievable, it’s teaching them how to acquire it. After baffling them with my complete confidence question, we’ll then move on to the two primary ingredients of confidence: knowledge and experience. Both of these factors increase motorcycle control and lead to greater rider confidence. If someone was given books and videos on how to ride a motorcycle but never threw a leg over their bike, how confident would they be with their performance? The same can be said for experience; someone given a motorcycle without any instructions on how to operate it would be at a similar disadvantage. Increasing rider knowledge requires seeking information on the best riding techniques. Because of the overwhelming amount of advice available, many motorcyclists are satisfied by picking up fragments here and there. My suggestion would be to investigate sport riding techniques where high performance riding skills benefit even the most conservative rider. Building rider experience is the fun part motorcycling; simply get out and ride with a purpose. Properly handling a motorcycle requires fine muscle control and practicing new techniques incrementally. Riders will have more success learning new concepts when they are implemented in manageable chunks. You can measure your cornering confidence in a simple way. On your next ride, count the number of your “panic moments” while navigating a favorite set of twisties at a comfortable sporting pace. A realistic setting could be with your normal riding group. “Panic moments” are situations causing your heart to skip a beat because you nearly lost control. The most confident riders usually have zero panic moments on their rides. I would suggest that instead of suppressing these terrifying incidents, discuss them with your riding companions. Cornering errors are usually a combination of improper line, speed or timing. Start by looking there for performance enhancing solutions.
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lifestyl 68
jacktheriepe
How to prevent another Valentine’s Day gift massacre By Jack Riepe #116117 MILLIONS OF MEN
and women will be faced with a soulsearching decision in less than two weeks. On February 14, approximately 50 percent of the population of the United States will break out in a sweat, wondering if they chose the right Valentine’s Day gift or gesture to express their undying love and devotion to their motoriding soulmates. For hundreds of thousands, the answer to that question will be “No.” A large percentage of these folks (all men) will end up living in their cars for at least a week. Driven to desperation, men will spent approximately $152 billion over the next 14 days on roses with a shelf life of 72 hours, and slightly less on tons of derriere-expanding chocolate crammed into giant red-velvet hearts. Ever more practical women will present their partners with gifts like A 12-Step Guide To Eliminating Character Flaws In You And Your Friends, cheaply made tools, or mysterious boxes labeled “Glow In The Dark Manties” that are actually filled with pissed-off tarantulas. The purpose of this story is to recommend sure-fire Valentine’s Day gifts from $25 to $25,000 for the motorcycle riding man or woman who counts most in your life. The burning question of the hour is how did we get to this point? Saint Valentine, who lived in the Middle Ages, was a man who knew romantic suffering. Born to a poor family, his mother tried to give him every advantage with a first name like
BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
“Saint.” Yet he grew up bereft of the skills so common to his era, skills like witch-hunting, human slaughter, and rat-catching. The Middles Ages officially started on September 3, 0004, with the invention of bubonic plague and officially ended with the introduction of the BMW K 75 in 1986. What followed is commonly known as the era of Mechanical Renaissance.
forms of “Valentine’s Day” cards, which carried messages like, “Be mine today… and I will catch rats for you forever.” Eventually, the confections were packaged in rough facsimiles of the human heart, a tradition that continues today. Why February 14th? Because two-thirds of the United States are frozen in belowzero temperatures on that day, and people
Saint Valentine was able to work miracles by supplying unimaginative men with hand-written notes on stiff parchment and confections assembled in various containers made from human organs. So equipped, men, who previously couldn’t get a nod from a cockle monger (not what you think that means), were able to attract women with full sets of teeth. These are the earliest
confined to life around a glowing woodstove start contemplating murder in the face of endless darkness and winter. The last woman I will ever love (until lightning strikes another one) understood the romantic magic of Valentine’s Day and its conjunction with motorcycling. On the first Valentine’s Day that we were together, she wore a diaphanous gown, snuggled
next to me in a candle-lit boudoir, and said, “I know this is what you want more than anything on this day of romance.” She then handed me a box containing a set of Motolights, and a $500 gift certificate from the Rubber Chicken Racing Garage. (motolight.com/motolight-community/galleries/) or (rubberchickenracinggarage.com/) “And I have a gift for you,” I whispered. “Give me 12-hours of silence, and we’ll call it even,” she replied. The next year, she repeated this performance by sending the headers on my K 75 to Jet-Hot, for a flat black treatment. I was stunned. (jet-hot.com/) “How can I prove my love to you?” I uttered, about to rip the Motoport Marathon Air Mesh Jacket from my body. (motoport.com/product/marathon-air-meshjacket/) “Give me 48 hours of silence and I will be satiated,” she sighed. And the third year that we celebrated Valentine’s Day together, she gave me a Russell Cycle Products “Day Long Saddle.” (day-long.com/gallery/bmw/) I was stunned and said, “What can I give you in return, my love?” She looked at me with the softest eyes and said, “Give me five years of dedicated missionary work among the cannibal tribes of the Amazon.” I am ashamed to say I hesitated. The following year, she gave me a flatulence filter for my desk chair (gasbgon.com/). My hesitation had broken the spell. If the woman in your life is a dedicated BMW F or R biker rider, do not risk her disappointment by giving her Valentine’s Day K bike accessories that just happen to fit your machine or a garden tractor. (Many R bike riders will appear confused by the garden tractor, claiming they already have one.) Also, do not give her a set of balanced steak knives, a hunting rifle, or a copy of the CIA’s “Guide To Effective Household Poisons.” And do not give her $240 worth of roses and $100 worth of chocolate if you just borrowed $900 from her. This will only make her more curious as to the origins of the new TCX riding boots you acquired. (ridetcxboots.com/products/
collection/2018-collection/touring-adventure-2018-collection/baja-gore-tex/) The surprise factor does not always work to the advantage of the donor. Most women do not welcome gauzy underthings, dinner in places that are big on atmosphere and small on portions, or eye-droppers full of perfume that cost as much as real estate in Spring Lake, New Jersey…especially if these are the prelude to Cupid’s trapeze. It is a mistake to assume the moto-riding paramour shares every aspect of two-wheeled passion. One rider of my acquaintance gave his wife an all-expense paid moto tour of Baja. The problem was she hated heat, dysentery and giant spiders. “Really?” he asked. “Well, it’s non-refundable, and I’ll just have to go instead.” The following year, she resolved the Valentine’s day dilemma by simply stating what she wanted. This strategy eliminates the element of surprise and the occasional forced expression of appreciation. She asked for 12 tennis lessons. He said, “Go ahead and book them. I’ll pay.” She did. She booked one tennis lesson per month, in Costa Rica. Since it was too far to commute, she just stayed there. And he is still paying. A recent poll of BMW K bike readers revealed their most sought after Valentine’s Day dream gifts are: • A K 1600 GTL (nicely equipped: $25,000) • A cabin in Montana on 2,000 acres ($2.5 million) • A year’s supply of ethanol-free 98 octane gasoline in champagne bottles. ($1.5 million) A caveat for those who would surprise their lovers with the BMW K 1600 B (The Bagger): remember to buy the appropriately-sized Bat Man ATGATT riding suit to complete the ensemble. The same survey revealed that BMW R bike riders wanted: • The soy bean harvester attachment GS bikes only ($2,700) • A 50-gallon drum of whale oil ($2,500) • Prune juice ($1.79/pint) An alternate gift for R bike riders is the Roy Jackson inaction figure, which comes
with a roll of backdrops, to actually make it seem as if the rider has left Rhode Island. The most romantic moto-Valentine story I have ever heard was offered by longdistance rider Gary Christman. Every year around Valentine’s Day, his wife presents him with a new motorcycle. This is because she loves him and because he goes through a motorcycle every 12 months. Last year, she presented him with a BMW GS with the armored roto-tiller attachment on the front, and the moose-pelt drying rack on the back. The only thing she wanted in return was a stone from the farthest tributary of Hudson’s Bay—Red Tomahawk Creek—about 1,200 miles north of the last place where you can buy ground corn meal. (Remember, this is Canada and they are happy with life’s little pleasures.) It took him six months, but Gary did it and presented her with a smooth, blue stone. She looked at it and said, “I wanted a bigger one.” Gary left at once, returning an additional six months later with the appropriate rock. She then gave him a new GS, complete with the giant centipede protection guard, along with a request for the silver eye of the sacred Amazonian Idol. Gary returned with the eye—and a shrunken head. His. She is now seeking custommade grapefruit-sized helmets. Valentine’s Day is not for the faint hearted. How can you end the Valentine’s Day madness? Present the rider in your life with a matched set of Conversations With A Motorcycle and the companion book Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words. For just about $50, you can give the spirit of laughter and savage moto noir. For a limited time only, Jack Riepe will trade a matched set of books, limited to the first ten responses, for the stupidest Valentine’s Day gift you have received. The offer excludes farm animals, spiders, centipedes, all insects, cigars rolled in Finland, underwear that reads “This Whopper Has Cheese On It,” and blow-up dolls. Contact the author at jackriepe.com. Order books from the same source. Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Members receive year-round discounts on member benefit rates, U.S. and Canadian standard rates and leisure rates on all car classes.
For the complete listing of all member discounts, visit us online at bmwmoa.org/discounts www.bmwmoa.org/discounts
finaljourney
Paul Swenson #205057 By Bob Clement #42584 JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, THE BMW COMMUNITY LOST ONE OF
the true, hardcore, old-time BMW riders when Paul Swenson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, passed from this life. Paul’s first BMW was a mid-1950s model which he sold before I met him in 1964 in Boulder, Colorado. When we met, he was riding a 250cc Ducati, a Diana I believe, and we soon became close friends and remained so until his death. When we met, I had a 1960 R 50 which Paul immediately fell in love with, and so we set about finding him another BMW, because that is where his heart really was. When I found a 1958 R 50 selling for $450, Paul bought it and rode the wheels off that bike for many years. Paul and I were both Vietnam veterans, although our experiences there were much different. Paul was an infantryman, a “grunt,” and I was a medic on a medivac helicopter. Unlike Bob, I never had to kill anyone or suffer the loss of close friends in the horrendous reality of life as an infantryman. That experience changed Paul greatly and haunted him for the rest of his life.
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Paul was a great BMW mechanic and machinist and was well known from Boulder to Colorado Springs by many BMW riders. He was always willing to share his knowledge and expertise with other riders. He had an almost encyclopedic memory and knowledge about the workings of BMW motorcycles, and I will always be indebted to him for sharing his knowledge of the intricacies of the Slash Two and for personally machining a number of special tools for me. He enjoyed riding long distances and attending rallies, both regional and international, from Sturgis back in the ‘60s, when it was attended by 600 or so riders, to more recent rallies like the Top O’ the Rockies in Paonia, Colorado, and the Beartooth Rendezvous in Montana. He also volunteered at a number of BMW MOA rallies as the beermeister, a responsibility he took to quite well. One thing I truly enjoyed about Paul was that you never had to wonder what he was thinking or what his honest opinion about something was; if you didn’t want a straight answer about a subject I quickly learned that you don’t ask. Many rally attendees will remember Paul as the long haired, bearded, one legged guy who rode a K model EML sidecar rig. He turned from riding on two wheels to riding on three after a couple of motorcycle accidents left him with a left leg prosthesis. For a number of years following his first accident on an old Indian motorcycle he had restored, he had his left knee replaced. After a second accident, it was necessary to remove that leg above the knee, and Paul took his stainless steel knee and used it as the shift knob on a right-side shifter he constructed for the sidecar rig, allowing him to both brake and shift on the right. For many years, a group of good friends always accompanied him on the road to help him with tent pitching and getting around. He rarely complained about his physical circumstances. On December 28th of 2016, just three days short of his 73rd birthday, Paul passed from complications brought on by heart failure and pneumonia. We were the closest of friends for over 50 years. He will be sorely missed by me and the many other riders whose lives he had touched.
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8,000,000 combined miles By Jim Heberling #191926 February is not the greatest month to be in Illinois where I live. It is, however, a great time to start planning out trips. The Moonshine Run (all brands) is only two months away. In April riders from every state ride to Moonshine, Illinois, population 2, to enjoy a Moon Burger. Check out their website. Also, it is a great to catch up with friends across the country to see which rallies and Getaways they are thinking of attending. Maybe I’ll see you at the Field of Dreams or the John Wayne Museum on the way to Des Moines MOA National this year. Special recognition to Harvey and Thomas for reaching the amazing 900,000-mile milestone. Congratulations to all members listed, which represent close to 8,000,000 miles, and thank you to all that shared their stories.
Harvey Read #7536 900,000 miles
I’ve owned 23 BMWs over the years, starting with a new 1963 R 60. My way
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900,000 miles
300,000 miles
600,000 miles
200,000 miles
Harvey Read Thomas Higgins
Steeve Sternberg Raymond Melosh
400,000 miles Norm Phoenix Gerry Dockum Stephen Cantrill
Greg Hohn Quinn Stirland
100,000 miles
Jerry Bauer Larimer Dimond Robert Rehkopf Robin Edkin Co-Pilot Jeff Smigla Keith Paxton Leon Brunken Ted Alvarez
to 900,000 miles included 230,000 miles on my 2010 R 1200 RT, my all-time favorite bike. It tours very well and can kick up its heels when the road gets interesting. The ride I’m most proud of was my lap of OZ, where I borrowed an R 80 G/S PD and spent two months working my way around the continent of Australia. I was down there when 911 happened and that night in the pub, my money was no good; everybody wanted to buy the Yank a beer! Any day the weather is good, I’m likely to tour Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine area, which is only an hour from my house. It’s also a rare year when I don’t ride the Colorado Rockies. I used to do about 10 rallies per year but now at 74, I’m slowing down a bit. That age thing, most of the guys I rode with have hung it up, but lately I’ve picked up a couple of young guys to ride with; they’re only 60. I joined the Wisconsin BMW Club a few years back and found that’s another good way to find folks to ride with. The lady in the picture with me is my wife Judy. Even though she doesn’t ride any more, she is very supportive of my riding. I think she knows it keeps me sane.
Warren Brownell Cheryl Laudermilk Deborah Fuentes James Reicker Robert Del Prato Dan LeBrun Henning Carlson John Grover Sam Garst Thomas Lemay
Quinn Stirland #159828 300,000 miles
Quinn Stirland enjoys the possibility of riding off-road which makes his 2004 R 1150 GS his favorite bike, and he says that about 20 percent of his miles on the bike have been off-road. For the past five years, Stirland has ridden to the Nez Perce Rally hosted by the Idaho BMW club. During the week-long rally, Stirland says he’s ridden the Magruder Byway, Lolo Motorway, Panther Creek Road and many more, while staying at some very enjoyable hot springs along the way. Stirland has also participated in several Iron Butt rallies and has always enjoyed
them and the company of those he rode with, but as he gets older finds he’s less inclined to ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours. While Stirland enjoys riding with friends, he also enjoys the solitude of riding alone and says, “It seems everyone inside my helmet agrees on where to go and when to stop!” Stirland is also involved with the Utah Beehive Beemers Motorcycle Club and is the current vice president responsible for organizing monthly breakfast meetings. The Beehive Beemers also host the annual Red Rock Rendezvous rally in Panguitch.
Robert Rehkopf #121932 200,000 miles
Lately, Robert Rehkopf has been riding a 2014 R 1200 RT, but for most of his last 100,000 miles he rode two 2012 R 1200 RTs. Rehkopf says his favorite bike is still his K 1200 RS and has missed not having a K bike, so he recently bought a 2010 K 1300 GT. Rehkopf frequently takes long trips, so his last 100,000 includes a lot of long distance riding. After returning from the MOA Rally in Salt Lake City last summer, Rehkopf says he was reading BMW Owners News and noticed that his mileage to the rally was several hundred miles longer than the winner! Rehkopf ’s most memorable ride in the last 100,000 was riding to Hyder, Alaska. The ride there and back was about 10,000 miles, with the most memorable about five miles in Montana when a road construction project removed 100 percent of the roadway. He was required to ride behind a “follow me truck” which got stuck in the earthen ditch he was riding in! Rehkopf says he mostly rides to rallies, takes flower sniffin’ rides, and enjoys planned tours, including the Iron Butt Association’s George Wyman Tour from San Francisco to New York City. George Wyman was the FIRST person to cross the continental United States in 1903 on a motorized vehicle, and he did it on a motorcycle! He made about 200 stops along the way, and the Wyman tour follows close to his original route.
Rehkopf also does some destination riding, but that’s combined with revisiting the National Parks Tour. He says the National Park Service rangers are the happiest and most friendly government employees there are! Because of his motorcycle riding tales, and photos, Rekhopf says he has instilled a sense of adventure into his four children, and they are very pleased and proud to say that his riding tales have enticed them to see America. Ride Safe, Think Fast!
Cheryl Laudermilk #146092 100,000 miles
Cheryl Laudermilk has been riding motorcycles since 1970 when she and her new husband took a pair of Yamaha DT-1s on their honey moon. After that, every weekend she wasn’t working as an OR nurse they were camping and riding single track in the mountains and deserts of eastern Washington. As their riding skills increased, they even rode in a few cross country motorcycle races.
Eventually they discovered the enjoyment of touring, so a 1000 Goldwing and a Honda 400F joined the stable of dirt bikes. In 1976 and 1979, they graduated to BMWs. In 1997, Laudermilk and her husband divorced but kept their interest in motorcycle riding. With no riding partner, Laudermilk joined a women’s motorcycle club that met in eastern Washington, and she slowly built up the confidence to ride alone. Laudermilk still belongs to that club and has logged thousands of miles riding dur-
ing the spring to fall riding seasons. Laudermilk retired after 46 years as an OR nurse and now has an enormous amount of time to explore the roads in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Montana, the Dakotas and a snippet of Nebraska. Laudermilk also discovered the Tour of Honor Ride and has enjoyed riding to the memorials, and her mileage has increased significantly. Laudermilk says she still does a fair amount of solo riding and recently revisited a ride from Walla Walla, Washington, to Elgin, Oregon, and Enterprise, Oregon, for a Tour of Honor site and then back to Heppner, Oregon. She said she had forgotten how beautiful the scenery and roads were.
Dan LeBrun #121648 100,000 miles
Putting 100,000 miles on a motorcycle was something Dan LeBrun had not put much thought into until recently. Motorcycles entered his life in the early 1970s when he was just out of high school, and during that time, LeBrun says he went through a handful of Japanese bikes, discovering the joys and excitement of riding with the wind in his face. At the time, ATGATT consisted of jeans and a sweatshirt, with barely a helmet. According to LeBrun, one of the riders in his little group of hooligans had what he thought was an R 75 at the time. After one ride on it, he was hooked. LeBrun’s first BMW was a 20-year-old R 69 that he got in 1980. His daily ride for a while, LeBrun still looks at photos of that bike, wishing he’d have kept it. After a
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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stretch of time without a bike because of work and family, he found a slightly used 1999 R 1100 R that he took everywhere and anywhere. In 2006, the GS bug bit, and LeBrun traded the R 1100 R for a new, off the showroom floor, R 1200 GS. A lot of the 100,000 miles on this GS have been accumulated while riding in the New England area from the northern coast of Maine to the Adirondacks on National Forest roads and any back roads he can find in his collection of DeLorme Atlases and Gazetteers. Instead of a GPS, LeBrun prefers to use a roadbook holder and spends hours researching routes. When planning his multi-day trips through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, he is always looking for the skinny roads on his maps. While most of these trips have been solo, several in the last few years have been with a small group of likminded adventure seekers. LeBrun says he recently acquired a barely used 2004 R 1150 RT that will see the bulk of his next 100,000 miles. According to LeBrun, words can only do so much when describing the exhilaration and therapy one get’s from traveling by motorcycle.
Deb Fuentes #166938 100,000 miles
I think my story is like many others. My husband and I rode motorcycles when we were young, but we took a break when we decided to raise a family. Eventually, when our kids grew up and retirement was on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to return to the sport that had been so much fun so long ago Not knowing just what we wanted from the sport, we were fortunate to meet another couple who were right
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where we were, returning to motorcycling after a long absent. Don and Patty Clark, along with my husband Gil and I formed a perfect group. Don and Patty had already taken some long-distance tours, and when they suggested that we join them for their next one, we were enthusiastic to go. It was decided that we would ride to Sturgis, South Dakota. Deciding that my first bike wouldn’t be suitable for such a long journey, I purchased my first BMW, an F 650 GS. That first tour was a great success, and since then, there have been many more. The four of us have now ridden to all 48 of the continental United States, and we’re a long way from being finished. Although I was the first to own a BMW, the rest quickly followed. I now own 2013 F 700 GS with 58,000 miles on it, while Gil and Patty recently traded in older BMW’s to buy 2016 R 1200 Rs. Don has a 2016 R 1200 GS. We all agree that they’re the best bikes we’ve owned. I believe touring by motorcycle is the absolute best way to travel, but touring on such wonderful bikes as our BMWs really makes it special. When asked about my favorite ride, I always have a difficult time answering. We have been to so many places! The Grand Canyon, Devils Tower, Blue Ridge Parkway, the Dragon, Natchez Trace, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Badlands, Key West, Avenue of the Giants, Crater Lake, Route 66, the “Loneliest Road” across Nevada, the Going to the Sun Road, Million Dollar Highway, Acadia National Park, through Canada to do the Cabot Trail—the list is endless. Each time I think “this one “ may be the best, another comes along. But having said that, if forced to choose, two come to the top every time: the first time I looked into the depths of the Grand Canyon and the first time we crested a hill and I saw the
Pacific Ocean. These are so profoundly beautiful that they just need to be on everyone’s bucket list. I’ve been asked many times why I ride. I’ve never been able to come up with a suitable answer. Maybe I ride because riding a motorcycle asks something of you. It’s not easy. It’s a demanding sport, dangerous even when done well. But the rewards are stunning. To ride is to become one with the machine and the road, to be completely in the moment. You are a part of it all, not just a spectator. To feel the rush of speed, the gliding surge as you and the bike arc though a curve, is to feel so very alive.
I know I’m lucky. I’m lucky to be able to ride, to be able to roam this wonderful country and to see so much. Lucky to be able to meet friendly and interesting people at almost every gas stop or roadside diner. And lucky for good friends to share it all with. Where will I ride next? Don says Alaska sounds interesting. We’ll see. Destinations are important, but we ride simply to ride. The journey is the destination. “Where” is a question for tomorrow. The only important thing is, tomorrow and tomorrow again, we ride.
Never ride alone With Platinum Roadside Assistance and Tire Protection added to your BMW MOA membership, you’ll never ride alone again. BMW MOA’s 24/7 Platinum Roadside Assistance gets you to a repair facility fast and will even replace a punctured tire for free! All that for only $109 a year, which includes the cost of your MOA membership. Join online at bmwmoa.org or convert your current BMW MOA membership by calling 864-438-0962. BMW MOA Platinum Roadside and Tire Protection, available exclusively for BMW MOA members.
rally
moarally
RIDING IOWA: What to expect By Brian Dutcher #160860 TO APPRECIATE IOWA, YOU FIRST
have to understand what it is not. Iowa doesn’t have magnificent blue waters crashing against the rocky cliffs of the Pacific Northwest, nor does it have snowcapped mountain peaks and sparkling clear mountain creeks bristling with fresh snowmelt. Iowa is a land bordered by the Missouri River on the west and the Mississippi on the east. These muddy rivers continue to carve through the land the glaciers shaped. Between these rivers, one finds endless corn and soybean fields, a few herds of grass-fed cows, and small midwestern towns not more than a day ride by horseback apart. Iowa may lack adrenaline pumping, twisty carving roads through jaw dropping alpine scenery crossed by a BDR; however, what Iowa lacks in
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adrenalin pumping rides is made up for by its population of the most welcoming and friendly people you are sure to find. As riders, the terrain and the weather are the first elements we interact with and how we judge an area. We interact with them immediately, visually, physically, and sometimes viscerally. We experience what the terrain beneath our tires and the environment in front of us has to offer. Understanding Iowa’s geography will help all riders find the riding they desire between its muddy water borders. Though difficult to visualize, Iowa was the impact zone of what is believed to be the largest meteor impact in North America, which is estimated to have happened just a mere 74 million years ago. Known as the Manson Crater, it is now Pocahontas County. Since then, the area defined as Iowa has experienced four separate glacial periods, with the most recent ending about
10,000 years ago. These glacial periods have had the greatest influence on Iowa’s landscape, with the two most visible remnants seen today being the plains of the Des Moines Lobe and the resulting hills like those around the State capital building and fairground. Additional glacial remnants include kettle holes and glacier lakes that were created with the glacial advances and retreats. Kettles are simply depressions formed from the excessive weight left from the massive melting chunks of ice, with Lakes Spirit and Okoboji being two examples. On this plain many marshes and bogs were formed, and today, farmers work to keep them drained to allow for tilling the rich soil. Along the western edge of the state, the Loess Hills lie between one and 15 miles east of the Missouri River channel and run from Mound City, Missouri, about 200 miles north to Westfield, Iowa. The Loess Hills rise up to 200 feet and create an “Iowa Front Range,” which provides the rider with meandering roads across rolling hills, a welcome change from the flat prairie. The highest point can be found at Murray Hill, which sits 350 feet above the Missouri River. The Loess Hills were created as glacial melt deposited sediment which created huge mud flats. When these flats dried, wind reshaped the land and moved the silt to form what is
Rally Update now known as the Loess Hills. Depending upon the weather, the Loess Hills offer adventure riders an array of county road conditions with everything from several inches deep, filter-clogging talcum-like powder, to knobby-packing, fender-clogging and ultraslippery mud. Just north and east of the Loess Hills on the edge of the Des Moines Lobe lies the Glacier Trail Scenic Byway. This 36-mile loop offers a welcome change to the pancake plains of the Des Moines Lobe. Another byproduct of the glaciers, the geography of this area offers riders rolling hills, forested valleys, hanging cliffs, kames, kettles, glacial till and several crossings of the Little Sioux River. The area is well worth adding into the route if traveling to or from the Northwest. From the rally, it’s a full day ride of about 450 miles, depending on the route. The area known as the Driftless Area in the northeastern part of the state and the Southern Iowa Drift Plain in east central Iowa will offer the rider the best opportunity for majestic rolling hills, bluffs, and meandering roads. The Iowa DOT has designated two scenic byways in this area that highlight area. Beginning in the northeastern county of Allamakee is the Driftless Area Scenic Byway. This route offers an opportunity to ride 100 miles crisscrossing an area untouched by the
last glacier and through limestone bluffs, forested valleys and river bottoms carved by the Upper Iowa, Yellow, and Mississippi rivers. Riders coming into Iowa from the northeast will have the perfect opportunity to ride this route start to finish on their way to the rally in Des Moines. In the two counties to the south is the River Bluffs Scenic Byway, another route cutting through limestone bluffs, meandering through valleys and crossing the Turkey and Volga rivers near the convergence with the Mississippi. The southern Iowa Drift Plain covers the bottom half of the state with roads that vary from very wide spaced gentle rollers to tighter groupings. The scenery continues into northern Missouri, which offers riders some fun roads. It seems as though the Missouri DOT’s road engineers did not follow Iowa’s “scrape and fill” road construction practice, which is a benefit to motorcyclists. With this knowledge of Iowa’s land formations, a rider can create a route from the patchwork of county roads, Iowa state, and US highways that crisscross the western, eastern edge and southern half of the state. Using the land formation map and comparing it to the Iowa road map will provide a good starting point for planning.
By Deb Gasque #182082 One thing that’s for sure, the state of Iowa is very serious about the state fair they hold each summer in Des Moines. The pristine fairgrounds surrounded by this exemplary city just happen to be where our 2018 BMW MOA International Rally will take place in July. Rally Chair Brian Hinton, and Co-Chairs Lee Harrelson and I are working hard to make sure your journey to Des Moines will be rewarding and create long-lasting memories you’re sure to treasure. We hope you’ve seen our videos published on the MOA webpage at bmwmoa.org, as well as the MOA Facebook and Instagram pages. When you watch the videos, be sure to “like” us and share rally-related content to spread the good word. It’s been a long and cold winter thus far, and for many of us, we’ve spent the dreary days dreaming about our adventures of the riding season to come. Des Moines, Iowa, will be a destination you will definitely want to program into your GPS. Des Moines is a trendy and vibrant city with an exciting vibe, and the 2018 Rally Team wants to make sure your experience in Des Moines will be one of the best! Plans are coming together for a great lineup of activities you definitely won’t want to miss—think 60s-70s motorcycle culture! The list of rally site amenities is fantastic and begins with the largest air-conditioned building ever available at an MOA rally site. All of our indoor vendors, the majority of seminars and Rally Central will be stationed in the comfort of this air-conditioned building. Rally activities include fun-themed day rides with photo challenges and awards, plus phenomenal entertainment with a top-notch beer garden and plentiful, eclectic food. Both onroad and off-road training will be offered on the rally grounds, and shuttle transportation to and from Rally Central to downtown Des Moines will be also be available. On top of that, the Iowa State Fairgrounds offer gorgeous camping sites with plenty of shade and grassy areas and more than 300 RV spots. If you do choose to stay off-site, many hotels are available within a short distance of the rally grounds. No matter how you prefer to roll at the 2018 MOA International Rally, Des Moines will have your needs covered. Visit bmwmoa.org today to register for the 2018 BMW MOA International Rally and start planning to “Experience the Journey” to Des Moines in July!
fromtheboard
MOA Open Session Board minutes October 21, 2017 • Des Moines, Iowa BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
President Wes Fitzer, Vice President Jean Excell, Treasurer Sam Garst, Secretary Reece Mullins, Marc Souliere, Deb Lower, Chad Warner, Roger Trendowski, and Tracy McCarty. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Executive Director Bob Aldridge, Ted Moyer, Bill Wiegand, Karin Halker, Ray Tubbs, Lesa Howard, and Wes Fleming. MOAF MEMBERS PRESENT:
President Chuck Manley, Vice President Mark Austin, Secretary Greg Straub, Tom Gary, Randall Logan, Will McHardy, Peter Perrin, and Vance Harrelson.
team for bringing the site forward to the board for approval. “It’s an absolutely beautiful site. It has more amenities on the site than a rally-goer could ever possibly need. After being here the last few days, Des Moines is quickly turning into one of my favorite places.” Wes Fitzer follows open session board meeting tradition, and calls for Board and Staff introductions as well as MOA members present to introduce themselves.
Treasurer’s Report – Sam Garst:
As of the 21st of October 2017 the BMW MOA’s investment account stands at $586,121.08 which is in excess of the MOA’s long term liabilities.
MOA MEMBERS PRESENT:
Greg Feeler – 2017 Rally Chair. Pat Carol – 2017 Rally Co-Chair. Brian Burdette – 2017 Rally Co-Chair. Deb Gasque – 2018 Rally Co-Chair. Lee Harrelson – 2018 Rally Co-Chair. Norm Phoenix – 2018 Rally Committee Chair Pioneer Events. Brian Dutcher – 2018 Rally Local Hospitality Committee Chair. Jackie Hughes Stan Herman Melissa Logan Karol Patzer – Ambassador. Mari Harrelson Sue Aldridge Thomas Van Horn – Madison BMW Club # 7. Sue Rihn – Ambassador Liaison. Mike Bowlin – Local Member. Joe Larson – Local Member. Steve Carson – Pure Stodge Iowa Rally Chair. Michael McCallister – Local Member. President – Wes Fitzer calls the meeting to order at 13:15 CDT. Wes Fitzer opens the meeting by welcoming all members present and thanking the rally site selection
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STAFF REPORT: accompaniment.)
(Slide
Executive Director – Bob Aldridge:
presentation
Bob proceeds to brief the members present, starting with a snapshot membership graph from June 2013 – September 2017. Bob points out the low bar on the graph from November 2014 at 29,952, the high point at December 2015 at 33,857, and the current membership number as of September 2017 at 30,934. Bob briefs the current climate of membership-based organizations nation wide, and shared insights gained in discussion regarding similar membership organizations from Michael Peyton, Vice President, BMW Motorrad Region Americas. Bob continues his presentation with Revenue and Cost of Goods slides, conducting a general overview of the 2017 MOA budget as of October. On the revenue side, Bob explains the line items presented: Advertising, Membership, Events, Gear, and Other and discusses the total income under budget figure and factors
that caused the deficit condition. Total income line: Budget $2,440,550, Actual $2,240,565 coming in at $199,985 under budget on revenue. Moving on to the Cost of Goods slide Bob briefs each line item, Owners News, Anonymous Book, Events, Gear, and Other. The Total COG line: Budget $1,107,100 Actual $1,157,290 coming in at $50,190 under budget on costs. Bob then proceeds to brief the Net Results (Revenue over Costs) slide with Revenue, COG, and Operations line items. The total profit and loss line for 2017 as of October: Budgeted $192,743 Actual $12,157 coming in at $180,586 under our projected net profit for the year as of October.
Managing Editor BMW Owners News – Bill Wiegand:
Bill proceeds to brief the members that who are present on the latest information regarding the Owners News. Accountability highlights include: • 100% on time and on budget. • 35% advertising ratio means more content each month. • 350 member contributions in ten months. (“That’s what really makes us the Owners News.”) What’s happening now with the Owners News: • Expanding our contributor base. Mining social media for new contributors. (Bill gives an example of Brook Reams #114474 article “Rebuilding a First Year R100 RS” published in the ON. The author was identified from the MOA forums. • Reward and recognize contributors. (Owners News Contributor tee shirts.) • Taking “Member Tested” to the people. Product evaluations at MOA Getaways. (Members get to test and demo new vendor product lines, with an emphasis of using more than one member to obtain more
thorough data points and a more accurate review.) • More Club News. Contributors from Charter Club events. Coming Attractions: • Favorite Rides. • Chartered Club News. • Rider surveys. • Simple Tech. • Integrating Video Content. • Ride Maps.
BMW Owners News Art Director – Karin Halker:
Media Team Highlights: • BMW ON 100% on time and on Budget! • 2017 Annual Financial Report. • Fall Dealer Supplement. (Twenty-four page fall dealer supplement distributed to 75 dealers including the K1600 bagger review.) • Currently working with Chris Hughes, our Advertising Director to redesign the 2018 Media Guide, a crucial tool to generate new advertising contracts. It includes an overview of what our club does and why you would want to advertise with us through the Owners News. It also details out the size and costs of different ads to choose from. It’s the main selling feature Chris uses when finding new advertising clients for the MOA. • Ad Production Services – Making 26 advertisers look like pros! • 2018 Rally Logo Design. Coming Attractions: • New Gear Shop ads. • Update design and layout of Owners News with a fresh new look throughout. • New showcase of Member Benefits • 2018 Anonymous Book. • 2018 International Rally – Applying rally graphic to everything Rally 2018.
Digital Media Team Highlights – Wes Fleming:
2017 Rally App • Over 1400 users (Up 50% over the year before. Event listing most popular feature.)
• Working with 2018 Rally Chairs and CoChairs on new rally app • Event listings, Gallery most popular • 193,000+ page views • 360+ photos shared Biweekly Member Newsletter • Over 25,000 subscribers • Relevant and timely news • Drives members to the MOA website • Drives web ad revenue Archive of Motorcycle Reviews • Ten years of motorcycle reviews and first look articles in one place. Chasing the Horizon – the MOA’s podcast for and about motorcycles. • Launched in August, six episodes have aired. • 4,500+ downloads (Goes up several hundred times a day.) • News feed from Cycle News (Partnership is working out very well.) • Every episode features an MOA promo, highlighting one MOA benefit per podcast. Coming Attractions • Website Makeover (Consistent and cohesive with Owners News makeover.) • Simplify and make mobile responsive • Unify the branding of print and digital • Expand YouTube channel content • Recruit members & other SME’s to create more videos • Focus on tech, member profiles. • More member submission in digital format • 50+ member- submitted feature stories on website in 2017 • 2018 goal is 75+ member- submitted feature stories on the bmwmoa.org website • Expand general content areas on the web
Member Services Highlights – Ray Tubbs:
Ray Tubbs opening comments recognizes Steve Carson, Pure Stodge Iowa Rally Chair, for his willingness to assist as the local charter club point of contact for the 2018 Des Moines Rally, and displays the
1972 MOA Anonymous Book he donated to the MOA staff. Member Communication • New Partner for membership cards, renewal notices and initial member mailings that facilitate lower cost and a faster turnaround. • New format for email communication • Event notices to specific geographies and events. For example, Steve Carson’s Pure Stodge Rally, we were able to send out “bulk emails/email blasts” of events coming up with the charter clubs. • Let your charter clubs know we are here to do everything we can to help your members and people within your region. Whatever we can do to help your rally successful makes us all successful in the long run, and it’s important to us, the MOA, to help your charter club. Expanding Regional Coordinators • Working with and through the MOA board to expand the Regional Coordinator program, with the primary mission of working with the charter clubs and the members within their region of responsibility. • A mission statement has been developed for the RC’s. • Focused on establishing new RC’s in dense population areas of clubs and members. • Establish best practices to be shared nationwide. • We have four new applications as of today. Social Media • We’ve done a better job on social media. I’ll never say we are where we want to be, but activity has increased dramatically. • We’ve included the Regional Coordinators in assisting us on the Facebook page as administrators. They’ve done a tremendous job. • I’m a big believer that we have to show smiling faces; people having a good time, so that when other people see that they want to participate, and be a part of that. • With the moderator team we have now, we are having much fewer issues.
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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• The Facebook group is very robust and active. • Instagram and Twitter pages are growing. Coming Soon • Continue to develop and improve the Charter Club – MOA relationship. • Moving the Charter Club renewal dates to NLT December 31st to assist Charter Clubs by not having renewal dates that coincide with the international rally. • Expand communication services for the clubs. • Evaluate additional MOA capabilities and leverage the RC program. • Take our “social game” to the next level with meaningful posts and derived analytics. • Align and synchronize the social media content strategy over our various platforms: Print, Website, and Social. • Leverage social media content to aid in recruitment of members and participation at events. • Expand the role of the RC to include direct member contact (pilot program). At the conclusion of Ray Tubbs brief, Greg Feeler had a question regarding the change of dates on the charter club renewal. Both Ray and Ted Moyer answered the question directly. The need to move the date was centered around a more conducive time for reaching out to the charter club representatives for renewal, identifying officers, and contact information for the MOA and the Anonymous Book publication cycle. Steve Carson, Pure Stodge Iowa Charter Club rally chair, personally thanks Ray Tubbs for the email blast to MOA members in the area that facilitated the success of their charter club rally. He pointed out that several members attending the rally came specifically because they found out about the rally through the MOA email blast. Ray Tubbs concludes by thanking the office staff, the “lifeblood of the organization,” Lesa Howard and Noelle Leopard, for doing a great job with member services, and encourages members to call the office
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if they have any issues or questions.
America.
Ted Moyer – Membership Projects
Social Link – You’ve heard us talking about it in the last couple of meetings. We still are in the process of deploying it. It has some features that are really important to us but a few things have to be corrected in the product. Basically, it allows us to connect members in a mobile app… however, the people who provide that app feel differently about privacy than we do. There’s too much member information that is public in their standard product. We’re trying to work with our provider to keep member’s addresses private verses public.
Sometimes I have to put the staff in a box with only three slides for their staff presentation at quarterly board meetings, but we do so because we feel it’s important to hold the staff accountable to the membership. Bob and I, and the rest of the team as well, believe in accountability and being critical of our own performance. Internally, we do a stellar job at this, and we try to communicate that out to you, the membership. The number of tweets, the number of posts, the amount of money that we have saved, sometimes, that’s hard to get across. It’s not always the exciting stuff, but the old sales guy in me recognizes that capturing these analytics is, it’s the only way to really measure if we are doing it right. Bob started it all with membership numbers and financial reports, the ultimate test of performance, and this group followed that up and does a really good job of tracking their work statistics. The current staff, they just have it! They have it down deep inside that they are going to hold themselves accountable for the work that they do and hopefully that comes through in everything that you see here today. I don’t know if Bob gets this… but it feels like we are right on the cusp of moving forward really, really quickly. Things are starting to come together for this team. We didn’t have these people and this team dynamic this time last year. It’s really starting to come together, and it’s exciting to see what these folks are doing and where it’s ultimately going to lead this organization. MOA Travel Network – We just launched our travel network, powered by Priceline. This is basically the hotel inventory on Priceline that is typically secret. You wouldn’t be able to see the name of the hotel on the Priceline site, but, because we have the user name and password of a protected online community, they have a feature that enables us to see the name of those hotels at a deeply discounted rate, of up to forty percent off in any city in North
Deb Lower – Is the MOA travel network available to the MOA right now? Ted Moyer – Yes. It’s been available for about a month now. On the home page there is a menu bar across the top that says book hotels, click that book hotels link, and it takes you to the page you would access to book your hotel. Really slick, works really well, and it’s available in a mobile environment… it does all kinds of cool stuff. Motorcycle Relief Project – A 501c(3) charity out of Colorado that takes military veterans on what they call “relief rides” that specializes in servicing veterans with PTSD or other traumatic injuries… hidden injuries, as they tend to call them. The organizers take them out on week long rides on GS’s and they put a facilitator with them to help those service members work through some of their issues. If you had a chance to talk to them at the rally, then you know that it’s really a life changing event for a lot of these guys. They were one of our charities this year at the rally (thank you Greg for doing that) with our fund raising efforts at the rally and the getaways, we’ve raised close to $10,000 dollars for them this year. We still have the Texas Getaway left this year, so we are looking at writing them a check for over $11,000 dollars this year, which will fund three or four service members to go through their program. BMW MOA Foundation Super Stakes
– Nineteen members won $341,000 in prizes. The foundation netted $123,000 for motorcycle rider safety, education and training. I still tell you that is the best day to work here when you get to call nineteen members and tell them they have won a new bike, no one is mad. The completely Vintage 1978 R80/7 raffle with tickets at $25 apiece, is currently active for the foundation. The bike was generously donated (absolutely 100% free) by BMW MOA Board member, Sam Garst. Sam Garst – It’s a great bike, a great ride, a solid runner. Ted Moyer – Sam came to us with what most people would call a barn find. He got together with another member from Mukwonago Wisconsin, Randy Boris, and got the bike in operational condition, road
worthy, cleaned it all up and did everything you are supposed to do to make it as though it was for sale, and then donated it to us to raffle off. With a targeted market, if this bike appeals to you this is the best chance you are going to have to win a bike. Raffle closes on November 30th and we draw the winning ticket on December 16th. Bob Aldridge – I know we are over our time Mr. President, I just want to take a quick moment to thank the staff for being here again. I think you can get a sense of their passion, their dedication, their willingness to go the extra mile. I would like to take a quote that I came across on our MOA Facebook group page that I think reflects the way our staff feels about this organization and their duties. “Be stubborn about your goals but flexible about your methods.” – Simeon Thomas. I think that describes this staff in what they do and
how they work, and how they work together to produce the best possible result they can for the organization without getting hung up with, “that’s not my job”, or “I don’t do this.” I got a great staff ,and I just want to say thanks to them for being here, and thanks to the board for putting your faith in us and supporting the staff to the degree that you do as well. On behalf of the staff, thank you very much.
Operations Committee – Jean Excell:
The last couple of days we have been working with Bob to develop our operational budget and our Des Moines rally budget for 2018. We are working to fine tune that and to get both budgets approved by the end of the calendar year. This concludes the Operations Committee brief.
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Membership/Volunteers Committee – Sam Garst:
We have decided to “tweak” the mileage contest rules this year. We are going to try to simplify it so that it doesn’t look quite so complicated when you open your magazine and see all those different inserts. Reducing the number of inserts will save us money and simplify the process. We will be working with the staff on how to implement that, you should be seeing those changes in the upcoming months. I am looking for people who may be eligible as recipients for Key Volunteer awards. If you have individuals you know that you would like to nominate for doing an outstanding job supporting the MOA in general, or through their work to support national or local rallies, please feel free to email that information to me: sam.garst@ bmwmoa.org And finally, we were able to appoint another member to the BMWMOAF board, Shalmarie Wilson. She will be joining the foundation at the January board meeting.
2017 Salt Lake City Rally Recap – Greg Feeler:
Our goal first and foremost was for the rally goer to have fun. To get there we wanted our volunteers to have fun. We wanted everyone to have a great experience and we wanted to try some new ideas. We didn’t want to screw it up and we wanted to come out friends at the end, and I certainly think we hit all of those goals. I want to thank Pat Carol and Brian Burdette extensively for their effort and their sacrifice despite their trepidations. The 2017 Rally was in July we had 4,200 attendees that was down from what we wanted, certainly. We had 122 vendors; we raised almost $13,000 for charity. Half of which went to The Christmas Box House, the local charity, and the other half going to the Motorcycle Relief Project. The sight was beautiful and intimate; the weather was a little on the warm side however. Utah welcomed us with great roads. What helped us run the rally is that we
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put a lot of effort into pre-planning. I had taken hundreds of photographs of the site early on, the May before, last year’s rally. I organized those and we did lots of virtual tours with committee chairs, before they got to the site itself. We tried to communicate extensively with the committees and solicit their input, because we realized we were not the smartest guys in the room in terms of each of the committee chairs and their assignments and responsibilities. We did what we could to support them within reason and bring all that together to make it possible for them to be successful. We communicated frequently with the site, staying in close contact with the site staff. One of the things that took a lot of time but paid off in the end, was all three of us planned the rally together, we were on every committee call, weekly, we went through every decision and reached a consensus and understanding. The site itself had some challenges for us based on its lay out. There was a DMV on site that created a traffic situation, registration had to be in a certain location, we had to work around that, the multiple vendor buildings were situated in a way that would work nicely once they were in there, getting them in and out was difficult. We brought in our logistics people, Sam Garst, Vance Harrelson and Stan Herman; let me tell you, those guys are heroes! Moving on, the tracks light rail system was a novelty aspect that was very helpful for an “urban” rally. We had super local support. The local BMW MOA Charter Club, the Bee Hive Beemers, were just awesome. They helped out with Utah state maps that came in everybody’s rally packet and they connected us with the local dealer, Harrison Eurosports, that was really great to work with. They provided a shuttle back and forth from the rally to the dealership frequently, during the day to get work done on bikes, they shut there shop down from local business and kept the shop open just for the rally goers, and they provided a display RnineT bike as a surrogate for our prize bikes. Our committees just rocked! They are the
ones that do all the work at the rally and make the rally chairs look good – they make the MOA look good. I’m going to point out a few examples: • Registration: Roger Trendowski rolled out a new process for registration, I’ve heard nothing but good things and compliments about how quick and easy that was. • We brought back the people’s choice bike show. The crew that did that did a nice job; it was well attended and well populated. • The beer garden, and entertainment – Rally Central worked really well and helped the rally experience to some degree. • The GS Giants did a good job hosting their event. There were some challenges with the site, they had to bring dirt in to facilitate the layout, but they came together to make it work out well. • We had a black ops committee this year that consisted of mister stations and water runs. The mister stations may be an idea that needs to be extended for future events perhaps. Every committee did their job with professionalism and élan. Some things we did different this year. • Rally stickers in the March issue of the ON. (Good feedback) • We went in a different direction with entertainment this year, much at Brian Burdett’s direction. Tapping in deeply into the Kansas City music seenscene, with bluegrass, rockabilly, and swing as the major genres. And although any music is not everyone’s cup of tea, we had good attendance at the music events every night, and every evening there was a standing ovation for the last act. • Wes Fleming’s Rally App was really awesome with seminar times, vendor information, personal schedule planner, and social media links. A whole new direction this year. • Karin Halker helped us by putting the Rally program in a digital version online a month before the rally in addition to
receiving a hard copy once attendees arrived at the rally. This was the first time that this has been done. Greg Feeler concludes his briefing by thanking the board of directors for their support and trust of the Rally Chairs. Also, he thanked over one hundred committee chairs and co-chairs that worked so hard to make the rally work. The rally volunteer turn out was really good this year with hundreds of volunteers. Greg thanks each volunteer for their hard work and dedication, the GS Giants for their work on the GS Giant event, Bee Hive Beemers president, Jeff Thurman, who acted as a consumer liaison for the dealership, Harrison Eurosports, and Visit Salt Lake, the visitor’s convention bureau for Salt Lake City, was very helpful as well. And the entire MOA staff from Bob Aldridge down was a great help; they were there when we needed them with sage and pertinent advice. (Greg Feeler takes a moment to thank each individual staff member for their support and effort in putting the rally together and running it; “Everybody was there for us.”) President Wes Fitzer presents 2017 rally chair Greg Feeler, and his two co-chairs, Brian Burdette and Pat Carol with a personalized Kermit Chair and BMW leather riding jacket. President Wes Fitzer presents former BMW MOA President Greg Feeler the Friend of the Mark award submitted through the MOA and awarded by the BMW International Council of Clubs. This award was presented to Greg Feeler for his tireless efforts over the course of many years promoting the BMW brand through his hard word as an MOA member, volunteer, and leader.
Events Committee – Chad Warner:
Briefs the members present with the approved Getaway schedule for 2018. • Fontana, NC • Coeur d’Alene, ID • Eureka Springs, AK www.bohnarmor.com/bmw February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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• Sedona, AZ • Pine Mountain, KY • Jay Peak, VT • Tomah, WI • Kerrville, TX We are looking at adding four additional getaway venues to the 2018 events calendar. Randall Logan – Question: “Has the board considered approving an MOA getaway for California? The place I’m thinking of on Pismo Beach would be right on the ocean with great roads, wineries and other attractions that would potentially make this venue very attractive to the MOA membership in the Santa Barbara California area. I would be happy to help in any way to accommodate a Getaway in this area.” President Wes Fitzer: “That is a great example of volunteerism and what this club offers that no one else can touch. One of our members that is knowledgeable of an area comes forward to this board in our events committee and says, ‘I have an idea and I’m willing to help.’ Thank you for that Randy. Chad, write that information down. We are certainly willing to take a look at it.” Chad Warner: Many may not be aware of the new sponsorship campaign that the MOA has embarked on, sponsoring three adventure series rallies, High Sierra, Waylon Wayne, and Middle of the Map. The MOA was a participating sponsor at these events without organizing or running themit. The board has approved sponsoring these events next year. Through the use of the “Three for Free” new membership program, we have used these adventure series sponsorship opportunities as an outreach and recruiting venue for the MOA within the adventure community. The two rallies added for next year are Dirt Days, which is connected to the Americade rally, and RibFest based out of Tennessee.
BMWMOAF report – President Chuck Manley:
As many of you know, and some of you may not know, many years ago we started
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having foundation board meetings in conjunction with MOA board meetings. We are structured very similarly to the MOA board; we have four committees: Administration Committee, Finance and Fundraising Committee, the Paul B. Scholarship Committee, and the GEARS Committee, our youth orientated training program. During three quarterly board meetings we meet in committee and as a board. We also schedule an in- person board meeting with the MOA board, in addition to the open session report you are receiving at this time. Chuck proceeds to brief the members present regarding the Paul B. Scholarship history, its purpose, and how as an MOA member you qualify to take advantage of the scholarship for motorcycle safety training. A member picks the training of his or her their choice, and the foundation will reimburse that member up to two hundred and fifty dollars to participate in that training. For non-MOA members, we will reimburse that individual up to one hundred dollars towards their training. A member or non-member can apply for one scholarship per year. During the 2017 calendar year the foundation has received 122 applications, up considerably from previous years. Of those 122 applications, 110 were approved, spending at a cost of fourteen thousand dollars on individual training. This figure does not include the individual funding provided at the International Rally at Salt Lake City, Utah. At the rally, when anybody takes advantage of the Streetmasters or Streetskills courses offered on site, the Foundation reimburses fifty dollars to the individuals upon completion of those courses. The GEARS program continues to be a success at the rally. We are in the process of revamping that program. We are not ready to discuss the details of that yet, but we think its going to be more inclusive, and a better program overall. The R80 raffle is a fundraising vehicle that allows all the money raised to go right back to our members. Chuck encourages all non-foundation board members in the
room to buy a ticket. Chuck goes into detail and explains the new legacy-giving program that has recently been structured and approved by the foundation board. It is a program that allows anyone to bequeath a portion of his or hertheir estate to the foundation. This program will help fund our mission, “Advancing rider safety, education, and training.” With Randall Logan taking the lead on the development of this program, we have a program in effect that is going to roll out December first of this year. Details will be published in the December Owners News on how to participate. We have some fairly aggressive goals with this program over the next eight years. We are rolling it out in a manner that allows those who want to participate a very simply means of getting involved. The Foundation’s contact information will be available in the ON column in the event any member wanting to participate has questions. No attorney will be necessary to participate; it’s an entrylevel legacy-giving program. Upon conclusion of the foundation president’s briefing, MOA president Wes Fitzer informs the members about the Amazon Smiles program that allows anyone who shops on Amazon to opt in to the program, select the BMW MOA FOUNDATION as their charitable giving site, and a percentage, 0.5%, of all proceeds purchased via Amazon goes to the foundation without costing the member/giver anything. It’s an excellent way to support the foundation for those who shop on line at Amazon. Visit smile.amazon.com and select the BMW MOA FOUNDATION as your charity of choice;, it only takes a few minutes to sign up. Ted Moyer – The foundation tab on the website has a link that takes your browser directly to the Amazon Smile page, prepopulating the foundation for you, making the effort event easier. Reece Mullins – How is the program working?
www.beemershop.com
Ted Moyer – Currently it generates on average approximately eighty dollars a month. President Wes Fitzer brings forward the 2018 rally co-chairs, Deb Gasque, “The Fashonista,” Owners News regular column contributor, and Lee Harrelson, from Alabama, the “behind the scenes entertainment guy” at International Rallies, to give the 2018 Des Moines rally briefing to the board, staff, and members present. Deb and Lee present a short video promo that features the new rally logo designed by Brian Hinton and Karin Halker. The video and logo were well received by the members present. Deb Gasque begins to brief the rally timeline and the media campaign that starts on Black Friday with the release of a teaser video. Lee Harrelson briefs the aspects of the media campaign by introducing BMW MOA member Brian Dutcher from West Des Moines, Iowa. Brian has volunteered to assist in the development of video content while the MOA rally team and staff were in Des Moines attending the quarterly board meeting. We’ve brought a small crew with us to film lots of areas in and around Des Moines and to provide video content for our rally campaign that begins with a series of short fifteen to thirty second teaser videos, that will be “dropped” every two weeks from Black Friday till the end of 2017, which will culminate into the January issue of the Owners News that will feature heavy rally content. We’re going to take the next few days to shoot a lot video, and then go back and do even more editing and ground work. Our goal is to release these videos, and create some excitement along the way. Part of our idea is to capture the concept of experiencing the journey, which facilitates our logos; “Experience The Journey” and “The Amazing Ride.” We will be conducting a lot of social media “tagging” in conjunction with the subsequent video release dates. The concept is to reawaken
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the membership by reminding them that the rally is not just about the event itself but begins when you roll your bike out of your drive way and head to the rally. We encourage members to “experience” the motorcycle ride to and from the rally. We want members to approach the rally as a holistic experience; this includes anything from planning the ride, whether solo or with friends, to seeing spectacular things along the way, and thinking about all the fun to be had at the rally itself… the concerts, the fellowship with fellow riders, or enjoying the latest tech from our vendors and seminar series. We hope to reach a wide audience range and increase attendance numbers dramatically. Deb Gasque – Yesterday we conducted a site visit of the fair grounds, and they are pristine and beautiful;, we really got lucky as a rally chair team in the choice made by the site selection committee. This will be the first time at a rally when all of the indoor vendors to include includingthe MOA Gear store, will be co-located in one building. It is huge, it is ginormous, and it is air-conditioned. Next in- person quarterly board meeting date and location – Secretary Reece Mullins: Currently we are scheduled for the eighth through the tenth of February, which is the second weekend in February. Our tentative location is Dallas, Texas. The exact location, agenda, and times will be published, as we get closer to the event. Wes Fitzer introduces BMW MOA Pioneer Norm Phoenix, the only person who has attended every BMW MOA rally. He also holds the distinction of being the only person to ride a BMW motorcycle to every BMW MOA rally. President Wes Fitzer allocates time for Norm within the agenda to present his proposal to the board of directors. Norm Phoenix proposes that the MOA create an award series that recognizes those BMW MOA members that have attended 25 or 50 rallies; attendance would not be required to be consecutive. Norm provides copies of his proposal to the Board of Directors and communicates
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his proposal in detail to the board and staff. At the conclusion of Norm Phoenix’s proposal, President Wes Fitzer opens the floor to questions from the membership. Sue Rihn – Are there elections this year? Wes Fitzer – Yes there are elections this year. As many of you know, we changed our election procedures, now we elect three directors every year, annually. This year, the directors up for reelection are Jean Excell, Chad Warner, and me. The December issue of the Owners News will have the call for candidates published by the Secretary. Sue Rihn – The deadline for submission of the election packet by candidates, is it still January 30th? Wes Fitzer – Yes, the only change we’ve made to the election cycle related to timing is that we’ve shortened that election window time for balloting two years ago, simply because the number of ballots sent in dropped off dramatically after two weeks of voting. Sue Rihn – A follow up: I’ll be putting together a letter to the Ambassadors, and if there is anything the board would like me to communicate to the Ambassadors, see me after the meeting and I will most certainly convey any information you need to send. Karol Patzer – On the MOA Forums there was a discussion regarding the dues increase and someone brought up the “rule of one hundred,” a rule that the board had decided five or seven years ago that allowed a member that reached age seventy-five and had been a member of the MOA for twenty-five consecutive years; he or she would receive a lifetime membership. Is that policy still in place? Ted Moyer – Yes, that policy exists. It’s written into the policy and procedures manual that a member meeting this qualification has to request the life membership status directly from the MOA.
Brian Dutcher – Makes the suggestion that in the future, the MOA posts a map showing the region of next year’s rally location, as a reminder of what region the next year’s rally will be in to facilitate future rally planning for members and vendors. Brian also suggests that in the future, first time rally goers be placed in a special raffle category, that would allow only first time rally goers to receive that rally prize. Wes Fitzer addresses both suggestions. The staff are made aware of the rally region map planning idea, and the rally co-chairs are directed to respond to Brian’s suggestion regarding first time rally goers. Director Marc Souliere – Responds also by outlining the current rewards in place for first time rally goers that includes a button and other accouterments given out by the Ambassador booth at each rally. Pat Carol – Outlines a suggestion to push rally logos, materials, video and content to the BMW motorcycle dealership network in order to disseminate, to the greatest extent possible, within the BMW motorcycle community, the news of our International Rally. Reece Mullins – During executive session we have discussed options that would allow us to push rally content and information to the dealership network. . President Wes Fitzer calls for any further questions or discussion. Being there was no further questions; he closes by thanking everyone present and especially the local Iowa MOA members for their attendance, participation, and support. President Wes Fitzer calls for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director Marc Souliere – So moves. Director Tracy McCarty – Seconds the motion. All in favor Aye, no abstentions, no nay, the motion to adjourn is approved. The meeting was adjourned at 15:52 CDT.
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WHENANDWHERE
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January 1
01/12/2018 -01/14/2018
BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida 35th Annual Winter Rally Location: Starke, Florida Contact: William Botkin, Co-Rally Chair wfbotkin@comcast.net Camping, door prizes, local rides, seminars and much more. Enjoy camping along the shores of beautiful Kingsley Lake, a roaring campfire and camaraderie with like-minded riders. All riders are welcome.
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February 2
02/10/2018
BMW MOA Board of Directors Winter Meeting - Open Session Location: Fort Worth, Texas Contact: Ray Tubbs ray@bmwmoa.org The Board of Directors of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America invites each member to attend the Open Session of the Winter Meeting held at the Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott South, 4151 Centrepoint Drive, Fort Worth Texas 76155. The meeting will take place in the Trinity 5 & 6 rooms starting at 1:00 PM and we look forward to seeing you there.
April 3
04/06/2018 -04/08/2018
Hill Country Hangout
Location: Kerrville, Texas Contact: Paul Mulhern 210-279-6074 pmulhern@swbell.net Just in time for the famous wildflower bloom and on the doorstep of the famous Three Sisters. Two nights camping included, or enjoy nearby hotel accommodations. The best roads in Central Texas plus motorcycle museum, wineries, shopping, and more.
Detailed information for all events is available online at: bmwmoa.org
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04/07/2018
Mars Maintenance Madness
Location: Landenberg, Pennsylvania Contact: Matt or Tracy 610-274-1344 novacich@email.chop.edu Come and share that work on your ride to make it ready for a screaming riding season. Why be slow and wobbly. Fix it right and keep it riding straight for your riding season. We will share stories, riding lies and Maintenance advice whether you need it or not!
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04/22/2018
www.machineartmoto.com
34th Wild Goose Run
Location: Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Contact: Brian Justman brianjustman@kewaskumpig.com The Port Washington BMW Club invites all Midwest area clubs to join us for a noon brunch and festivities at the Bayside Supper Club in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
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04/28/2018 - 04/29/2018
33rd Annual BMW Motorcycle Motoexpo & Flea Market Location: Pecatonica, Illinois Contact: Earve Brauer (until 8PM) 815-9628911/Steve Frank 815-761-0048 rockbmw2000@yahoo.com We welcome buyers, motorcycle and accessory dealers, vendors, and enthusiast-sellers to join us for our huge indoor BMW MotoExpo and Flea Market! Vendors who register early get a free listing on our club website and enthusiast-sellers are welcome to rent a vendor space or sell their items on consignment at our club booth.
www.ayresadventures.com
May 7
05/04/2018 -05/06/2018
2018 Great Hopewell Road Rally
Location: Nelsonville, Ohio Contact: Sam Booth samrbooth@yahoo.com Join us in the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio for some of the best riding roads in the Midwest. Two nights camping, Friday and Saturday dinners, guided rides of the Earthworks/effigy mounds, self-guided rides, endless coffee, movies, awards and door prizes.
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05/17/2018 - 5/20/2018
European Riders Rally
Location: Burkesville, Kentucky Contact: www.bmwmcon.org We’ll offer a weekend of great riding for both the street and dual sport enthusiast. Join in on the guided group rides both Friday and Saturday or explore the area on your own.
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05/18/2018 - 05/20/2018
BMW Battlefield Memorial Workers Rally Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Contact: Sam Booth samrbooth@yahoo.com Once again we will be gathering at the Artillery Ridge Campground in the Gettysburg National Military Park for another weekend of volunteering for battlefield restoration and preservation for the National Park Service.
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05/25/2018 - 05/27/2018
The Great Chicken Rally
Location: Dunlap, Tennessee Contact: Dianne Albe rallychair@bmwmoal.org Grills are back and we are smokin’ some gooood chickens… Suggested rides will be available for you to explore the area. The rally grounds are the historical Coke Ovens Park and Museum that commemorates the boom era of coal mining in the region.
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An even better rally value than ever in the best kept riding secret in the midwest! Shaded camping with lake views, Chili ’til gone Friday, KC BBQ Saturday before the live dance music, Breakfasts available for a small donation to the local Girl Scouts, 24 hour Gourmet Coffee, Field Events, Bike Show, Giants in Oz (GS Giant Event), Aviation in Oz (Airplane vs. Motorcycle drag race & Tour Amelia Earhart’s Electra sister ship), Rider Awards, Door Prizes, and more.
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06/08/2018 -06/10/2018
16th Annual Laurel Highlands BMW Riders Campout Location: Somerset, Pennsylvania Contact: Jason Kaplitz gsjay@kaplitz.com 814-615-9138 Friday evening enjoy Gourmet Dump Stew (bring a can or two to add to the pot), hotdogs and snacks til their gone. Morning Coffee & tea. Saturday Catered dinner, tons of door prizes. Hearty send-off breakfast Sunday morning! Pavilion, picnic tables, hot showers, campfires allowed-wood provided! Motels & Restaurants nearby. Sat. night campground entertainment! There is great riding in any direction with many selfguided tours available.
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06/21/2018 -06/24/2018
Touratech Rally West
Location: Plain, Washington Contact: www.touratechrally.com Please check the website for more updates.
05/25/2018 - 05/27/2018
2018 Charter Oak Rally
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06/29/2018 -07/01/2018
BMWRO Chief Joseph Rally
Location: Eastford, Connecticut Contact: Chris Jennings nostnkncmptr@live.com 203-368-9281 Join us in the scenic shores of Crystal Pond at Camp Nahaco, Eastford, in the “Quiet Corner” of Connecticut. We offer camping, showers, beautiful country roads and four meals (including our famous Friday night chili), door prizes and an excellent reason to get your motorcycle out of the garage.
Location: John Day, Oregon Contact: Bob Metzger 608-642-1186 bmwro.pres@gmail.com Enjoy the friendly confines of the Grant County Fairgrounds in the heart of central Oregon. With tent and RV camping available, enjoy daily guided and nonguided group rides, catered dinners, breakfasts and a beer garden as well as evening bonfires.
June
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06/01/2018 - 06/03/2018
2018 Land of Oz Rally
Location: Atchinson, Kansas Contact: Don Hamblin rallykcbmwmc@gmail.com
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7/12/2018 – 7/15/2018
BMW MOA International Rally
Location: Des Moines, Iowa Contact: Brian Hinton
2018rallychair@bmwmoa.org A beautiful rally site, wonderfully scenic roads and awesome area attractions welcome rally goers at the 46th annual BMW MOA International Rally this summer in Des Moines, Iowa. We look forward to seeing you there.
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Rally
07/19/2018 - 07/21/2018
47th Annual Top O’ The Rockies
Location: Paonia, Colorado Contact: Carl Thomte rcarloski@msn.com The area offers some of the best riding in the state both on and off road. There are three National Parks within a day’s ride from rally headquarters. Enjoy three nights of shaded grassy camping, Saturday night dinner, two nights of live entertainment in the beer garden, free wifi and endless coffee and tea. Food vendors and showers are on site and restaurants and motels are walking distance from the rally central at the teen center located in the middle of the park.
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07/19/2018 - 07/22/2018
2018 Cascade Country Rendezvous and GS Rally by BestRest Location: Republic, Washington Contact: Dan Muir rallymaster@wsbmwr.org Join the Washington State BMW Riders and BestRest Products at the Ferry County Fairgrounds in Republic WA. Guided off-road and road rides, seminars, dirt riding training in one of the best riding locations in the Northwest. More details can be found at www.wsbmwr.org and bestrestproducts. com.
August 19
08/04/2018
19th Annual 100,000 Foot Ride
Location: Lakewood, Colorado Contact: David Kosak 720-810-2479 davidkosak2937@gmail.com This ride is designed to take you over enough mountain passes in a day to equal 100,000 feet. This accomplishment is not available anywhere else in North America and perhaps the world. The 100,000 Foot Ride combines some of the best motorcycle roads and stunning scenery the state of Colorado has to offer. The event includes
both paved and dirt routes to accommodate the increasing number of dual-sport riders and the total route for either ride will be less than 500 miles. 08/16/2018 -08/19/2018
20 Touratech Rally East
Location: Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Contact: www.touratechrally.com Please check website for more information.
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08/16/2018 - 08/19/2018
www.pradisemotorcycletours.co.nz
Nakusp Hotsprings Rally
Location: Nakusp, British Columbia Contact: Robert Tetrault nakusprally@beeceebeemers.com The Nakusp municipal campground is a beautiful location nestled right in the town of Nakusp, near amenities, restaurants and shopping. The area provides both on and off-road riding experiences. Take a dip in the lake or soak in the Hotsprings after a fantastic day of riding.
September 22
Bash
09/14/2018 - 09/16/2018
33rd Annual Autumn Beemer
Location: Quincy, California Contact: bashinfo@comcast.net 1-925-209-1066 Come check out the famous CCBR coffee, our Beer Garden, 2 nights of camping w/ early camping available, a Saturday night BBQ, two Continental breakfasts, a GS ride, a poker run, vendors and speakers. RVs and leashed pets are welcome and there’s great camping on the grass along with hot showers.
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www.rockycreekdesigns.com
09/21/2018 - 09/23/2018
15th Thunder Mountain Rendezvous Location: Hotchkiss, Colorado Contact: Kerry Dolan 970-985-1274 dolankm@gmail.com Our rally offers great camaraderie, a beautiful venue, and the greatest riding in Colorado. It also helps us raise money to support motorcycle safety and the local Booster Club. Our low elevation venue includes a large meeting hall, restrooms with showers, plenty of grassy camping and the convenience of walking to downtown restaurants, stores and motels.
February 2018  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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www.bluerimtours.com
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• 3M SCOTCHLITE™ REFLECTIVE STICKER • 3M CONTROLTAC™ ADHESIVE • HIGHLY VISIBLE DAY & NIGHT Join the M4MOTO™ community today and show your support for motorcycle awareness and safety. With your help the 3M® Scotchlite™ reflective sticker can become the icon of motorcycle safety and awareness. A proud supporter of the BMWMOA Foundation Visit the website now to find out more. COUPON CODE: MOAFOUNDATION
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
advertiserindex Adriatic Moto Tours................................... 29 ADV Depot.................................................... 87 Adventure New Zealand Tours............. 70 AeroFlow....................................................... 34 Aerostich-RiderWearHouse.................... 67 Alaska Leather............................................. 87 Alaska Motorcycle Adventures............. 73 Americade.................................................... 23 Ayres Adventures....................................... 91 Backcountry Discovery Routes............. 89 Beemer Boneyard...................................... 39 Beemer Shop, The...................................... 35 Best Rest Products..................................... 73 Bike Log......................................................... 73 Bill McGovern CPA..................................... 73 Bing Agency................................................. 87 Blackhawk BMW Club.............................. 24 BMW MOA Foundation............................ 40 BMW Motorcycle Magazine................... 91 Blue Rim Tours............................................. 93 BMW Performance Center...................... 11 Bob’s BMW...................................................IBC Bohn Armor........................................... 25, 85 Boxer Works Service.................................. 70 British Motorcycle Gear........................... 23 BullRack......................................................... 31 Capital Cycle................................................ 94
Clearwater Lights....................................... 31 Colorado Tourbike Rentals..................... 25 Corbin Pacific............................................... 29 Cyclenutz....................................................... 70 DMC Sidecars............................................... 31 Dubbeju Motorcycle Rentals................. 70 Edelweiss Bike Travel................................ 25 EPM Hyper Pro............................................ 29 Euro Moto Electrics................................... 67 Geza Gear...................................................... 11 Helmet Sun Blocker................................... 25 HEX-ezCAN................................................... 87 Ilium Works................................................... 34 IMTBIKE TOURS................................... 39, 67 Kermit Chair Company............................. 24 LD Comfort................................................... 23 Legal Speeding Enterprises................... 29 M4Motorcycles........................................... 94 MachineartMoto........................................ 91 Michelin Tire....................................................1 MOA Member Benefits............................ 71 MOA Platinum Roadside Assistance... 77 Morton’s BMW............................................. 73 Moto Aventura............................................ 24 Moto-bins..................................................... 67 Moto Skiveez............................................... 24 Motoadventours........................................ 35
MotoDiscovery............................................ 11 Motonation..................................................BC Motorcycle Relief Project........................ 83 Motorrad Elektrik....................................... 39 Mountain Master Truck Equipment...... 70 MTA Distributing/Olympia Moto Sports..IFC Overseas Speedometer........................... 73 Palo Alto Speedometer............................ 70 Parabellum................................................... 29 Paradise Motorcycle Tours...................... 93 Progressive Insurance.................................9 Ray Atwood Cycles.................................... 39 Redverz.......................................................... 94 Re-Psycle BMW Parts................................ 11 Rider Magazine............................................ 94 Rocky Creek Designs......................... 35, 93 Russel Cycle Products............................... 25 Scenic Wheels Motorcycle Tours.......... 23 Stop ‘n Go...................................................... 31 Suburban Machinery................................ 73 Touring Sport BMW................................... 24 Twisted Throttle.......................................... 70 Weiser Technik...............................................5 Wilbers USA.................................................. 11 Ztechnik......................................................... 35
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 © 2018 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 48, Number 2.
February 2018 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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talelight
Friendly Skies
An “International” airport just south of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Photo by Jim Pidgeon #160697
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BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2018
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FEBRUARY 2018
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