BMW OWNERS NEWS – A PUBLICATION OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
JULY 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS www.bmwmoa.org
JULY 2016
www.firstgear-usa.com
www.ztechnik.com
Table of Contents features
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a long way to go and a short time to get there By Bill Wiegand #180654 Carl Reese already holds several transcontinental driving records with his Tesla. To really challenge himself, Reese used his military experience and disciplined training to set another on his K 1600 GT.
journey to copper canyon, part two By Curt Stetter #205881, Photography by Chuck Feil #203990 In part two of their Journey to Copper Canyon, Stetter, Feil and friends describe the beautiful scenery, friendly people and delicious food found just south of the New Mexico border.
army of darkness, part two By Sam Fleming #195185 With their tired and battered BMW S 1000 RRs, the Army of Darkness limps to the finish line of the Central Motorcycling Association race season narrowly missing their ninth championship.
billings or bust By Jim Turley #184803 The reasons for riding are as varied as the number of bikes on the road. For Jim Turley, it’s the people he meets and their impact on his view of the world that makes him ride.
ON THE COVER: Inspired by the 500cc factory R 5 race bike, a groundbreaking motorcycle of the late 1930s, BMW Motorrad honored the icon with a special model: the BMW R 5 Hommage.
The BMW MOA and MOATM are trademarks of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.
the club 4 Owners News Contributors 8 Headlight Heading North, by Bill Wiegand 10 President's Column Turning the Page, by Chuck Manley 12 Shiny Side Up Head Check, by Ron Davis 14 Picture This Favorite Place 16 Rider to Rider Letters from our members 20 2016 MOA Getaway planner Member tested/ product news 22 AdaptivGrip Universal Device Holder,
New products from ZTechnik, BMW adds production facility, Corbin Smuggler for the new R 1200 RS, Buy three, get one liter free, Be seen and be safe with Ultrabright LEDs, A look inside Wunderlich, It’s a party and you get all the presents, Ride the Beach Memorial Parkway.
32 Continental SportAttack 3 tires, Vololights Brakeless Deceleration Indicator, Touratech Zega Pro pannier system, Paul Thorn’s Tupelo Blues at Niagara Falls CD.
tech 42 Keep ‘em Flying Broken Spokes, by Matthew Parkhouse 46 Reducing rider turbulence with Bot-Wings, by Bill Botkin 50 I just needed an Oil Change, Part V, by Wes Fleming
discovery 56 Long Distance Style
Wanderlust in my own backyard,
by Deb Gasque
skills 88 Ask a Pro Understanding Farkling, by Lee Parks lifestyle 90 Mileage Slaves Riding to get lost, by David Cwi 92 Rally Review 50 years of the Four Winds Rally 94 High Mileage by Jim Heberling 96 Jack the Riepe The allure of inanimate objects, by Jack Riepe
98 Final Journeys
Robert Willard Halenda
events 100 The 2016 BMW MOA Rally Hamburg area attractions 104 Streetmasters and Street Skills to provide training 106 Grand Prizes you can win at the 2016 BMW MOA Rally 112 Rally Door Prize donors 114 Rally Vendor listing 116 Rally Bike Display classes 118 Minutes from the 2016 Spring Meeting of the BMW MOA Board of Directors
126 When and Where Places to go and things to see 135 Advertiser Index 136 Talelight
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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CONTRIBUTORS 1 . D eb Gasque, also known as “The Fashionista,” has been a licensed motorcyclist for 6 years and has embraced every aspect of the longdistance motorcycling lifestyle, including earning a membership into the Iron Butt Association. Deb recently joined the ranks of motojournalism and enjoys sharing her passion for two-wheeled adventures through published articles and her blog page at www.TheFashionistaHasAn IronButt.com. 2. A writer of limited ability, Jack Riepe is confined by the absolute truth. Hobbled by arthritis, he types his stories by pounding a shot glass on a keyboard—with his foot, and rumors that he is in the Brazilian Witness Protection Program are only partially true. If you like his column, you’ll love his book, “Conversations With A Motorcycle,” an autobiographical account of his early years on a motorcycle, when women unleashed their passion—on everyone but him. Email jack. riepe@gmail.com for more information. 3. Ron Davis has been a rider, off and on, for about 40 years. Over that period, he’s also squeezed in a full time career teaching high school and university classes in writing, photography, and publishing while also working as a social media writer for the tourism industry in northwest Ontario and Associate Editor for BMW Owners News. His writing has been featured by BMW Owners News, BMW Motorcycle Magazine and The National Writing Project, and his essays, sometimes on motorcycling, can be heard regularly on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Life.” His recently completed novel for young
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
adults, Sachem Summer, is about love, trout fishing and a BMW R50/2. 4. Wes Fleming tried being a rock star for 25 years, but gave all that up to focus on motorcycles. His mother still hasn’t forgiven him. The first new motorcycle he ever bought got run over by a car – with him still in the saddle. He discovered BMWs thanks to a friend in 2001 and has been riding trendy, not-so-trendy and sidecar-equipped BMWs ever since. Wes currently holds down multiple jobs, including motorcycle shop office boy and history professor, and when he’s not helping his teenage daughter with her homework, they’re out somewhere in their sidecar rig. 5. Lee Parks has been riding motorcycles since the age of 12 and finds his greatest joy in sharing the motorcycling experience with family and friends. This passion eventually led him to work in the motorcycle industry. Parks has an extensive racing background, has worked as the editorial director of Motorcycle Consumers News and founded Lee Parks Design in 2001 to create innovative products and services to help riders achieve “better living through motorcycling” and help companies better serve their customers. 6. Shawn Thomas has worked for many years in the motorcycle industry and is currently a rider coach and guide for RawHyde Adventures as well as a trainer for BMW Motorrad. While Thomas lives in California with his wife, daughter and son, his work takes him across the globe and stories he brings back with him are priceless.
www.maxbmw.com
Breaking camp
A camper emerges from his tent early to begin packing and prepare for the ride home following the Great River Roads Rally held in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin earlier this year. Photo by Bill Wiegand #180584
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  July 2016
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headlight Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America MANAGING EDITOR
Bill Wiegand bill@bmwmoa.org
Heading North 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 Chris “Teach” McNeil • Lee Parks Matthew Parkhouse • Jack Riepe Shirley and Brian Rix • Shawn Thomas ADVERTISING
Advertising materials, including chartered club rally display advertising, should be sent to our Advertising Office. Please contact Chris Hughes for display rates, sizes and terms. Chris Hughes chris@bmwmoa.org 11030 North Forker Road, Spokane, WA 99217 509-921-2713 (p) 509-921-2713 (f ) BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601 864-438-0962 (p) 864-250-0038 (f )
Submissions should be sent to the BMW MOA office or editor@bmwmoa.org. Submissions accepted only from current members of the BMW MOA and assume granting of first serial publication rights within and on the BMW MOA website and use in any future compendium of articles. No payments will be made and submissions will not be returned. The BMW MOA reserves the right to refuse, edit or modify submissions. Opinions and positions stated in materials/articles herein are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of BMW MOA; publication of advertising material is not an endorsement by BMW MOA of the advertised product or service. The material is presented as information for the reader. BMW MOA does not perform independent research on submitted articles or advertising. Change of address notification and membership inquiries should be made to the BMW MOA office or membership@bmwmoa.org. BMW MOA membership is $40/yr. and includes the BMW Owners News, which is not available separately. Each additional family member is $10 without a subscription. Canadian members add $12 for postal surcharge. The BMW MOA and MOA™ are trademarks of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
WE HAD BEEN PLANNING THE RIDE FOR MONTHS.
Local guy Wes had done all of the heavy lifting and all Ted and I needed to do was get to Virginia’s Natural Bridge on Thursday and the next day we’d be ready for Morton’s BMW Spring Fling Rally. When the tentative rally schedule described a scenic ride led by Morton’s owner Jeff Massey through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley countryside with the only prerequisites being to arrive with a full tank of gas, an empty bladder and ready to ride by 9:30 a.m., it seemed like the place to be. Unfortunately, the Gods had other plans for me and when Wes emailed Ted and I a subject line declaring “Better Bring your Rain Gear,” red flags began to appear. Now before anyone writes reminding me that a little rain doesn’t affect real BMW riders, I already know that. Truth be told, for me there’s just nothing like the feeling you get by riding through a rain shower on a hot summer day. According to Wes, rain has fallen on 17 of the previous 18 days and the area has endured the wettest May in 80 years. Anyway, the problem with the rain in Virginia was that it took the photography I needed to illustrate some upcoming ride stories off the table. Lucky for me, I had a perfect alternative. Instead of riding east, I planned a trip north. I had a hard time believing my weather app with its forecast for Soldiers Grove, beaming with three days of sunny skies and daytime highs near 80. While meteorology is another hard science I’ll never understand, I do know sunny skies and 80 degrees means perfect riding conditions in Packerland. Instead of riding through the rain-soaked Midwest to to the rain-soaked Shenandoah Valley, I headed north to an area the last ice age didn’t flatten for the Great River Road Rally (GR3) hosted by the Madison BMW Club. It was a place I wouldn’t have to explain what the letters CHEZHD on my personalized license plate means! Though I grew up in Green Bay and went to college in Eau Claire, I had only visited the southwestern part of the state a handful of times by car. On a motorcycle, it’s a beautiful area to ride, with rolling hills and good roads. Despite what seems to be the state’s highest concentration of deer, the area rivals some of the best roads in the country. There’s nothing like sitting around a crackling campfire with friends both old and new, listening to a half-dozen conversations while staring up into a cloudless, star-filled sky while hundreds of BMWs are parked all around you. You realize then why you ride for eight hours to spend a couple nights in a tent surrounded by other tents, most of which hold people you don’t know – at least not yet. Bob Aldridge was also at the GR3 and told the story of meeting Butch, a new BMW MOA member from Kokomo, Indiana. Butch recently bought an ’05 KLT and was in Soldiers Grove with friends for his first rally. “I realized what a privilege is has been for me to have had the opportunity over the past 30 years to travel and see the United States on a motorcycle. Not everyone gets that chance and Butch is just starting his adventure. I hope he had a great time, I hope he enjoyed the weekend. For Butch, it wasn't about what we spend our days worrying about, it was just getting to ride,” Bob said. Hope to see you in Hamburg, where we all have the chance to further our adventures. Ride safe.
www.bmwmotorcycles.com
PRESIDENTSCOLUMN
Turning the page OUR MISSION
To foster communication and a sense of family among BMW motorcycle enthusiasts
By Chuck Manley #12106 Hello Everyone! The chorus for one of my favorite Bob Seger songs goes, “Here I am, on a road again There I am, on the stage Here I go, playing star again There I go, turn the page.”
BMW MOA OFFICERS
Chuck Manley, President 309-825-8445; cmanley@bmwmoa.org Jackie Hughes, Vice President 509-928-3261; jhughes@bmwmoa.org Muriel Farrington, Secretary 802-295-6511; mfarrington@bmwmoa.org Wes Fitzer, Treasurer 918-441-2114; jwfitzer@yahoo.com BMW MOA DIRECTORS
Jean Excell 719-650-6215; jeanexcell@bmwmoa.org Greg Feeler 208-376-5137; gregf@e-moto.org Vance Harrelson 205-621-1682; weridebmw@bellsouth.net Stan Herman 719-250-4358; hermanhaus1@msn.com Bill Hooykaas 705-329-2683; hooykaas@bmwmoa.org BMW MOA VOLUNTEER STAFF
Steve Brunner, Mileage Contest Coordinator 910-822-4368, steveb@bmwmoa.org Jim Heberling, High Mileage Coordinator 309-530-1951, jheberling@bmwmoa.org Deb Lower, Ambassador Liaison 719-510-9452, ldeborah@comcast.net Dutch and Kate Lammers 2016 BMW MOA Rally Chairs 2016rallychair@bmwmoa.org BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601
Robert C. Aldridge, Executive Director bob@bmwmoa.org Ted Moyer, Director of Membership & Marketing tedm@bmwmoa.org Ken Engelman, Director of Business Development ken@bmwmoa.org Bill Wiegand, Managing Editor bill@bmwmoa.org Karin Halker, Art Director karin@bmwmoa.org Lesa Howard, Membership Services lesa@bmwmoa.org Amanda Faraj, Membership Services amanda@bmwmoa.org Ray Tubbs, Digital Marketing Manager ray@bmwmoa.org
During the Board of Directors meeting to be held at Das Rally in Hamburg, New York, our club will "turn the page" as four senior board members retire and four freshman board members are seated. Not since before the 2001 election has this significant of a board change taken place. The four retiring board members, Secretary Muriel Farrington, Director Greg Feeler, Director Vance Harrelson, and myself, take with us a combined 38 years of board experience. Muriel was elected as Secretary in 2007 and has served continuously since that time. She has spent countless volunteer hours recording the minutes of the quarterly board meetings and monthly board conference calls. She has been responsible for publishing the election timetable and candidate requirements for all elections during her tenure. In addition, she has been a key rally volunteer all of these years. Thank you Muriel for your years of service to the organization! Vance was Rally Chair for the 2009 rally held in Johnson City, Tennessee. Following the rally, he was encouraged to run for the board in 2010 and now completes six years of service. He too has given hundreds of hours of volunteer service as a board member, having served on every board committee at one time or another. For the past two years Vance has chaired the Events Committee and has led the way in expanding the ever-popular MOA Getaways. He also has been a key rally volunteer for many years. Thank you Vance for all of your efforts! Greg joined the BMW MOA in 1973. He was first elected to the board in 2002 and served as a Director until 2005. After a brief absence, Greg rejoined the board, and since that time he has served as Vice President, President and again as Director. He is fondly referred to as the club historian and takes with him a wealth of club knowledge. Greg is also a key rally volunteer annually. Thank you Greg for your countless contributions and the differences you have made in our organization! I previously served as a Director from 2002 until 2007 and then was asked to fill a sevenmonth board vacancy that concluded in July 2010. In 2013 I again ran for the board, was elected, and voted President that July. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the organization in this capacity for the past three years. Three years ago membership was declining, general administrative and operating expenses were out of control, and we were operating in the red. Our membership management system was broken, making online membership renewals and event registrations almost impossible. Recovery, Retention, and Recruitment became our main focus. A new membership management system was implemented in the fall of 2014. Since then membership has increased from a low of just fewer than 30,000 to over 34,000. Online renewals and event registrations are now quick and easy. Your member benefits have increased significantly, as we currently have over 75 MOA Business Partners that provide discounts and exclusive services to our members. For a complete listing, visit us online at bmwmoa.org/discounts.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
STRONGRAK For - R1200RT, K1200GT, K1300GT, K1600GT & GTL
www.ridgerunnervt@gmavt.net
The BMW Owners News continues to be a first-class publication with outstanding photography and articles submitted by you, the members. In addition, we continue to add new regular contributors to the mix of writers. In an effort to improve communications between Chartered Clubs, BMW dealers and the MOA, we implemented the Regional Coordinator program. The RCs were introduced in the May Owners News. We believe both the MOA and the Chartered Clubs will see an increase in membership due to their efforts. A total restructuring of our business model in the fall of 2015 resulted in the relocation of our headquarters office to Greensville, South Carolina. By sharing a campus -style office space with the BMW Car Club of America, we have significantly reduced general and administrative operating expenses. We project 2016 will be a profitable year for the organization. An annual report will be provided to all members as a supplement to the September Owners News and will include years 20112015, along with the projections for 2016. In future years, the report will include the previous year along with the current year projections. I welcome the four new members of the board. You will have plenty to do, and you will be challenged, yet you have an opportunity to make a positive difference. Muriel, Vance and Greg, once more: “Here we are, on a road again On two wheels, not in a cage Here we go, adventure begins There we go, turn the page.”
www.advdepot.com www.alaskaleather.com
Thank You for Being a Member!
www.imtbike.com
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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812-382-4339
Order online at www.strongbilt.com strongbilt.com
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shinysideup
Head Check By Ron Davis #111820 SO, THERE I WAS,
sitting in my daughter Sarah’s tiny Ford Fiesta, patiently waiting for a red light to change. Adele was crooning from the CD player, and I was carefully avoiding any head bobbing or lip synching which might suggest to anyone looking that I was getting into it, when— BLAM!—I was rearended. I won’t reveal here the four-letter word I shouted, but the daydream-y mood I had been feeling a moment earlier had instantly fled, replaced by full-on, fistclenched road rage. I threw the little car into park, kicked on the fourway flashers, flung open the door, and jumped out–to do what, I had absolutely no idea. Miraculously, there appeared to be no visible damage to the rear of Sarah’s car. I turned my attention to the car that had now backed off, an old, orangeish Chevy Cobalt, its nose a mixture black scuffs, dents, amateurishly applied bondo, and spray paint. This clearly wasn’t the car’s first “incident.” Still boiling mad, I went to the driver’s side, again with no thought as to what exactly I was going to do or say and no thought as to how I would react if the other driver was bigger, angrier, or in all probability, younger than me. She looked to be all of 18 years old, a petite kid not much over five feet tall; no weapons were in sight, but her cell lay on top of her thigh, obviously in its texting app. She was smiling.
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
“Sorry!” she said cheerfully. My anger melted into exasperation—this could be my own daughter—I felt myself slipping into Dad Mode. “Just tell me you weren’t using your cell phone.” Definitely Dad Mode. “Nah, I wouldn’t do that,” she lied. She appeared completely calm, unruffled as if this kind of thing happened all the time (and from the looks of her beat up car, maybe it did.)
I went back between our cars to survey the damage, traffic piling up behind us, the stop lights already having cycled through green and back to red; the honking would start soon. I had no script for this. I couldn’t see any dents, scrapes or cracks, so no need to trade licenses or call the police, right? But somehow I needed some kind of closure. I returned to her open window. “Well, I guess we got lucky this time.” She shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “It doesn’t matter, this car’s a piece of crap anyway.” I got back in my car. …doesn’t matter… car’s a piece of crap... That’s it? Was there any remorse? This wasn’t closure, she hadn’t even seemed embarrassed. But I guess I could see her point, maybe this wasn’t a big
deal. The Fiesta appeared to be okay, no one had gotten hurt—no harm, no foul. But, as the light changed and I resumed my drive home, I was suddenly struck by the thought, “Wait a minute, what if I had been on my bike?” If I had gotten bumped like that on my motorcycle, I undoubtedly would have been pushed into the intersection where cars in a steady two-lane stream were turning left. I may have lost control of the bike, going down and plowing into (or sliding under) any one of those oncoming vehicles. But then again, maybe not. When I’m on a bike approaching a light, as a rule, I’m generally nervously watching my six, tapping my brakes, waggling the bike a bit, and looking for emergency escape options, just as I’ve been taught. It’s possible I might have avoided this accident. On the other hand, apparently my only strategy when I’m in a car is to space out and pretend I can sing “Hello.” Is it possible I’m a better rider than a driver? My mind began playing back all the stupid things I’ve done in a car. When I was 16, I remember one late night when I was dropping off the bass player from the band I was in after a gig. As he got out, he issued the popular dare, “Penny for a patch?” Not being one to shy away from any challenge to my frail male ego, I revved my dad’s ’65 Impala until it screamed for mercy and then dropped the clutch, cleanly snapping off the driveshaft. (The trailer packed with a half-ton of amps and speaker columns may have been a factor.) A year later on a moonless night, I apparently just couldn’t resist finding out how close I could come to death by seeing what our four-barrel 383 Dodge station wagon could do on a deer-infested
straightaway through a cranberry marsh (Answer: only 95 mph). At 19, refusing to slow down for an ice-covered road, I managed to perch my Gremlin perfectly at the top of a five foot snowdrift, all four wheels completely off the ground. In my defense, neuroscientists believe that the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that thinks about the consequences of acting like an idiot) isn’t fully developed until humans are in their early 20s. So there! Lately, my brain is having different issues, and the blunders I make are less dramatic: missing exits, following a bus onto a pedestrian mall, or wandering onto the shoulder as I spill coffee, drop a donut or fiddle with Sirius. (Fortunately, my wife, “my helpmate,” is now there to promptly point out each of these infractions and later share them in detail with friends, coworkers, relatives, checkout clerks, random passers-by, etc.) The list of these driving “oversights” is much too long and much too embarrassing, but it’s hard for me to remember many booboos I’ve made on the bike. An old timer who keeps a rusty Virago in his carport once told me, “Riding a motorcycle makes you a better driver.” I’m not so sure about that. When people tell me they’re interested in getting a motorcycle, I’m usually not very encouraging. Riding a two-wheeler can be very hazardous to one’s health; I don’t want responsibility for somebody getting hurt. And when riders start telling me about all the things they do in the name of safety, my response is usually, “That’s great, but if you really want to be safe, stop riding a motorcycle.” There’s no getting around it: motorcycling is dangerous, and survival demands I stay alert and smart. Danger seems more remote when I’m driving a car, and behind the wheel, I get lazy and dimwitted. That young lady in the Cobalt reminded me of something worth considering: I need to be better at both.
www.re-psycle.com 11
www.gezagear.com
www.adriaticmototours.com
www.westcobattery.com
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Picturethis We asked our online readers to submit their photos showing
Favorite Place
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1. T he Wisconsin State Capitol dome as seen from across Lake Monona in Madison. Jeff Dean #115 Tucson, Arizona
4. T he back side of Passo dello Stelvio photographed when I was stationed in Germany. Jim Andersen #167331 St. Paul, Minnesota
7. Riding in Germany and visiting the castles was a favorite pastime while I was stationed there. Michael Larson #205231 Elkridge, Maryland
2. A beautiful cove along the Pacific Coast Highway. Drew Dillon #207233 Winters, California
5. A quiet road is a rare find around Tampa, Florida. This is Dead River Road near Hillsborough River State Park. Mike Barfield #140159 Plant City, Florida
For September, our Picture This theme is "Picturesque" One photo may be submitted per member and the best selected for publication in the BMW Owners News. Send your high resolution image, image description and member number to editor@bmwmoa.org.
3. Photographed near a plantation in southern Louisiana, my favorite place is anywhere my bike is. Jerome Mouton #30663 Metairie, Louisiana 2
6. My favorite place is somewhere out west in the saddle of my R 1200 S. Doug Peters #67859 Athens, Georgia
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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
Building wrench skills
I’m writing in response to the Lee Parks “Ask A Pro” article in the April issue titled, “Learning to be your own wrench.” Lee has certainly done a lot for the motorcycling community, and I even have a pair of his DeerSports Gloves that he autographed for me at an MOA National Rally years ago. It was an enlightening and amusing tale that Lee shared, but I think he mostly missed the mark in answering this novice mechanic’s query. Here would be some suggestions that I have seen help people improve wrenching skills and knowledge, including myself: • Attend as many of your local club’s “Tech Sessions” as possible, even if they are specific to other models of bikes that you do not have. • The same holds true with any events that your dealer may host. I learned a lot at a flat tire fixing session that Sandia BMW put on a few years ago, even though I was only a spectator. • Be willing to lend a hand wherever needed, including the not-so-glamorous tasks of cleaning parts or cleanup afterwards. • Read all the tech articles in whatever publications you subscribe to or can borrow from friends. • If you know someone who does not have work space and you do, offer him/ her room to work in your garage or shed in return for help and guidance with your own project. • Don’t limit your interest to the brand you ride, as all bikes work very similarly underneath. What you learn on one brand, for the most part, transfers to others. • There are no “stupid questions,” if they are sincere. I believe that those who may currently know more than you about mechanics would be pleased to answer your queries and help you if you’re genuine.
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• And the final thought: “lefty-loosey, righty tighty”! Dan Spanovich #102695 Corrales, New Mexico
Startled with the cover
When I received the May issue of the BMW Owners News, I opened the plastic sleeve with anticipation as I have done with every issue since 1987. To say I was startled when I saw the cover would be an understatement, so I flipped through to find out more about what this cover was about. Who was this rider? Where was she from? Was that her bike? What’s her member number? Why wasn’t she wearing her riding gear? I was convinced there was more to the story. Sadly, none of that was to be found. In a crazy ironic twist, she was representing the Foundation; the very same Foundation which promotes motorcycle safety. And yet, the woman on this bike did not project that image at all. What kind of juxtaposition is that? The culture of this club was what first attracted me to the BMW motorcycle community, where women are treated with mutual respect. Women riders are encouraged and applauded for their accomplishments alongside the men. When we are in photos on our bikes, we proudly wear our gear and laugh about our helmet hair. We are delighted to share our stories from the road. And if you do happen to catch a glimpse of flesh, it’s when we are climbing out of our riding apparel into our "walking-around" clothes. This is our club newsletter, and yes, that includes several genders. Please—let’s show women riders as they really ride, with proper gear. Sue Rihn #43753 Madison, Wisconsin
Not the image we want
I just received the May issue of Owners News and was appalled at the front cover! For years, we BMW riders have been proud wearers and advocates of ATGATT (all the gear all the time). I know it is something that is particularly stressed to our young riders at Camp Gears and in various articles in the magazine itself, so imagine my shock at seeing a young woman who was supposedly ready to ride, but had bare hands, wore a helmet, high heels, an unzipped jacket and leggings, and was sitting on the bike! The helmet appears too big for her, and the strap hangs down loosely. On page 40, there is another shot of the young lady which, to put it delicately, would be more appropriate in another brand's advertising. Is that the type of image we need to promote our brand? I know, I know, lighten up! Admittedly, I am part of the over the hill gang, but is this really the image we are now promoting for young riders? Jean Copas #49338 Tweed, Ontario
All part of the same gang
Oops... It seems the main topic at this year's rally has been introduced...in red heels and leopard print yoga pants. Maybe May's cover missed the mark as far as representing BMW MOA women riders, but, after reading a few harsh comments in this group, it seems a few of us have forgotten the content of past issues regarding women riders. I have had a conversation or two with Bill Wiegand, BMW ON managing editor, about our daughters. Bill is a man familiar with the trials women face in our society. Pick up a few back issues and see how often female perspectives have been published. Not long ago, pre-Wiegand, it was rare in our magazine. Bill, Ron, Wes and
Karin have done an incredible job including women, men, boomers, millennials, mechanics, not-so-mechanics and others in every issue. The magazine is the best it's ever been. May's cover may have offended some. Life's what you make of it. I am certain that photo was not thought of as sexist at print time. The rider on May's cover is not used to sell or attract attention in the way that competitive commercial bike magazines use models. To be honest, as I see it, the free spirit in all riders was represented in that photo. I guess it's all about who you hang out with. I have never viewed women riders as eye candy. I came to join this organization and ride this specific type of machine partly because of the fact that women BMW riders have been a part of this organization from the start and have always been accepted as part of the gang. Voice your opinions in kind and intelligent ways. Our magazine staff has earned that respect. They will listen to you. Can you name another magazine that has so many facets represented month after month? Gotta be a difficult job. The face of our group cannot be represented in just one cover...it's too large and diverse. James Turley #184803 Davenport, Iowa
Impressive magazine
I'm a BMW MOA 25-year member and have been riding on- and off-road for 45 years, while happily owning many different brands during that time. I first read a friend's BMW magazine back around 1987 and was so impressed with the quality and content that I became a member a couple of years later just for the magazine’s stories and to learn about BMW motorcycles. I purchased my very first BMW in 1997, a clean, used 1992 R 100 GS with 25,000 on the odometer, and I'm still riding that GS to this day, partly because I enjoy its simplicity and the ease of working on it, but also because when I thought of buying a new BMW, I was put off by all the "lack of reliability" comments over the years. I still own several other very reliable brands and am not yet convinced to lay
out that much money for problems. I can only guess some just buy a new BMW at the end of every warranty period and don't worry about potential problems. But even if so, why would someone want an unplanned inconvenience in the middle of nowhere when there are so few BMW dealerships to be towed to? The one BMW thing truly reliable is BMW Owners News. I have subscribed to many different motorcycle magazines over the years and have stood steadfast to only a couple. BMW Owners News is the one at the top for me, if I was only allowed to choose one to keep. It's wide variety of information, travel stories, photos, tech, print quality, member input, and even the ads are what make it a great escape at reading time. Thanks for your continued reliability of a truly fine publication!
wave of water came flying over the median and completely soaked me (my bike was more stable than my heart). So, I’d also like to encourage some city riding adventure stories (sprinkled with riding tips). Do I pick weekends for cruising on uncrowded and scenic roads? Absolutely. But I live in a city and like Eric, ride almost daily. I believe urban adventures help make us more aware and better appreciate the uncrowded roads and scenic highways. Perhaps a BMW sponsored “Urban Adventure Rally?” Ride safe, Gary Shuman #201505 Boston, Massachusetts
Edward Frank #53857 Pauma Valley, California
For years, BMW and Triumph riders passing through the Kansas City area have known of Engle Motors. Norman Jones first met Paul Engle in 1958 when he moved from Tulsa and sold his old Harley-Davidson along with a Royal Enfield to buy a 1955 Triumph Thunderbird. At the time, Norman was an aircraft mechanic for TWA who earned extra money by fixing bikes on the side. Engle heard about Norman's great diagnostic skills and challenged him to repair a customer's T-bird with its ill-conceived charging system. Jones not only rewired the bike but also gave the rider the ability to shut off various circuits to keep from overloading the system. Engle immediately hired the young man and eight years later sold the dealership to Jones. Over the years, Engle Motors’ reputation for quality service has spread well beyond the Kansas City area. Today, Norman and his wife Bobbie are retired and living in Mission, Texas, and many of his past customers and friends are unaware of his failing health. Should anyone wish to brighten Norman’s day, please send a card or letter to him at 1110 Fair Way Lane, Harlingen, Texas 78552.
City ride stories wanted
Eric’s letter to the editor in the May issue about “Touring Articles Wanted” struck a chord, not for the K series, but for the challenges found riding a heavier bike (mine is a R 1200 GS) in the city and on the highway. I completely agree with his points regarding maneuvering on hills, congested roads and ignored stop signs. Where I live, the spring riding season also adds pot holes, sand in the streets, increased road construction, and don’t get me started on what seems like an increase in cars with heavily tinted windows and music blaring with their drivers using their phone (impossible for us to see their eyes and read if they see us on the bike). Even though urban riding is not offroad trail riding, you can’t relax and cruise when riding in the city. I understand Eric’s request for K-specific articles, but my model is featured in unpaved road activity where I’d argue a large and crowded city can throw equally unexpected challenges. Even a highway adds new challenges. Two weeks ago on a ride from Boston to Washington, D.C., it was rainy and windy, and I was in the left lane, moving with traffic, when all of a sudden a
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Friends of Norman Jones
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
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2016 MOA S
everal years ago, the MOA Getaway idea was introduced to provide a smaller event where members and friends could gather at great locations all over North America. The events are designed to be smaller than
a traditional rally setting and are typically hotel based with no need to pack your ThermaRest and tent. Because MOA Getaway events are typically designed for approximately 100 attendees, they are sure to sell out. We have a fantastic line up for 2016 already and are working to add more. Visit bmwmoa.org and click on the Events tab for details and registration information. See you soon at an MOA Getaway!
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
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member teste 22
BMW OWNERS NEWS  July 2016
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Finding Feedback
Continental SportAttack 3 tires By Shawn Thomas #91122 FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, MOST FOLKS
have never been on a racetrack. When asked, usually the big turn-off is the “race” part of the word. Racetracks solicit feelings of excitement, but also fear. This is especially true for motorcyclists, as the combination of speed and aggressive leaning also increases the risk of an “unscheduled dismount.” Having been to the track several times, I can relate to the fear and excitement. I have come to appreciate the repetitive nature of the racetrack, and the opportunity afforded to try different techniques in order to better my riding skills. Good stuff. But the fear is still there, however, and when the BMW MOA asked me to attend Continental’s SportAttack 3 HyperSport Tire launch, the usual trackmantra began to play in my head: “Please don’t crash, please don’t crash, please don’t crash!” But I had another worry. These days, motorcycle tires have reached new pinnacles in handling and performance. The
combinations of compound, reinforcement and flexibility have assured a level of surefootedness we’ve never before seen. Sure, every tire has its limits, and really that’s what we were going to test. Did I have the skill needed to find those limits? Could I do it without making a mistake that resulted in writing a check for a balled-up track bike? Time would tell. I packed up my leathers and headed to Texas. Continental’s Proving Grounds testing facility focuses on all things tires. Located in Uvalde, Texas, the facility boasts over 5,000 acres, all dedicated to putting rubber through its paces. Continental tests everything from semi-trucks to rally cars; they have dirt tracks, speed tracks, drift and wet tracks, to name a few. A team of journalists arrived to find sport bikes of all types, lined up and ready
for riding, each equipped with a lightly scrubbed-in set of ContiSportAttack 3 tires. Included in the lineup was a shiny new 2016 BMW S 1000 RR, presumably for me to use. As much as I wanted time on this machine, the Hondas, Triumphs and Suzukis on hand were also quite droolworthy (if it has two wheels, I’m a fan).
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A skinny German man welcomed us, a contrast to the handlebar-mustachioed Texans milling about the facility. We started the morning off with a meet and greet, followed by the usual gratuitous PowerPoint depicting the merits of Continental Tires. Actually it was quite fascinating; did you know that Continental has been around for over 140 years? Continental started out making rubber tires for bicycles, among other things. They have since grown to include development of essential electronics (they are rumored to be behind the ABS and Traction Control technologies used in some BMW motorcycles, including those utilized in the S 1000 RR). It took more than three years to develop the ContiSportAttack 3, the replacement for their famed 2 series HyperSport tire. The new design focuses heavily on wet weather riding, while maintaining exceptional grip on dry surfaces. The most obvious indication of this upgrade is the water drainage grooves, which are now designed to ensure that water can be efficiently rerouted at every riding angle. The presenter went into a laboriously detailed discussion about “Grip Limit Feedback,” or how the tire lets you know when your traction is near its end. Every tire has a physical limit, he explained, and Continental wanted the rider to know when they had reached it. To achieve this, elements of rubber composition were formulated to give the rider a different “feel” when traction was near its edge. Honestly, I had no idea what this meant. Was the tire going to tap me on the shoulder when it was time to stop leaning? Soon enough, I’d find out. We collected outside, each rider randomly gravitating toward a machine. I beelined for the BMW. I knew there would be photographers on hand and wanted to ensure the upand-coming magazine article had at
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
least one pic of me yanking and banking an S 1000 RR. Once that was achieved, I would try and get my hands on a Suzuki GSX-R or Triumph TT-600. A crescendo overhead revealed a helicopter, hired by Continental to give the photographers and big wigs a unique vantage point. The pilot deftly maneuvered the contraption to the ground, and two executive-types made a disheveled egress to terra firma. They looked sick; the pilot looked happy. Fun was in the air apparently, per-
intervention should I do something stupid (The famed motorcyclist Nate Kern once told me, “If you can crash a bike in Rain mode, you should rethink motorcycling”). After a couple cautious sighting laps, I dropped the hammer. The RR roared to life, neatly maneuvering its way through complex twists and chicanes, opening up for a 140 mph straightaway. With my focus on braking, turns and throttle, I completely forgot I was here to evaluate tires! I put rubber on the
haps a little too much. A wide-eyed young man laden with cameras ran out, climbed in the copilot seat, and they were off. We were directed to follow. The racetrack looked a lot more suited to go-karts than motorcycles. It was twisty and narrow, far smaller in width than a typical track. I looked to the other journalists, noting their leathers to be far more threadbare and scruffy than mine. They shared my quizzical look; apparently this track style was new to them, too. After a short briefing we were turned loose. I slipped the S 1000 RR into “Rain Mode,” ensuring maximum electronic
brain and began to scrutinize the tread. My first impression was that I had no real impression. This was a plus, I concluded, since the grip of the tires was such that I did not feel I had to focus on traction. Experience had taught me that poor grip made itself evident quickly, and when this occurred, it was necessary to retune the ride to accommodate these limits. This was not the case here, as the meat on the ground gave no indication of slip or drift. Time to up the ante. Reaching down, I changed from “Rain” to “Race” mode. This would give me more ability to push the RR’s limits, with some additional risk. I felt confident
enough to give it a go. Now the bike was really moving. After topping 160 mph in the straight, I hit the brakes hard, causing the rear wheel to lift and the braking system to intervene, setting it down again. The speedo plummeted and I leaned hard left, hitting the throttle hard at the apex and careening toward turn 2. I focused on the words of Continental’s presenter, who bestowed the virtues of the “Grip Limit Feedback” I would surely feel and come to love - but it wasn’t there. Turn after turn I pushed the machine, trying to find the edge of traction, where the tire would tap my shoulder and whisper that it was “time to bring us upright.” Nothing. Was it even there? Did I have the skill to find it? Irritated, I finished my lap and pitted in. The next wave of journalists was mounting up, and one happily snagged the BMW for a ride. I had 20 minutes before the next session, time to reflect on the experience. How was I going to rate this tire? Was my inability to find its limits going to lead me to say it was a good tire, or bad? I shook it off and went for the water cooler. Another roar and the helicopter swooped in, gliding to a perfect landing. All smiles, the photographer hopped out and vigorously shook the pilot’s hand, then ran off to find a vantage point for his shutter-bugging. The pilot looked on expectantly, as if waiting for the next victim to climb aboard his hover-coaster. I saw the opportunity, and took it. Soon I was shaking hands with the operator, slipping on the Bose headphones, and clad in leather, flying above Texas. The facility was massive and bustling with activity. One dirt track was being used to test semi-truck tires, a plume of dust led to a tractor/trailer leisurely moving along. Another showed passenger cars on an asphalt straightaway, laden with moisture from strategically placed sprinklers. As the pilot pointed and highlighted buildings and tracks, my mind wandered back to the product review. I decided that I was being too self-critical. I had only completed one track session after all, and still had all day— and a whole different track to ride, if I had
heard correctly—to complete my evaluation. The pilot took notice of my distraction and apparently felt this was an unacceptable division of attention. Wordlessly he pushed the stick forward and left, plummeting hard toward terra firma. My mouth opened, a protest lost in breathless panic. My stomach left its home, finding new accommodations in my throat. We dropped to the “second” racetrack, where the riders would soon migrate. It was far more traditional, with wide, swooping lines and elevation changes. It was also more technical. The pilot dropped us to eight feet above the track surface, screaming along and following the lines precisely. The exhilaration sucked me back in to the moment, and again I forgot to be nervous about the task at hand. We landed in the pits, I offered a sincere thanks and left the copter. The timing was perfect; riders were pitting in from their track session, and it was my turn to ride again. I walked quickly toward the BMW, but before reaching it another journalist saddled the machine. Bummer. I looked to find the Honda CBR1000RR Repsol was vacant, and climbed aboard. This was my first-ever ride on a new CBR, and I was excited to give it a go. I rolled on the track, spent a couple laps warming up and let ‘er rip. I instantly hated the Honda. The ride was excessively compact, not easy for my 6’ 4” frame to bear. But mostly it was the throttle. The feel was painfully binary, the throttle knocking on and off in a lurchy-jerky fashion. The brakes were nearly as bad. Cursing the machine, I adjusted my ride to accommodate the deficiencies. Even with a light touch, at every apex I would feel the tires drift with the throttle roll-on. It was an infuriating—OH. The tires were drifting! I thought this through, then dropped in and hammered hard out of the next turn. Again, the feedback was clear. The tires were at their edge, and I clearly felt it. The “Grip Limit Feedback” was speaking loud and clear. Excellent! I pitted in mid-session and found a quiet place to think. Why had I felt the feedback on the Honda, but not on the BMW?
My theory hinged on electronics, specifically traction control. The Honda had no such technology in their Repsol model. That meant there was no electronic intervention when the rear tire began to overspin or lean excessively. By contrast, the BMW Traction Control took both wheel spin and lean into account, in addition to mph and braking. Simply put, I wasn’t getting the feedback from the BMW because the BMW was intervening before the feedback made its way to me. After the break I tested my theory again, riding the BMW and Honda back to back, this time on the second, more technical racetrack. As expected, the tires offered their “we’re-close-to-our-limit” feedback on the Honda, even more on the new course. The BMW held its ground, making every turn feel like it was tailor-made for the Bavarian juggernaut. I was happy with the evidence, though I knew that there was one more test that could be performed that would further test my theory: I could turn off the BMW Traction Control. This would allow me unfettered access to the power plant and would give the Continentals an opportunity to provide feedback without hindrance of intervening electronics. I decided against it. Fatigue was kicking in, and I knew enough about these new tires to write an article. Unleashing 199 horsepower without Traction Control seemed as much fun as it would be dangerous, given my exhaustion and limited skill. Best to get home in one piece. I swung off the BMW, shook another round of hands and headed for the hotel. What do I have to say about the new Continental SportAttack 3 HyperSport tire? This is some exceptional rubber. Designed for both sport and light track riding, the ContiSportAttack 3 offers a confident feel and clear feedback, especially when you need it most. Specifically I recommend it for riders who are just starting to learn where their limits lie, as the tire speaks clearly when those limits are achieved - if you know how to listen! The new Continental is a fine tire for aspiring and accomplished sport riders alike.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Vololights Brakeless Deceleration Indicator By Ron Davis #111820 tail-mounted unit emits a bright, flashing warning through its collection of red LED’s experts such as David Hough know which surround the license plate and are one of the best strategies for increasing energized whenever the bike decelerates, safety on the road is to maintain a brakes or no brakes. In fact, I discovered the generous distance between themselves newest version of the Vololights actuand vehicles they’re following. ally has a number of improvements Not only does a gap of at least that make it an even better add-on. three seconds give riders more of Installation on a BMW F 700 GS an opportunity to react to sudwas simple, even for a “Fear of den stops and unpredictable Wrenching” mechanic like me. maneuvers, but it also helps with Instructions were well illustrated and conspicuity and allows more clear, and video guides can also be time to avoid shredded tires, accessed by computer or phone. Simshovels, dead animals, or anyply removing the license plate, insertthing else that suddenly tumbles ing it into the Vololights, then out from beneath a car or truck. remounting the unit got the mechanUnfortunately we don’t have ics done. Vololights will work with much control when it comes to license plate sizes used in all but three the drivers following us. states. An optional lowering bracket About two years ago, I had the is also available on the Vololights opportunity to test the then new website for bikes that have custom “Volomod,” an ingenious afterlicense mounts. Power for the device’s market add-on that hooked into circuits and LEDs is supplied from my V-Strom’s brake light harness the leads going to the stock license and made the brake light and plate light. You can either wire direct rear directionals blink upon from there to the Vololights, or use deceleration, with or without the supplied Posi-Taps™. In either touching the brake levers. Since hookup, the Vololight has its own we riders commonly close the license plate light, and the CANbus throttle and downshift to slow seems happy with the arrangement. down, anyone behind us may not The total time for the installation be getting a visual warning that of the Vololights took about 20 mintheir following distance may be utes, not counting the time I spent suddenly shrinking. The narrow profile of motorcycles doesn’t Whether riders are using the brakes or not, the Vololights telegraphs rounding up a bunch of tools I didn’t help when it comes to judging deceleration to following vehicles with bright, flashing or solid LEDs. need. It turned out that all that was required was my Torx T25 screwspeed either. I really liked the driver from the BMW’s tool kit and a small installing a “Vololights” unit, which continadded security and visibility the VoloPhillips screwdriver. My F7 almost seemed ues to be one of the most popular deceleramod added, and without it, I felt to be designed for the Vololights, with the tion units around. exposed and vulnerable when I moved license light wires easy to access and a The Vololight unit provides the same up to a newer BMW. For one thing small compartment under the back fender kind of heads-up warning to following there wasn’t a good spot to mount a that swings out, making it simple to access vehicles as the Volomod does, but rather Volomod on an F 700 GS, and two, the bolts holding the license light and than through the brake lights, the there didn’t seem to be a way to RIDERS
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
SAFETY
integrate the unit without freaking out the CANbus electrical system, now standard on all BMWs. However, now BMW riders are recognizing they can get the same added safety a deceleration unit provides by
swing it out of the way while making connections. Once the Vololights unit is mounted and the electrics are set, there is a short set-up process, which just consists of holding a magnet against the lower left corner of the device. Programming only takes a few seconds and allows you to choose between two operational modes and three sensitivity levels. The operational modes are “Flash” (Vololights flashes at two different rates to indicate the speed of the deceleration), and “Steady” (Solid lights only on deceleration, no flashing). You can adjust the sensitivity to three different levels: “Touring” (the most sensitive, especially good for larger bikes), “Default” (suited for most bikes), and “Sport” (least sensitive, good for aggressive riding and lower gearing). Modes and sensitivity can be changed quickly at any time, as long as you keep the supplied magnet handy. The Vololights Brakeless Deceleration Indicator can be ordered in flat black or simulated carbon fiber and is inconspicuous until it’s energized. Its LEDs light up even more brilliantly than the stock brake light. Units are available from over 10,000 Parts Unlimited and BMW dealers across the country and from the Vololights.com website, where you can also find more information and video. Vololights will also be represented at the Hamburg Rally. With a deceleration unit broadcasting my intentions to those behind me, I feel like I again have an added level of security. I would guess deceleration indicators will probably one day be standard equipment on all new motorcycles since they make so much “safety sense;” however, in the meantime, it’s nice knowing practically any bike can now be outfitted with one at minimal cost. Vololights Brakeless Deceleration Indicator: $129.95 PROS: Easy installation, no conflict with CANbus systems, very bright CONS: Residents of Alaska, Minnesota and New Mexico should check license plate size before ordering.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Touratech Zega Pro-Next Generation pannier system initial impressions By Jim Walenski #192386 GIDDY. AT 54 YEARS OF AGE,
that’s not an adjective I use very frequently to describe myself, but that was exactly how I felt as the UPS truck rumbled up my driveway. Giddy, because I knew that big brown truck was carrying my new Zega Pro-Next Generation pannier system. Let me offer a caveat right away: it’s hard to be objective in this first part of a two-part review; whether riders have been using Zegas to circumnavigate the globe or jaunt to the nearest convenience store for a gallon of milk, Touratech’s pannier systems have given gained practically universal acclaim ever since they were first
released in 1992. With a few interesting tweaks for 2016, Touratech claims the luggage system is now even better. The two big boxes the man in shorts handed me contained Zega Pro-Next Generation panniers, a mounting rack for my BMW F-bike, and all the necessary hardware. Instructions for the installation of the rack were simple (basically one page!), clear and obviously written from experience. The rack, available in a black powdercoat or stainless steel finish, is anchored through existing bolts for the stock passenger handles and supplied brackets that lock to the frame. The left and right racks are also joined across the rear and under the seat. The stock BMW passenger handles do have
to be removed, but the Touratech rack has its own. It was not necessary to remove the lower Vario case racks that were already on my bike. Installing the rack took less than 25 minutes, and I was impressed with how perfectly it fit. I’ve installed racks from other manufacturers on other bikes and have often had to “persuade” parts to get a good fitment. Once everything was tightened down, the rack matched the black finish of the bike’s frame and could pass for original equipment (not surprising, since Touratech fabricates a number of OEM parts for BMWs). The panniers themselves are where the “Next Gen” mods for 2016 can be seen. The most significant of these start at the bottom and the top. On previous versions of the Zega Pros, the bottom sections and lids of the panniers were welded and riveted at the corners. Now, the bottoms and lids are seamless, hydroformed units—no welds, no rivets. The bottoms are riveted every two inches to the walls of the cases with a wide sealing band sandwiched in the joint. A second modification is a new design for the lid seal. The Next Gen Zegas have a deeper and wider seal design with an improved silicone gasket that reportedly enhances the strength of the pannier and seals out water and dust even more efficiently than before. Two types of optional handles have been offered before for Zega Pros, but this new version already has the handle holes drilled and filled with weather tight nuts and bolts.
Upgraded for 2016, Zega Pro-Next Gen panniers preserve all the features that have made them an industry standard and offer new improvements in construction and lid seal design.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
The rack supplied with the Touratech Zega ProNext Generation pannier system fit perfectly and could pass as original equipment.
Zega Pros are still offered in three attractive finishes, black, anodized silver, and plain aluminum, and use the same, replaceable corner protectors. Touratech has also preserved long-prized features such as a detachable lid tether that secures and holds the lid open while packing and brawny, stainless latches on both ends that double as hinges. Optional, keyed locks are available and are simple to install. Touratech’s mounting “pucks” remain the same, using billet aluminum blocks that swing into place and lock from inside the panniers. The tough, but light 1.5mm aluminum walls are legendary for absorbing the impact of a getoff, and reviewers like world travelers Lisa and Simon Thomas have commented on how easily the boxes can be knocked back into shape after a spill. Despite the improvements, the price of this new generation of the Zega Pro pannier systems has not changed. So far, so good. Look for Part Two of this review later this year after I have had an opportunity to bang the Zegas around a bit and can assess their functionality, durability, and versatility on the road. In the meantime, visit Touratech-USA.com for more information, videos, and live chat assistance. Touratech Zega Pro Pannier System – Next Generation: $1,499 PROS (so far): Great looks, easy installation, top class features CONS: None yet!
Zega Pro Panniers holding 31 and 38 liters increase the side-to-side profile of an F series BMW to about 41 inches.
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Paul Thorn: Music for riding By Wes Fleming #87301 PAUL THORN SINGS PRETTY WELL
for a boxer. Either that or he got hit in the head enough times during his boxing career to realize that playing guitar and singing the songs he’s written were less likely to result in repeated concussions. The Tupelo Blue at Niagara Falls album isn’t a CD that you can find on Amazon or even in a brick-and-mortar store. It’s available exclusively through the MOA’s store, and the singer-songwriter personally chose the 10 tracks on the album, the sales of which benefit the MOA Foundation and GEARS training, both dedicated to educating and training the next generation of young riders. Thorn’s vocal style is best described as warmly gruff—not gritty like somebody who’s smoked too much for too long, but not a pristine tenor either. His songs are slice-of-life stories and observations on life and relationships, laid down in bite-sized chunks that flow pleasantly from one to the next. If you were to research Thorn’s catalog (like I did preparing to write this review), you’d find that his music is classified as “Americana,” which is a mishmash of styles that range from oldtime country to classic rock. In truth, Thorn fits that description implicitly, but he flavors his tracks with gospel stylings (“Mission Temple Fireworks Stand”) and funk (“Ain’t Love Strange”) and thus ventures beyond the boundaries of the traditional Americana label. The standout tracks are the CD’s opener, “Pimps & Preachers,” “A Long Way From Tupelo” and the closing
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
track, a live cut called “It’s a Great Day to Whup Somebody’s Ass.” In this last track, Thorn’s sense of humor comes across. It’s obvious he’s having such a good time that he’s on the verge of cracking up himself as the audience takes a spin at the chorus. Other tracks that feature Thorn’s quirky sense of humor are the self-deprecating “I Have a Good Day Every Now & Then” and “I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love,” a twisted take on every family reunion and broken friendship you’ve ever experienced. It’s not all romp, stomp and hilarity though. “Where Was I” is a beautiful ballad of loss and longing, related through what might be autobiographical snapshots; it’s a touching song that uses accordion and mandolin parts to create a melancholy but comforting feeling as the singer explores the loss of a lover. From an instrumentation standpoint, the songs couldn’t be more simple and classic.
Guitars, both acoustic and electric, dominate, and along with them the rock band staples of bass and drums. Slide guitar solos add flavor to several tracks, and tasteful keyboard and organ parts dip and dive throughout to create a steamy atmosphere that feels as if it has come right out of a Mississippi summer evening jam session. The real appeal of Tupelo Blue at Niagara Falls is the immediacy and intimacy of the entire album. Although there’s only one live track on the CD, every song feels like it’s being played by a band set up in the corner of your favorite pub or at your local county fair in the middle of the evening. The album is fun and flavorful from start to finish, with something to appeal to just about everybody—even this old headbanger who has a soft spot for slide guitar work. It’s exactly the kind of album I like to listen to as I drive or ride down a long, lonely highway with the sun at my back and the future ahead.
www.michelinmotorcycle.com
new
PRoductnews
AdaptivGrip Universal Device Holder
The new AdaptivGrip Universal Device Holder is designed to hold devices such as smartphones, GPS units, cameras, transponders, radar detectors and other electronic devices, either with or without protective cases up to 5/8” thick and 4¼” wide. It is compatible with all AdpativMounts and third party mounts equipped with the AMPS hole pattern. MSRP for the AdaptivGrip Universal Device Holder is $35. For more information, go to www. AdaptivTech.com.
New from ZTechnik for the R 1200 GS/Adventure
ZTechnik® has added product offerings for the BMW R 1200 GS/GSA. A new screen, the Z2488 Touring Deluxe, is 2.5" taller than the current Z2487 Touring VStream and is made for maximum wind protection for serious long distance riders and dedicated Iron Butters. VStream windscreens offer great clarity and strength and are three times more resistant to abrasion than acrylic materials and have greater crack and impact resistance. Additionally, the new ZTechnik Z5402 Headlight Guard perfectly matches the contours of the R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure LED headlight. The guard is made of 3mm polycarbonate and is said to offer ten times more strength and 30 times more scratch resistance than acrylic guards. For more information on the complete line of ZTechnik products, visit nationalcycle.com
BMW adds production facility
With an eye toward boosting production and worldwide availability of its new G 310 R Roadster, BMW is opening a new motorcycle production facility in 2016 in Manaus, Brazil. In addition to the G 310 R, the facility in Manaus will produce eight other models and will replace BMW's current contract with Dafra Moto, which will cease producing motorcycles for BMW during the summer of 2016. Brazil represents a strategic motorcycle market. General Director of BMW Motorrad Stephan Schaller said, "With our global growth strategy, we are opening up emerging markets such as Brazil. The G 310 R plays a key role in winning over new, enthusiastic target groups for BMW Motorrad." BMW is currently the market leader in 27 countries when it comes to premium motorcycles over 500 cc, and BMW Motorrad plans to sell 200,000 units per year by 2020.
Corbin Smuggler for the new R 1200 RS
Corbin’s new “Smuggler” trunk for the new BMW R 1200 RS offers a clean look and an additional 9.5 liters of storage. The Smuggler will install with stock front seats and also comes painted to coordinate with stock paint schemes. The Smuggler can be combined with a Corbin front saddle for long range, touring convenience and comfort. The saddle uses high-density Comfort Cell foam and genuine leather seating panels to create solid support without a bulky shape and can also be used with the OEM rear seat. The saddle is available in a heated version, and with the flip of a switch, it will maintain the desired temperature. Installation is simple, with just a pigtail wired to the bike's battery. The Corbin front saddle and Smuggler trunk use the stock mounts and integrate with the factory key lock; all mounting hardware is included. Visit corbin.com for additional information and pricing.
Buy three, get one liter free
BMW Motorrad USA recently announced that all current BMW MOA members are eligible to receive a free liter of BMW Motorrad Advantec engine oil. MOA members may present their valid membership card at any participating BMW Motorrad dealer for a free liter of Advantec Ultimate or Pro when buying at least three liters and one BMW oil filter over the parts counter or with a 600 mile break-in service, scheduled maintenance service or between scheduled service appointments. Advantec Pro 15W-50 and Ultimate 5W-40 engine oils were specifically developed for BMW Motorrad high-performance engines and use unique formulas to guarantee longterm performance. MOA members are limited to one free liter of Advantec per individual visit, per repair order or per parts invoice. The offer is valid now through March 31, 2017. For more information, visit your local BMW Motorrad dealer.
Be seen and be safe with Ultrabright LEDs
Being seen is one of the greatest challenges for any rider. Will that fast approaching truck see you in dark and murky weather? To aid rider conspicuity, Weiser engineers—avid bikers themselves—developed their Ultrabrights LED turn signals for BMWs eight years ago. This year, as an upgrade to the original design, Weiser has released the Ultrabrights Extreme. Fitting all BMW motorcycles with the “arrow head” turn signal housing used from 2006 on, Weiser Ultrabrights Originals are more than twice as bright as the standard OEM bulb, while the new Ultrabrights Extreme are virtually four times brighter than that. Both the Ultrabrights Originals and Extreme models are powered by OSRAM amber automotive LEDs, but increased light output isn’t the only benefit; with Weiser upgrades, 100 percent of the available light is directed toward traffic. Being LEDs, Ultrabrights are designed to last forever, take only minutes to install, and are guaranteed to operate in accordance with the BMW CAN bus electronics system. For more information or to order, visit weisertechnik.com.
June 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Made in Germany: A look inside Wunderlich By Kurtis Minder #141660 ASIDE FROM SOME BASIC ERGO-
nomics and a camshaft that could benefit from better lubrication, the old Yamaha motorcycle was nearly perfect. Erich Wunderlich notices such things; then he improves them. Erich’s compulsion to innovate started with the ergo improvements and a direct lubrication system for his Yamaha single-cylinder bikes back then, and today the company carries on that spirit at Wunderlich’s headquarters in Sinzig, Germany. The “Always room for improvement” approach to design is the driver for most of Wunderlich’s nearly 3,000 BMW Motorrad-focused products. Wunderlich offers solutions and enhancements for nearly every model in the BMW lineup. When a new model hits the streets, Erich and the Wunderlich team are riding them on day one, and they immediately ask, “How can we make this better?” Sometimes it is as simple as producing a bike part that is adjustable, when the stock part is not. Other innovations are ergonomic options not offered in the stock models, including
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seats, bars and shields. They offer a full line of protection items as well. Wunderlich carries over 3,000 individual products, of which over 1,700 are fully designed in-house. In fact, design is a huge part of the Wunderlich culture and drive. Their seasoned design team is predicting and sketching ideas for bikes before they are even unveiled by the manufacturer. They get close, too— real close. It is not unheard of that renderings in their catalogue are mistaken for actual production bikes. “How did you get an early preview of that bike?” I asked Erich. His answer: “We didn’t." The talented design and prototyping shop is bursting at the seams, so much so that Erich has commissioned a new building. This will be his sixth move driven by the success and growth of the business. After a new part has been identified and sketched, prototyping begins. The Wunderlich prototyping facility is state of the art, complete with 3D modeling, form fabrication and 3D printing capabilities. Five years ago, designing and testing a new part on a bike took weeks; now, Wunderlich can do it in two days. The 3D modeling tool by FARO Edge can quickly scan a part or form,
and it can be manipulated and measured digitally until it is ready for 3D printing. After the 3D printer spits out the prototype, the part can be tested on any of the bikes in the BMW lineup. Wunderlich keeps a full inventory of BMW motorcycles for this very reason. Once the part is sized correctly and fits a production bike flawlessly, they make a final version from the production materials. The Wunderlich team is careful to design the part to meet customer needs while simultaneously remaining price competitive in the cut-throat motorcycle aftermarket industry. “You can design a tank bag with too many features…it would cost over 500 Euro, and nobody would buy it,” said Erich. When asked who comes up with new product ideas, Frank Hoffman (Managing Director of Wunderlich) quickly stated, “Customers—and Erich.” Often products are conceived when Erich rides a new model for a bit. Other products are born from discussions with customers. A very approachable and open-minded company, Wunderlich has even designed products that are conceived by their business partners and suppliers. Wunderlich does not manufacture their
own parts. Their philosophy is one of a focus on core competency of the material manufacturer. Hoffman knows that given the variety of parts and materials, Wunderlich could not possibly be the best at manufacturing each item. They strive for a “Made in Germany” strategy, partnering manufacturers who focus on each material to build the best possible part. Nearly 100 percent of the products designed by Wunderlich are made by around 50 specialized German manufacturers, many only minutes down the road from the Wunderlich headquarters. Parts are produced by the manufacturers and brought to Wunderlich HQ, where they are packaged. The more than 3,000 parts result in over 50,000 individual pieces. The staff in the warehouse makes sure the pieces are packaged and the instructions are matched up. This whole process results in almost 55,000 packages per year, 50 percent of which are destined for the German market. The parts don’t usually come back, either. The Wunderlich focus on quality shows strong in their 0.3 percent return rate. Hoffman was quick to point out that the statistic also includes returns from customers who simply ordered the wrong part. Herr Wunderlich takes quality so seriously, that when asked how they test crash bars, Erich laughed and said, “We crash them!” They test other parts by participating in competitions, races and rallies. Much of their testing is done at the nearby—and
legendary—Nurburgring. Erich explains, “We cannot rely on simulated testing, it is not reality.” Quality is also independently verified, due to the strong regulations on aftermarket part use in Germany. Wunderlich has the Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV), or Technical Inspection Association, certify all of their products. They go even further by having independent Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) certification done for most products. These
certifications make it easier for German riders to add parts to their motorcycles. TÜV and KBA guidelines are typically more stringent than a DOT or other certification, so as a result U.S. motorcyclists benefit from the quality assurance. Wunderlich is also ISO certified. Wunderlich continues to expand its product offerings as well as the breadth of coverage for the BMW brand. The headquarters also functions as a flagship store where riders can purchase the full
Wunderlich line over the counter. Buyers can even have the Wunderlich team install the product in their workshop! Hoffman reports that since they opened the store in 2014, sales have skyrocketed, forcing them to expand, with staffing up this year by 200 percent. Things are looking up for Wunderlich. They have selected a site for their upgraded headquarters less than 10 kilometers from their current location. Due to Erich’s love of older, two-valve motorcycles, they started making parts for the older bikes in 2014 and are launching a dedicated division to focus on the vintage business in July, 2016. The culture and buzz of the company is tangible when you walk in the door. The team at Wunderlich loves bikes, rides bikes and breathes motorsports. This positivity and passion show in the products they produce. Erich, a true motorcycle geek, still has the original Yamaha bikes that started the Wunderlich machine. Standing in the warehouse, looking at the old Yamaha with the custom lubrication system, Hoffman points at Erich and says, “He’s not even a trained engineer, just a guy who didn’t want to go to school!" US customers can source Wunderlich products from Wunderlich America (www. wunderlichamerica.com). Wunderlich America will be at the Das Rally. Stop in and say hello to William Plam and his team, and tell them Kurtis sent you.
Germany has strict guidance on what automotive and motorcycle aftermarket parts can be put on a licensed vehicle. The Technischer Überwachungsverein (Technical Inspection Association), or TÜV, is a certification body that ensures motor vehicles and aftermarket solutions meet German road regulations and standards. Licensed German motor vehicles must have a certification from the TÜV or another independent certification body. When a German license holder modifies his or her vehicle, the vehicle must be recertified to ensure it is safe. The TÜV will also certify aftermarket products to ensure that the modification will pass the vehicle certification process. The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) is a government entity that is much like state DMV organizations in the U.S. The KBA oversees the license issuance as well as manufacturer safety adherence for motor vehicles, and this includes automotive manufacturer brands. If an aftermarket product is certified by the KBA, it gets a KBA number and is considered as good as an OEM part.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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It's a birthday party for BMW! And BMW MOA members get all the presents BMW WILL BE CELEBRATING THEIR
100th birthday this August and the best part is you get all the presents! As another great benefit of BMW MOA membership, any MOA member who buys a new BMW motorcycle along with $1,500 worth of accessories during the month of August will receive a $500 credit good for additional BMW accessories. This incentive can be stacked on top of any existing BMW purchase incentives already in place. Be sure to look for this credit voucher and additional details of this great promotion in the August issue of BMW Owners News. Even if you don’t buy a bike, all MOA members are eligible for a gift. Just bring the voucher to any BMW dealer during the month of August and BMW will send you your free
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
BMW Easy Tube. It’s just another great benefit of membership and available ONLY to BMW MOA members. The worldwide party kicks off on Saturday, August 20th which is the day the International Council of BMW Clubs has declared the International Day of Celebration for all BMW Clubs. Join in the celebration with your MOA friends at an open house at a BMW Motorrad dealer in selected regions across the United States on August 20th. All BMW MOA members are invited to come out to not only see the latest and greatest from BMW, but also enjoy food, refreshments and other 100th anniversary gifts courtesy of your BMW MOA and the International Council of BMW Clubs. Take a demo ride, take advantage of BMW’s Advantac oil promotion or simply turn in the voucher included in the August issue of BMW Owners News for your free BMW Easy Tube. But whatever you do, be sure to mark Saturday, August 20th on your calendar as the day you must get to your BMW Motorrad dealer.
But wait! There’s more!
From August 26th to the 28th, the BMW MOA will be hosting a special Getaway in beautiful Monterey, California, at the luxurious Monterey Tides beachfront hotel located just minutes from Old Fisherman’s Warf, Cannery Row and the Pacific Coast Highway. Feel the warm sand between your toes as you stroll along the Monterey Tides private beach and watch as the sun sets over the Pacific. Join fellow BMW MOA members and enjoy three wonderful days and two glorious nights celebrating everything BMW. Included with this Premier Getaway will be a Friday night Beach Party featuring a barbecue and bonfire as well as a formal dinner on Saturday evening. BMW Brand Ambassador Shawn Thomas will not only be leading two rides in the area he calls home, but will also be making a special presentation Saturday night. If all that isn’t enough to get you there, maybe the more than $50 in special BMW 100th Anniversary items to be given to all attending and a
You're invited to celebrate 100
special commemorative Polo shirt will! To reserve your spot at the party, visit bmwmoa. org and click on the Events link. The BMW MOA Getaway in Monterey is one of the many events celebrating BMW taking place in the Monterey area along with those hosted by the BMW Car Club of America. For a complete listing of those events, visit bmwcca. com. It will be a long time before an event of this magnitude happens again. Incredible incentives and rebates only available to BMW MOA members who purchase a new BMW motorcycle, a free gift from BMW Motorrad simply for visiting your dealer, open houses at selected BMW Motorrad dealers across the country with food, refreshments and BMW 100th Anniversary gifts and a Premier MOA Getaway at the Monterey Tides Hotel on the beach.
years of BMW
• Buy a new BM W motorcycle al ong with $1,500 of accessories du worth ring the month of August and receiv $500 credit good ea for additional BM W accessories. • Visit any BMW dealer during Aug ust, give them th voucher included e in the August issu e of Owners New and BMW will se s nd you a free BM W Easy Tube. • Attend an open house at a select ed BMW dealer August 20th for on free food, refresh ments and other BMW 100th An niversary gifts co urtesy of the BM MOA and the In W ternational Coun cil of BMW Clubs . • Join fellow BM W MOA membe rs for a Premier Getaway from A MOA ugust 26-28 at th e beautiful Monte Tides beachfron rey t hotel.
www.globalrescue.com/partner/bmwmoa
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Ride the Beach Memorial Parkway RIDERS ATTENDING DAS RALLY!
are invited to enjoy a ride along the Niagara River on the picturesque Bob Beach Memorial Parkway. Then, come and enjoy a BBQ lunch on Friday, July 15th between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. hosted by Beaches Motorcycle Adventures Bob Beach #91, a founding member of the BMW MOA, would have been delighted to learn the 2016 BMW MOA Rally was being held in western New York. Bob, along with his wife Elizabeth, were pioneers in European motorcycle touring and founded Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures in 1972 This spring, a 7 and one half mile stretch of the scenic West River Parkway, on Grand Island New York, was dedicated to the memory of Bob, who passed away in 2012. In addition to his involvement with the BMW MOA, Bob was active in many clubs and organizations throughout his lifetime. One July 15th, Jacob Beach, the third generation of the Beach family to be involved in motorcycling, will be at the West River Overlook to greet riders and ensure they have an excellent roadside meal and continue the tradition that Bob loved best – “going for a ride and making new friends.” Suggested routes from the rally site to the BBQ may be found online at bmca.com/rally.
www.bmwmcsem.com
www.bingcarburetor.com
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
The more you ride, the more you’ll appreciate the amazing versatility of the all-season Transition Series 4 textile jacket. •
• • • • •
• • •
Carbolex® 600 denier outer shell construction, 1680 denier ballistic polyester in the elbows, and waterproof, breathable Rainguard® barrier Waterproof pipeline pinch vents provide excellent ventilation Aqua-Barrier™ under-the-helmet hood hides under the collar and helps keep your neck dry in the rain Action-back rear panel, microfiber-lined collar and cuffs, and adjustable sleeve straps provide comfort and a snug fit Updated CE-approved shoulder and elbow armor and articulated triple-density back protector for added protection Zippered chest map pocket, fleece-lined hand-warmer pockets, internal pouch pockets, mobile device pocket and dual-zippered fanny pack provide plenty of storage options Colors: Black, Light Grey/Gun, Hi-Viz/Black and Gun/Black Sizes: Men’s XS-5XL, Tall MT-4XT; Women’s XS-XL, Plus S-L For detailed jacket specifications go to tourmaster.com
IT PAYS OFF DOWN THE ROAD TRANSITION SERIES 4
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TRANSITION SERIES 4 TEXTILE JACKET
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www.tourmaster.com Check out our videos at youtube.com/helmethouse. For more information see your local dealer or visit tourmaster.com. Tour Master is a registered trademark of Helmet House. ©Helmet House, Inc. 2016. Always maintain, inspect and wear protective motorcycle riding gear. No gear can offer complete protection from all situations. Obey all speed and safety laws. Riding and alcohol or other drugs don’t mix.
The
Benefits of
Membership Direct Buy
BMW MOA Members receive discounted DirectBuy Memberships which include the full DirectBuy selection and savings, along with Concierge Shopping and Project Coordinator service.
We have lined up some of the best discounts in the industry worth way more than $40 per year. Whether you need product discounts, travel discounts or specialized services, your MOA membership can save you thousands of dollars with our partners.
MOA Partner Discounts Cruise One
Discounted rates on cruise booking, full service land packages, shore excursions and travel insurance.
Product Discounts Peter Starr
Free shipping and handling when ordering Peter Starr’s book, Take It to the Limit.
Travel Discounts Compass Expeditions
5% off South America, Aulstralia, Road of Bones, South America 360, and Cairo to Capetown Tours. The Official BMW Motorrad travel partner.
Leisure & Lifestyle Discounts Motorcyclepedia Museum
50% off a second entry ticket to the museum.
For the complete listing of all member discounts, visit us online at bmwmoa.org/discounts www.bmwmoa.org/discounts www.bmwmoa.org/discounts
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www.weisertechnik.com
www.ventureheat.com/11-power-sports
TECH
keepemflying
Broken Spokes By Matthew Parkhouse #13272 When the bike was back together and running nicely after completing the timing is being read, the chain and steering bearings, I pulled off the Mexico bike will be rear wheel. I removed the chrome hub cab resting, waiting for and started going around the wheel bangthe next journey. ing on the spokes. When I heard a nonMy hope is that this musical tone, I took a look at the inside end will be to Panama, of the spoke. If it was intact, I tightened up in two years. We the spoke about 10 degrees of turn at a time. shall see. Right now, I feel like I am I have a BMW spoke tool. It was kind of still recovering from the latest run expensive when I got it, but I have south of the border. found the cheaper spoke tools can The Slash Five, with new distort and round out pretty easily. I steering head bearings, a new just took a quick look on eBay. A place timing chain and renewed carin Germany (Alteteile 2003) is selling buretor slide needles and needle them for $20 plus $12 for shipping to jets, is now resting under cover the U.S. There are 40 spokes to each in the back yard. The last item wheel; 20 are set into the brake area, on the work list, the carb work, the other 20 end up under the hub was done in response to signs of cap. One of the brake side spokes was the engine running too rich broken—no real surprise, after those (soot in the exhaust, fouled Mexican roads! The BMW spokes plugs and poor gas mileage). almost always break off at the inside After a few around town miles, end. That end has a little nub that is the bike’s plugs stay a nice tan seated into the hub. This spoke’s nub color, as opposed to the black was simply gone. Sometimes you can deposits I was repeatedly cleanhear those broken-off pieces as you ing off as I rode through turn the wheel. They rattle and scratch Mexico. against the brakes or inside the hub This has inspired me to cap. attend to the other airheads in I had recently purchased a set of our house, as they also all sport I am banging on each spoke, listening for a nice, musical tone (kind high numbers on their odome- of a "ping"). A "thunk" tells me a spoke is loose or possibly broken. used rear wheel spokes on eBay. I got them not so much for repairing ters. The R 100 S, with 47,000 Somewhat surprisingly, this front wheel had good, tight spokes. wheels, but for making carb balancing miles, is the “youngster” of the tools out of them. When I got this bundle, I on the timing chain and steering bearings, I four Parkhouse airheads. All the othfigured I could use the nice ones for repairgave the two sets of wheel spokes a quick ers are well over 150,000 miles. I ing wheels and the rusty ones for making check. This is on the list of tasks for the found out with Strider, my first (and the carb tools. I pulled out the old, broken minor (5,000 mile) and the major (10,000 last) Slash Five, that the carburetor spoke and placed the new one in the same mile) services. I do it every time I get back slide needle and its matching needle position. I had to cut off the wheel lining from Mexico and usually find a loose spoke jet tend to wear out after 70K to 100K tape that concealed the spoke heads, but I or two. You just use a long wrench or screwmiles. The rapid movement of air have a roll of that tape to renew it when I’m driver and gently bang each spoke as you causes friction on the engine side of done with the spokes. I hand-tightened the turn the wheel. This time, I heard a few these two components. On really head and then used a screwdriver to take up “thunks” when what I wanted to hear was a high mileage bikes, you can spot the the looseness. Once things were reasonably musical tone. As long as you hear a “ping” wear in the jet and see the polishing tight, I got a thin drift and seated the nub of some sort, the spoke is tight. of the sides of the slide needle. BY THE TIME THIS
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Obviously, this will allow more fuel to mix as the bike is run, causing a rich situation. I just ordered the various bits I need (runs a little over $20 per bike) and will replace these parts in a week or so. This, like the timing chain, is one of those gradual wearing situations that the rider doesn’t notice, but correcting the issue makes an immediate and obvious improvement. When I had the bike on my lift to work
which I expected due to the clattering, noisy into the hub. BMW spokes are made with a idle on the bike. The task took perhaps small ridge molded into that nub to anchor three-plus hours, with the longest bit of the spoke in place; the hammer and drift work being scraping the very hard and push the nub into the aluminum of the stuck-on cover gasket off the timing cover. I wheel hub. I then used the spoke wrench to renewed the seals that are behind the points do the final tightening. I only had the one and the alternator, even though they hadn’t spoke to replace, along with perhaps ten been leaking. The two cogs that the chain slightly loose ones. Once I had similar works with appeared to be free of wear, so I musical “pings” all around, I applied a new left them in place, making sure to line up run of wheel tape to the inside of the rim, the marks on both items. The lower etched remounted the tire and tube and balanced line is pretty obvious, at 12 o’clock; the the wheel before returning it to the bike. smaller cog has its etched mark at 6 o’clock. The front wheel got the same treatment, but As I did not pull off the ball bearing that all of those spokes were nice and tight. I supports the front of the crank, the mark rebalanced the wheel and put it back in was kind of hidden. I had cleaned that bearplace. The broken spoke wasn’t wasted; it ing of oil, and it turned nice and smooth, so and a rusty one from the bundle were it got to stay in place. The Zen part of this quickly fashioned into a pair of carb balancjob, putting the locking circlip in place ing tools. BEHIND the new The two “big double-row chain jobs”—the timing took perhaps ten chain replacement minutes. I still had and the steering all the holes in the bearing job—were block closed off with done on two succespaper towel material, sive days. I did the and I spread a towel timing chain first, on the surface of the and it went pretty The broken spoke won't be wasted - it was made lift under the front easily. First, remove into one of a pair of carburetor balancing tools. It all the ignition and nicely happens that the sparkplug threads are the of the bike. I used a set of needle-nose charging system same (4mm) as the BMW spoke head threads! pliers and a screwparts as you are driver to push the clip into position. “Little doing this. There is one wire, the one that fish swim upstream” is the saying that activates the starter motor. It requires the reminds me to have the open part of the cirremoval of the top engine cover to be clip facing away from the direction of unplugged. You also need to remove the engine rotation. The reassembly is simply exhaust mufflers and pipes to allow access the opposite of these steps. The total cost of to a couple of the bolts securing the timing the chain and other parts runs right around cover. Once all the bolts are out, I heated the $100. cover around the area of the alternator to The next day, I undertook redoing the expand the cover material around the front steering bearings. When properly adjusted, crankshaft bearing. I had to remove the they showed a real “click-stop” feeling as the front end to give me room to get my bolt handlebars were slowly turned. Those roads cutters into place to sever the double-row in the Michoacán Mountains were REALLY chain. Before doing this, I stuffed paper bad! The whole steering stem area was towels into all the various holes in the front shaken loose on the ride up and back from of the engine block. the butterfly reserve area, with one fork I’m pretty sure this was the original timtube ending up about a quarter inch higher ing chain, as it was an endless chain; just than the other one. The locking nut on the about everybody uses a master-link timing top of the steering stem was loose by a chain when replacing this part. The one on number of turns. (In Mexico, I got the bike was quite stretched and loose,
The replacement spoke. The broken one is still in the wheel, waiting to be pulled out.
Using the BMW spoke wrench to tighten up the rear wheel spokes.
The two grandsons observe my checking the rear wheel for trueness, after the spokes were tightened and one broken one replaced. The wheel is "pretty close" to being round, even after 11 trips south of the Mexican border.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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everything lined up on the side of the road but realized that it would take time to attend to the pair of roller bearings that are the center of the steering system.) Back in the shop, with the fork tubes already out of the way because of the timing chain job of the day before, it did not take long to strip the steering head down to the bearings. Getting the old bearing races out of the steering head was reasonably simple, as I employed my Kukko puller. That was one of my early tool purchases back in the 1970s. It was shockingly expensive back then (probably about $200 for the two pieces) and remains pretty dear today at around $300 for the extractor and fixture. The other tricky part of this three-hour-or-so job is getting the lower inner race off the steering stem. My method is to use a Dremel cut-off wheel, about the diameter of a quarter, to cut a notch in the very hard steel of the race, after stripping off the rollers and cage. When the notch is just about touching the steel of the stem, I stop and give it a good whack with a chisel. This cracks the race material and loosens it so it easily can be tapped up and off. The new race, with a new grease cup, is driven down the stem using a tool a friend made
out of a length of fork tube. It is good to know people with lathes and 20-ton presses! Once the steering stem and new bearings are back in place, reassembly is the reverse of what was done to clear the headlamp, wiring and cables out of the way. Between the renewed steering bearings and the new timing chain, the old Mexico bike feels, handles and sounds MUCH better!
Old timers and hipsters
In the last few days, a number of folks who are involved with the BMW MOA have been texting online (yelling?) with each other about how the club is losing members. One sub-group that was mentioned was, for the lack of a better label, the “hipster crowd.” One of the writers suggested that the club and Owners News had very little for the rider who is “young, poor and has a used bike.” Many of the old timers actually started out this way, with an airhead BMW a number of years ago, but now they are riding a much newer machine. One of MY responses was that if I was the chief editor of BMW Owners News, the owners of the newer bikes would be running for the exits because I would be focusing on Airheads. I started out “young, poor and owning a NEW BMW.” I haven’t found much reason to shift from that mindset as I continue to ride my first (acquired 44 years ago) BMW. One of my goals with this column is to help out folks with their
new-to-them airheads. There is a wealth of how-to information online at various chat groups, websites and YouTube. The single best source of this data, in my opinion, is to join the Airheads BMW Club (ABC). Between the regional and local Tech Days, their magazine (Airmail), and Airhead Central at the National Rally, there is a wealth of verbal and hands-on guidance. It is so nice to be able to avoid screwing up and breaking things on your newly acquired old bike by hearing about maintenance and experience from one who went before you (and probably made a few mistakes along the way!). BMW has fragmented their product, making bikes for a LOT more riding activities than long distance touring. A number of us, the older members who have been involved with the club, are scratching our heads as we try and figure out how the national club (BMW MOA) and the magazine (the one you are holding) can serve this diverse crowd of riders. If any of you, the readers of this column, have any ideas or questions about this task ahead of us, I’d like to hear them. I’m on the Ambassador email list and can share suggestions and questions with the people who are having this discussion. I’ll also be at the national rally in New York, and feel free to grab me there; I spend a lot of time at Airhead Central. I’ll also be giving a seminar on Airhead topics; please come there as well. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of you there!
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
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July 2016  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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TECH
Developing the Bot-Wing By Bill Botkin #152460 MY FIRST BMW EXPERIENCE WAS
on my 2005 K 1200 LT. “Big Blue” was a sweet machine. It was a heavy pig in the parking lot, but once you got the beast rolling you could easily maneuver through even the tightest switchbacks from “Going to the Sun Road” to the “Tail of the Dragon.” When the clutch finally gave up the ghost after 90K+ miles, I purchased a 2014 GSW. I chose the GS to allow long distance riding, plus the option of riding off-road. The first thing I noticed on the GS was the added wind noise and turbulence. I assumed the culprit of this turbulence was the OEM windscreen. Exploring aftermarket windscreens, I purchased and installed one from a reputable company. To my disappointment, it failed to improve the riding environment. After several miles of real world testing (one-hand and no-hands riding), I discovered the windscreens, both OEM and after-market, were not to blame for the uncomfortable, noisy ride; the real culprit was the “dirty air” flowing off the front end. This air passed under the
handlebars, striking me in the abdomen, then rushing up and under my helmet. I don’t recommend no-hands riding, but as a test, with one hand free, place it palm up directly under the throttle/front brake assembly or clutch lever, and you will immediately feel the difference your hand makes. So the seed was planted, the idea born! I made the first three sets of “Bot-Wing™” prototypes from cardboard. Attached with duct tape, blue painter’s tape and electrical wire; the early Bot-Wings™ were crude indeed! After establishing the effectiveness of my idea I approached the Gustafsson Windscreen Company of St. Augustine, Florida, (bikescreen.com) to make the initial wings in plastic. These first prototypes were two-piece assemblies which mounted in place of the small, black plastic V-shaped foils or winglets which are stock on the GSW. One requirement I insisted on was a nodrill installation, with the winglets able to fit to existing hardware points on the motorcycle. This was easily accomplished at the front end of the winglets but more difficult on the trailing edge. I tried using 3M™ Dual Lock™ fasteners,
but they proved to be unsightly and unreliable. At highway speeds or in gusty conditions, the Dual Locks would separate, allowing the tail of the winglet to float. I knew that consumers would not pay for an accessory which had to be stuck in place and had the risk of becoming unattached. I continued my search for a mounting solution. All along during this development process I was able to call on the expertise of Leif Gustafsson and his primary assistant Robbie. After much consideration and experimentation, a one-piece Bot-Wing™ was produced. After several minor modifications and adjustments the final production Bot-Wing™ was formed and mounted. Even at low speeds I could immediately feel and hear the difference! The Bot-Wing™ performed as I intended, channeling the “dirty air” down and away from the rider’s body, reducing turbulence and noise. In addition to reduced turbulence and noise, the Bot-Wing™ provides an extra level of rain protection. Thousands of miles have been ridden with production Bot-Wings™. No instability has been experienced or reported in over a year of test riding and development. To insure adequate cooling airflow for
Early Bot-Wing prototypes were two-piece assemblies made from cardboard and attached with duct tape, painters tape and electrical wire.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Front view of the Bot-Wing.
rider comfort, hot weather testing was conducted in Texas heat and Florida humidity. In both cases, the Bot-Wing™ smoothed and quieted the ride while allowing sufficient airflow to keep the rider cool and comfortable. The Bot-Wing™ is constructed from high-grade, UV-stabilized acrylic and is available in several colors—clear, red and smoke being the most popular. Each BotWing™ is individually formed, finished and
then pre-fitted to a 2014 BMW R 1200 GSW to insure it fits your 2013+ GSW. The BotWing™ attaches to existing hardware points for the 2013+ R 1200 GSW—no holes to drill, no stick-on tabs or adhesives to damage paint. The Bot-Wing™ is a simple, lightweight, strong and aerodynamic device which quiets your ride at all speeds and could just be the next best thing to enhance your riding experience. It is available now for 2013+
BMW R 1200 GSW models. Colors in addition to clear, red and smoke can likely be accommodated—please ask when ordering. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you don’t like it, pay the shipping and send it back, and your money will be refunded. Retail price is $149.00 USD plus shipping. For more information, email wfbotkin@att. net or call 904-583-9230.
The Bot-Wing is contructed from high-grade, UV-stabilized acrylic and is available in clear, red and smoke.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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TEC
oil change
I just needed an
By Wes Fleming #87301
A multi-part saga
Part Five: Using A Rebuilt Drive Shaft TO GET THE CYLINDER HEADS OFF MY 2005 R 1200 GS
(see Part Three), I had to remove the exhaust pipes. Since I planned on replacing my beat-up, scratched-up, leaky muffler with one given to me by a friend, I pulled the entire exhaust system. It took a couple of hours with some chrome cleaner to get the new muffler shined up, and I sent the pipes themselves off to a friend’s shop to get them wrapped—not for any big performance improvement, but mostly because I thought it would look nicer than my grungy, rusty bare pipes. To make it easier to get at the clutch output (or slave) cylinder and do all the cleaning needed after it started going bad (see Part Four), I removed the swing arm and drive shaft. Not only did this give me the opportunity to clean the swing arm, final drive, transmission output shaft splines and the final drive input shaft splines, but it also gave me the opportunity to get my driveshaft rebuilt. There are a few places that will rebuild BMW motorcycle driveshafts, but they’re hard to find. Having found one, I shipped my driveshaft out and received it back from the shop in a couple of weeks. By now you’re probably wondering why I would even do this, so I’ll let you in on my thinking. In August 2011, when my GS had just 55,000 miles on it, the original driveshaft failed. Fortunately, I caught it before it came apart—imagine that happening at 70 mph. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch it before it ruined my final drive. This was a costly repair of around $2,000 – but sourcing new parts from BMW would have cost over $3,500 at the time. There is a lot of chatter on the internet as to why the final drives and driveshafts on this early generation of Hexheads fail. It doesn’t seem limited to the GS platform, though, but prominent in the 2005-07 era, with a smaller number of later bikes suffering the same problems. If the final drive fails first, it typically happens within 50 or 60,000 miles. If the driveshaft fails first, it typically happens by about 80,000 miles. Either way, if the rider doesn’t catch the failure soon enough, one failure causes the other. Luckily, my mechanic (now my boss), George Mangicaro at Beemers Uber Alles, was just back from supporting riders in the 2011 Iron Butt Rally when my bike broke that time. Final drive failures plagued a number of long distance riders around that time, so he had a small stock of low mileage used final
drives and drive shafts. The ones that went on my GS came off an 11,000-mile R 1200 RT with a destroyed front end. After running that drive shaft up to about 40,000 miles, I wanted to swap it out for a rebuilt one just to be extra sure I wouldn’t have any trouble. A friend with a GS from the same year as mine wanted to do the same before he had any trouble at all—he was still on his stock driveshaft. We sent them out at the same time, but due to my bike problems, we installed his first. On an R 1200 GS, you can remove the driveshaft without removing the swing arm. It’s not exactly easy, but it can be done. You can even reinstall it with the swing arm in place—again, not easy, but it can be done if you’re patient and experienced. I have little patience,
Driveshaft fully seated on transmission output shaft.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
but enough experience to know I’m better off pulling the swing arm entirely. Since my swing arm and driveshaft were already off, putting my rebuilt driveshaft on was easy. I lubed the transmission output shaft splines with Würth SIG 3000 mixed with some Honda Moly 60, which creates a lube that is both sticky and slippery. The slippery aspect of it does the lubrication, while the sticky aspect of it reduces fling and helps keep it intact against the shearing forces of the rotating parts. A couple light taps with a rubber mallet seated the driveshaft. The smaller of the two boots should go on the end of the swing arm, then you slide the swing arm up over the driveshaft until it’s in place. It’s important to get that boot seated on the swing arm—not because it’s a critical part, but because the joint between the boot
Left side pivot (marked to determine if it moves) and lock nut
and the swing arm is behind a vertical frame bar and it’s impossible to get at once the swing arm is bolted up. The front of the boot, which goes onto the transmission housing, benefits from a little spray lube to ease it over the lip; then it gets secured with a long zip tie. Ground down 30mm socket. Getting the swing arm bolted back in place requires a little finesse, and having a helper to hold it steady makes the job easier. Get the left side (threaded) pin started, then get the right side pin in place. Using a rubber mallet to gently tap it helps, but if you lubed it up before trying to seat it, the taps may not be necessary. The four small bolts on the right side pivot (three long and one short) only get 9 Nm of torque applied to them. The left side pivot pin takes some maneuvering to get into place, but once it’s screwed in (using a 12mm hex socket), it seats with just 7 Nm of torque. The lock nut for the right left side pivot holds everything in place. The mating surface on that nut is shallow, though, so grinding down a 30mm socket until the points are flush with the surface is a good idea. Once it’s spun down, it gets 145 Nm of torque. The pivot pin shouldn’t move, but it doesn’t hurt to mark it to see if it does. You can always loosen the nut and pivot and try again. Don’t forget to lube the final drive input shaft splines. I clean and lubricate these every time I drop the final drive, mostly for my own peace of mind. Long zip tie securing front boot
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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TEC
I find mating the final drive to the driveshaft to be absolutely infuriating. It takes me 20 minutes to do it every time. I watch other people get it in 15 seconds, but no matter how closely I pay attention to their technique, it takes me forever. Another thing not to forget is the boot that goes between the swing arm and the final drive. Final drive input shaft, lubricated. Start with the boot on the final drive; that will enable you to more easily use a screwdriver to position the driveshaft to mate it with the final drive. After reconnecting the torque arm and rear shock, I cleaned and put away my tools for the day. Getting the swing arm, drive shaft and final drive back where they’re supposed to be felt like a significant accomplishment in the course of this more-major-than-I-intended service
All put back together.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Final drive mated to driveshaft.
cycle. My GS was starting to look like a motorcycle again, and this time, I hadn’t broken anything else or found something else wrong. Even though I hoped I wasn’t jinxing the operation, I saw this phase’s end as two steps forward with no step back. Next to tackle is the wiring. That could be a problem just because the current wiring scheme looks like a pile of roasted spaghetti, but I’m trying to stay positive.
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discovery
Longdistancestyle
Wanderlust in my own backyard By Deb Gasque #182082 I AM A TRAVELER, I AM AN ADVEN-
turer, and both to the truest extreme. I often close my eyes and ponder the sights, scenery and people in distant places that are on my horizon of travel plans. The search for unfamiliar roads leading to new adventures is ongoing. Yes, I’ve pretty much had a bad case of “wanderlust” all my life. The curious part about that to those who have known me for over ten years is that now my wanderlust is only extremely gratifying when I’m on two wheels. Go figure, but I know I’m not alone here in that sentiment. One day as I was trekking around the place I call home and immersing myself in the historical aura that permeates the air here in Conway, South Carolina, I realized the hidden gem that I was unintentionally hiding from my fellow BMW riders. And with that thought, two other noteworthy areas near Conway came to mind: Georgetown and Charleston. Isn’t it funny how we look so far into the distance to find interesting places to visit, yet take
for granted the treasures right in our own backyard? Allow me to share my little piece of paradise…
Conway
Known to the locals as “Rivertown” and the seat of Horry County (pronounced O-ree, it’s the largest county east of the Mississippi), Conway was founded in 1732 as the village of Kingston. The downtown historical area is located along the banks of the winding, picturesque Waccamaw River, which is lined with large and very old native oak and cypress trees draped heavily in long strands of antique Spanish moss. This city feels ancient and sweet, with all its Southern splendor still intact. The people are friendly and the offerings for visitors are plentiful. Conway is approximately 55 miles from Interstate 95 (Exit 170), and the main thoroughfare to Rivertown is a scenic and nicely (for the most part) flowing four-lane highway (Hwy 501). Accommodations once you arrive in Conway are not abundant, but I must recommend one choice that will surely add to your experience of old Rivertown. The Cypress Inn is located directly in the heart of the splendor of this town (16 Elm Street, www.acypressinn.com. A discount will be extended by mentioning this article.) Overlooking the Waccamaw River, this B&B has charm and location as its strengths. Motorcycle parking is easy, and
once you’re settled, put on your walking shoes and enjoy the plentiful offerings, all very near. The Riverwalk is a MUST. It is approximately one mile total in length, and I promise you will find yourself snapping photos every few steps. As you make your way to historic downtown Conway, you will find many quaint shops and dining options, most of which are located in charming historic buildings. I must mention my Conway “office” where I write many of my articles for this column: Rivertown Roasters on Main (337 Main Street). If you enjoy really good coffee like I do, be sure to stop in, have a cup and some local baked goods, and see where the magic happens! Whatever your appetite and style, I have some great recommendations sampled many times by yours truly. Located riverside, Bonfire, touted as a “Smokin’ Taqueria” (110 Main Street), is quite a gem! It’s actually my favorite casual spot to dine and features delicious fusion food (BBQ and tacos) with
(From left) The charming Cypress Inn. Historic Conway’s Riverwalk. The picturesque Waccamaw River.
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an unpretentious and lively atmosphere and gorgeous views of the Waccamaw River. When I’m in the mood for something a little more upscale, with a classy-casual atmosphere, The Rivertown Bistro (1111 3rd Avenue) is my choice. The menu is filled with seafood entrees prepared “Lowcountry” style, but with a truly clever approach, as well as delicious cuts of beef, pork and poultry. Thirsty for a nice craft beer? The Crafty Rooster, just doors down from the Rivertown Bistro (1125 3rd Avenue), has been one of my favorite spots from the day I moved here. It has a classic sports bar/college vibe, with a large blackboard menu full of craft brew drafts from all over the country. How about a wine tasting? Bodega (301 Main Street), a lovely two-story shop full of gourmet kitchen and food items, hosts wine tastings on Fridays and Saturdays and has a great selection of bottles for purchase. The historic district is full of many quaint offerings. The best part about a visit to my roost
here in Conway is that it’s a park-and-walk destination. A stop by the Conway Chamber of Commerce will provide you with loads of information, and when you visit, be sure to let me know, I’d love to meet you for a meal or coffee and hear all about your wanderlust!
Georgetown
Located 45 miles south of Conway via a quiet, scenic two-lane highway (US 701S to Front Street), is the city of Georgetown. It was founded in 1729, although some historians believe it was the first European settlement in North America (c.1526). Situated along the waterfront where Winyah Bay, the Waccamaw River and the Great Pee Dee River meet and then connect to the Atlantic Ocean, Georgetown remains the second largest seaport in South Carolina. There are several little shops, museums and restaurants dotting Front Street and along the waterfront, and old southern homes and mansions can be found throughout the neighboring streets. I suggest riding the 45 miles from Conway and then enjoying a couple of hours in Georgetown. My go-to for a great lunch along the waterfront is the Big Tuna Raw Bar (807 Front Street). The seafood is fresh, local and delicious, and the atmosphere is super laidback. Also a visit to the Georgetown Rice Museum (633 Front Street) is highly recommended. After departing from Front Street,
head south on Highway 17. Once you travel over the bridge near the steel mill, you will want to watch for a left turn onto South Island Road. As you glide down this twolane, sweeping road, you will be transported to an area that is highly concentrated with Lowcountry rice plantations. Approximately 7.5 miles down the road, watch for Estherville Drive on your right. The scenery on this road oozes the old South from its pores. You will come to a stop sign (right turn only) and find the area chock-full of old rice plantations (N. Santee River Road). As you gently cruise down this road (it can be a little rough in some areas), be sure to take note of the many plantations, mansions and old structures still standing. The last time I traveled this road and was crossing one of the canals used for irrigating the rice fields back in the day, I happened to look up and saw a majestic bald eagle fly right overhead. Honestly at that moment, the experience couldn’t have been any more meaningful. As you exit North Santee River Road back onto US 17 South, Hopsewee Plantation will be on your immediate right (www. Hopsewee.com). This is a MUST SEE! I visited Hopsewee recently on my R 1100 RS to be sure it was accessible. The road is dirt, as is the parking lot, but I had no problems navigating it. This plantation was the
(from Left) A peek into Millbrook Plantation. An ancient rice field in Georgetown. The Hopsewee Plantation.
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discovery
longdistancestyle
birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and has only been owned by five families since 1740. Exploration of the grounds and then the mansion (worth the small fee) was breathtaking, and I highly recommend a visit to The River Oak Cottage Tea Room on the premises for a lovely lunch or an authentic “Full Southern Tea.” I enjoyed the Full Southern Tea while visiting, as it truly compliments the experience of touring through the Lowcountry South. The owner and gourmet chef, Raejean Beattie, was an impeccable hostess and spent time answering my questions and making me feel right at home. Exiting out of Hopsewee, take a right turn back onto US 17 South towards Charleston. The ride to your next suggested destination will be approximately 45 miles on a four-lane highway, pecked with plenty of saltwater marshes to admire in passing. My favorite thing to do while crossing the marshes and tributaries on the way to the Charleston area is to breathe deeply…that thick, salt water
air is absolutely intoxicating!
Charleston
While the city of Charleston is brimming with lovely, historic Bed & Breakfasts and other accommodation choices (prices are steep!), the thoroughfares in the “Holy City” are full of vehicles, pedestrians, horsedrawn carriages and Pedi-cabs making their way through the narrow streets that wind though this charming, and extremely busy, peninsula. I strongly suggest a detour to Old Village in Mount Pleasant, just across the Charleston Harbor, where there is an extremely over-the-top, lovely accommodation available : The Old Village Post House Inn (oldvillageposthouseinn.com. Mention this article for a discount). The rooms are extraordinary but maintain a very historical and quaint feel, with the surrounding neighborhood of Old Village holding the same special character. The staff is very friendly and gracious, and parking is simple around the perimeter of the building. During my stay at this wonderful property, my two-wheeled steed stayed safe and even enjoyed being the subject of several photographs from passers-by.
(From left) A view down Charleston’s Church Street. One of the quaint, historic neighborhoods occupying the peninsula. An ivy-covered “Hutson’s Alley” near King Street.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Once you’re parked and unloaded and you’ve enjoyed a little downtime in your well-appointed room, a sightseeing trip to Charleston is as easy as a very short Uber ride to the super-convenient Water Taxi (charlestonwatertaxi.com - $10/all day) at the Charleston Harbor Marina that will deliver you one block from the City Market. There, you can begin your day in this distinguished city steeped strong in Southern history. The water taxi ride across the harbor is very relaxing and a great way to get some really nice photographs of the many sights in the area. You may even get an escort by a dolphin or two! Upon arrival at the City Market, I recommend a horse-drawn carriage tour to start your experience. The tour will provide a worthwhile glimpse of the city and history before you set out on foot to explore this grand dame of the South. You could literally spend several days exploring Charleston and not see, taste and experience it all. I would suggest at least two full days here. Fashionista recommendations? My favorite go-to restaurants on the peninsula include Poogan’s Porch (72 Queen Street), Hank’s Seafood Restaurant (10 Hayne Street), the Coast Bar and Grill (39-D John Street), Stars Restaurant - Rooftop & Grill Room (495 King Street), Magnolias
(185 E. Bay Street), Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit (476 King Street), and Jestine’s Kitchen (251 Meeting Street). My favorite adult beverage stop is The Rarebit (474 King Street) for a refreshing, Moscow Mule. It’s the best I’ve ever had, and during Happy Hour, they are only $5! Also be sure to stroll along The Battery where the grand southern mansions are plentiful and where you will spy Fort Sumter across the harbor. This was where the first shot was fired, beginning The Civil War. Once you’ve gotten your fill of Charleston for the day and head back to Old Village of Mount Pleasant, be sure to have dinner at least once at the restaurant in the Old Village Post House Inn. It was one of my top dining experiences to date. You won’t be disappointed! The chef is top-notch, and very clever with his dishes. After a fantastic meal and following an amazing day touring around Charleston, you can simply walk out the door and give your mighty twowheeled steed one last check before sauntering up the stairs to your immaculate room for the best night’s sleep you’ve had in a while. You’ll be sure to dream of the stately antebellum mansions, the gas-lit lanterns burning endlessly, church steeples dotting the skyline, ancient cobblestone streets, and a bygone era that remains preserved within the perimeter of the picturesque peninsula of Charleston. While gathering my thoughts to begin this article, I looked up the word “wanderlust,” and the definition states that it is “a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.” Pretty much sums me up. But it also occurred to me that by keeping the treasure in my backyard to myself, I have, in essence, blocked someone else’s wanderlust opportunity. How rude of me! So, I leave you with this proverb: “A joy that’s shared is a joy made double.” Enjoy, and travel on! (Note: Upon departure out of Charleston, I-26 is the fastest way out, and it eventually crosses I-95, I-20, I-85 and I-40, although there are many scenic backroads to depart from as well. And a trip to my trio of treasures would be best enjoyed in spring and fall. For additional information, feel free to email me: debgasque@gmail.com) July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
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M
otivation is different for each of us. For some it’s money, while for others it’s the pursuit of glory. For Carl Reese, motivation grew from the desire to leave his mark on this world and have his name listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Growing up in a poor coal mining town in western Pennsylvania, Reese learned early what it takes to get ahead and that hard work and determination will get you to where you want to go in life—or get you your first motorcycle.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
He was 12 when he first saw his cousin’s 70cc Suzuki. He knew he had to have it, and after two years of working at his grandfather’s gas station, shoveling snow and mowing lawns, he was able to scrape together the $300 to buy it. It wasn’t a dream machine by any means, but just like anyone who finds his or her passion through twisting a throttle, he treasured his first bike. That 70cc Suzuki took Reese further than he had ever gone before, and he rode the wheels off that bike until he simply grew out of it. A few years passed, and while working
on a prison construction project in upstate New York, another motorcycle caught his eye. Every day, an envious Reese saw his coworker ride the bike to work until finally he got enough nerve ask if he could take it for a ride. “You ever ride before?” the friend asked. The Sportster was a big step up from his little Suzuki, but with the appropriate reply, Reese was soon cruising the streets in the local town. In his mind that ride only lasted a few minutes, but it was dark several hours later when he brought the bike back to its worried owner.
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business pie. A personal energy audit led Reese knew he needed a bike of his own, Reese and his girlfriend Deena to look at so the next day he canvassed everyone he their own energy usage, and they eventually saw at work, finally striking green gold hidsold their three gas-burning cars to buy an ing beneath a tarp and leaning against a electric-powered Tesla. Though initially barn. It really didn’t matter that the Kawaexpensive, Reese figured that in less than saki GT 750 didn’t run, the tires and king ten years the Tesla would paid for itself, not and queen seat were rotted and the battery to mention reducing his carbon footprint was dead. Reese immediately fell in love. and eliminating his dependency on oil. After a thorough cleaning of the carbs, new Still adapting to a life of “living” more, his tires and some TLC, the Water Buffalo mind roared at a high RPM, and his childroared to life, and Reese was back on two hood dream to have his name listed in the wheels. Guinness Book of World Records and be Traveling long distances never bothered known for something he had accomplished Reese, whether it was riding for work or stuck with him. The Tesla became the pleasure. Perhaps it’s a trait he inherited means to get him there, and over the course from his grandfather, who was sent to live of the next few years, Reese and others set a with relatives more than 300 miles away handful of transcontinental electric vehicle with only the hope that they would accept records. him. With no map and only vague directions, he eventually found them, only to be turned away at the front door, cold and shivering, and given just a piece of bread. Times were tough and that experience served to forge the man that Reese’s grandfather became. Lessons taught by his grandfather helped forge the mettle of Reese’s character and gave him the confidence to know that anything was possible with hard work, determination and perseverance. Perhaps it was his grandfather’s wartime experience and the search for a better life that led Reese to enlist in Acknowledgement of his Guiness World Record. the Army while still a high school He wanted more, and when he saw his junior. An enlistment bonus sweetened the motorcycle sitting in his corner of his pot, but what Reese learned more than anygarage, a spark of inspiration ignited his thing else during his enlistment was how imagination. Soon he couldn’t get the idea far he could push himself mentally and of a transcontinental motorcycle record out physically. This was a trait he not only of his mind. depended upon to run his business, but also As Reese began to deconstruct the challater in the preparation and execution of his lenge of a transcontinental ride to find the transcontinental travels. most efficient solution, he knew a motorFollowing his Army experience, Reese cycle record would be infinitely more diffisettled in California and raised a family. cult, since besides being alone, he would be Through hard work, his construction busifacing direct contact with the elements. His ness grew, and as it did, it consumed him research into the history of transcontinenuntil a heart condition and his doctor’s tal motorcycle travel took him to a world advice forced him to reconsider his prioriinhabited with the likes of George “Canties. Choosing to make his own well-being a nonball” Baker, Augusta and Adeline Van priority was also the time he rediscovered a Buren, John Penton and George Egloff. seemingly lost passion and began to ride Each rider faced their own set of unique again. challenges, but the common trait they all While new construction and remodeling shared was perseverance and work were always a staple in his business, determination. energy auditing of homes and businesses First, Reese knew he needed a great bike, quickly became a growing piece of his
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and a single demo ride on a K 1600 GT told Reese that he had found his bike. After visiting many of the dealerships in the Los Angeles area he found his 2015 K 1600 GT at West Valley Cycles. He fell in love with the shop’s mom and pop atmosphere and knew his ride would begin there. Next came the route creation. Interstate 15 out of Los Angeles, through Nevada and into Utah to catch I-70 seemed the best option to take him cross country to the I-78 in Pennsylvania, which would lead him toward New York City to end his ride at Manhattan BMW. Timing was key, as Reese knew the ride would have to take place when there wasn’t a possibility of snow in the Rockies. The two dates he selected not only avoided the most vacationer traffic but also coincided with full moons to give Reese an added level of nighttime safety. Reese also wanted a team of riders to help him safely navigate through congested, potentially time-wasting metropolitan areas and to add to his safety factor. To remove any doubt regarding the legitimacy of the ride, notaries in California and New York would verify time of day, VIN and motor numbers and odometer readings. Additionally, Reese’s GT also carried a GPS tracker to record his route and let his team know where he was at any moment. Witnesses along the route would photograph him, and for total redundancy, he would keep all of his gas receipts. Army boot camp taught him what is possible when a human is deprived of sleep, but he knew he’d have to stop somewhere along the way to rest; he chose Salina, Kansas. Finally, with his plan set, Reese began preparing himself eight weeks before the August go-date. Each Friday he woke up as usual, went to work and then stayed awake until Saturday night. He then slept until Sunday afternoon, when Deena prepared a small meal before he went back to sleep, waking up Monday morning to begin the weekly routine all over again. “For eight weeks I really didn’t have a day off because I was pushing my body to get into a cycle,” he said. Training his body to function without sleep was one thing, but Reese’s insistence on making the run without any stimulants or drugs and giving up all coffee, tea and
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sugar for the six weeks leading up to the run was another. “It was very difficult for me because I love the smell of coffee. I love to hear the beans grind and the feeling of a warm mug in my hand,” he said. The first week of giving up coffee was a bear, with Deena telling him the record wasn’t worth it if it meant living with this. As the days passed, so did his irritability. With months of intense preparation finally behind him, August 25 rolled around, and Reese was ready. At 3:15 that morning, he pulled out of the West Valley Cycles parking lot to begin his ride east. After all of the planning, the ride itself seemed but a formality. It had been 35 years
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since George Egloff set the last Los Angeles to New York transcontinental motorcycle record, and Reese believed he had everything in place to break the record. His first riding companion peeled off near Barstow, and Reese continued east alone. Despite his intense planning, he soon realized something was wrong. Just a few weeks earlier, Reese had installed a larger windshield on his K 1600 to try to maximize his riding comfort. Though his initial tests showed the new windscreen to be good choice, he neglected to factor the loss of fuel range. Every planned gas stop required him to average 38 miles per gallon; the new windscreen dropped his fuel efficiency to 28 mpg. Reese was now at the
mercy of his gas gauge to tell him where he needed to stop, and he soon found out that I-70 in eastern Utah is a difficult place to find gas—an uncomfortable position for a man who likes to plan. “I saw a sign that said the next fuel was available in 70 miles, and the range meter on the instrument panel read 34, so I reached back to open the petcock on the auxiliary fuel tank to find out I had already burned through that fuel. So I had to turn around to get back to the gas station I had just passed,” he lamented. Approaching Denver, a team member following Reese’s GPS location warned of a rainstorm ahead, causing him to expend valuable time to put on his rain gear. After
and with the New York skyline in the disexact measurements of Reese’s K 1600’s that, it was straight through to Salina and tance, Reese welled up with emotion rear wheel, they were able to find a slightly 90 minutes of sleep to recharge his own knowing that barring catastrophe, his wider tire of the same height. It had to personal battery. months of planning, of building his perwork, and luckily, it did. The sympathetic Rested and back on the road with a half sonal endurance, and of cleansing his body GM pulled all of his techs off their jobs to cup of coffee in his system, Reese continof caffeine and sugar would ued east on I-70 and through soon pay off. Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Reese adjusted his pace and into Ohio, where a gas stop flowed with the traffic around check of his bike alerted him to him like a river meandering a failing rear tire. across a plain. Once through Fearing it wouldn’t take him the choking exhaust fumes fillto New York, Reese immediing the Holland Tunnel, Reese ately alerted his team to look pulled up to the locked doors for a replacement. The only of Manhattan BMW, where alternatives would take him far Deena, two notaries and a couoff route and cost significant ple of witnesses met him. He time. Cresting a hill, Reese had remained awake on pure found his salvation in the adrenaline—and he had made orange and white logo of a Harit. ley-Davidson dealership Thirty-eight hours and 49 appearing on a lighted sign The American flag that Reese carries with him reminding him of the men and minutes after leaving Los Angehigh above I-70 in Belmont, women no longer with us. les and averaging 74 miles per Ohio. It was early Saturday afterhour, he had reached his goal. Just as his change the tire, and 38 minutes after arrivnoon, and this was his only hope. grandfather taught him many years before, ing at the shop, Reese was back on I-70. Once at the dealership, Reese explained he accomplished what he wanted through After one last fill-up along the Pennsylhis plight to the dealership’s general manhard work, determination and persevervania Turnpike, Reese’s confidence grew as ager, who promptly led Reese into the shop. ance. his goal inched closer. Entering New Jersey Though they found nothing matching the
An exhausted Reese and Deena embrace at the end of his ride.
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JOURNEY TO THE
PART TWO
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he non-stop bellowing of an air horn calling the local workers to rise at sun-up shook me from my rack. The morning was cold enough to layer our clothes and warm our bikes before heading east, first on Highway 16 to some waterfalls and then on to Creel, the midpoint lumber town bordering the Copper Canyon. Breakfast was coffee and anything that seemed edible from the OXXO mini-mart connected to the Pemex station. Fueled up but not really fed up, we rolled on to the Bassaseachic National Park, where the Bassaeachic Falls flow into the Bassaseachic River. Soon after parking our bikes, we walked a short distance to view the sharp cut in the canyon wall that produced the second tallest (at 807 feet) waterfall in Mexico. The ride from the falls to Creel is a nicely paved roadway with easy curves lined with tall grass and a pine forest. Our first bit of business was to find our hotel down a side street not far off the main boulevard. This lumber town is named after Enrique Creel,
Written by: Curt Stetter #205881 Photography by: Chuck Feil #203990 a University of Pennsylvania graduate and astute businessman who (along with some of his fortune) survived Pancho Villa’s revolution in 1909. He eventually became Vice President of the Kansas City-Mexico-The Orient Railroad which still operates today under the name of Chihuahua Pacific Railroad and worked alongside President Porfirio Diaz as an interpreter during the William Taft administration while Mexico was in the midst of a revolution. Once arriving at the Hotel Cabanas Tar’amuri, everyone removed their bags from the bikes and then grabbed a beer, a shower or both. Some of us inspected our bikes from the day’s ride. My fall earlier shifted the direction of Old Yeller’s front turn signal and shoved my engine protection bars over to the left, but it didn’t seem
to affect shifting or braking. Other bikes needed minor adjustments, and fortunately we had Tim Hall, our smiling Bisbee ace mechanic and fellow rider, to fix what was needed and offer his assurances that everything else was fine. That evening the group fractured, finding different times and places for dinner. Creel is a very pretty train stop servicing both tourism and commerce. Shops catering to most all your needs line the main street. One unusual item on the street was a young entrepreneur who had built a twoburner crepe cart. He stood by watching his two skilled crepeteurs create delicious paper-thin crepes with toppings ranging from Nutella to fresh fruit. It was an enjoyable and unexpected surprise. Later, we reunited back at the hotel for a late night libation or two and talked about
Left, Bridge crossing at the bottom of the canyon. Above Bassaseachic Falls. July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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previous trips and the next day’s ride to Divisadero, where the overlook affords the best view of the canyon in the region. Divisadero is another whistle stop for the famous Chihuahua-El Pacifico railway and has two of the best hotels that hang off the canyon’s edge. To elevate the adrenalin rush, many of us expressed a real desire to try out North America’s longest zip-line located a short ride from the rail stop. The elevation of 7,200 feet in Creel had us all tightening up the Velcro® to maintain warmth on the walk to breakfast. The food was hot and hearty with plenty of java to get us fired up about the ride to Divisadero. Oak and pine trees cover much of the canyon, but when we arrived around 11 a.m., the overlook was magnificent. We stayed only a short time at the overlook, but unfortunately we arrived at the zip-line after it closed that day for maintenance. Instead, we took the tram down into the heart of the canyon to experience a different view from being perched atop a small mesa. By the time we returned to the top of the canyon, it was time for us to go back to the train station for one last view. Above the overlook was the train station with numerous food stands featuring an incredible array of gorditas and tacos along with a variety of toppings and fillings to sample. Considering how many stands were open, we found it strange that so few
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Martin poses with local children in Creel.
people were around. I ordered some great looking red gorditas with squash and nopales (strips of prickly pear cactus). I sat down at one of the few tables around and quietly began my feast when suddenly all hell broke loose. A train pulled in and a massive crush of humanity disembarked, creating a mad dash of hungry travelers quickly procuring food during the
20-minute stop. As quick as they disembarked they re-boarded, and the station was as quiet as a library once again. After finishing our lunch, we retraced our route back to the hotel, enjoying a bit of time to shop, relax, find some supper, pack our bags and get ready for the early morning exodus to Colonia Casas Grandes. I slid out of my comfy bed to check the
Main st. Creel
Copper Canyon Tram, Divisadero.
Red Gorditas with squash Divisadaro train station.
morning temperature, and once again it was going to be another day with a cold morning and a hot afternoon. We left the hotel compound on foot to catch some coffee and a little something to eat before another long ride north. Not much was open at 7 a.m., but one nice restaurant on the main street welcomed our group of 10. We expected an easier—but still six-hourlong—ride north to Colonia Casas Grandes. We returned to the hotel, packed up, performed final adjustments and began our journey. We quickly left Creel behind, and the countryside unveiled a raw beauty resembling Wyoming, with pine forests surrounding tall grass grazing fields and traditional log cabins. As the hours and miles clicked by, the elevation dropped, and by midday we had peeled off layers. The road flattened, cutting through endless miles of cattle country with a terrain not unlike the American Midwest. The sun began to set before we reached Casas Grandes, but while the low clouds still were smeared with vermillion, our friends Emi and Spencer MacCallum (owners of Casa de Nopal mentioned in Part One) greeted us. Spencer and Emi shared their stories of reviving the old lumber town of Mata Ortiz. Once this little village supplied trainloads of mining timber to the copper, silver and gold mines of Sonora and Chihuahua, but
ancient community that once numbered 2,000 structures. It is well worth the few hours of time it takes to wander the ruins. The relaxingly rustic Casas de Nopal courtyard had the perfect ambience for our group of weary riders to kick back and sip a little Sotol, a regional cactus hooch and the perfect elixir to discuss the ride to the village of Mata Ortiz and back to the border. We decided if we left early and managed our time, we could fit in a visit to Mata Ortiz and still make the five-hour ride across the border and back to Bisbee before long shadows stretched across the desert. We met just after sunrise at the corner restaurant to catch some desayunos. Filling up on coffee, maize tortillas, huevos fritos, and frioles seemingly made the early walk back to the hotel easier. We gave goodbye hugs to Emi and Spencer, thanked them again for their hospitality, and fired up the engines. We rode out of the village, then pointed south towards Mata Ortiz. Thirty minutes later, we made a left turn to the east across old rail tracks and past the train station into the center of Mata Ortiz. Though it was early, the atmosphere still seemed too quiet compared to other times I’ve been there. Spencer told us earlier that so much fear cultivated from the U.S. State Department has discouraged travel, thus deadening tourism in Mexico. This makes it very
Chuck and Curt at the bottom of the tram.
soon all the trees were cleared, and the town was left to slowly die. It is now an internationally famous pottery community. The ancient ruins of Paquimé are a 10-minute walk from Casa de Nopal. Paquimé was home to the Anasazi/ Hohokam inhabitants from 1250 to 1425, and this UNESCO site features a preserved
and
nopales,
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thus reviving the economy of once-destitute difficult for the villagers, previously accusMata Ortiz. Unfortunately, the crest of that tomed to hundreds of tourists each day. success broke a few years ago. Still, the vilNow only a couple dozen or fewer show up lage currently maintains a better life than each day. A few years earlier, the potters many other villages in the state of would invite you into their homes to see the Chihuahua. pottery being made, but this morning only Just after noon we rode northeast towards a few roadside tables of pottery were set up with the hopeful vendors standing quietly behind them. I find it important to support these artists, so I purchased a number of simple pieces. On the corner across from the train station is the Juan Quezada Museum, which houses examples of the master potter who began the revival of Mata Ortiz and created the Anasazi-style ceramic pottery discovered in the late 1970s by Dr. Spencer MacCallum, an author, Bisbee-Creel Trip map. businessman and American anthropologist. Spencer tracked Naco, our border crossing. The normally down Juan in 1976 and brought his work to four-hour ride can stretch out because of the attention of the academic public. From the unpredictable level of commercial truck that point forward, Spencer and Juan traffic grinding gears and belching diesel encouraged his siblings, children and other smoke through the two-lane mountain villagers to join him in creating fine pottery,
Tarahumara womenNEWS weaving at Canyons edge Divisidero. 72 BMW OWNERS July 2016
roads. Riding behind a tractor-trailer doing a steady10 mph stresses both hands and the rider’s sense of balance. The truckers are generally kind, activating the left signal when they think traffic is clear enough for you to pass. They are familiar with the roads, but to pass you must maintain caution, proceed in the oncoming lane, open the throttle, then pass quickly and safely as possible, considering the tight curves, rocks and potholes. Once you’re through the 50 miles of steep twisties, the road again flattens and straightens until the border town of Agua Prieta. Myself and some of the other riders crossed at Agua Prieta instead of Naco because we needed to turn in our seven-day vehicle permits (and get our $200 deposits back!) before 11 p.m. The riders who had sixmonth permits continued west on M-2 to cross at Naco where there isn’t as much traffic. We said our goodbyes, split up and rode away from each other, all of us looking forward to another adventure through Mexico.
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www.mortonsbmw.com
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Y M R A
S S E N K R A OF D PART
2
n of o i t c u r al Dest n o i t n e lnt ifacts t r A d e gineer n E y l s u Laborio
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working to figuring out what our strategy was for the race. My leg was still pretty sore By Sam Q. Fleming from hitting a guardrail at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but Kyle Ohnsorg was putting me to shame since he had actually WE LEFT NEW ORLEANS WITH BELLIES fire ants pouring out from between the broken his leg less than two months prior. horse nettles and obeying their unseen full of grilled oysters and hearts full of false The track itself, while having a pleasing masters of the underworld beneath a relentconfidence. We won decisively and perlayout, seemed to have been devilishly less searing sun.” Apparently the shifting formed well as a team, with no obvious designed to exploit every weakness of our S and cracking clay soil is so unstable that issues we needed to address before the next 1000 RRs. There are basically no straights. local residents use soaker hoses to water the round. Of course, in racing one is only as When there is a short chute, it is prefaced foundations on their houses to prevent slab good as one’s next event. with multiple expired concrete bumps, cracks. Despite the oppressive conditions, Cresson, Texas, is a 1,400 mile interstate which make it very difficult to channel 185 the track itself has a certain No Country for burn from D.C., but our 14-year-old Powerhorsepower. There was no place to use a Old Men beauty, at least it does when you stroke van and equally-aged trailer made gear higher than fourth, and even that was a can keep your eyes open long enough to the long trek without undue mechanical stretch. appreciate it without the blast furnace wind adventure. Some of those highways were We all struggled to part of the original Eisenget going in practice, but hower public works projour local CMRA comect that started in 1956. petitors were right in Though it was lost for a their home court. Chris millennium or so, the Peris and Kyle were able Romans had a great recto slowly work through ipe for concrete. Roman it, but we certainly were concrete is still intact in not faster than the local some places, over 2,000 experts, and the riding years after it was laid. Of was not particularly fun. course, the Romans didn’t In a cosmic illustrahave triple-trailer semis tion of the Army of rolling down the Appian Darkness being in the Way either. The concrete wrong place, CMRA used for the foundation of mistakenly gridded us modern highways has a last for the start. They working life of 50 years. were appalled at the Fifty years sounds like a mistake and offered to long time until your delay the start of the transporter is bouncing race and redo the grid across Arkansas. You subtract 50 from 2015 and Sometimes it just feels so good when you stop. From Left: Kyle Ohnsorg, Ben Walters, Chris Peris, with five minutes to go, Tim Gooding, Sam Fleming, Melissa Berkoff. Center: Brunhilde but we let it roll. I figyou recognize that the ured that if the few secexpiration date was a onds mattered at the end of the race, we decade or so ago. Halfway to Cresson desiccating your eyeballs. would have already done something really seemed like a tough place to comprehenWe had with us our two, high-tech BMW wrong. sively overhaul the imbalances between the race bikes sporting sophisticated fueling The top CMRA teams, Locomotion and Federal Highway Trust Fund, fuel taxes and and ignition, not to mention tremendous the Village Idiots, had this place wired. crumbling highways, so we made due by investments in geometry and materials sciTheir riders knew every line around the doubling up the cargo straps on the tool box ence. On Friday we spent most of the day bumps and ruts and had the suspension on and trying not to chip teeth when crossing working on our 10-year-old generator. their 600s dialed in. We wallowed around the overpasses. Thanks to the miracle of modern informathe track on our steroid-crazed elephant of tion technology, we were able to diagnose a bike. Chris used all his tricks and passed the bad coil, source another one, retrieve it Cresson, Texas, August 25, 2015 most of the field in the first couple laps, but and install it as efficiently as possible when Back in the days when “literal” meant “lithe couldn’t make a dent in the top two. the tools are too hot to touch without weareral” and not “whatever you feel like it Ben Walters missed the practice day, and ing gloves. As Walt Schaeffer used to say, “If should mean,” I would have written, “Creshe did his best to put the smack down, but you can’t field strip your race equipment, son is a literal hellscape of cracked clay with we couldn’t match the pace of the top two you are in the wrong game.” bikes. We were not getting dropped and Periodically we would turn our attention Left: Ben Walters taking Brunhilde to the mat at occasionally ran as high as second, but we from the priority of getting the coffee pot Hallet. Photo by Tim Turner
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knew that by the time the pit stops played out over the race we would end up finishing third. Kyle took the third stint and displayed the talent he showed at NOLA. He was riding hard, but we could tell his leg was starting to generate intense pain after 30 minutes. The track is basically all lefts with vicious bumps. Although he never flinched or complained, the G-forces flexing on his healing bones must have been excruciating. The temperature was something north of 105 degrees with a dry wind quickly dehydrating everyone. Chris completed his second stint riding fast and consistent, but both he and Ben came off the bike really hurting. My knee was still having some range-ofmotion issues from my interactions with that New Jersey guardrail. Of course, Kyle’s leg was straight up fractured with only half the recovery time that I had enjoyed. I tried to tell myself that the fact that Kyle still had stem cells and a functioning endocrine system while my telomeres were down to their last pairs made up the difference. However, witnessing the extent to which healthy, youthful Chris and Ben were suffering, I told Kyle (who was still going to go faster than I could) that if our finish was locked up, I’d short stint him so we didn’t punish his leg for no reason. With about 40 minutes left in the race, eight laps up on fourth
and two laps down from second, Kyle pitted, and I finished the race. I almost immediately regretted it. The rough pavement and our stiff forks blurred my vision around the long turns that required stringing together apexes. I tried to ride the bike enduro style across the bumps by standing on the pegs, but that was both exhausting and of limited utility. After only ten laps I started willing my crew to show me a countdown board to let me know when this would be over. I don’t know that I had ever felt so uncomfortable during a race. We took the checkered in third and felt it was a decent finish, but we were flat out beat by Locomotion and the Village Idiots. For ten years we enjoyed being the 600 team beating the heavyweights. It turns out it is not quite enjoyable when the tables are turned. My racing career began in 1989. After 27 years of international flights and all-night drives, it is clear that there are far more racing anecdotes behind me than in front of me. When a particularly large bump woke me from my bench seat slumbers in the dark of the morning on our long drive home, I pulled out my computer, unencrypted my dark desires spreadsheet and scrolled past the long list of struck-through items to the last two remaining lines. I skipped past “ride a MotoGP bike” and
crossed out “Race at Cresson.”
Hallet, Oklahoma, Sept 23, 2015
Hallet is another bull pit of a racetrack. We won this race in 2014, so we knew that the liter bikes we were campaigning were competitive. The course is more conducive to middleweights, and we knew we’d have to put in an almost perfect race to come out on top of Locomotion and Village Idiots. The logistics on this race were complicated as we didn’t have Kyle to ride with us, and Melissa and I had to be in San Antonio for the Friday practice day. We drove to Hallet that night through a maelstrom of thunderstorms. Kyle is in college for electrical engineering and had “tests” which he needed to “study for.” We tried to tell him that there is a much brighter future in motorsports than he could ever find in engineering. Unfortunately he had been reading the “where are they now” series in Roadracing World and had perceptively distilled the cautionary tales of what happens when you treat motorcycle racing as more than just a hobby. We needed another rider. Fortunately Oklahoman Danny Eslick’s reputation for terrible impulse control is well deserved and when asked if he wanted to wrestle an over-powered, ill-mannered liter bike around Hallet’s tight layout for hours on end, he leapt before he looked.
Danny EslickOWNERS takingNEWS Brunhilde sideways past traffic. When Danny rides the bike it is always crossed up, on or off the throttle. Photo by Tim Turner. 76 BMW July 2016
With 185hp it is either spin or wheelie. Photo by Tim Turner.
Danny’s off-track antics are recounted as legend at the ubiquitous Mexican restaurant dinner tables where racers ritualistically gather. Deserved reputation aside, there were two absolute truths in evidence about the guy: first, Danny has a tremendous amount of natural, innate bike control. He can wring every drop of performance out of any bike regardless of its strengths or, more commonly, weaknesses; second, he is an incredibly easygoing guy who always has a smile on his angel’s face which belies the devil on his shoulder. As Danny is local to Hallet, he brought his extended family out to the track and even had a buddy bring a massive barbecue spread for the whole AOD pit. While his girlfriend helpfully sewed the crotch rip on Ben’s leathers, Danny would slide, slither and wheelie our bike from turn to turn. Danny took the start from the third or
fourth row and had a second lead on the field on the first lap. Hallet’s last turn is a tricky downhill affair leading onto a chute with obscuring topography. Since the turn was in clear view of the pits, we watched him come through that turn not so much executing an arc, but more taking Brunhilde and throwing her violently onto her side, with the suspension overloaded to the point that the tire would slide in protest at load and throttle. Just when it looked like the bike had crossed the Rubicon of consequence, he would gather her up and unleash all the pent-up energy like a trebuchet, uncoiling down the straight in an 18-inchhigh wheelie. Exhilarating as this spectacle was, we couldn’t constrain our laughter when he started taking his left hand off the bars, mid-wheelie, to acknowledge the pit board with a friendly thumbs up. Our (also local) Michelin tire expert David Hirsch told us to try double-stinting
the rear tires, as the recent Hallet pavement was being gentle on tire wear. Double-stinting under WERA rules typically saves no time (although it does preserve budget); however, under CMRA rules, we have to fuel and swap wheels in serial so eliminating three tire changes would save us 90 seconds at the end of the race. Or, put another way, that is 90 seconds we wouldn’t have to stretch out on our very fast competition. We decided to try that. Also, we figured out a slightly faster way to do a CMRA pit stop. We would do half of the tire change (circlip out, axle out/bike on stand, tire out), then pause and let the fuelers fuel, and then finish the other half of the tire. We surmised this could save three or four seconds per stop. The Village Idiots watched our first stop thoughtfully and then immediately adopted our strategy for their next tire change. Apparently their team name is ironic. July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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After Locomotion suffered a toppledover bike mishap in the pits, Chris kept us in the lead, and we had a comfortable, but not race-winning, lead when he handed the bike over to Ben. Ben managed to get out of the pits without falling over, but was back a lap later to move a clip-on out that Danny had “hulked in.” We got out of the pits in third, but he worked us back into the lead. Later, we deduced that the problem was not with an under-tightened clip-on. Due to the pretty, but inconvenient, fork tops we were running with the K-tech inserts, we had to pretty much disassemble the front end to adjust the fork oil level. At some point in that process the triple tree bolts on one leg were under-torqued for the forces that Danny applied to Brunhilde. The Village Idiots were down two of their fastest riders, but it didn’t seem to matter much because all of their riders are really quick and can churn out fast lap after fast lap. We finally were able to eke out a full lap lead, insulating us from red flag troubles, and then put our race on a very fast cruise pace. Locomotion and the Idiots hammered it out for second, turning incredibly fast lap times late in the race. We were happy to be able to watch that unfold safely one up from the fray. We didn’t know quite how fortunate we were until Ben returned to the pits after the flag; we discovered that we our radiator was leaking and were probably about 10 minutes away from a warped head. Depressurized radiator notwithstanding, we won the race, and happily our victory celebration was upstaged by Locomotion rider Alonzo G. Contreras proposing to their team manager Lacy L. Short. We also had a nice talk with the Village Idiots about how our chronicled adventures helped inspire the creation of their team a decade prior. We missed the first race of the year, so we were pleasantly confused when we were presented with a points chart and trophy confirming that we won the heavyweight class championship as, although we had taken two firsts and a third overall, we won all three races in the heavyweight division. It did seem a little odd that we could win after missing a race, but WERA used to have throwaway rounds, and, truthfully, I never read the CMRA rule book. We happily celebrated our ninth championship.* We pinky-swore to each other that this would be our last race with Eva and
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Split Pit Task Strategy at Hallet. Tim waits for Anthony Consorte to fill the aluminum tank that Anthony built, Melissa waits to return to her air wrench duties, Danny Eslick anxiously awaits the return of the motorcycle and Sam expects everything to go up in flames.
THERE ARE ONLY A FEW WAYS TO WIN A RACE, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO LOSE ONE. Brunhilde, but as we were packing up, it proved impossible not to talk about what revisions we would want for our JRI shocks for next year and how we would modify the forks. We’re currently checking calendars and track maps to see if we can find a race where we can field our team, but only at a track that requires the use of fifth gear. *This did end up being a gift horse with rotten teeth, and after fixing their scoring effort, our championship was retracted. Easy come, easy go! It’s not like when you buy a house based on due diligence documents from two years before which county officials have reviewed, signed and notarized as binding and then after six months of planning, materials sourcing, contractor recruiting and architectural reviews, the county attorney decides the day before breaking ground on your new garage that maybe her prior review
was incomplete and now she’s changed her mind, and maybe the Restrictive Covenant doesn’t allow you to proceed with construction, and you have to cancel everything and be left in limbo. I mean, it’s not frustrating on that scale. It’s important to keep perspective on these things.
Danny Eslick, Chris Peris and Ben Walters bond after the victory.
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BILLINGS By Jim Turley #184803
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One afternoon in 1958 or ’59, a motorcyclist roared past our family auto on the highway. “Look at that,” my father said, “He’s from California! He rode that machine across half the country. Gotta be a veteran.” My first thought after Dad’s comment was, “What did that man think about over that incredible distance?” I had plenty of time to think about what that California rider thought about on my 2,600-mile ride to the 2015 BMWMOA Rally in Billings, Montana, and back. I had three days to make it to Billings, and my goal was to attend the BMW Owners News Contributors Dinner. My first day, from Davenport, Iowa, to St. Cloud, Minnesota, covered 462 miles. My sore butt, not my arthritic knee, demanded the layover in Minnesota. It was my first long ride of that season, and I was spent. I stopped drinking alcohol in 1989 after my daughter was born. I did not want her to think a person needed a crutch to navigate life. I did not have another beer until after she left for college 18 years later. Over the next few years, alcohol became part of my life again, a coping mechanism that dampened the effects of my lifetime companions, depression and anxiety. A drink or three after work and more on weekends. It really is amazing how much time, effort and money is tossed away supporting a drinking habit. I should have been drawing, reading, writing, selling photographs and learning to play guitar and harmonica better. I hoped the Billings ride would return me to a functional degree of sobriety. I was drinking way too much and enjoying it less and less. A crash the year before cured me of riding after a few drinks. Calcium deposits on my lower leg and big toe were a constant reminder of that extremely stupid behavior. I had a fantastic crew of enablers who were intelligent, entertaining, talented individuals, each of them unique in their own way. I was good at that game. My pals were not aware of my defects. They enjoyed my humor, my stories, my napkin doodles, my music and all the distractions I created to draw attention away from the things I really needed to talk about. I was the most sociable, anti-social person I knew. The second day out was one of the most physically demanding rides I’d ever
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experienced. Navigating 800 plus pounds through 35 and 40 mph winds, I leaned hard left into southwest winds with my left knee pushed out as far as possible, creating a bit of a draft and countering the gusts as I rode westward to Bismarck in mid-90s temps. Trucks and RVs wandered across the center line with every stout gust of wind. I wasn’t able to find a radio station on my Schuberth C3 Pro and spent the day in my head. I grew up poor in a somewhat dysfunctional family situation. “Welcome to Earlham, Iowa, home of 350 good eggs and a few stinkers,” the sign outside town declared. They got that right. I trapped, hunted, played sports, tended my father’s huge garden, labored for farmers and read a lot of books. I spent many hours in the small town library with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London and adventurous peo-
ple in faraway places. I lived in the heads of characters experiencing great lives and often at odds with their solo existences. Hemingway, Salinger and Doctorow blew my mind. James Ullman’s The Day On Fire changed my life. I cannot say I emulated the people in those books. I felt more like a companion. Great literature helped me feel comfortable with my insecurities and the time I spent alone. Peer pressure and social demands from school, home and community melted away at the library and during long walks in the forest, along creeks and ponds, through pastures and long rides into town on my 1963 Schwinn Stingray bicycle. It was after my second divorce that I became aware that throughout my life I had always picked the relationships I thought I deserved and not the relationships I needed. I am most comfortable by myself pursuing my solo interests. This comfort led to my
love of motorcycles and the camaraderie of like-minded individuals. I’m not saying every person on a motorcycle is a loner, but there are a lot of us in that group. On day three, I found western North Dakota much more welcoming than the eastern half of the state. The wind was calmer that day, and the scenery more stimulating. I experienced cooler temps as I gained altitude and saw hardly any truck or auto traffic. It was a fun day to ride. I had driven this territory in my bachelor days on a 1976 R 90/6 and once more with my daughter in her tiny Ford Focus. Victoria’s mother had taken off and left me a single parent with an intelligent, rebellious teenager who was a punk rocker with a serious attitude and skills she’d learned from MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) champion Pat Miletich. Fortunately, one high school instructor recognized my daughter’s potential. His relationship with her helped develop the confidence she needed to graduate and gain admittance to a good private college. In her last year of college, she received the Student Leader of the Year award. She is currently teaching English composition to freshmen students at Iowa State University while pursuing her master’s degree in sociolinguistics and non-profit management. She wants to teach English as a second language and travel the world. I am extremely proud of her. On that third day of riding, my head filled with memories of all the adventures my daughter and I have shared. She grew up on the back of my bikes as we roamed the highways and back routes of northeastern Iowa and Wisconsin. We buzzed the beautiful bluffs and hills along the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. I worked hard to keep her busy and not thinking about her absent mother. My motorcycles were the perfect vehicles for accomplishing that goal. Last year, at the start of my daughter’s divorce process, I took her to Ireland and had the time of my life with her on the back of my motorcycle. Those days ended too soon. She is my best friend. I miss her laughter in this house. I will miss being near her after she graduates and moves to Denver. I have to prepare for that. My first business at the BMWMOA Rally was to diagnose my tire problems. I spoke
with several riders and reps before buying a new set of Michelins. I felt my questions had been answered honestly and followed advice from several riders to use wider and taller tires. At the rally, I met good people, listened to good music and even got to play harmonica in a pick-up band one evening in a neighbor’s tent. I was impressed with the kindness, concern and fun-loving spirit of BMW riders. What a great group. However, my tent was 20 feet from a route used by ambulances and fire engines throughout the night. I didn’t get a lot of sleep. I headed for home on day six. Cool temps and very little traffic on that day made several side trips possible on twisty country pavements. I pulled into Sturgis, South Dakota, and found the congestion there overwhelming. I had no idea people started arriving there two weeks before the official start of that notorious rally. I fueled up and quickly got back to Interstate 90. Needing a good night’s rest on a comfortable mattress, I spent the night in Rapid City. An automobile windshield is like a television screen, but on a motorcycle a person becomes part of everything around them.
Meditation and exposure to a variety of philosophies has helped me develop a process of dealing with issues in my life while rolling along on two wheels. It truly is possible to ride and barely think about anything else. Thirty years as a professional firefighter in Davenport, Iowa, taught me a lot about riding safety. Safety equipment promotes relaxation. I was amazed every time I pulled up at an accident scene on the highway and found a rider in full gear standing there, surrounded by motorcycle parts. The nohelmet, blue-jeans-wearing, tennis-shoed victims were never standing. A great gift from solo riding is meeting new people and making new friends. Strangers are more inclined to talk to you when you are by yourself. When I travel, conversation draws me away from my habits and opens me up to new views, theories and philosophies. An open mind and a motorcycle are great companions. The next day I rolled out of Rapid City and rode non-stop to Des Moines. Construction, fuel stops and occasional side trips combined to make it a 12-hour ride. I stayed in Des Moines for two nights and
met up with my daughter. We spent the days and evenings checking out the food and entertainment in downtown Des Moines. Victoria will leave for Denver soon, and our visits will not be as frequent. I’ve been so lucky to have spent so much time with her. She will have her life, and I will have mine. At 64 years of age I must accept that the last threads of my daughter’s umbilical cord will finally dissolve. She has grown smarter than I; that’s a good thing. She is the only person I know that kicks me in the butt when wrongheadedness and laziness push reality aside. She is the anchor in my life. I have never enjoyed life as much as I have with her at my side or when she was sitting behind me in the wind. The ride to Billings and back was 10 days of therapy. My therapist was born in 2007, and her name is K 1200 GT. She has a fuel capacity of 6.3 gallons. She has six speeds and is rated to possibly hit 124 miles per hour. She weighs 640 pounds when she is resting and feels as light as an eagle when cornering. Lucky for me, she does not charge for our sessions.
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Embellishing the original system By Lee Parks #162125
Q:
I’m relatively new to riding and see/hear the word “farkle” a lot when folks are referring to bike modifications. What exactly does farkle mean?
A:
That’s a good question and one that does not have a definitive definition. I first heard the term from members of the ST1100 Owners Club (STOC) in the mid-1990s. Back then I was told it was for “functional modifications with blatant disregard for aesthetics.” That remains my favorite definition to this day. A quick Google search reveals many other comments/definitions including: 1) “My understanding is that functionality is the key to farkleness. If an accessory has an identifiable function, then it’s a farkle. If you add sparkle to your farkle, well then, that’s just bling isn’t it? “Pure bling is never functional, and therefore never approaches farkledom. A farkle is still a farkle, even if substantial bling has been added. Remember, you are always free to bling your farkle.” 2) “farkle: accessory. The word is generally accepted to mean a combination of ‘function’ and ‘sparkle,’ hence, farkle. “Motorcycle enthusiasts may
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install accessories, called farkles (also spelled farkel) to customize their machine. One source attributes the term to Pete Wells, the organizer of a 1997 Honda ST1100 rally. The term is well known in the sport touring community. “An enthusiast may be in the process of ‘farkling.’ The completed motorcycle would be all ‘farkled up.’ Radar detectors, Global Positioning System receivers, heated grips, and satellite radios are some of those farkles. Other accessories could
be aftermarket seats, side and/or top cases or bar risers, which make the motorcycle more suitable for long miles.” “F.A.R.K.L.E. -- Fancy Accessory Really Kool Likely Expensive” 3) “Farkle: N: An Accessory intended to improve or embellish the original system; opulent luxury item; V: to add pleasure or comfort; to strut about after adding additional items to stock unit, thus improving value or performance, usually saying ‘whoo-hoo’ loudly to yourself or your neighbors.
“ Farkles: As defined by the ST1100 owners’ club, a farkle is: 1. (Noun) any modification to one’s motorcycle. 2. (Verb) the act of modifying one’s motorcycle in some way. “ Farkles may have functional or merely aesthetic value, or in fact no value whatsoever! To farkle is to expand one’s connection to the motorcycle, to enhance its uniqueness, and provide a venue for personalization. Farkles are accessories intended to improve some aspect of the vehicle in question.” Like many motorcyclists, farkling for me borders on being a sickness. I can never leave well enough alone. I was reminded of this recently when I decided to sell one of my motorcycles—a streetlegal Aprilia SXV550 supermoto—to a friend. It’s always an interesting exercise to figure out what a motorcycle is worth so you can price it accordingly. I started by looking at the various price guides and came up with an average value of $6,500. What about all those extras? I paid $5,800 for the bike two-and-a-half years ago, but then the real spending began. I started with an extra set of wheels, complete with brake rotors and sprocket, for only $1,000 on eBay. That was less than half the cost of new, and now I could have one set of wheels for track days/racing and one for street riding. That’s like getting two bikes for the price of some wheels. After riding it a little, I noticed it desperately needed a slipper clutch on the track to reduce wheel hop. I got a smokin’ deal on a brand new unit on eBay for only $750.
Trying to drop some weight, I bought another eBay special: a titanium exhaust for the below-dealer-cost price of only $650. Now we were getting somewhere. Some more riding revealed that the fuel injection system did not like the new exhaust, so a trip to my favorite tuning shop (Las Vegas Dyno Tech) netted me a much smoother delivery and eight (!) more rearwheel horsepower, pushing the 58 hp stock number to an awesome 66. That little trip cost me $1,800, including a nice Vietnamese lunch. That comes out to only $225 per horsepower—a veritable bargain for a motor that already comes in such a high state of tune. Of course as I started pushing the bike a little harder I noticed the chassis was a little unstable at speed. A call to Race Tech procured me a new fork and shock valving with springs ($1,000 with labor) and a set of custom adjustable fork bottoms that increased trail by 6mm for only $1,500, plus installation and shipping. Since they came from Italy and had to be engineered from scratch, they took over three months to arrive. Now the bike cornered like it was on rails even at high-speed tracks. Soon afterwards, a phone call from my local dealer let me know that a customer was trying to sell a complete set of off-road suspension and wheels from the RXV550 dirt-only model. This even included the brakes and triple clamps. For only $1,650 used, I could have a complete dirt setup. That’s like getting a third bike for the price of some used parts. It didn’t take too many street miles to realize that the stock seat was designed by Torquemada himself and more closely mimicked an enema than a proper perch for spending quality riding time. A call to Rick Mayer Cycle got me what is probably the world’s only touring seat for a supermoto race bike. What price comfort? Four hundred and sixty dollars to be precise. Several more purchases of spare parts and upgrades, and a recent rebuild at only 2,200 miles to fix a stator that had sheared off its mounting bolts, had my investment topping $18,000. So what’s my SXV three-bikes-inone project really worth? The answer is
undoubtedly somewhere between the $6,500 blue book value and the insane amount of money I’ve thrown at this piece of high-maintenance Italian sex appeal. I wish this was an isolated incident, but as I looked at my garage, it is strewn with similar projects. My 6'x10' enclosed trailer that I had originally paid $2,400 for is now past the $20K mark in total investment. A used 2006 KTM 250SXF that I race in the 40- to 50-year-old vet class only cost me $1,500 from my favorite shop. A quick check in the bike’s receipt folder shows that it has $4,000 in upgrades and $3,200 in repairs in the last year alone. I could have bought a brand new model for that. There are several other examples I’ve mentioned in this space before, so I’ll spare you (and me) the painful rehash. In the last few years it seems that my farkling may now require an intervention. Some people spend their money by getting married and having children. I chose the live-in-girlfriend-who-works-in-the-business-two-dogs-and-a-garage-full-of-farkled-out-toys approach to life. Unlike money, you can never save time. You can only spend it. At least I’m spending both doing what I love. Should you ever find yourself stricken by the Farkle Bug, I’m sorry to say that there is no known cure, but UPS and FedEx are always happy to deliver more parts to keep it well fed.
Lee Parks (162125) has been riding and racing motorcycles for well over 33 years. He has been the editor of both consumer and trade motorcycle magazines, manufacturers his own line of motorcycle gloves and is a WERA national endurance champion. His riding skills book Total Control has sold over 100,000 copies in five languages around the world. Lee’s Total Control Training company manages and is the curriculum vendor for the California Motorcyclist Safety Program as well as several large military contracts. If you have a question you’d like to him to answer in this column, send him an email at lee@totalcontroltraining.net.
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Riding to get lost By David Cwi #28490 riders routinely take day rides that include “ride to eat,” which means they stop somea bit wacky. For the where interesting for lunch. As luck would first time in a long have it, they planned to rumble along the time, work interOhio River on interesting roads, so they fered with riding to would end up for lunch at some joint the point that I had famous for its old style, cook-it-in-castto bail out of the iron-skillets fried chicken. annual Arkansas Well now, this was great. I’d get to see a ride. You’d think that I would have good friend and end up at a cool place. Now been crawling the walls, but I wasn’t, the challenge: How to make this interesting and that’s what made it wacky. as a ride? That became a special challenge It felt very strange. The bike was in as the planned lunch stop was in the town the garage, and I’d walk past her daily, of Oldenburg, Indiana, and that town is but she never cried out to me. I did only 70 miles from my house. have her on the charger. I SINCE MY RIDING REVOLVES AROUND Not much of a “day ride.” But I knew the tires were new. was up to the challenge once the All required and routine ROUTES PLOTTED INTO GPS UNITS obvious became obvious. All I maintenance was done DETAILED DOWN TO THE SPECIFIC GAS had to do was arrive there on and up to date. The beast It mattered not how I got was good to go, but I had STOPS, I HATCHED A PLAN THAT CAN ONLY time. there. Since my riding revolves no go in me. You could WORK IN OUR NEW TECH-ENABLED, around routes plotted into GPS have told me that my units detailed down to the spemotorcycling days were FARKLED-BIKE GPS RAGE AND AGE. cific gas stops, I hatched a plan over, and I’m not at all sure I’D JUST GET LOST. that can only work in our new I would have cared. Now tech-enabled, farkled-bike GPS THAT is wacky. rage and age. an overnight away, or I don’t get on the bike Maybe it was winter depression. I’d just get lost. at all. So that’s a piece of this, too. If you Maybe all I needed was a simple trip All I had to do was be at the restaurant on have to be on call managing a project, you south to bask in some sun, but I was time. So I reasoned that I could set the rescan’t be two states away. So given my work not motivated. Some of this I’m sure taurant in my GPS as my destination but circumstances that meant—perish the was just about being pre-occupied then totally ignore the GPS. I could meanthought—that the best I could muster any with mental junk. Some of it was the der around the state and all the while frusspring day was, well, a DAY ride. Maybe weather—a wet and cold spring does trate that Garmin girl, gleefully watching even just a couple of hundred miles and a not exactly encourage riding. But still. her attempt to correct my willful misbehavfew hours of riding. I’ve never done that. Or It occurred to me that maybe I was ior. I could imagine her screaming at me to if I have, it’s only because the nearest club just getting old. I mean maybe the turn around, go back, turn now, while all rally was one state away. Dave don’t do Day whole drill of all the gear all the time, the while I ignored her and just followed Rides. But I was rolling the idea around in layering up, getting the bike ready my nose, so to speak. At some point the my head when an idea birthed in my sorry and keeping it always loaded for four GPS would tell me that my arrival time at noggin that gave the ride a purpose, making seasons (as you never know what the the restaurant would be 12:30 if I stopped it palatable. I’d go see Papa Smurf and John conditions will be)—maybe the meandering and did as told. I dropped the in Ohio. That’s it. I’d roll out to Ohio and whole scene was just getting old and address into my Garmin and set off. back and see them for lunch. So I called had become “work.” It was clear and sunny bright but cool, so them to find out if they would be around, My ongoing management of one I had my electric jacket liner on but not and things got even better. carcass malady after another was also hooked up. Perfect weather, in fact. I hate It seems that Papa Smurf and a few other not helping my attitude. Too many THIS SPRING WAS
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
miles wearing a helmet with wind in my face, the chiropractor said. So this winter that meant a neck vertebra added to the rehab protocol, while the lower back and shoulders with receding joint space were always in play. Maybe riding was just less fun, or maybe it was time to switch it up. Maybe I just needed to go for a ride. There’s a thought. For me, however, that has always meant going for a RIDE. I don’t know about you folks, but if I get on a motorcycle, that means I am going somewhere, at least a couple of states and
riding in heat. Cool is good. No rain in the forecast. No traffic. Could not have planned it better. My plan was to just head east, thinking I might even get into Ohio and just rumble around, only riding on two-lane roads. If I saw a water tower and a town approaching, hang a left or right or whatever. So I took the back roads to Mt. Comfort and once there, headed south. The nice thing about Indianapolis is that you can be looking at farmland 15 minutes after leaving your house as long as you don’t live in center city, and maybe even then. The town is big, but there is nothing but farmland around it. And I was soon to realize that some of it is interesting, even if the two-lane, straight-between-the-farm-fields roads are not. Soon I was seeing “stuff ” and running through small villages—towns with a handful of stores and a church and probably a cop. And then I found it – or it found me. There it was, off to the right. At first I thought it was some sort of hobo camp. There were old RVs that looked like they had been there a long time and some tents and fire pits with gray haze rising as last night’s fire finally burned out. There were plenty of trees and chairs all around. It rose up to my right on a gentle hillside, and as I rolled past, it was as if I was suddenly moving in slow motion. This place had history, and it had folks sitting around at night telling stories. I just knew it. It had a great feel to it. Then it was in my rear view mirror, but somehow, in passing it I had switched to a different, lower, not-for-the-interstate gear. Time to find the restaurant. By now I was moving into Franklin County, and the landscape had more up and down and the road, a bit more twist. Ms. Garmin put me in Brookville, and I then ended up on Levee Road which at some point meanders along the Whitewater River. That river was shallow and low with sandy banks around it. I wondered if the name Levee Road had some sort of meaning when this river filled up with snow thaw and spring rain. Again I was in slow motion. If I were a young man with a six pack and a girlfriend, I’d be
parked here right now. I’d have a fire and my flipflops, and I’d be walking through the shallow water to the small islands of sand in the middle. And then Ms. Garmin put me on some road that does not even show up on Google Maps. I told myself I have to go back to the river. Ideally at night. And I bet patrol cars roll by once in a while. At 12:30, I rolled up to the restaurant and parked it. One of those odd Victory threewheelers that is really a car was there. There were Harleys, so apparently this was a popular destination for riders. My guys weren’t there, but Papa’s COM unit on his helmet was live, so I called him. They were an hour away but on the way. “No problem, I’ve got local roads to ride.” By now I had this get lost thing down to a science. All these roads were new to me. So I just took the first road out of town, which meant heading north on Sycamore Street, which soon became Harvey Branch Road and then eventually county road 1000. The landscape was a bit more interesting here in Franklin County as it had a bit of up and down and woods. I killed an hour getting back to the restaurant minutes before the Ohio crew rolled in. And I realized that I should have gotten from Papa a list of the roads they tend to ride in the tri-state area along the Ohio. I wondered what they were like and what I’d see. Had a great lunch. Dawdled outside to eyeball bikes and chat some more and talk about planned rides. Took off, and this time wandered on the bigger state two-lane to get home more directly. I had a good day. I was back in the saddle and energized. Within a month a group of us would assemble in Sarnia, Ontario and ride around Lake Huron for the day. Others were planning a get-together at the National Rally, getting lost on the way there. Peter and I were laying out a quick ride from Halifax to Vancouver and then Alaska, making for two trips to Nova Scotia this year. I was not going to allow work to get in the way. The neck did not hurt. Turns out that this day ride and getting lost was not such a bad idea after all. Get Lost. Maybe I’ll see you down the road.
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rallyreview
50 years of the Four Winds Rally By Glenn Kidd #173737 FOR 50 YEARS, BMW MOTORCY-
clists throughout the Midwest and eastern United States have kept the third weekend of August open for the Four Winds BMW Motorcycle Rally. Organized by a group of BMW enthusiasts from the western Pennsylvania region who were formally known as the BMW Owners Association of Pittsburgh and the Tri-State Region, the rally became an early destination for individuals and BMW clubs to meet and renew acquaintances around a common interest, the BMW motorcycle. Onsite camping was encouraged to enhance the group experience and keep individual expenses low. The outdoor event encouraged the sharing of BMW stories and experiences as well as suggestions and modifications to make the riding experience more enjoyable. In the late 1960s, BMW dealerships were scarce, finding other BMW owners was difficult, and rallies as we know them today were quite rare. The only other comparable and nationally known rally was the White Mountain Tour put on by the Northeast BMW club. Remember, this was before the publication of BMW and touringoriented magazines. The Four Winds Rally proved to be a key opportunity to find and share such information. Attending the 1973 Rally with his wife, MOA Editor Frank Diederich described the rally as a “Happening.” The rally has remained a three day event from its earliest days, always starting on a Friday afternoon.
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Registration would begin in the late afternoon, followed by a campfire and a general get-together. Saturday mornings started with an assembly for picture taking, where clubs were encouraged to bring club flags and pennants. Around 11 a.m., various field and riding events would commence. Some years, a tour or parade of up to 170 BMWs through the local countryside or small community would be arranged with local
police helping. To enhance the enjoyment and pleasure of all in attendance, visiting clubs were invited to sponsor and organize additional field activities of their own making. Some of these events were truly uproarious fun for all but the most reticent attendees. Saturday evenings saw projectors and a large screen appear for all to share recent slides or home movies of their BMWs in use. By Sunday, weary participants were soon thinking about the ride home, so an additional photo session and a few more events were scheduled to be completed by noon. During a final lunch, trophies were awarded for individual and group accomplishments. By 12:30 it was
time to say goodbye until next year. The earliest rallies were held at Hidden Hollow Camp Grounds in Carrolton, Ohio. Each year, the organizers tried to improve on the participants’ enjoyment, and the attendees responded with increasing attendance. By the fourth year, over 200 people were in attendance with 125 motorcycles on the field. In 1971, for the fifth annual get together, the organizers christened the event “The Four Winds Rally” to remind all BMW enthusiasts, “both near and far, that the invitation requesting the pleasure of their company for a weekend of sharing BMW stories and experiences” was “going out in all directions.” Over the next several years, attendance would continue to grow, reaching over 360 motorcycles and nearly 600 people in 1975. Riders were coming from as far away as California, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas and Canada, with clubs from Detroit, Philadelphia, Akron, Toledo, Buffalo and the Finger Lakes regions of New York arriving in groups as large as 37 bikes. The venue would change over time to various sites in western Pennsylvania as the organizers tried to keep improving the rally experience. The organizers learned early to develop good working relations with the local communities. Frequently, local news reporters would be invited and glowing reports were often published. Local merchants who saw an uptick in business due to the rally were frequently cited, using quotes like, “These bikers are some of the nicest people who have ever stayed in (the area).” Local newspapers even ran large quarter-page advertisements from local merchant associations welcoming the BMW clubs to the area. Attendees were often described as age 30 years and up and “married, many with
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children who … ride in sidecars….” The riders were reportedly coming from all walks of life. “Some are professionals… doctors, lawyers, journalists.” One attendee’s wife told a reporter, “We are as opposite of Hell’s Angels as possible.” Law enforcement agencies agreed, saying they “…had absolutely no problems with the staunchly organized club.” The organizers helped the local reporters find their “human interest” stories by pointing out several of our own celebrities. During the early 1970s, 75-year-old Floyd “Pop” Dreyer from Indianapolis would attend the rally. Riding his 900cc BMW with a custom faring of his own design and manufacture, “Pop” would frequently get his picture and life story in the local newspaper. If a rider would arrive with the family dog in a side car or on the gas tank, you could be sure a photo would appear in the next edition. At the 1972 Rally, an enterprising “shade tree engineer” riding his custom-built motorcycle got a reporter’s attention. Powered by an engine that merged two BMW R69S power plants, Bob Frantz claimed his motorcycle developed nearly 85 horsepower with its 1200cc spread over four cylinders. The field events were often described in detail to the general public. There frequently was a particular fascination with the slow race. Newspaper readers seemed to love the idea of a race to finish last. One photographer couldn’t pass up a pretty girl on the back of a BMW spearing a potato with a stick in another contest. Often the journalist’s report would conclude with the reminder that the rally’s objective was to promote goodwill between the motorcyclists and the public. The rally also contributed in its own small way to the formation and development of today’s BMW owners’ organizations. Attendees of the earliest Four Winds Rallies often included several regional club presidents such as Chuck Smith and Vern Hansen. In the glow of evening campfires, they and others would frequently discuss the need for a national organization of BMW owners. These early discussions would contribute many of the seeds that grew into the idea of a MOA. In addition,
Tom Sheridan, an active member of the BMW Owners Association of Pittsburgh and Tri-States Area was an early participant in the 1971 correspondence with MOA founder Bill Harmer and was named to the earliest “Board” of planners. Another Four Winds Rally organizer, Jean Rihl, was often called the “Spirit of the Rally” because of her efforts the make everyone feel so welcome. Initially the Pittsburgh club secretary, Jean would later become the first secretary of the new BMW Owners of America and editor of years three through eight of the Anonymous book. Jean was recognized for her contributions to the MOA in 1981 when she was presented the Distinguished Service Award. After the 1972 election of Vern Hansen as President of the national organization, he chose to use the Four Winds Rally as the site of his first Board of Director’s meeting. The meeting was called to order around a picnic bench under a shady tree on the camp grounds. In attendance were four officers: Hansen from Detroit, Vice President Frank Diederich from Chicago, Treasurer John Moore from northern California, and Judy Rihl from Pittsburgh. Three directors present were Don Smith from Toledo, Chuck Smith from Western New York, and Gary Vass from Springfield, Missouri. Only two directors were absent. Over five decades, the Four Winds Rally has continued to offer the essence of rider camaraderie for BMW enthusiasts. Its significance and wide recognition by BMW riders around the country led the Pittsburgh Club to change its name to the Four Winds BMW Riders in 1992. The rally has used more than ten venues over its life. This year the Rally will again be held at the Redbank Valley Municipal Park just outside of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on State Route 28. Registration starts on Friday, August 19, and discounted preregistration is encouraged. For more information online, visit www.4WindsBMW.org. As said many times before, we request the pleasure of your company as Four Winds celebrates a milestone weekend to add to its legacy of sharing friends, food, fun and BMW-oriented pleasures.
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highmileage
Congrats to all reaching new plateaus By Jim Heberling #191926 HELLO! MY NAME
is Jim Heberling, and I’m the MOA’s new High Mileage Coordinator. We’ve approved a new design for pins, patches and stickers, and new items are on order. Hopefully we’ll have them in inventory by the time this column appears. We’ll hear from a new level qualifier each month; this month’s rider is Joel Woolf #44156, who crossed the 400,000-mile threshold. Joel surprised his wife Jacki by putting her up for a 200,000-mile Copilot award. Joel said that beyond his wife’s surprise at her copilot award, his most memorable event on the way to 400,000 miles was in July 2006, when he rode from Los Angeles to Boise for the BMW RA rally. He rode with million-miler Harry Hauss #34940 and met Ardys “Queenie” Kellerman, another million-mile rider. “On Sunday, we rode to the Top of the Rockies in Paonia, Colorado,” Joel said. “It was only 689 miles away, about a 10-hour ride. The thing was, we didn’t need to be there until Thursday, so 4,030 miles later—after going to Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef and Arches National Park—Harry and I arrived in Paonia for the weekend. I had to stop in Grand Junction, Colorado, for a new wheel.” He continued, “On Sunday, Ardys, Harry and I were off to the BMW MOA rally in Vermont, by way of Chicago so Harry could visit with his brother. Ardys and I went on to Vermont to the MOA rally to receive our Peaks of America pins. After the rally on Sunday, Harry and I were off to Ashland, North Carolina, and Deals Gap by way of the Blue Ridge BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Parkway. We were so close, we had to do the Tail of the Dragon, both up and back.” Harry and Joel parted ways after Ashland, with Harry visiting his daughter in Florida and Joel riding straight through back to Los Angeles. Joel’s trip that summer lasted over 10,000 miles. Though Joel now riders a 2016 R 1200 R,
100,000 miles
Berry Griffin Charles Bloom David Eskelund John McAllister Thomas Itel Anthony Fisher Charles Thompson Donald Wreyford Jeffrey Green Robert Rehkopf Bill Malone Gary Miller Jeffrey Nagy Ian Scobie Jerry Smith Lin Davis Richard Wade
he still misses his beloved, early-build 1999 R 1100 S, a “100-point show bike” that he rode constantly but lost in a fire. As in the past, we will publish the names and mileage achievements of our members each month; the list below catches us up with all of this year’s submissions. See you in New York for the rally this July!
Ryan Manley Mary Lindell Eric Daniels Michael Waybright
200,000 miles
Dave McFall James Swisher Michael Miller Charles Bowen Danny Graham David Lapin Donna Schettine Wallace Heinich Jack Paisley Jim Clark Brad Hoy Jacki Woolf - CoPilot
300,000 miles Gary Sandberg
Bruce Bruxton Blue - Pantone 299 C Grey - Reflective Richard Ahlstrom White Black Sam Booth
400,000 miles John Ferris Joel Woolf Chuck Manley
600,000 miles Greg Hutchinson
700,000 miles Josh Ascher Donald Walker Dennis Even
www.bmwmoa.org/paulthorn www.bmwmoa.org/paulthorn
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jacktheriepe
The allure of inanimate objects By Jack Riepe #116117 halls of an Ivy League College, it does not always work out to a compliment. And this is a problem I have with beautiful, intuitive and artistically inclined women (which includes nearly all of them). They cannot concede a point without sticking an equally sharp one into my ribs. Men have a love/hate relationship with gear. They will see the virtue of a design, or the intended virtue, and buy something with reckless abandon. And in the course of a short time, they will come to love that gear or add it to a growing pile of spares. Take gloves, for example. The average BMW rider owns 62 pairs of gloves. These range in scope from the lightest leather
show how much I love and respect women riders. It has been my experience that the women, develop sweat of women riders is 98 percent pherodeep attachments mone and both stimulating and pleasing to to inanimate the male. Nothing smells as nice as the objects, giving sweat of a woman, painting the interior of them mystical powthe garage, at least to the man in her life, ers that defy all who is busy experimenting with the ingrelogic or explanadients for the perfect Tom Collins. tion. When I was 19 and rode a KawaThe aroma of male biker sweat has been saki H2 (known as the Widowmaker), known to kill bedbugs in cheaper motels I had a pair of lucky jeans that fit like and flophouses, even at 70 or 80 miles per a second skin. The resistance had hour. been washed out of the denim until Helmets and riding jackets fall into the all that remained was the material’s same love/hate category. Both tend to be faded indigo soul. What made these far more expensive than gloves, so there are jeans lucky was the fact I was wearing fewer of them in the average rider’s them when I escaped certain Most riders will wear the moto death several times and YOU CAN GET A SOUL ANYPLACE. inventory. same helmet on every run for three or that several women had peeled YOU CAN FIND RIDING BUDDIES four years. Sometimes longer. Sweat them off me in unanticipated soaked helmet liners have been celebrations of youthful IN ANY POLICE LINE-UP. BUT known to eat through the toughened romance. I wore these jeans COMFORTABLE RIDING BOOTS material of the helmet or to even until they dissolved in the spontaneously explode. I am a firm humidity of a July day in 1978. DON’T COME ALONG OFTEN. believer of ballistic (textile) gear. I I remember a discussion I have a riding jacket that I love. It has had regarding this subject with hand condoms to the heaviest “Teenage been washed once, in the bathtub, where it a redhead who shared a tent with me Ninja Mutant” armored-asphalt-slammers, turned the water into vapor and permaas the fire flickered into coals, its to the super insulated Lee Park’s gauntlets. nently darkened the porcelain. The jacket light barely reaching the bike parked Some are waterproof while others have that used to be black, but is now the tint of 12 on the edge of our camp. aspiration. Some are carved from the hides million dead bugs...at least in front. “Are you ever going to get another of near extinct mammals known for living Why do we keep gear long after it fails pair of jeans?” she asked. in rugged conditions. Others are electric. the whiff test? Because we impart mystical “Why?” I asked in return. “These It makes no difference. The average properties to inanimate objects and have a whole summer left in them. BMW rider will wear the same pair of because it takes months of trying on helMaybe two summers.” gloves, day in and day out, until the sweat mets, jackets, gloves and boots to find “Because you can see clear through of his/her hands has diluted the dye and something we love. The search and the to your butt in two or three places.” replaced the basic element of the leather breaking-in process are painful. It is like “But these are my lucky jeans,” I with odor. There will be a spare pair of finding gold. That is why the average rider insisted. “Have you ever felt the mysgloves in the top case, but this is to prove to should go back to the dealer or the catatical power of an inanimate object?” other riders that preference, not poverty, logue and order three more of the identical “I’m here with you, aren’t I?” she drives their choice. The gentle reader will product as soon as gear love is established. replied. note I used the politically correct “his/her” Because as soon as a manufacturer of anyI have thought about that woman modifier for “hands” in this paragraph. thing hits the perfect combination of and that statement many times. This is not because I have knuckled under design, fit, and finish, that product will be While it cannot be argued that she to popular pressure, but because I want to immediately discontinued and replaced by was clinging to me like ivy on the MEN, AND SOME
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
something that is ugly, stupid or likely both. This is especially true of boots. There was something odd about my feet from the day I was born. A specialist told my mother that my right foot was normal but my left leg was that of a giant insect. He said, “You’ll need to buy him two pairs of shoes all his life, using the right shoe of the smaller pair and the left one of the larger pair to compensate for the claw, the exoskeleton and the thick, wire-like hair.” My mother was shocked and pressed for a more practical solution. The doctor then suggested my left foot be bound in the ancient Chinese custom and that I be hidden in the attic to languish as the family curse. Mom was horrified, but tried this for the first ten years of my life. As a result, my insect foot is the approximate size of the right one, but I now walk in slow circles to the left and stop when I hit a wall. Finding boots that fit right out of the box is nearly impossible, so when I do find a pair I tend to wear them forever. Such was the case in the summer of 1978. I was out for a three-day camp and ride with Beth, the original tomboy. She was wiry, flat-chested and athletic with short red hair and a smattering of freckles across a pug nose. Standing about 5’4”, she was one of the prettiest women I’d meet that decade. She was well-read, well-spoken and somewhat taken with me. (This last would prove to be a passing condition, but it always is.) She was also taken by the motorcycle, which worked out well as I didn’t have a car. Dinner sizzled on the undercurrents of magma-hot glances. Clouds scudded across the moon, suggesting a late night sprinkle. We looked at the stars and each other before calling it a night. I pulled off my boots and put them next to hers in the vestibule of the tent. We had the conversation about my jeans. She lay in my arms for
that tentative second before the magic would begin, and asked, “What the hell is that stench?” The answer was, “My boots.” Beth then asked, “How can anything of yours smell that badly and you still be alive?” She unzipped the vestibule door and tossed my boots into the wilderness. There was a time in my life when a woman like Beth could have tossed my boots, my soul or six of my riding buddies into a chipper, and I wouldn’t have cared. Today, I know better. You can get a soul anyplace. You can find riding buddies in any police line-up. But comfortable riding boots don’t come along often. And when they do, the manufacturer discontinues the line, scatters the workers to the wind and blows up the factory. The rest of the night went as planned. It rained just enough to refresh the romance. Dawn arrived with blue skies, singing birds and furry little creatures who wanted another look at the red headed lady. She obliged them by using the motorcycle as a dressing table. “That bike has paid for itself in the last 30 seconds,” I thought. My clothes came together like a threadbare puzzle, minus my boots. We’d camped on a hillside, and her pitch had sent my boots into a gully, with a rain-swollen creek running through it. A forty-five minute search ensued, during which I drank coffee while she scampered around and produced a soaked, mud-filled left boot. “The right one’s gone,” Beth said. “Probably eaten by an animal thats crawled off to die.” In those days, my left foot was the landing gear. That one had a boot. My right foot didn’t come off the brake until the bike was stopped. The solution was to pad my right foot with three socks, and then wrap it in several layers of duct tape. This would have to hold until we came to a shoe store or
someplace that sold work boots. (I rode in work boots back then.) The two of us were laughing as she wrapped my foot in the tape. The situation was preposterous. There was a general store that sold boots in Margaretville, New York, 30 miles distant. There were two pair to choose from in my right foot size. She wasn’t laughing when I left the store wearing the right boot of the new pair and left boot of the old. “There is something seriously wrong with you,” she said. “Yes,” I agreed. “I have the leg of a giant insect.” “That’s what I mean. Who would even think of saying something like that?” (Author’s note: My left foot is a half size larger than my right. Most women claim this is the least of my troubles.)
I have good news and bad news. Those of my readers looking to collect the revised version of Conversations With A Motorcycle, with the new “Doucheville” chapters will see their copies by mid-summer. The sequel to this book, Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words, will not be out until October—just in time for Christmas. My deteriorating body and fragile health are working against me. Autographed books from deceased authors triple in value. This is a great opportunity to make an investment. (I am feeling faint as I type this.) Email your name and address to jack. riepe@gmail to reserve a copy of Conversations With A Motorcycle - The Doucheville Version. Your name will go on a list. Email your name and address to jack.riepe@ gmail to reserve a copy of Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words. Put the title of the book you want in the subject line. I will respond to all inquiries as soon as I can sit upright again.
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finaljourney
Robert Willard Halenda ROBERT
WILLARD
HALENDA’S
adventure-filled life began July 29, 1938. He passed away on April 30, 2016. Growing up in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, “Bob” became an Eagle Scout, camping and exploring in the Poconos Mountains near his home. A thirst for adventure took him to the Army, where he became a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne. He trained in Alaska, discovered sake in Okinawa and set a Pacific high altitude jump record in Hawaii. A bachelor’s degree in psychology and a “real job” could not temper his love for the great American west and the beauty it held. He moved to a small town with big mountains: Westcliffe, Colorado. Over his 40 years in Westcliffe, he was a gas station owner, rancher, realtor, chef, ski instructor, and a rafting and alpine adventure guide. His love of horses and horseback riding became a love of motorcycles and endurance riding, and he logged 300,000 miles on his BMW R 1000 GSPD over the past 25 years. He embraced adventure, travel and reading with passion and enthusiasm. Bob’s son Gregor added, “The
MOA and the BMW motorcycle community were his family, and he never missed a national rally up until the last few years, as his health began to fail. I think the first national we attended was in ‘94, but the best one was in Rhinebeck in 1999 when I brought my “Team Incomplete Boxer” to the rally and won the whole thing: Best of Show and Best Modified. He was very proud that weekend and stood by my bike to accept compliments when I went exploring. “He taught me how to travel and how to have an adventure, and I’ve never been prouder to inherit such a worn out, beat up 300,000 mile motorcycle as I am to get his GS, now that he’s on his next journey.” Bob died from health complications at home in the mountain valley he loved. His family and friends will miss his encyclopedic knowledge, bad jokes and good stories. We are grateful to everyone who lent him an ear, gave him a hand and shared in his joy for life. Funeral services were held at the Catholic cemetery on May 9, 2016, with a mass following at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church. Per Robert’s wishes, cowboy boots and hats were encouraged. In memory of Bob, please consider a taxdeductible donation to the West Custer County Library, P.O. Box 689, Westcliffe, Colorado 81252.
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www.pandorasmotorsports.com
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Hamburg area attractions and rides Garry A. Nelson #62034 WITH DAS RALLY! TAKING PLACE
just 230 miles north of my western Pennsylvania home, I was excited to share a few things to do and see while in western New York.
Riding into the Rally
Approaching Hamburg from the east, I recommend riding Pennsylvania’s Route 6 west out of Wellsboro, picking up Route 59 at Smethport, and then catching Route 62 at Warren, which will take you directly to the rally site. Eighty miles from Wellsboro and shortly after turning onto Route 59, Kinzua Bridge State Park offers riders a well-appointed visitor’s center and a chance to stretch their legs on the
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Kinzua Bridge skywalk, as well as discover the history of the bridge. This reinvented Kinzua Viaduct is the remains of a railroad bridge once known as the longest and tallest railroad structure ever built. It was originally built from iron in 1882 and was known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Then, in 1900 the iron viaduct was rebuilt using steel to withstand the stress of heavier trains. Heading to Hamburg from the Pittsburgh area, riders find relief from I-79 and the tolls and traffic of the New York Thruway by riding Route 62 north out of Franklin, Pennsylvania. This wonderful, two-lane blacktop snakes along the Allegheny River to Warren, Pennsylvania, before continuing north through rolling farm land directly into Hamburg.
Great local food
I was first introduced to the Buffalo area when the Buffalo Braves drafted me in the fifth round of the 1971 NBA draft. My career ended the day before the season started, but during this short stay I enjoyed two great Buffalo culinary traditions. Established in 1935, The Anchor Bar at 1047 Main Street in Buffalo claims to be the home of the spicy chicken wing known as the Buffalo Wing. The legend says that sometime during the 1960’s, then owner Teressa Bellissimo created the dish when she deep fried some wings and covered them in Frank’s RedHot hot sauce and butter. Prior to doing this, chicken wings were used for soup or simply thrown away. Bellissimo served them with blue cheese dip as hors d’oeuvres at the bar. They were initially
Left: Watkins Glen Harbor, located about 150 miles east of Hamburg.
offered for free. Another area favorite is “Roast Beef on a Weck,” a sandwich served on a kummelweck roll. The sandwich features beef, traditionally served rare and cut thin, with the top bun dipped in au jus and spread with horseradish. Many area restaurants offer this sandwich, but an area favorite is Schwabl’s Restaurant at 789 Center Road in West Seneca, New York. Schwabl’s is a family restaurant with a history of serving great GermanAmerican cuisine for more than 100 years. Their “Beef on a Weck” sandwich was named as one of America’s top 10 sandwiches by Maxim magazine in September, 2004. Three years later, the restaurant was highlighted by author Ian Jackman in his travel book “Eat This” ... 1,001 Things to Eat Before You Diet. Schwabl’s was also honored in 2009 when it was chosen for the Travel Channel show “No Reservations” with Anthony Bourdain.
Interesting places to visit
In addition to the great riding and eating in and around the Buffalo area, other sights include several museums and other attrac-
Above, Located about 50 miles east of Hamburg, Letchworth State Park features more than 60 miles of hiking trails with many following the scenic waterfalls and cliffs of the Genesee River.
tions worth visiting. The Zippo lighter factory, located about 70 miles south of the rally site in Bradford, Pennsylvania, is home to the Zippo museum and outlet store. Not far away, in Olean, New York, is the home of KA-BAR Knives, Inc. KA-BAR is the popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United States Marine Corps in November, 1942, and subsequently adopted by the United States Navy. The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, bearing the name of Hammondsport, New York’s favorite son, is located on Route 54, one half mile south of the village and just over 100 miles from Hamburg. Dedicated to the memory of pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss, the museum contains a priceless collection relating to early aviation and local history. The museum also features a 75-seat theater, large open area for special events and a gift shop. In addition to seeing the museum displays and exhibits, visitors are welcome to
visit the Restoration Shop, talk with volunteer craftsman and watch them work on historic aircraft. Glenn Curtiss began his career as a builder of bicycles and motorcycles. In 1907 he became the “fastest man on earth” when he attained a speed of 136.4 mph on his V8-powered motorcycle. An exact reproduction of this bike is one of several Curtiss motorcycles that are on display. On July 4, 1908, Curtiss gained notoriety of a different kind when he flew his flying machine, named the “June Bug”, a distance of over 5,000 feet to win a Scientific American trophy. This was the first, pre-announced and public flight in America—a feat that earned him pilot’s license #1. A full-sized reproduction of the “June Bug” is one of several historic aircraft that are on display. Robert M. Pirsig, in his book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, he delivers “Chautauquas,” which he describes as a mindset when riding: “…like the traveling tent show Chautauquas that used to move across America, this America, the one that we are now in, an old-time series of
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popular talks intended to edify and entertain, improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer.” The original catalyst of these traveling Chautauqua tent shows was the “Chautauqua Institute” located 60 miles south of Hamburg, New York, on the shores of a 20-mile long lake of the same name. The institute began as a Protestant experiment in summer learning, with discussions focusing on various public issues including science, international relations, literature and other various topics. These learning sessions became so popular that the “Chautauqua Movement” took to the road as “Tent Chautauquas” which discussed the educational topics of the day. Pirsig borrowed the idea for his interesting
asides. The rally is being held during the Institute’s summer season, and the only day with no admission charge is Sunday morning, July 17. On that day locals are allowed to attend the religious services, peruse the book store, walk around the 750 acres, and enjoy the late-1800’s Victorian houses in their multi-colored hues. A few miles south of the Chautauqua Institute is a ferry transporting vehicles to Bemis Point, New York, a lake-side town of quaint shops, restaurants and the Larson Wooden Boat museum, which details the wooden boat history of the lake. Riding across the Peace Bridge and into Ontario, Canada, (passports needed) is the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, located in Hamilton, Ontario. The hanger holds many planes from Canada’s WWII history, including a rare, four-engine
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bomber called the Avro Lancaster and a Westland Lysander. Continuing your ride through Canada, another worthwhile stop is at the Lock 7 Viewing Complex located in Thorold, Ontario. Visitors can watch the Welland Canal’s seventh lock raise and lower freighters 60 feet between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. A favorite spot to watch the boats move through the locks is from an observation room at The Inn at Lock Seven, a comfortable motel where each room features a deck overlooking the locks. Here, viewers have the opportunity to sit and enjoy a drink while watching the boats work their way up and over the Niagara Escarpment. I am looking forward to seeing my BMW MOA friends at Das Rally!, and I hope you enjoy these suggestions. See you Friday afternoon at the beer tent!
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Streetmasters to provide on-site training at Das Rally! THE BMW MOA AND THE MOA
Foundation have announced that Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshops will be the on-site training provider at the 2016 BMW MOA Das Rally! in Hamburg, New York on July 14, 15 and 16, with Walt Fulton III and Nancy Foote conducting half-day training sessions for rally participants. Walt Fulton has been involved in motorcycling his entire life and loves to share his experiences gained from years of racing, crash investigation work, writing and rally riding. Nancy Foote has more than 30 years of riding experience and enjoys traveling twisty backroads and training others so they too can enjoy those fun roads in a more confident, proficient and safe manner.
Three separate workshops will be held during the Das Rally! with one scheduled each day from 8 a.m. to noon. Each class will begin with one hour of fast-paced classroom and discussion on mastering the “delayed late-apex” technique of cornering. After the classroom instruction, each participant will ride their own motorcycle in the precision exercises on a course set up at the rally site. If you ride two-up, be sure to include your pillion. This will not be your typical “parking lot practice,” as it will be challenging and informative. For some, this will be a great opportunity to brush up on current skills, while offering newer riders an opportunity to learn great techniques from the knowledgeable Streetmasters staff. Now for the best news: the cost of the training is being underwritten for MOA
members by the MOA Foundation! All students will need to register and pay a deposit to hold a spot in the class; however, upon course completion, riders will receive a rebate check equal to the price of this class. To sign up, please visit the Das Rally! page at bmwmoa.org and look for the “Training at Das Rally!” link at the top of the page. When registering for the Streemasters’ training, participants will checkout with an option to pay with a Paypal account or credit card. Space is limited, and class registration will be managed on a first-come, firstserved basis! Sign up now for what will be a fun and information-filled experience. If you wish to contact Streetmasters with questions, please email Nancy Foote at nancy.foote@streetmasters.info or call 951.549.1717.
Street Skills to offer On-Road training in Hamburg IF YOU’VE GOT A FEW HOURS
during Das Rally! to sharpen your riding skills, Hamburg area instructor Jon DelVecchio, will be setting up his riding school for the duration of the rally. Street Skills, LLC is a New York state licensed driving school that specializes in advanced motorcycling skills and is also an American Motorcyclist Association chartered organization. Street Skills, LLC will be offering their 4-hour, On-Road - Back Road
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Skills course exclusively for rally participants with instruction taking place off-site on area roads to discover more fun and confidence in the twisties. Courses will begin and end at the rally site and are based on the school’s Fast Track to Precision Riding program. Class size is limited to four riders, and real-time radio communication is an optional instructional method. There will be six course sessions offered on the following dates and times: July 14 (8 a.m.-noon), July 14 (1-5 p.m.), July 15 (8
a.m.-noon), July 15 (1-5 p.m.), July 16 (8 a.m.-noon) and July 16 (1-5 p.m.). Part of the cost of the on-road training will be underwritten by the MOA Foundation. Tuition is $150 and upon completion of the course, participants will be sent a rebate check for $60 courtesy of the MOA Foundation. Enrollment is limited and preregistration is advised. To register, visit the Das Rally! page at bmwmoa.org and look for the “Training at Das Rally!” link.
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2016 BMW MOA International Rally Grand Prizes BMW MOA (value $18,295) 2016 BMW R1200 RS
BMW created the sport-touring class with the release of the original R 90 S in 1973 and the new BMW R 1200 RS is the sportiest BMW to ever wear the RS badge. It’s perfectly balanced, combining optimal wind and weather protection with powerful performance and control putting you in an unparalleled position to explore not only the world, but your own limits as well. And best of all, it could be yours as the Grand Prize at Das Rally! later this month in Hamburg, New York.
and mountain riding, crystal-clear seas, delicious Mediterranean food, unspoiled fishing villages, beaches, medieval walled cities, Roman ruins and lush islands make Croatia travelers’ paradise. Winner can choose between spring (late April 2017), summer (late August 2017) and autumn (late September 2017) Adriatic Riviera Tour for one person in a single room on a BMW F 700 GS. The winner needs to be present at the awards ceremony to claim the prize. Prize is not transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash. The prize does not include airfare.
Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures (value $7860) Island Interlude Tour (airfare not included)
French and Italian cultures and Mediterranean sunshine packaged into two glorious weeks of riding pleasure! Beginning and ending in the Tuscan hills, the Island Interlude is a unique adventure spanning a variety of cultures, terrain and history. Experience the European Alps, Italy’s Tuscany, the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia and much more on this adventure with Beach’s. Touring the globe since 1972, you can trust that no detail has been overlooked by their seasoned crew. The winner will enjoy luxury accommodations, fine dining, awe-inspiring scenery and fabulous riding. Airfare is not included. Winner must be present to win. Beach’s invites all Rally attendees to a barbecue picnic on Grand Island, Friday July 15 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Join them for complimentary food and beverages on the Bob Beach Memorial Parkway across the street from their NY office. Stop by the Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures booth for more information.
Adriatic Moto Tours (value $3640) Adriatic Riviera Tour (airfare not included)
Adriatic Riviera Tour is a great way to start or finish the season. On the Adriatic coast, summer begins early and ends late. Temperatures are perfect, roads are empty, and the beaches are not packed with tourists. All this combined makes Croatia’s azure coast perfect for riding. The Riviera tour is designed for serious riders as well as connoisseurs of culture and history. This adventure includes 1 night in UNESCO’s Plitvice lakes National Park, 2 nights in both Dubrovnik and Hvar, which are worth a voyage across the Atlantic all by themselves. This spectacular mix of coastal
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BUMOT Motorcycle Luggage and ADV Motorrad (value $1594) Complete Luggage Package
BUMOT Motorcycle Luggage is handcrafted in Bulgaria and is designed for the rider who demands the most durable and functional luggage for adventure touring. Built for the long haul with incredible attention to detail, BUMOT luggage has been used in many round-the-world journeys as well as adventures closer to home. In partnership with ADV Motorrad, BUMOT is proud to support the MOA and provide one lucky winner with a world-class BUMOT Defender aluminum pannier system fully outfitted with
many of their most popular accessories. The winner will be able to specify model, size, and color, and some substitutions may be possible. Winner must be present to win. The package includes: • BUMOT Defender Pannier System • BUMOT Defender Rack-Mounted Locking Toolbox • BUMOT Pannier Inner Bags (Qty 2) • BUMOT Lid Organizers (Qty 2) • BUMOT Pannier Carry Handles (Qty 2) • Free Shipping (Lower 48 USA)
Clearwater Lights (value $1500) Gift Certificate
Clearwater Company has been offering award winning customer service, well-engineered products and outstanding product support for over 20 years. Clearwater Lights, manufacturer of innovative LED lighting systems for motorcycles, announces the arrival of the CANopener module for 2013+ water cooled BMW motorcycles. BMW motorcycles are known for their engineering, performance and innovative design, but the same technology that makes them such excellent machines can be a barrier when it comes to adapting to the rider’s preferences. The Clearwater Lights CANopener module provides a plug-and-play solution to integrate control of the company’s lineup of high-performance lights directly into the bike’s existing switchgear. The winner will be able to select the lights that will best suit their needs and their motorcycle, no matter what model you ride. Winner must be present to win.
Clutch Moto Tours (value $8728)
The Seven Countries of Yugoslavia Tour (airfare not included) It used to be one country, we called it Yugoslavia. Today there are 7 Independent countries, 7 nations, 7 capitals, 7 languages, 3 religions, 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 2117 km of coastline, 1255 islands, 11,0000 km (68350 miles) of roads. Ride from the beautiful coastline of the Adriatic Sea to the untouched countryside of inland Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. Explore their capital cities, natural wonders, cultural and religious diversity and exceptional food and drinks while following the story of the present and the past. Come and join us for a trip of your lifetime! South Eastern Europe from Dubrovnik to the Dolomites in Central Europe is one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world, offering exhilarating roads, unspoiled scenery, cultural
diversity, generous and hospitable people, fabulous meals and delicious wines. Clutch’s tours have been carefully designed to give you fabulous rides, stopping at the best cafes, restaurants and attractions. The roads are designed for bikers and you will want to return for more. The scenery is awe inspiring, from the glistening crystal blue sea of the Croatian coast, to the majestic Dolomites where you weave your way over mountain passes, then to the breathtaking scenery of Slovenia’s rolling hills and the quiet beauty of Bosnia. Clutch tours will demonstrate their commitment, ensuring that at the end of the day, ‘it’s all about you’. Clutch Moto Tours provides luxury BMW motorbike tours in Europe, based in Split Croatia. They organize all inclusive guided motorcycle tours, self-guided tours and motorcycle rental. (Airfare is not included) Winner must be present to win.
Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental (value $1630)
Avenue of Volcanoes, Quilotoa Loop and Amazon Basin SelfGuided Tour (airfare not included) In this 3 or 4 day tour, you will get a good sense of the incredible variety of landscapes, climates and cultures that are available in the small country of Ecuador. The tour takes you through two distinct regions of Ecuador - the Andes and the Amazon Basin. You will ride through the astonishing “Avenue of Volcanoes”, taking you past the highest active volcanoes in the world and to the spectacular Quilotoa Crater Lake and its distinct blue-green mineral waters. Then, you will experience a ride through the Amazon jungle, packed with lush vegetation and ample opportunities for rafting, kayaking and hiking along the way. (Airfare is not included) Must be present to win.
Edelweiss Bike Travel (value starts at $3920) High Alpine Tour (airfare not included)
If you’re looking for a one week get-away to the most demanding roads in the Alps, this motorcycle tour is made for you! Experience the excitement of serpentine roads, mammoth mountains, and alpine, Disney-like villages on the roads between Munich, Germany and the Grossglockner Pass in Austria! No worries, you will be briefed during a safety meeting on the local traffic laws and the proper way to ride those incredible switchbacks that await you on this tour. So join Edelweiss Bike Travel for this ride of a lifetime. (Airfare not included) Must be present to win.
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event
MOArally
Elephant Moto (value $5000)
12 Day Columbia Tour (airfare not included) We are ELEPHANT. The authority on motorcycle related experiences in Colombia. In ELEPHANT we are experts at what we do and we are proud to offer the best experiences on 2 wheels in Colombia and other parts of the world. We are an Official Partner of BMW Motorrad and the only company in Colombia that has a BMW Motorrad certified tourguide and instructor. Colombia is a unique country to ride motorcycles. The diversity, the roads, the landscapes and the people make it one of the most interesting destinations to ride in South America and the world. With ELEPHANT you can make your trip a reality, we organize motorcycle tours that vary in length and destinations. We will design your trip including motorcycle rental, hotels, meals, certified tourguide, support vehicle. Everything you need to discover Colombia on 2 wheels. (Airfare is not included)
IMTBIKE Tours (value $3500)
Castles and Mountains Tour “Don Quixote” Country (airfare not included) This tour of Central Spain takes the rider through a forgotten motorcycle paradise of beautiful mountain ranges, green valleys and crystal clear creeks. The route twists and turns over four mountain passes and through the valley traveled so long ago by Don Quixote. Spend your days reveling in the sights and scenes of the springtime wildflowers and cherry blossoms. Visit medieval villages, 500 year old windmills, historical cathedrals and ancient cities. Spoil yourself with gourmet meals and full-bodied Spanish wines. Your nights will be spent in the luxury of the local Paradores, historical palaces castles and fortresses, all converted into motorcycle friendly hotels. IMTBIKE has designed this tour with the BMW MOA member in mind! (Airfare not included) Must be present to win.
Motolumbia (value $2990)
Discover Columbia Tour (airfare not included) Imagine yourself riding through lush green landscapes with thousands of curves and constant mind blowing views. That is Colombia! This tour will take you out back to the remotest areas in Colombia where few, if any tourists go. We get rock-star treatment from the super
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friendly locals and will visit many interesting sites along the way. Do not forget your camera so you can capture the coolest adventure motorcycle trip photos like riding through a small river or crossing the Magdalena River in a canoe. This tour is specifically for riders that know anything can happen in the outback and are ready for the adventure no matter what happens. From our home base in Cali, Colombia Motolumbia has been running soul inspiring Motorcycle Tours and Multibrand Motorcycle Rentals since 2008. As one of the most experienced operators in South America you are guaranteed excellent service and always the newest fleet of Adventure ready Motorcycles. (Airfare not included) Must be present to win.
REV’IT! Sport USA, LLC (value $1640) REV’IT Summer Adventure Kit
REV’IT has redefined the industry standards since their introduction into the motorcycle market in 1995. It is their mission to create the most innovative, functional and stylish motorcycle apparel on the market. Countless hours of research and development goes into every garment so that you are prepared for whatever you have in mind, from braving the path less traveled. This year’s package includes the Cayenne Pro Jacket, the first step towards the perfected essence of motorcycle gear. The highly breathable single-layer construction allows for all kinds of opportunities and that one layer is equipped with all features a jacket purpose-made for adventure travel should have. The jacket is equipped with SEEFLEX CE-level 2 protectors, SEESOFT back protector, a detachable kidney belt, ventilation panels, laminated reflection and ample adjustment options The Cayenne Pro Pants, with an extremely strong and abrasion resistance outer shell, CE protectors at the knees and hips, protective leather panels and laminated reflective components, these trousers offer all safety you’ll need when traveling in warmer climates. The Schoellar-dynatec mesh panels, aero cool 3D mesh panels and ventilation panels will make sure you will remain comfortable no matter how hot it gets. Round out the package with the Cayenne Pro gloves and the REV’IT Neck Brace Adventure. Proven to help reduce neck injuries, the Neck Brace Adventure is a must for any rider, helping you take safety to the next level. Must be present to win.
Ride Brilliantly Every Day! Play your Beemer like a fiddle
Revzilla.com (value $1528) Riding Gear Package
RevZilla was founded in 2007 by a core team of riders whose sole goal was bringing the best possible shopping experience to any enthusiast who visits us, in-store or online. At RevZilla, we know that a large and rider-specific product selection is a commodity within the world of motorcycle gear and parts web sites. There is a lot of competition out there and to an extent we all have overlapping product selections. We hope our straightforward and fair customer approach differentiates us from the pack and speaks to how serious we are about putting our customer’s satisfaction as our number one priority. For us, the customer always comes first and we do our darndest to make sure that each customer has an experience which is exemplary of our brand. Must be present to win. The package includes: Rukka AirMan Jacket - The Rukka AirMan Jacket is virtually unbeatable for warm-weather riding. Constructed of Cordura AFT with AirPower Technology and equipped with a removable, breathable and waterproof Gore-Tex membrane with Outlast technology, the Airman Jacket performs in bright sunshine as well as rain. Rukka AirMan Pants - The Rukka AirMan Pants are the ultimate in 3-4 season riding. Constructed of free-flowing Cordura AFT, the AirMan Pants offer the highest level of abrasion resistance possible in a fully ventilated summer riding pant. D3O Air knee and hip protectors not only give you maximum impact protection but also allow the air to pass through them, preventing heat and moisture build up. The detachable waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex / Outlast liner not only blocks the wind and keeps you dry, but also helps regulate body temperature when the weather gets a bit colder, extending your riding season and keeping you comfortable.
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Our proven riding technology has helped thousands of riders break through to the next level! This is why Total Control was chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps to train its elite motorcycle mentors in advanced skills. Learn the secrets of Total Control at our 25+ locations. Call or click today for more info.
800.943.5638 • totalcontroltraining.net www.totalcontroltraining.com
www.rockycreekdesigns.com
Macho Picchu – Sept. 10, 2016 Bolivia - Sept. 24, 2016 Ushuaia – Nov. 18, 2016 & Feb. 10, 2017
13 years of experience organizing motorcycle tours. The largest BMW motorcycle travel company in Latin America. BMW International Travel Partner. BMW Dealer for Southern Chile. info@motoaventura.cl www.motoaventura.cl www.motoaventura.cl
Independent touring or guided tours with multilingual guide, mechanic and support vehicle.
hit the links sporting MOA gear
Nike Dri Fit White Pebble Texture Sport Shirt ‘MOA’ In these Nike Golf styles, an understated pebble texture meets high performance moisture wicking from Dri-Fit fabric that’s designed to keep you comfortably dry. Contrast Swoosh design trademark is embroidered on the left sleeve $41.01 and up MOA Ladies SoftStyle Junior Fitted Navy Tee Luxuriously soft to the touch and exceptionally comfortable, this lightweight tee is irresistible when you just want to relax, indoors or out. $12.45 and up
110 110
Black Heavyweight Twill Pro Style Hat ‘MOA Letters Only’ Classic and relaxed, this pro style hat offers a laid-back medium profile and a flexible fit that will compliment any casual fashion look. $14.82 Nike Power Distance Golf Balls 12/pkg ‘MOA’ The perfect treat for a golfer - also great for promotions or trade show giveaways! 4 sleeves of 3 golf balls (12/pkg) $27.28
Order online at bmwmoa.org
BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
www.bmwmoa.org www.bmwmoa.org
www.bullrack.com
www.cyclepump.com
www.motobins.co.uk
www.leobmwr.org
Skin protection from the first mile to the last. LDComfort’s Dual Layer fabric keeps you drier. Undergarments for serious riders. View our full line of undergarments at
www.ldcomfort.com www.LDComfort.com
1.888.642.7091
www.eagleriderpittsburgh.com
events
Door Prize Rules
MOArally
1. In your registration packet you received a series of three door prize tickets. Each ticket is numbered and must be placed correctly in the corresponding box in the door prize area. One ticket is for the new BMW Motorcycle, one is for all other Grand Prizes and the final ticket is for the daily drawings. You also have a redemption coupon which you must retain in order to claim any prize (including the grand prizes). It is your responsibility to place the ticket correctly as the boxes will not be opened to retrieve misplaced tickets. 2. Daily drawings will be held on the following schedule:
2016 Door Prize Donors Adaptiv Technologies
Innovative Balancing, LLC - Dyna Beads
ADV Motorrad
LDComfort
Allyn Air Seat Co
MotoChello
ALTRider
Michelin North America, Inc.
Autoswitch
NiteRider Technical Lighting
Atlas Throttle Lock Bike Log
Progressive International Motorcycle Shows
Bing Agency International, LLC
Piggyback Straps
Bob’s BMW
Redverz Gear
Butler Motorcycle Maps
Renedian Adventures, Ltd. Motorcycle Safaris
California Heat Centech Wiring Chase Harper, USA/Adrian Sports, Inc. Crampbuster Cima International CLASS Motorcycle Schools Diamond Gusset, LLC Dustriders DOWCO, Inc. Eagle Rider Pittsburgh EPM Performance Imports Enduristan Fiskur Leather Fontana Village Resort GSM MotoRent Guard Dog Moly Lubricants Hannigan Motorsports Haynes Publications Hedz Helmet Sunblocker
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Rever RoadRUNNER Magazine ROK Straps USA, LLC Rykel Industries Seat Concepts Sena Techologies, Inc. Sierra Electronics & Scala Rider Skene Design Sokz Sound Rider Spectro Oils of America Stop & Go International, Inc. Throttle Rocker Suburban Machinery, Inc. Vermont Amber Designs Touratech Whitehorse Gear Wolfman Luggage Works Performance Products, Inc. Z-Clear Anti-Fog
Thursday 2 PM and 4 PM Friday 12 PM and 4 PM Saturday 10 AM and 2 PM
Winning numbers will be posted near the door prize area approximately 30 minutes after each scheduled drawing. The redemption coupon must be presented to claim a prize. Each ticket is good for only one prize. 3. All door prizes must be claimed by 4 PM Saturday afternoon. Door prizes not claimed by this deadline will be forfeited. The door prize booth will close promptly at 4 PM in order to prepare for the closing ceremonies. 4. Prizes cannot be exchanged for other prizes. NO exceptions! 5. Grand Prize boxes will not be opened until Saturday evening at the Closing Ceremonies. Grand Prize tickets will be drawn from all the tickets deposited over the length of the rally. All Grand Prizes will be awarded. The requirement of “must be present to win” is at the discretion of the donor and will be announced prior to the winning ticket being drawn. 6. Winners of door prizes valued at $600 or more will be required to complete a W-9 form for tax reporting purposes before the prize can be awarded. Winners of prizes valued of $600 or more are responsible for all applicable taxes and fees. 7. Please take the time to thank the donors. Upon prize redemption, you will be presented with a post card addressed to the donor. Please write a few words of thanks so it can be returned to the donor to show our appreciation for their contribution. Our generous donors contribute a great deal to your rally. They appreciate your feedback and are more likely to contribute again in following years if we thank them. 8. Not a rule, but a recommendation, use address labels to complete your door prize information. Nothing to write so it is always legible plus it keeps the line moving quickly!
2016 Door Prize Donors All Your Motorcycle Info In One Place
bike log Baroody’s
TM
5th Edition
w w w. bi k e l o g . c om
TIRE PLUGGERS Know Before You Go! 800-747-0238
www.stopngo.com
SUBURBAN MACHINERY
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MOArally
Rally Vendors Company Name
www.day-long.com
Company Web Address
6th Gear Racing Apparel................................................... www.six-gear.com Adriatic Moto Tours............................................................. www.adriaticmototours.com ADV Motorrad....................................................................... www.advmotorrad.com Airhead Restorations.......................................................... www.airheadrestorations.com AltRider LLC............................................................................ www.altrider.com AMI Powersports.................................................................. www.amipowersports.com Angel Wings Trading .......................................................... www.angel-wings.ca Arkansas Dept of Parks & Tourism................................. www.arkansas.com/motorcycling ATLAS Throttle Lock............................................................ www.atlasthrottlelock.com Aumsville Equipment Sales.............................................. www.amerideckmidwest.com Big Ear Inc............................................................................... www.bigearinc.com Big Skinny Wallets................................................................ www.bigskinny.net Bike House Adventure ...................................................... www.bikeadventure.com Bill Mayer Saddles................................................................ www.billmayer-saddles.com Bing Agency International............................................... www.bingcarburetor.com Black Hills Moto.................................................................... www.blackhillsmoto.com Bob’s BMW.............................................................................. www.bobsbmw.com Brap Powersports................................................................. brappowersports.com Brite Ears.................................................................................. www.britears.com California Heat....................................................................... www.californiaheatllc.com Christian Motorcyclists Association.............................. www.cmausa.org Cima International............................................................... www.nolan-usa.com; www.real-rider.com Clearwater Lights................................................................. www.clearwaterlights.com Clutch Moto Tours............................................................... www.clutchmototours.com Colorado Motorcycle Adventures................................. www,coloradomotorcycleadventures.com Compass Expeditions......................................................... www.compassexpeditions.com Country Rode Motowerks................................................. www.countryrode.com Cyclops Adventure Sports................................................ www.cyclopsadventuresports.com dBPlugz.................................................................................... www.dbplugz.com Debra M. Borer, LMT............................................................ Diamond Gusset .................................................................. www.gusset.com Dimple products inc........................................................... www.drainplugmagnets.com/ EagleRider Pittsburgh........................................................ www.eagleriderpittsburgh.com Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental & Tours......................... www.FreedomBikeRental.com Edelweiss................................................................................. www.edelweissbike.com Enovative Technologies..................................................... www.epulsemassage.com EPM Performance Imports............................................... www.epmperf.com EZ Touring............................................................................... www.eztouring.com FarkleBar.com / Shonley Enterprises............................ www.FarkleBar.com FISKUR LEATHER................................................................... www.fiskurleather.com Fit-Ear........................................................................................ www.Fit-Ear.com Fred Rau Adventure Tours - Te Waipounamu............ www.fredrau.com GIVI USA................................................................................... www.giviusa.com Global Rescue........................................................................ www.globalrescue.com Graybeard Design................................................................ Gregg’s A-List......................................................................... www.greggsalist.com Hannigan Motorsports...................................................... www.hannigantrikes.com Heated 4U............................................................................... www.heatedclothing4u.com Held........................................................................................... www.heldusa.com ILIUM WORKS......................................................................... www.iliumworks.com IMS Products.......................................................................... www.imsproducts.com IMTBIKE TOURS..................................................................... www.imtbike.com Infinite Therapeutics........................................................... www.infinitymassagechairs.com
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July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
732-786-9777 www.epmperf.com
www.epmperf.com
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Discount for orders placed during and at the rally – refer to this ad.
SUSPENSION
Mono shocks • Twin shocks • ESA shocks Replacement springs for OEM shocks Lowering springs for OEM shocks Steet-Box • Telelever-Box • Steering Damper
The best return on investment:
• OEM standard shocks leaking and not rebuildable? • OEM ESA shocks are leaking and not rebuildbale? • Need new springs for OEM ESA or NON ESA shocks? • Your are tip-toing and want to lower the ride height? • You have an older bike and need new suspension on a budget? - Call the experts at EPM performance
iXS USA..................................................................................... www.ixsusa.com Jesse Luggage Systems..................................................... www.jesseluggage.com Kermit Chair Company....................................................... www.kermitchair.com Knopftours.............................................................................. www.knopftours.com LDComfort.............................................................................. www.LDComfort.com Lind Hart Mini Ship.............................................................. www.lind-hart.com Machineart Inc...................................................................... www.machineartmoto.com Main Line Overland............................................................. www.mainlineoverland.com Marty’s Detailing.................................................................. MAXMOTO.............................................................................. www.maxmoto.com Medjet...................................................................................... www.medjetassist.com Michelin................................................................................... www.michelinmotorcycle.com Mosko Moto........................................................................... www.moskomoto.com Motolombia........................................................................... www.motolombia.com MotoPumps.com.................................................................. www.motopumps.com MotoQuest............................................................................. motoquest.com Motorcycle Relief Project.................................................. www.motorelief.org Motorcycle Travel Network.............................................. www.motorcycle-travel.net Motorrad Tours Ltd.............................................................. www.motorrad-tours.com Motoxplorers......................................................................... www.motoxplorers.com NiteRider Technical Lighting........................................... www.niterider.com NO-MAR Tire Changers...................................................... www.nomartirechanger.com NPmoto.................................................................................... www.npmoto.com Original Grip Buddies......................................................... www.originalgripbuddies.com Peru Motors............................................................................ www.perumotors.com Redverz Gear......................................................................... www.redverz.com Reevu USA.............................................................................. www.reevu.com Rescue Tape/ Harbor Products........................................ www.rescuetape.com Rev’it Sport USA................................................................... www.revitusa.com RIDE IN TOURS....................................................................... www.ride-in-tours.com Riders of the Sierra Madre................................................ www.ridethesierra.com RKA............................................................................................ www.RKA-Luggage.com RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel............... www.roadrunner.travel Rox Speed FX, Inc................................................................. www.roxspeedfx.com RTW Moto Tours, LLC.......................................................... www.rtwmototours.com Sama Tours............................................................................. www.samatours.co.za SARGENT Cycle Products.................................................. www.sargentcycle.com Schuberth .............................................................................. www.schuberth.com Seat Concepts....................................................................... www.seatconcepts.com Sena Technologies Inc........................................................ www.sena.com Sierra Electronics.................................................................. www.sierra-mc.com Skene Design......................................................................... www.lights.skenedesign.com Spectro Oils of America..................................................... www.spectro-oils.com Spiegler Performance Parts............................................. www.spieglerusa.com Suburban Machinery, Inc.................................................. www.suburban-machinery.com TCX USA................................................................................... www.ridetcxboots.com TecMate North America..................................................... www.tecmate.com Ted’s Beemer Shop.............................................................. www.beemershop.com Touratech USA....................................................................... www.touratech-usa.com Tri State Butt Buffer............................................................. www.tristatebuttbuffer.com Twisted Throttle.................................................................... www.twistedthrottle.com Uni-Go Trailers/Schoolhouse M.C. Acc......................... www.unigotrailers.com Venture Heated Clothing.................................................. www.ventureheat.com Vermont Amber Designs................................................... WheelDock............................................................................. www.wheeldock.com Wunderlich America........................................................... www.wunderlichamerica.com Z Clear inc............................................................................... www.z-clear.com ZTechnik.................................................................................. www.ztechnik.com
event
MOArally
The 2016 Das Rally Bike Display RIDERS
ATTENDING
THE
2016
BMWMOA International Rally will have a chance to show their motorcycles to other rally-goers in a special display on Saturday, July 16. If you’d like to show off the depth of your paint, the gleam of your chrome , the chicken-strips on your tires or even the mud on your GS, this is your chance. A special display area will be designated, and bikes will be divided into one of several classes. Awards for 1st, 2nd & 3rd in each of the nine classes will be determined by event attendees who view the display.
www.ayresadventures.com
Classes will be: • BMW Pre-1970 BMW’s • BMW Airheads 1970 & newer • BMW Oilheads (air & water cooled) • BMW K & S Model Bikes • BMW F & C Model Bikes • BMW GS’s (air, oil & water cooled) • BMW Sidecars & Trikes • BMW Custom & Café • BMW Youth class (For machines displayed and ridden by entrants younger than 25 years of age. The Youth class is intended to get younger riders involved in MOA activities. Registration will be on Saturday morning at the Rally). www.redverz.com
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
www.ceebaileys.com/cycle
July 2016  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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event
fromtheboard
BMW MOA Open Session Minutes Kansas City, Missouri • April 16, 2016 PRESENT: President Chuck Manley, Vice President Jackie Hughes, Secretary Muriel Farrington, Treasurer Wes Fitzer, Directors Jean Excell, Greg Feeler, Vance Harrelson, Bill Hooykaas and Executive Director Bob Aldridge. ABSENT: Director Stan Herman; Vance holds his proxy. STAFF: Managing Editor Bill Wiegand, Business Development Manager Ken Engelman, Membership and Marketing Director Ted Moyer. MOA FOUNDATION: George Rice, Peter Perrin, Mark Austin, Greg Straub, and Eric Simon. 2016 RALLY CHAIRS: Kate Lammers, Dutch Lammers. MEMBERS: Julie Manley.
The meeting was called to order at 1:01 p.m. by Chuck Manley, President. Chuck welcomed those in attendance and explained the afternoon’s proceedings.
Secretary’s Report – Muriel Farrington No report.
Treasurer’s report – Wes Fitzer
Our investment account stood at $601,846.40 as of close of business yesterday. This shows a slight increase in value due to the market. We have seen an increase of about $40,000 since the first of the year. We are in excess of our long-term liabilities.
Executive Director’s Report – Bob Aldridge
Operations Report: Membership trended down a little in January, February, and March, but that is normal for this time of year. We stand at just shy of 34,000 members. Ted added that we have a goal of 1,000 new members/month and no more than 600 expiring embers per month, which would equal 5,000 new members a year. We’re not there yet, but that is what we’re working for. Retention is absolutely our most important process. Revenue as of the end of February:
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BMW OWNERS NEWS July 2016
Advertising Membership Events/other Total Income budget
Budget
Actual
To Budget
$127,365 $154,589 39,500 $321,754
$172,118 157,793 53,393 $383,305
+$44,753 +3,204 + 13,893 +$61,551
ON Anonymous Book NSD Total COG
$97,000 $300 $12,000 $109,300
$98,519 0 $27,370 $125,888
-$1,519 +$300 +13,893 -16,588
Net Results Revenue COGS Operations Total P&L
$321,754 109,300 217,976 $-5,522
$383,305 125,888 221,576 $35,841
+$61,551 -16,588 -3,600 +41,363
Our financial situation is looking good.
Business Development – Ken Engelman
New Advertising: Klim, My Weego Our Dealer Partners are ready to promote the BMW MOA. They currently include SoCal DAG, NoCal DAG, New Century BMW, Max’s BMW, BMW of Dulles, Hourglass BMW, BMW of Austin, and Cross Country BMW. Our Advertising Partners are willing to send out our marketing materials. There are too many to list here. Member Benefits: We currently have over 70 member benefits, with a current listing on our website at www.bmwmoa.org. Ken expects that number to grow to 100 by our next in-person board meeting. • KOA - He thanked Tom Gerken from Maine for pointing Ken to KOA Kampgrounds, resulting in a new member benefit of a year’s free KOA membership. A flyer that tells how to get your free membership will go out with the May ON. • Pilot/Flying J discount is about to launch for 3 cents off per gallon of gasoline and diesel. We are eligible for all in-store promotional deals. Go to Pilotflyingj.com to view the complete Flying J location list. Ken will check about how this applies in Canada. • Motorrad Oil Program – Advantec Oil. Make appointment for oil change, buy three quarts and filter and get one free • Office Depot/Office Max – rebate and member benefit, individual or businesses.
And we are currently working on many more, including wellness-oriented benefits. Chuck added that we first started talking about growing member benefits in January, 2014. Up to then we offered only a couple discounts. To put this list together in a little over two years took a ton of effort. All members can find something for them that would equal their cost of membership. We need to get the word out to members. Ken has done an outstanding job. Ken asked members to let him know immediately if a code or link doesn’t work (ken@bmwmoa.org). Recent activity • Increased support from BMW Motorrad, area managers and dealer principals. • Attended MotoGP and the Handbuilt Show to seek new opportunities. Our target market flocks to these events. • Target Advertisers - Continental Tires - Dairyland Insurance - Expeditionportal.com - Montebelle Sleeping Bags - Exofficio Clothing, Nemo Tents Membership opportunities (who’s a member) • i-bmw.com • bmwspporttouring.com • vintagebmw.org • ibmwr.org • k-bikes.com Club growth goals will be reached if we: • Educate every BMW motorcycle owner in America on the true value of being a part of our fun and rewarding BMW MOA community • Inspire every current BMW MOA member to motivate all non-members to join in person, online and socially. We have a new Prospect Database Contest which is partnered with RawHyde and is currently live. Enter your email address and contact information – 1st prize is for RawHyde Adventures and 2nd prize is a Rallye suit. This is a unique link. Media Scorecard – We are up to 136 pages in the ON, with 35.6% advertising; this is within our proscribed boundaries. We have attained on time delivery in November and January through April and expect to be on time in May.
Managing Editor’s Report – Bill Wiegand
Media Scorecard On time Jan-May (The May issue is expected to be in member mailboxes by May 1.) Page count is going up along with the advertising percentage. Discovery Series We are launching a new series featuring different regions around North America and will be engaging with members who live there, including riding with them to their favorite spots. The first feature will be about Birmingham which will be in the May issue. Watch for eBooks – on Facebook Wes Fleming is working on blogs and an ON archive. Hurdles: • Meeting the diverse interests of our readers – learning how to serve all our members. • Dependency on “traditional” contributors. • Re-evaluation of ON focus to instead build upon pillars: - Features - Member profiles - Member tested tech - Photography Coming attractions • MotoAmerica coverage • Bob’s BMW sponsoring an MOA member racer • Jeremy Cook taking us with him as he experiences MotoAmerica • Discovery Series continues with Virginia, Seattle, Wisconsin, Colorado
Membership and Marketing - Ted Moyer
Our new Member Marketplace is up and running, replacing Panjo. We have 500+ listings in 45 days’ time. This is now less complicated and is working well. Panjo was really cool, but just wasn’t a good fit. Panjo is still available for those who want to use it. Results Shout out • Chris “Million Dollar Baby” Hughes. • Wes “Don’t call me Bill Wiegand” Flaming – new digital editor; recruited people to run blog, provide content. • Karin Halker – offering to pick up slack in many other areas. • Lesa Howard – assumed most of business side – really great work. • Amanda Faraj – member advocate supreme. • Ray “Gilligan” Tubbs – Bob’s little buddy – does anything the chief (Bob) needs. They are all doing a great job.
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2016 Rally – Dutch and Kate Lammers
The rally will be here in about 90 days – Dutch heard some wisdom yesterday to put nervousness when running a rally into perspective: It’s going to start, and it’s going to finish. • All committee positions are filled • Everyone here has preregistered for the rally, right? 900 attendees have so far. This is 50% higher than at this time last year. • RV registration is up about 30 percent (we have 200 sites). • Vendor registrations is currently down a little bit from this time last year. • Entertainment will be awesome. Eight out of nine performers are locked in, and the other just needs a bit of work on the wording. • A 2016 BMW R 1200 RS will be the main door prize. • Logistics guys are doing great work – showers (32 heads / two trailers), porta potties, radios, golf carts contracts are all in place. • Special trips – The brewery tour is by motor coach. Niagara Falls Tour – live online – both sides of border – includes ride on Maid of the Mist. Bring your passport. Register directly with tour company from our website. • Catering – on site, at casino, and the racetrack. Different dinners have been arranged (ON, ambassadors, volunteer appreciation dinners). • Thanks to Foundation for sponsoring our headliner, Paul Thorn’s Saturday night concert. • GS Giant course – We are working this weekend to design the course. It will be in the vicinity of the camping area. • There will be a Special Night at Racetrack (harness racing). • Casino Manager wants to arrange a partnership. • Beer Garden is all set. • Wine Garden – will be a separate area.
Operations – Jackie Hughes
We are working on: • Policies and Procedures Update • Improvement in reporting to membership on status of club. Wes: In an effort to relate the financial status of the club to
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membership in a less limited space in the ON, after 2015 audit is complete, we will put together a more traditional statement of finances along with a narrative of what we are doing within the club – more like a stockholder’s report. This would be a supplement in the ON. We will include more information on committees, who is on the committees, and messages from the Executive Director. We expect this will be available around the September ON mailing. Dutch asked about “the why?” We aren’t buying a product . . . Bob: We are incorporated in the State of California as a nonprofit. A new law requires us to produce an annual report to our members. Members are not stockholders, but we are bound by the laws of California. We want to do this in a manner that will better inform our members. George: We are members, we pay our dues, and we elect our directors who appoint our officers. It is good to keep our members well informed through transparency.
Volunteers – Chuck Manley for Stan Herman
Regional Coordinator Program: We filled the vacancy in the Northwest; Jim Keessee applied and has been approved for that area. He’s out of Spokane. The RCs have been having monthly phone calls. Ray Tubbs has taken over to help coordinate that effort by scheduling calls; he is the go to guy for RC needs. We started this program a year ago with an ad for volunteers; we’ve accomplished a lot.
Events – Vance Harrelson
The Getaway season is about to kick off for 2016 starting in Fontana (4th one); we cut off attendance at 200, which is about the maximum for the resort. We held four events last year, and we are up to nine at this point in time. Other Getaways include: • Muskoka, Ontario May 27-29 • Eureka Springs, Arkansas August 19-21 • Pineville, Kentucky September 9-11 • Coeur d’Alene, Idaho September 16-18 • Southwestern Utah September 23-25 • Colorado Springs, Colorado September 30 – October 2 • Black River Falls, Wisconsin, September 30-October 2 • Marble Falls, Texas November 18-20 Other Announcements: • The BMW MOA will help celebrate BMW’s 100th anniversary. Jackie is facilitating. BMW was first incorporated on March 7, 1916 in Munich. We will be participating in celebrations in Monterey, California, on August 26-28 in conjunction with CCA Car Week on 2nd weekend. There is a lot to do out there. We will be at the Monterey Tides Hotel, where we’ll hold a
Friday night beach party and bonfire. Registration opens in May; the fee is yet to be determined. This event will be smaller than a typical Getaway. • The 2017 BMW MOA International Rally will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 13-15.
www.machineartmoto.com
Peter Perrin asked about the purpose of Getaways: Vance said they are more intimate events and are hotel-based, so spouses can participate. These are morphing into a different model. We thought we’d draw from a 500-mile radius, but found people are coming from greater distances. These events are also turning into a member recruiting tool. Lots of members attending say this is their first event. Greg then asked what we do to attract younger riders.
www.calif-motorcyclerental.com
MOA Foundation Report – George Rice
www.perumotors.com
We met with Dutch and Kate about the rally and the Foundation’s needs, and it was a very productive meeting. Thank you. This year’s GEARS program planning is well underway. We hope to get 24 participants, and seven have already registered. We have Dirt Bike Tech coming again from Minnesota. Sessions will run two days, including the classroom portion as well. GEARS will run Monday p.m. through Wednesday. We are implementing a curriculum which can be re-used. The Foundation appreciates the work that Peter Perrin has put into this. The program will be a test for us, depending on how well we do, including follow through with what you suggested in January to start a campaign to raise money for GEARS so the program can continue in an expanded way in the future. If we do well, we can
www.beemershop.com
fromtheboard
brag about that to solicit backing. We have a letter set to go to Ambassadors in an appeal, followed by a letter to Charter Clubs with the same request, with the purpose of keeping GEARS going in the future. All we do at the Foundation is run GEARs – we support other programs elsewhere like the Paul B. Scholarship and Rider Performance University (RPU). Greg Straub, Eric Simon and Deb Lower have been the Paul B. Scholarship committee. This year we have budgeted $24,500 for that program. This money includes $7,000 carried over from last year. Out of this total, $7,500 has been reserved for group training. The Groups funding won’t be $250/ person; more details on this will be forthcoming. We have asked the Regional Coordinators to get together with their dealers and chartered clubs to see if those organizations would support training at a location of their choosing, using our model. These events would consist of one day of riding only. MOAF would finance the program as we do now, but the coordinators would put a package together with the dealer and a couple chartered clubs in the area. We want to push this out in the field where people wouldn’t have to go so far to take advantage of this program. Our goal initially is to find two or three locations, hopefully starting this fall. Peter Schmidt is now our treasurer and with Ted Moyer as our Director they are doing our banking online, sharing information and providing regular financial reports. We have some raffles scheduled and we’ll be sponsoring the entertainment on Saturday night at the rally. • Tupelo Blue at Niagara Falls: Lee Harrelson worked with the Foundation and Paul Thorn to come up with a program to create a Paul Thorn CD. Paul granted us the right to create a greatest hits CD, asking us what ten songs we wanted.
www.twistedthrottle.com/bmw-legend
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Lee came up with ten best songs for the CD Tupelo Blue at Niagara Falls. Paul wants the profits to go to the Foundation as a charitable cause. Paul will autograph the CDs, and we are charged a very small royalty. This program will be announced in the May ON. Paul is available to do other programs as well. Sales of the CDs will be this year’s campaign kick-off. • Paul will let us award the rally bike Saturday night. This will be a Wunderlich bike, with the raffle running from May 1 to June 30 for $25.00/ ticket. • We should also have at the rally the Twisted Throttle XR bike. This bike will hopefully race the Pikes Peak Hill Climb; we are currently wait-listed right now for the Pike’s Peak race with Tom Montna contracted to ride it. Raffle tickets for this bike will be sold from August 1 – September 30. • Our third raffle will be an R 90 S – a Chris Canterbury 100-point restoration. The tentative dates for this raffle are December 1-January 30. The front half of the funding will be for GEARS, and the back half will be building on it. We have been spending time ensuring the legality of the raffles in all states. OTHER BUSINESS: None
Chuck recognized the outgoing board members, saying this is their last in-person full board meeting: Greg, Muriel, Vance and Chuck will all be leaving the Board in July. Chuck also recognized the fact that Bob Aldridge has completed his third year as Executive Director and thanked him for all his time and efforts in putting the MOA in a better position.
See what she looks like with her clothes on.
Last, but not least, Chuck thanked his wife Julie for letting Chuck come play with his friends. FUTURE MEETING DATES
Committees: Volunteers has a conference call on the 2nd Monday of the month perations has a conference call on the O 3rd Monday of the month vents has a conference call on the 3rd E Wednesday of the month he Board has a conference call on the T last Wednesday of month There being no further business, Greg moved the meeting be adjourned, Bill seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. CDT. Respectfully submitted, Muriel Farrington, Secretary
The Pikes Peak S1000XR build www.twistedthrottle.com/s1000xr TwistedThrottle.com/S1000XR July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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On The Level
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July 1
7/3/2016 – 7/24/2016
Sisters Centennial Motorcycle Ride
Location: Brooklyn, New York Contact: Alisa Clickenger alisa@womensmotorcycletours.com Starts in Brooklyn, NY and ends across the country in San Francisco, CA following the route of the Van Buren Sisters.
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7/10/2016 – 7/13/2016
Location: Siegel, Pennsylvania Contact: Tracy Novacich tracy@novacich.com Join us as we go back to the BIGinning - back to our roots in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania! This is where the trail magic started, back in 2011 when seventy five people took a chance on a brand new event, showing up without knowing anyone in advance. By the end of the week, life-long friendships were formed and the GS Giants charter club was born. More info and register at www.gsgiants.com.
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Bighorn Stampede
GS Giant’s Gypsy Tour Back to the BIGinning
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7/7/2016 – 7/9/2016
Location: Burgess Junction, Wyoming Contact: ederdg1@gmail.com If you missed it last year and can’t make the National, be sure to be at the Bear Lodge for another big time. More info and register at www.gsgiants.com.
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Detailed information for all events is available online at:
7/12/2016 – 7/13/2016
GEARS Training at Das Rally
Location: Hamburg, New York Contact: Peter Perrin peterpldma@4000e.com GEARS Training returns for the MOA’s youngest members. The BMW MOA Foundation will offer free riding instruction for 24 students at the Erie County Fairgrounds.
bmwmoa.org
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7/13/2016
Ambassador Dinner at Das Rally
Location: Hamburg, New York Contact: ldeborah@comcast.net The annual gathering of BMW MOA Ambassadors. Cash bar begins at 5pm. Buffet
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dinner at 6pm. $25 per person must be paid in advance.
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7/14/2016 – 7/17/2016
2016 BMW MOA International Rally
Location: Hamburg, New York Contact: Kate and Dutch Lammers, 2016rallychairs@bmwmoa.org There is so much to see and do in the Western New York and the Great Lakes Regions. A short ride in any direction will net a wonderful destination. To the west, beautiful Woodlawn beach on the shores of Lake Erie beckons. To the north is Niagara Falls (need we say more?) and the revitalized city of Buffalo with its beautiful new waterfront, theatre district, renowned dining and fabulous architecture. Venture east and visit the charming village of East Aurora on your way to the scenic Finger Lakes region and Letchworth State Park. Just to the south are roads that will take you through the picturesque ski areas of Ellicottville and Springville.
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7/15/2016 – 7/17/2016
Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Adventure Travelers Event Location: Grant, Colorado Contact: Grant & Susan Johnson susan@horizonsunlimited.com Whether you’re a seasoned veteran with wisdom to share or a complete novice hungry for ideas and guidance, Horizons Unlimited Meetings are for everyone who dreams of adventure along the road less traveled.
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7/21/2016 – 7/24/2016
44th Annual Cascade Country Rendezvous Location: Republic, Washington Contact: www.wsbmwr.org Held at the Ferry County Fairgrounds in Republic Washington, we have fabulous paved and off-pavement riding, great camping, good food and camaraderie.
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Rally
7/21/2016 – 7/24/2016
45th Annual Top O’ the Rockies
Location: Paonia, Colorado Contact: Matthew Baroody - Rally Master BMWMCC topotherockies@bmwmcc.org (720) 560-3784 Riding is why we come, and some of the best roads in the state are nearby including, Hwys. 133, 65 and 92, rated as the most technical in Colorado. Enjoy hundreds of miles of adventure riding as well as three nearby National Parks. There are wine tours, hiking, a beer garden, vendors and live music.
August 10
8/5/2016 – 8/7/2016
21st Annual Damn Yankees Rally
Location: Heath, Massachusetts Contact: Bill Cusack, bcusack@comcast.net Join us for our annual flagship event, where all proceeds are donated to local charities. Located in beautiful Heath, MA, the 21st annual Damn Yankees Rally is rustic camping at one of New England’s oldest operating fairgrounds.
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8/5/2016 – 8/7/2016
North Coast Campout
Location: Sandusky, Ohio Contact: Delbert S. 419-206-6749 beemerdude57@hotmail.com Low key fun at the Crystal Rock Campground with the BMW Riders of Toledo. Tent or RV camping with Friday night chili and Saturday potluck dinner.
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8/6/2016
17th Annual 100,000 Foot Ride
Location: Morrison, Colorado Contact: Carl Thomte rcarloski@msn.com The 100,000 Foot Ride combines some of the best motorcycle roads and stunning scenery Colorado has to offer and includes both paved and dirt routes with the total mileage for either route being less than 500 miles. For more information and to register online visit www.bmwmcc.org.
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8/11/2016 – 8/14/2016
2016 Stanley Stomp
Location: Grandjean, Idaho Contact: Mark Whaley registrar@coolpaw.net Grandjean is at the gateway to the Sawtooth Wilderness Area with incredible riding destinations in every direction. There are some backwoods amenities – the site is located at the Sawtooth Lodge which features a heated pool, shower houses, several bathrooms with flush toilets, two meadows for camping, cabins available and natural hot springs within walking distance.
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8/12/2016 – 8/14/2016
34th Annual Huskerally
Location: Franklin, Nebraska Contact: Jayney Solo jayneysolo@cox.net or call 402-676-1739 Nestled in the beautiful Republican Valley of south central Nebraska, the Nightriders offer a weekend of great food and fun. Meet others who share your love of the open road, good company, shaded camping, hot showers and the best rally food.
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8/12/2016 – 8/14/2016
39th Annual Daniel Boone Rally
Location: Boone, North Carolina Contact: John Olsakovsky rally@carolinasbmwmoa.org The Carolina BMW Motorcycle Owners Association invites you to join us again for great roads, hospitality and camaraderie in the cool North Carolina mountain air.
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8/18/2016 – 8/21/2016
17th Beartooth Rendezvous
Location: Red Lodge, Montana Contact: Gary Smith, registrar@ beartoothbeemers.org or call 406-259-4927. Join us at the Lions Camp, ten miles south of Red Lodge, Montana. Ample camping and cabins available with a mountain stream nearby.
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8/18/2016 – 8/21/2016
Nakusp Hotsprings Rally
Location: Nakusp, British Columbia Contact: Grant Fengstad at grant@
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fengstad.ca or visit nakusprally2016@ beeceebeemers.com Reconnect with old friends and ride some of the most scenic twisties in the northwest at our 15th visit to Nakusp, British Columbia. Enjoy the hospitality of the nicest small town in BC.
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8/19/2016 – 8/21/2016
Four Winds 50th Anniversary Rally, Pennsylvania Location: Fairmount City, Pennsylvania Contact: www.4windsbmw.org Join us as we celebrate our 50th Annual Rally, the longest consecutive BMW rally in North America, in Scenic Western, Pennsylvania.
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Alaska Motorcycle Adventures
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14th Annual Return to Trenton Rally
Model specific tool kits that are comprehensive & compact. Industry leading USA Made Tools with Lifetime Warranty. You will always have the peace of mind of being prepared for emergency roadside repairs & routine maintenance. Includes hard to find and expensive BMW specific tools for your bike & heavy duty Tool Roll. BMW R1200GS/GSA/RT/S/R, F800/650GS Twin, R1150GS/A, F650GS Single, KTM’s, V-Strom, Super Tenere, Tiger 800, Explorer & many others. Many More Products www.advdesigns.com On Our Website
8/19/2016 – 8/21/2016
Lime Rockz Rally
8/19/2016 – 8/21/2016
MOA Getaway Eureka Springs, Arkansas
www.vtbmwmov.org/rally
Location: Eureka Springs, Arkansas Contact: Melissa Coller or Steve Kronberger mlcrn5358@gmail.com There’s a reason people love to come here! The Eureka Springs story began well over 100 years ago with tales of miraculous healing from 63 mineral springs gushing from a rocky wilderness. Today, Eureka Springs will refresh you as the authentic “America’s Victorian Village.”
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Location: Lakeville, Connecticut Contact: John Shields jjshields01@cox.net Rally on a Racetrack! Camp out under a canopy of trees overlooking one of the most beautiful race courses in the East and arise to the hum of the Skip Barber Race Series Formula cars on the track.
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8/19/2016 – 8/21/2016
Location: Trenton, Ontario Contact: Cheryl Gzik, prez@ltbmwr.ca Come to Centennial Park on the shores of Lake Ontario in Trenton, Ontario, for the 14th Annual Return to Trenton Rally!
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8/19/2016 – 8/21/2016
Rockmor - The Rocky Mountain Oyster Rally Location: Buena Vista, Colorado Contact: Bex Becker bexxer@mac.com You’ll have a top box load of happy braaaping, laughing, challenging, cavorting, mind-bending, tasting, illuminating, aerobraking, fishtailing, exhilarating, storytelling, fellowshipping and comradering! (ok we just made up that last word!) More info and register at www.gsgiants.com
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8/25/2016 – 8/28/2016
Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Adventure Travellers Event Location: Panorama Resort Naksup, British Columbia Canada Contact: Grant & Susan Johnson susan@horizonsunlimited.com Whether you’re a seasoned veteran with wisdom to share or a complete novice hungry for ideas and guidance, Horizons Unlimited Meetings are for everyone who dreams of adventure along the road less traveled.
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8/26/2016 – 8/28/2016
MOA Getaway Monterey
Location: Monterey, California Contact: Jackie Hughes (864) 438-0962 To celebrate 100 years of BMW, the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America will host a special Premier Getaway this August in beautiful Monterey, California.
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8/26/2016 – 8/28/2016
6th Annual BMW Vintage Bike Days Location: Owosso, Michigan Contact: Shawn Davis 517-290-5898 skimedic9632@yahoo.com This year the event moves from the farm to Downtown Owosso. Featuring vintage and cafe style bikes.
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8/26/2016 – 8/28/2016
20th Galena Campout
Location: Galena, Illinois Contact: Douglas Rost 847-217-9194 illinoisbmwriders@gmail.com Set amongst the beautiful rolling hills of Northern Illinois, just minutes from the mighty Mississippi River is the family friendly Palace Campgrounds.
September 27
9/2/2016 – 9/5/2016
42nd Finger Lakes Rally
Location: Watkins Glen, New York Contact: rally@fingerlakesbmw.org www.fingerlakesbmw.org Located 3 miles west of Watkins Glen, NY just off Route 329 in Watkins Glen State Park, it is the perfect base to come and experience the many touring opportunities in one of the most scenic areas of New York State.
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9/2/2016 – 9/5/2016
Range of Light Gypsy Tour
Location: Orland, California Contact: rolchair@bmwnorcal.org Range of Light Gypsy Tour BMW Club of Northern California MOA #9 Sponsored by the BMW Club of Northern California, it’s a traveling tour! Joins us on the best riding and camping tour in the West.
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9/8/2016 – 9/11/2016
Wailin’ Wayne Weekend
Location: New Straitsville, Ohio Contact: Chad Warner thewigllc@gmail.com The three W’s stand for Wowie Wow Wow! That’s what the riding is like in the Wayne Forest. More info and register at www. gsgiants.com.
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9/9/2016 – 9/11/2016
34th Green Mountain Rally
Location: Goshen, Vermont Contact: Dan Walton rally@vtbmwmov.org In the midst of the Green Mountains, once again enjoy the best home cooking, great
Vermont self-guided tours, live bluegrass music, door prizes and more. For more information, visit www.vtbmwmov.org.
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9/9/2016 – 9/11/2016
MOA Getaway Pineville, Kentucky
Location: Pineville, Kentucky Contact: Vance Harrelson alabeemer@gmail.com The MOA will host another great MOA Getaway at the Pine Mountain State Resort Park on Sept. 9-11, 2016. This beautiful state park will be the base of operations for all the amazing riding and great exploring to be done in the area.
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9/9/2016 – 9/11/2016
Bavarian Mountain Weekend
Location: Sipapu, New Mexico Contact: David Hudson rally@loebmwr.org or call 505-890-8972 Join us for the 32nd Bavarian Mountain Weekend Rally sponsored by the Land of Enchantment BMW Riders in Sipapu, NM, located 25 miles SE of Taos, NM on state highway 518.
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9/9/2016 – 9/11/2016
Wisconsin Dells Rally
Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Contact: Sharon Ernest or Brian Manke, 2016dellsrally@gmail.com The Wisconsin BMW Club invites you to RALLY FOR A REASON, at our new location Camp Wawbeek , an Easter Seals Camp located on HWY 13 Wisconsin Dells WI.
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Rally
9/9/2016 – 9/11/2016
40th Anniversary R100RS Rider’s
Location: Three Rivers, California Contact: Jim Wilson, vinceotter@prodigy.net Come ride California’s fine Sierra. Honoring the famed BMW R100RS on it’s 40th Anniversary to be held in Central Calif., Sept 9 – 11, 2016 in conjunction with the Sequoia Rally of the Sierra. ALL interested in Airheads are welcome to attend this rally. Beautiful riding near Kings Canyon and Yosemite NP.
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9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
Klassic K Kampout IX
Location: Cruso, North Carolina Contact: Greg Hunt 864-357-8896 klassickbmw@gmail.com or call Come and enjoy the great riding around the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Very close to “The Dragon”, Cherohala Skyway, Shady Valley and too many other great roads to list. The rally is also very close to the Wheels Through Time Museum. For over 30 years the K bikes have been a reliable mainstay of the BMW motorcycle experience. 9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
36 7th Annual Ride the Blue Ridge Location: Morgantown, North Carolina Contact: Gene Smith rallymaster@knobbies.org or call 828-439-9754 We are happy to invite you to the 7th Annual RIDE the BLUE RIDGE with the Knob Mountain NC Motorcycle Chapter (Knobbies). The rally site is Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton, NC. There is easy access to Interstate 40, and the best riding in the southeastern United States, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Snake, the Dragon, and many more roads that have not yet been “named”.
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9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
MOA Getaway Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Location: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Contact: Jackie Hughes galuprider@yahoo.com Located in northern Idaho, this lakefront resort offers five-star amenities in a beautifully rugged setting. Join us in the beautiful Red Lion Templin’s Hotel on the River, where comfortable luxury meets outdoor adventure and guests enjoy premium ACCOMMODATIONS and plush AMENITIES in a beautifully scenic location. 9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
38 Autumn Beemer Bash
www.euromotoelectrics.com
Location: Quincy, California Contact: bashinfo@comcast.net or call 925-443-2070 Famous CCBR coffee, beer garden, two nights camping w/early camping available,
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event
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Saturday night BBQ, two continental breakfasts, GS ride, poker run, vendors, and speakers.
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9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
Twin Valley Rally
Location: Meadows of Dan, Virginia Contact: Seth Pagani twinvalleyrally@gmail.com Willville is located right in the middle of some of the finest motorcycle roads in the state. In the seven years that we have been putting on this rally, we believe it has earned the reputation for being one of the best anywhere.
find. Soon judges were recruited to decide the “best” hat.
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9/22/2016 – 9/25/2016
Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Adventure Travelers Event Location: Yosemite, California Contact: Grant & Susan Johnson susan@horizonsunlimited.com Whether you’re a seasoned veteran with wisdom to share or a complete novice hungry for ideas and guidance, Horizons Unlimited Meetings are for everyone who dreams of adventure along the road less traveled. 9/23/2016 – 9/25/2016
40
9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
Dinky Dozen BMW Motorcycle Club Campout Location: Pontiac, Illinois Contact: Sharon Fulks myers.sharon@comcast.net or call (309) 828-0918 Camp, ride and fellowship with the Dinks. Check out more details and any updates on the Dinky Dozen Facebook page
41
9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
Tug Hill Tounout
Location: Lowville, New York Contact: John O’Hara 315-245-3453 blhawk2@gmail.com Please join Long Level Beemers at this unique, rustic park with its’ pristine waterfalls and river gorge a short hike from your campsite.
42
9/16/2016 – 9/18/2016
Whackey Hat Campout
Location: Jamaica, Vermont Contact: John Van Hook jvanhook@comcast.net This year we are returning to our roots by returning to Jamaica State Park in Jamaica, Vermont. The Whackey Hat is the last official Yankee Beemer campout of the season. In its first year the YBs didn’t let a bit of rain spoil the fun so in a fit of PMS (parked motorcycle syndrome) the attendees started crafting hats out of whatever they could
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44 30th Annual Hoosier Beemer Rally Location: North Vernon, Indiana Contact: Jeff Kernen jrkernen@yahoo.com Come ride southeastern Indiana and experience some of the best roads in the Midwest!
45
9/23/2016 – 9/25/2016
13th Annual Thunder Mountain Rendezvous Location: Hotchkiss, Colorado Contact: Gary Campbell gcampbell44@ yahoo.com or call 970-210-2604 Come join us at the Delta County Fairgrounds in downtown Hotchkiss on Color weekend on the Western Slope of Colorado.
46
9/23/2016 – 9/25/2016
34th Annual Last Chance Rally
Location: Buena, New Jersey Contact: Peter J. Lisko Jr. pjliskojr@verizon. net or call 856-589-7015 Shaded camp sites, cabins and local hotels to accommodate your travel preference. Enjoy a relaxing weekend of field events, riding destinations, awards, comradery and sumptuous food.
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9/23/2016 – 9/25/2016
MOA Getaway St. George, Utah
Location: St. George, Utah Contact: Jackie Hughes, jhughes@ bmwmoa.org St. George is located about 40 miles south of Cedar City, slightly closer to the Grand
Canyon and even closer to Zion than Cedar City is. It offers more options for dining and shopping for those who so desire. There is still easy access to the other National Parks in the area.
48
9/30/2016 – 10/2/2016
2016 Rams Rally
Location: Parker’s Crossroads, Tennessee Contact: www.bmwrams.com/the-rams-rally The Rider’s Association of The Mid-South (The RAMS) invites you to join us for the RAMS Rally in Parker’s Crossroads, Tennessee.
49
9/30/2016 – 10/1/2016
MOA Getaway Colorado Springs, Colorado
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Contact: Stan Herman hermanhaus1@msn. com or call (719) 250-4358 Come visit one of America’s greatest towns with Pikes Peak and spectacular riding at your door step. Colorado Springs is a motorcyclist’s dream town.
50
9/30/2016 – 10/2/2016
MOA Getaway Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Location: Black River Ralls, Wisconsin Contact: Sue Rihn sue@beemerhill.com Early Fall means beautiful color in the western edge of Wisconsin. The air turns slightly cooler, the days get a little shorter and the fun is just beginning. Join us for the inaugural Getaway Weekend in Black River Falls.
51
9/30/2016 – 10/2/2016
Tellico Mountain Rally
Location: Tellico Plains, Tennessee Contact: Greg Crays gsgrog@gmail.com 727-418-5452 Rally includes dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, bonfires both nights and numerous door prizes. Advance registration is $40 ($45 at the rally). Contact registrar Larry Myers at LDMYERS365@HUGHES.NET or 423-3095929. Rally registration form may be downloaded at: www.bmwroc.com.
52
9/30/2016 – 10/2/2016
24th Annual Purity Springs Rally
Location: New Hampshire Contact: Tim Tregea ttregea@comcast.net You’re invited to join us for our “do nothing” rally in the White Mountains of NH where you can ride, share some laughs, make new friends and continue to dazzle your old friends with tales of your riding expertise. Visit our website at www.gsbmwr.org.
October 53
10/6/2016 – 10/9/2016
Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Adventure Travellers Event Location: Stecoah, North Carolina Contact: Grant & Susan Johnson susan@horizonsunlimited.com Whether you’re a seasoned veteran with wisdom to share or a complete novice hungry for ideas and guidance, Horizons Unlimited Meetings are for everyone who dreams of adventure along the road less traveled.
54
10/7/2016 – 10/9/2016
Colonial Virginia Rally
Location: Lenexa, Virginia Contact: Carol Beals cebeals@gmail.com or call 757-287-5594 Tour rally site is the Rockahock Campground just a little north of Williamsburg and just outside of the Historical Triangle of VA. Many wonderful historical sites (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) are close by with great riding roads.
55
10/7/2016 – 10/9/2016
41st Falling Leaf Rally
Location: Potosi, Missouri Contact: bmwfallingleaf@yahoo.com Experience the spectacular roads and beautiful scenery of the Missouri Ozarks at the 41st Falling Leaf Rally. Join the Gateway Riders at the Washington County Fairgrounds for one of the last weekends of the season. Good friends, unmatched riding, great rally.
56
10/13/2016 – 10/16/2016
AIM EXPO USA
Location: Orlando, Florida Contact: AIMExpo (949) 517-7501 Don’t miss the fun! AIMExpo is a one-of-akind motorcycling experience that brings together enthusiasts and industry insiders in one arena! Demo the latest models at the innovative AIMExpo Outdoors!, see and purchase the newest motorcycling products directly on the show floor, meet celebrities, learn tips and tricks from the pros and much more.
57
10/13/2016 – 10/16/2016
ADV Ribfest
Location: Centerville, Tennessee Contact: Jim Bean tnfrijole@gmail.com All the trails you can ride, all the ribs you can eat… none better! More info and register at www.gsgiants.com.
58
10/14/2016 – 10/16/2016
BMW Touring Club of Detroit Color Tour Location: Interlochen, Michigan Contact: Mike Eckstein veep1@bmwtcd.org Join the TCD members in enjoying Michigan fall colors in beautful Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Take in the scenic roads on the Lake Michigan shoreline, or explore the extensive ORV trail system in the area with your ADV bikes.
November 59
11/4/2016 – 11/6/2016
46th Annual South Central BMW Owners Reunion Location: Fayetteville, Texas Contact: Nick Bell vp@bmwclubofhouston.com 713-818-0134 Enjoy guided road rides, social events, and dinners on Friday and Saturday night, breakfasts Saturday and Sunday. For details see the event web page at bmwclubofhouston. com/cms/club-rally
www.m4motorcycles.com
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whenandwhere
60
11/5/2016 – 11/6/2016
Touring Club of Detroit 29th Annual Edmund Fitzgerald Run Location: East Tawas, Michigan Contact: Mike Eckstein veep1@bmwtcd.org Enjoy the brisk fall Michigan weather with this longstanding TCD tradition. Annual camp-out at Tawas Point State Park on Lake Huron. Saturday afternoon, ceremony on the shore to pay tribute to the 29 brave sailors lost from the Edumund Fitzgerald to the icy waters of Lake Superior.
61
11/11/2016 – 11/13/2016
15th Annual Cajun Swamp Scooter Rally Location: Lafayette, Louisiana Contact: swampscooters.net Come have a good time with us. Great food with great music. Kick some tires and tell some lies. The roads are not great, but the food is the best.
62
11/18/2016 – 11/20/2016
MOA Getaway Marble Falls, Texas
Location: Marble Falls, Texas Contact: Paul Mulhern pmulhern@swbell.net This year’s weekend getaway in Marble Falls, Texas is centered in the heart of the highland lakes region of the state and the host hotel will be right on the water. This area has something for everyone.
www.aeroflowscreens.com
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advertiserindex Action Stations/Bohn Armor................. 27 Admore Lighting........................................ 59 Adriatic Moto Tours................................... 13 ADV Depot.................................................... 11 Adventure Designs..................................129 Adventure New Zealand Tours............. 89 AeroFlow.....................................................134 Aerostich-RiderWearHouse.................... 18 Alaska Leather............................................. 11 Alaska Motorcycle Adventures...........129 Ayres Adventures.....................................116 Bates Footwear........................................... 55 Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures........... 44 BeadRider...................................................... 54 Beemer Boneyard...................................... 60 Beemer Shop, The....................................121 Best Rest Products...................................111 Bing Agency................................................. 38 BMW MOA Foundation............................ 95 BMW Motorrad................................9, 19, 53 BMW of Pensacola..................................... 91 BMW of Southeast Michigan................. 38 BMW Performance Center...................... 86 Bob’s BMW.................................................... 87 Bombar’s Beemers..................................... 54 Boxer Works Service.................................. 48 British Motorcycle Gear........................... 54 BullRack.......................................................111 California Motorcycle Rental...............121 Cee Baileys Aircraft Plastic.............48, 117 Colorado Motorcycle Adventures....... 54 Colorado Tourbike Rentals..................... 86 Corbin Pacific............................................... 79 Cortech (Helmet House).......................... 49 Country Rode Motowerks....................... 60 Crampbuster/Throttle Rocker............... 89 Cyclenutz....................................................... 48 Daniel Boone Rally..................................105 Diamond Gusset Jeans............................ 84 DMC Sidecars............................................... 18 Dubbelju Motorcycle Rentals................ 48 Dyna Beads.................................................103 Eaglerider Pittsburgh.............................111
Edelweiss Bike Travel................................ 85 EPM Hyper Pro..........................................115 Euro Moto Electrics.................................131 Finger Lakes Rally.....................................105 First Gear......................................................IBC Four Winds Rally......................................... 91 Geza Gear...................................................... 13 Global Rescue.............................................. 37 Green Moutain Rally...............................129 GS-911 Diagnostic Tool............................ 18 GSM Motorent............................................. 85 Hawks Products.......................................... 85 Helmet Sun Blocker.................................103 Ilium Works................................................... 79 Illinois BMW Club Campout................... 93 IMTBIKE TOURS................................... 11, 27 Kermit Chair Company............................. 18 Kinekt Gear Ring.......................................103 Land of Enchantment Rally..................111 LD Comfort.................................................111 Legal Speeding Enterprises................... 54 M4Moto-psa............................. 84, 116, 133 MachineartMoto......................................121 Max BMW Motorcycles...............................5 MC Wheel Repair........................................ 48 Michelin Tire................................................. 31 MOA Gear Shop........................................110 MOA Hotline..............................................125 MOA Member Benefits............................ 40 Morton’s BMW Motorcycles................... 73 Moto Aventura..........................................109 Moto-Bins....................................................111 MotoDiscovery............................................ 60 Motohansa Tools (The Beemer Shop)... 54 Motonation..................................................BC Motorcycle Releif Project - psa............. 73 Motorcycle Travel Network.................... 86 Motorex USA................................................ 99 Motorrad Elektrik....................................... 93 Motorworks - UK........................................ 59 Motoskiveez...............................................103 MotoStays..................................................... 54 Mountain Master Truck Equipment...... 93
MTA Distributing/Olympia Moto Sports..IFC Next Adventure Wealth Advisors......... 27 No-Mar Enterprises.................................103 N’Vision Creative......................................109 On The Level Magazine...........................124 Overseas Speedometer.........................129 Palo Alto Speedometer............................ 18 Pandora’s European Motorsports......... 99 Parabellum................................................... 18 Paradise Motorcycle Tours...................... 59 Peru Motors................................................121 Powerlet......................................................... 84 Progressive Insurance.............................. 45 Ray Atwood Cycles.................................... 11 Redverz........................................................116 Remus USA................................................... 61 Re-Psycle BMW Parts................................ 13 Rich Phillips Leather.................................. 89 Rider Magazine..........................................131 RoadRUNNER Magazine........................105 Russel Cycle Products.............................114 S100 (Brookside Imports).....................105 Sargent Cycle Products..........................124 Seat Concepts............................................. 98 Side Kicker (AKS Engineering)............... 85 Spiegler........................................................103 Stop ‘n Go....................................................103 Street Eagle Motorcycle Rentals............. 18 StrongBilt (StrongRak)............................. 11 Suburban Machinery................................ 54 Throttlemeister........................................... 48 Total Control.......................................86, 109 Touratech.........................................................1 Tourmaster (Helmet House)................... 39 Twisted Throttle.............................. 122, 123 Venture Heat................................................ 41 Weiser Technik............................................ 41 Westco Battery............................................ 13 Wilbers USA.................................................. 86 Wolfman Luggage..................................... 48 Wunderlich.................................................102 Ztechnik............................................................1
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 © 2016 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 46, Number 7.
July 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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talelight
Beauty and simplicity
To mark the 80th anniversary of the BMW R 5, BMW Motorrad is honoring this icon with a special model: The BMW R5 Hommage. Photo courtesy BMW
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  July 2016
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