BMW OWNERS NEWS – A PUBLICATION OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
OCTOBER 2017
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OCTOBER 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS www.bmwmoa.org
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Inside features
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BMW's bagger: a first look By Wes Fleming #87301 When it comes to understanding BMW’s entrance into the bagger genre, you must unlearn everything you know—or think you know, for that matter.
sport touring on an s 1000 RR By Michael Gougis Nine out of ten Supersports machines sold in the U.S. never hit the track. They are used on the streets, as weekend sport riding machines, as commuters, and even as long-distance touring bikes..
eclipsed by kindness By William Cline #206386 The plan was simple enough: find two points, each a day’s ride from my home in northeast Ohio which would allow a half-day ride to the area of totality. Then, pick which area was most likely to have clear skies. Unfortunately, real adventure begins when something goes wrong.
my favorite ride By Colleen Sepulveda #108960 The San Francisco Bay Area is full of interesting towns, people, and arts. Not far from the hustle, bustle and mind-numbing traffic lies pristine and isolated jewels that beg for exploration by motorcycle.
ON THE COVER: T he new BMW K 1600 B at rest in front of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Photo by Kevin Wing.
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the club 4 Owners News Contributors 8 Headlight From Gas to Electricity by Bill Wiegand 10 President's Column The Value of a Dollar by Wes Fitzer 12 Postcards from the Road 14 Rider to Rider Letters from our Members 16 Shiny Side Up How to Buy a House by Ron Davis Member tested/ product news 18 Shoei RF-SR helmet with Transitions face shield, Moto-Skiveez
skills 70 Foundation News GEARS, GS Girls and Silipints, by Mark Austin
72 Ride Well Getting There, by Marven Ewen 74 Ask a Pro Add Rider Training to your Bucket List, by Lee Parks
lifestyle 76 Jack the Riepe The Little Crush Washer that Could, by Jack Riepe
78 Mileage Slaves What I learned This Summer, by David Cwi
compression socks, Nuviz Heads Up Display.
26 Quad Lock motorcycle and scooter phone mount, Weiser LED
lighting upgrades, CruzTOOLS safety wire installation pliers, Sena 10Upad Bluetooth Communication System for HJC helmets, Chasing the Horizon podcast now available, MOA Foundation to raffle classic Airhead, An Anonymous Rescue.
tech 34 Keep ‘em Flying Another Great Rally in the Books, by Matthew Parkhouse
38 Battery Technology AGM vs LFP, by Wes Fleming discovery 44 Lessons from the Road That's my Book, by Ken Decroo
Rally 82 Rally Recap A recap of the 2017 BMW MOA International Rally
96 From the Board July Open Session Board Minutes events 108 When and Where Places to Ride and Things to See 111 Advertiser Index 112 Talelight
Sunrise on Utah's Highway 12. Photo by Mark Janda #198513
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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CONTRIBUTORS 1. 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.
4. Mark Janda has been riding motorcycles for 30 years, ever since he “borrowed" his brother’s moped to race the neighborhood kids. He has ridden all over North America as well as Central and Southern Europe. He earned an Iron Butt award in 2009 for riding from Albuquerque to St. Louis. As much fun as he had over the years, it wasn't until he rented a BMW in Europe that he found out what he’d been missing. When he returned to the states, he bought his K 1600 GTL and his love affair with BMW began.
2. Marcia McGuire learned to ride a few years ago, and since then her mode of adventure has become the two wheels of her BMW G650GS. She loves how motorcycles expand engagement with the world, and her GS often accompianies her in her projects investigating and documenting social and environmental issues.
5. Lance Gines is an avid motorcyclist who has spent more than 45 years and has ridden over 1.6 million miles on motorcycles of one sort or another. His lifelong obsession with riding led him to publish his first book on motorcycle travel in 2014 and then start an adventure motorcycle touring and rental business a year later. He is always excited to share the beauty and great riding found both in his home state of Idaho and the surrounding states with visitors from around the world. Lance is also a proud member of both the BMW MOA and the GS Giants.
3. Rick Salazar is a Colorado native who grew up in Southern California with an itch for the outward adventure experience of motorcycling. In 1996, Rick relocated to Denver for a career in the broadcast industry, and after raising his two daughters, found himself seeking new outdoor personal challenges. His search brought him back to riding, and in 2014 he bought a 2003 R 1150 RT and later a 2016 F 700 GS. In just two years Rick has logged more than 30,000 miles through 18 states, four Canadian Provinces and to the Arctic Circle and has made many new friendships while riding. Next year Rick plans to cross Canada along the Trans-Canada Highway from Victoria to St. John's, Labrador. Rick says he is grateful for the experiences riding has given him and looks forward to those in the future and to meeting some of you along the way.
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6. Colleen Sepulveda started riding with a passion 15 years ago and within two years, was teaching new California motorcyclists to ride. Motorcycles and motorcycle safety take up a huge portion of her life and she currently rides a ‘16 R 1200 GS after logging more than 100,000 miles on her ‘10 GS. Colleen is a retired police officer from Santa Cruz, California, and currently trains riding instructors there and teaches advanced riding courses. In her spare time, she rides twenty to thirty thousand miles a year on track days, dirt and while touring. Her motto is: ride intelligently!
www.tourmaster.com
Looking for their Crossroads
Mike McCrary and his traveling companion left Texas and took the long way to the 45th annual BMW MOA Rally in Salt Lake City. Photo by Mike McCrary #148315
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headlight Magazine of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America MANAGING EDITOR
Bill Wiegand bill@bmwmoa.org
From gas to electricity By Bill Wiegand #180584
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ron Davis • Wes Fleming • Joe Tatulli ART DIRECTOR
Karin Halker karin@bmwmoa.org CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
David Cwi • Marven Ewen • Deb Gasque Lee Parks • Matthew Parkhouse Jack Riepe • Shawn Thomas ADVERTISING
Advertising materials, including chartered club rally display advertising, should be sent to our Advertising Office. Please contact Chris Hughes for display rates, sizes and terms. Chris Hughes chris@bmwmoa.org 11030 North Forker Road, Spokane, WA 99217 509-921-2713 (p) 509-921-2713 (f ) BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601 864-438-0962 (p) 864-250-0038 (f )
Submissions should be sent to the BMW MOA office or editor@bmwmoa.org. Submissions accepted only from current members of the BMW MOA and assume granting of first serial publication rights within and on the BMW MOA website and use in any future compendium of articles. No payments will be made and submissions will not be returned. The BMW MOA reserves the right to refuse, edit or modify submissions. Opinions and positions stated in materials/articles herein are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of BMW MOA; publication of advertising material is not an endorsement by BMW MOA of the advertised product or service. The material is presented as information for the reader. BMW MOA does not perform independent research on submitted articles or advertising. Change of address notification and membership inquiries should be made to the BMW MOA office or membership@bmwmoa.org. BMW MOA membership is $40/yr. and includes the BMW Owners News, which is not available separately. Each additional family member is $10 without a subscription. Canadian members add $12 for postal surcharge. The BMW MOA and MOA™ are trademarks of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.
OUR MISSION To foster communication and a sense of family among BMW motorcycle enthusiasts
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
A YEAR AGO, BMW MOTORRAD GAVE US ALL A GLIMPSE OF THE
future of motorcycling with their VISION NEXT 100 vehicle. BMW’s press release boldly stated, “The BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100 stands for the ultimate riding experience. Liberated from the need to wear a helmet and protective clothing, the rider is able to enjoy the forces. Immediately recognizable as a ‘genuine BMW’ and includes the black frame triangle, while lines and classic, boxer engine forms.” Love it or hate it, it’s the direction BMW Motorrad appears headed and though their zero-emission destination is a long way down the road, there’s no denying it’s coming our way. A headline on the cover of a recent issue of The Economist screamed “Roadkill!” with the accompanying story detailing the demise of the internal combustion engine. Frightening thoughts indeed to all of us riding C, F, G, K, R and S gas-burning BMWs. With improving battery technologies, falling electric costs and tightening regulations, the shift from “fuel and pistons to batteries and electric motors” is coming faster than a coal-burning, air-polluting runaway locomotive. Volvo recently became the first mainstream automaker to begin hammering a stake into the heart of the internal combustion engine by announcing that beginning with the 2019 model year, all models it introduces will be either hybrids or powered solely by batteries. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson recently said that his customers have been asking more and more about electric cars and while Volvo’s strategy does include risks, a much bigger risk would be to stick with internal combustion engines. Yet another sign of the oncoming extinction of the ICE is that Tesla, despite producing significantly fewer cars than both Ford and General Motors, recently surpassed the two automotive giants in terms of stock value. The money never lies. It’s unfortunate that none of us today will get to experience the VISION NEXT 100’s liberating feeling of not wearing helmets and protective clothing. Personally, I’m curious how the bike will deal with the elements, insects or an autonomous car speeding directly at you whose operating system has just crashed. The path from Point A to Point B is always of great concern to the touring motorcyclist and at our recent Rally in Salt Lake City, BMW Motorrad tipped their hand, showing off their first step toward the future: the C evolution electrically-powered maxi-scooter. The eye-catching, Ionic Silver Metallic and Electric Green (of course) scooter is loaded with the latest technology and uses same batteries as the BMW i3 and a sexy new TFT instrument display. Propelled by a liquid-cooled electric motor producing 46 hp at 4,650 rpm, the scooter uses an air-cooled lithium-ion battery able to provide charge recuperation when braking and coasting. Dual disks in front and a single disk in the rear provide bring you back to a standstill with included ABS. All that for $13,750. The Achilles heel of the C evolution appears to be 99 miles per charge with a full charge taking nine hours using a common 110-volt household socket, though a fast charger will be available. Demoing any new bike is always fun and the C evolution did not disappoint. With a big smile I rolled back into the parking lot thinking something was missing. Finally, it dawned on me. There wasn’t any noise! As an old gearhead I realized just how much I enjoy the exhaust notes of the Akrapovic on S 1000 XR. Now, if only BMW Motorrad offered a Dynamic Sound Inducer option, I wouldn’t have to pull out my old baseball cards and steal clothespins like I did when I was riding pedal-powered two-wheelers. Ride Safe.
www.weisertechnik.com
PRESIDENTSCOLUMN
The value of a dollar BMW MOA OFFICERS
Wes Fitzer, President 918-441-2114; wes.fitzer@bmwmoa.org Jean Excell, Vice President 719-650-6215; jean.excell@bmwmoa.org Reece Mullins, Secretary 334-470-7770; reece.mullins@bmwmoa.org Sam Garst, Treasurer 414-704-7767; sam.garst@bmwmoa.org BMW MOA DIRECTORS
Deb Lower 719-510-9452; deb.lower@bmwmoa.org Tracy McCarty 913-238-3182; tracy.mccarty@bmwmoa.org Marc Souliere 613-828-1798; marc.souliere@bmwmoa.org Roger Trendowski 732-671-0514; roger.trendowski@bmwmoa.org Chad Warner 614-735-8558; chad.warner@bmwmoa.org BMW MOA VOLUNTEER STAFF
Steve Brunner, Mileage Contest Coordinator 910-822-4369; steveb@bmwmoa.org Jim Heberling, High Mileage Coordinator 309-530-1951; jheberling@bmwmoa.org David Swider, Ambassador Liaison 415-479-8075; teamkbasa@comcast.net Lee Woodring, Consumer Liaison 770-331-2419; lee.woodring@bmwmoa.org Joe Leung, Consumer Liaison 403-689-9939; joe.leung@bmwmoa.org Brian Hinton, 2018 BMW MOA Rally Chair 2018rallychair@bmwmoa.org BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
640 640 S. Main Street, Ste. 201 Greenville, SC 29601
Robert C. Aldridge, Executive Director bob@bmwmoa.org Ted Moyer, Director of Membership & Marketing tedm@bmwmoa.org Bill Wiegand, BMW Owners News Managing Editor bill@bmwmoa.org Karin Halker, Art Director karin@bmwmoa.org Ray Tubbs, Digital Marketing Manager ray@bmwmoa.org Wes Fleming, Associate Editor Digital wfleming@bmwmoa.org Lesa Howard, Membership Services lesa@bmwmoa.org Noelle Leopard, Membership Services noelle@bmwmoa.org
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By Wes Fitzer #170126 IT ISN’T HARD TO CALCULATE THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR. GOOGLE
“inflation calculator” and you will find a tool to convert a historical dollar to its current value. We all remember when a can of Coke was a quarter and gas less than a dollar per gallon. Today, a debit card replaces the quarter and don’t even get me started on gasoline prices. Granted, forces other than inflation are at work in product pricing models, but generally prices increase over time. This month, we published the club’s Statement of Financial Position, and the process of creating that document has me thinking about the value of the dollar. One of the tenants of the MOA’s strategic plan is to deliver organizational excellence for members, which includes financial stability. Although it isn’t a glamorous part of an elected position, it is a major responsibility we accepted as Directors and likely the most important thing we do: to steward the financial operation of the BMW MOA. Just thinking about it makes you want to throw your hat into the ring during the next election cycle, doesn't it? If you read the financial report, you’ll understand that providing financial stability has been a challenge. Faced with declining membership, we’ve made aggressive moves to reduce our overhead while maintaining the level of services you expect. I am pleased that the latest report shows a favorable reduction in our expense structure, and for the first time in five years, net performance is positive. But just saving money and being efficient isn’t enough to deliver the financial stability we are obligated to provide. If we want to guarantee the future of the organization, we must affect the revenue side of the equation which includes membership dues. Unlike the price of Coke, membership rates have only changed twice in the last 20 years, most recently in 2008. The change is likely overdue, but who really wants to tackle increasing prices? That sentiment was often reflected in our discussion as we worked to find a fair revenue structure for both members and the organization. I am proud of our Board of Directors for advocating for our members and fighting hard to find the right pricing model. We deliberated until we reached a consensus on the right approach. I am confident the proposed dues give our members the best value possible while still delivering the financial stability we are obligated to provide. I am also pleased the Board agreed to offer a grace period to allow members to renew at the previous membership rate until January 1. Renew online and use the coupon code BMWMOA9 to save $9, effectively matching the old rates. You can also extend your current membership to take advantage of these savings even if you are not up for renewal. This option is only available to current BMW MOA members and recognizes your dedication to the MOA. If you have any questions, our membership team is ready to help you. No matter how hard we fight inflation, time marches on. As a father of two teenagers, I am never flippant about money, but I understand the reality of inflation. I am fortunate that my MOA membership is the best investment I ever made to support my motorcycle habit. If this isn’t true for you, I hope you will share with me what will improve your experience. As members, we may not control inflation rates, but we all have a hand in creating the organization to support our lifestyle. Together, we make the organization better together. Enjoy your ride!
Wes
Fitzer
www.medjet.com/bmwmoa
Postcardsfromtheroad
1 1. T he Yaquina Bay Bridge provides the backdrop during a ride from San Francisco to Whistler, British Columbia. Paul Fong #191866 San Francisco, California 2. M arlene Bouis photographed with her R 1200 GS during the Hells Canyon Rally with a ray of light from above. Chuck Bouis #200532 Clarkston, Washington 2
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4 3. O ne of the locals along the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route showing me how to relax. Jason Kuhn #137881 Brunswick, Ohio
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4. A stop in Utah’s Uinta National Forest while at the BMW MOA Rally in Salt Lake City. Malcolm Ward #197448 Stouffville, Ontario 5. A fter leaving the rally in Salt Lake City, we rode to Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The LT is heavy. Alex Cuningham #197221 Morristown, Tennessee 6. S hot while riding the northern desert in Peru. Joe Billing #200404 Burien, Washington 7. R iding through Lassen National Park in northern California with riding buddy Greg Price. Don Hasemeyer #212297 Greenview, California Each month we publish great images sent in by BMW MOA members captured as they tour the globe. Send us your best images and you could have your work published in our Postcards from the Road pages as well. Email your high resolution images, image description and contact information to editor@bmwmoa.org. October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
The best part is...
The gods looked down on the planet Earth they had created and said, “Man needs mobility, adventure and camaraderie." So, in a blinding flash of light and smoke the BMW motorcycle appeared, and the gods said, “It is good!” Sometime later they looked in on their favorite planet and said with great omnipotence, “Man has become obsessed with adding farkles, one-upping each other with touring clothing, new models and distances traveled. This is NOT good!” Then there was another blast of light and a whirling cloud of smoke out of which stumbled Jack Riepe to entertain and inform us with his observations, twisted phrases, flights of fancy and sarcasm. Jack is the best part of your magazine. Every motorcycle magazine should have its own Jack Riepe, especially the ones dedicated to machinery made in Milwaukee. I salute you, Jack, with a flagon of 12-year-old Scotch and a bottle of liniment. Excelsior! Kim Bené #76511 West Valley City, Utah
A response to a response
I have to respond to Christie Nestler’s (June Owners News) comments about Jack the Reipe’s articles. You say you are a new rider. I am not and I too, am a female rider. The sense of community you feel removed from exists for a wide range of riders from many walks of life. It can be bawdy and sexist and exclusive, and they will almost all still stop and lend a hand when you need it and treat you with more respect than average, no matter how you fill out your Kevlar. Melinda Haid #94311 Fayetteville, West Virginia
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Misogyny
I could not agree more with Christie Nestler's letter "Not a fan of Riepe” in the July issue. While I sometimes find Jack amusing, the bad is beginning to outweigh the useful. Nestler is specific in her criticisms, and I often have to weigh whether I will renew my membership based on the value of the magazine vs. the increasing sexism and distasteful atmosphere at some of the rallies. I guess I am just a bleeding heart, but the publishing of disingenuous letters defending the rally site choice seem selfserving. I admire those people who live their principles on a daily basis and not those who either have no principles or make excuses by creating false analogies. Robert Kimmel #151064 Ocean City, Maryland
Sharing risks and rewards
Kudos to Lee Parks for his article (June 2017 Owners News) titled "Origins of the Wave." No matter what type of bike we ride, our experience, skill or desire, we are brothers and sisters in the world of motorcycling. I agree with Mr. Parks in that a simple wave lets the other rider know that we see them and they are acknowledged for sharing the risk and rewards of this beautiful way of enjoying the world. Chapeau! Mark Spencer #176325 Bend, Oregon
The post-ride checklist
Good advice from Marvin Ewen in the August Owners News on a pre-ride checklist. Let's alter some of this slightly and perform a POST-ride checklist. At the end of the day’s ride, I’ve learned
to run through all my lights, horn, wheel bolts, and spin the tires looking for foreign objects. My thinking is, whatever I find can be corrected at my leisure in the afternoon as opposed to the next morning when I'm anxious to get under way. Changing a bulb or plugging a tire is more enjoyable while having a drink, versus in the morning with other folks waiting on me. Yes, I've found a bulb or two that needed changing, and more than my share of rear tires that needed plugging. Then, in the morning all that's left is checking air pressure on cold tires and cold oil level. I'm not Einstein that came up with this. My guru, Ron Schmidt, taught this at a seminar in Panguitch, Utah. John Chicola #118557 Cuba, New York
Thank you BMW MOA
This is overdue but I wanted to thank the BMW MOA for everything you did to include and promote the Motorcycle Relief Project as a beneficiary at this year's rally in Salt Lake City. We had a fantastic show and met lots of great people. I had six of our alumni (veterans who've gone through our program) helping out at our booth and there were times when all seven us of were talking to someone about our program! We had a constant flow of people coming by. People ask me all the time what BMW corporate has done for us as a sponsor. When I admit that so far we haven't received any funding from corporate, people often suggest that I look for a different motorcycle company to be our sponsor. I then explain all that the MOA has done for us. Not only has the MOA supported us financially at the rally and the Getaways, you also provide us with free advertising in BMW Owners News. Those ads in your
magazine have brought us some significant new financial supporters, and they've also resulted in several bikes being donated to us by MOA members. Most importantly, we've had several veterans with PTSD learn of our program through the magazine and end up coming on one of our rides and getting some help. I can't thank you enough for all your support, and I look forward to continuing to develop the partnership between the MOA and Motorcycle Relief Project. With much gratitude, Tom Larson #202198 Evergreen, Colorado
Issues with quality
It is encouraging that BWM is being proactive on the GS fork failure issue, and even the recent R 1200 RT stop-ride alert. Still, other safety issues, like that of the K 1200 LT and its “time-bomb” rear end are still ignored. I love my K 1200 LT, but I am starting to look for a replacement, and I wonder how good the quality of the new bikes is. I had just been looking at getting a GS and believe good CAD modeling for that bike and the K 1200 LT should have shown the fault before release. All bikes have issues, few in recent times have deadly ones. BMW's design flaws cause me to pause and look at alternatives, like the KTM. James Cron #205221 Flaxton, North Dakota
Lighting the way
I have a slight complaint about Ron Davis's "Where the Light is" in the August issue. He talks about riding in the dark and "upgrading to HID or full LED lighting." This is a problem because it's federally illegal to do so and there is not a single "plug and play" HID or LED bulb that can mimic the optical output of a halogen bulb. A filament compared to a ball of plasma isn't the same and headlights are only designed for the bulb that came with it. In short, halogen headlights should only have a halogen bulb as you risk scattering the extreme brightness of an HID
light all over the place blinding other people on the road. It's not safe in the slightest. LED headlight bulbs do not belong in any OEM headlight either. Not only will its glare other drivers, it's rarely bright enough to throw light down the road. This needs to be clarified more publicly. It's bad that people are so ignorant to this. "Oh, I can see everything now!" Thanks, but now you blinded everyone else, even in broad daylight. If you want a proper HID light, retrofit it with a projector that is designed for a HID bulb (which is technically illegal) or add AUX lighting wired to a separate switch, or High Beam only. Never plug and play. Don't be the person everyone else hates. David Roseman #205765 Newark, Delaware David makes some excellent points and offers some valuable advice. My preference is to add auxiliary lighting, rather than to start changing bulbs. –Ron Davis
Remembering Norman
Reading the tribute to Norman Jones, long time-owner of Engle Motors in Kansas City, (June 2017 Owners News) took me back to my first BMW, an R 50/2 that I purchased new in 1964 when I was a student at Indiana University. My break-in ride was from Bloomington, Indiana, to Rocky Mountain National Park, and the bike received its 500-mile service at Engle Motors. I was delighted to see they are still around, one of the few BMW dealers that have been in business as long as I’ve been riding BMWs. Roger Voelker #91927 Tucson, Arizona
Shout out to Big Ear
Just got back from a week in southern Utah followed by the rally at Salt Lake City. Always fun, like an extended family reunion, everyone is so friendly and easy to visit with. Good seminars and nice evening entertainment. I wanted to highlight the hearing protection seminar given by Glenn Hood of
Big Ear. Glenn spent the first third of his time discussing the causes and symptoms of hearing loss, and he encouraged those with symptoms to seek diagnosis and treatment. I have a degree in audiology and currently work in health care. I appreciate his comments about how early treatment can help with adapting to hearing aids. The mild to moderately hearingimpaired population has been an underserved group, and it's nice to have encouragement for them to seek treatment. I do use Big Ear custom ear plugs but do not have any financial interest in Glenn's company. I thought it was great of him to discuss hearing loss to a receptive group. Larry Hofmeister #142688 Sioux Falls, South Dakota
When is it time?
I'm 72 years old, have probably ridden 300,000 miles over the last 50 years, and love my K 1600 GT with a passion. So how do I know when it’s time to quit riding? I'm retired and live in Sarasota, Florida, and as boring as most Florida roads are, I get to ride all year long. My very good friend Isaac is also a dedicated BMW rider and at 77 years old just decided to quit riding after a spill on the twisty roads in North Georgia. Isaac is strong as a bull, and though his faculties seem great, he's devastated that he has to hang up his boots. He got banged up after going down recently but was back in perfect shape physically after a few days in the hospital and a couple weeks of rehab. His RT is toast. Isaac admits that he lost concentration momentarily while doing a sporty turn at about 40 mph and went straight when the road didn't. With help from his wife, he decided it was time. I am also concerned that my skills may have slipped. How do I know when it's time? Unlike Isaac, my last spill was probably 15 years ago on a guided trip in central Mexico when I had a fight with the "topas." If you know of good resource material on this problem, please let me know. Jeff Mohl #28557 Sarasota, Florida
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How to buy a house By Ron Davis #111820 MY WIFE AND I
have recently been going through the process of selling our house and buying a different one. It’s been a bit short of what I would call a pleasant experience, much more akin to journeying through Dante’s fifth or sixth circle of hell. Muddling through offers, counter-offers, contingencies, inspections, showings, and the truckload of paperwork has been mindnumbing, though my wife persists in cheerily referring to this phase in our life as “A Grand Adventure.” What’s this got to do with motorcycles? You’d be surprised. When it came to selling our house, I’d been patiently informed that to prepare for showing it (called “staging,” I learned), the pre-eminent principle, at least according to HGTV, is to “reduce clutter.” Apparently this extended to getting my Beemer out of the garage, since, it was reasoned, stabling my bike at a friend’s house every time we had a showing would transform our skimpy, one car garage into an expanse suitable for a U2 concert. After four or five showings, I got tired of all this shuffling around, and somehow was able to convince my better half that keeping a BMW in the garage would only enhance our prospective buyers’ opinions of us as sellers with discriminating tastes, a lofty sense of style, and an uncompromising appreciation for quality. Though all family photos were to be removed from our walls to
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
facilitate a buyer’s ability to “see themselves in their new home” (another HGTV commandment), I insisted on leaving up my “BMW 1933 GERWINNER DER INTERNAT SECHSTAGEFAHRTS TROPHAE” poster —again, taste, style.
Looking at homes to buy was another matter. In case you haven’t heard, in many cities it is a blistering hot market for houses. Since the pull-back from the overly generous financing schemes about ten years ago and the consequent decline in home building, there are lots more buyers than there are sellers. In fact, after a few disappointing incidents where we weren’t quick enough on the draw, I began to think the only way to find a house would be to sit in the car with the motor running, ready to tear off toward a new listing as soon as it hit the
web. But we did get to look at a few homes, and it quickly became obvious that my wife’s and my lists of “must haves” were distinctly different. My wife was preoccupied with things like “closet space,” the mysterious “Kitchen Triangle,” and something called “Open Concept” (a phrase which doesn’t mean what I hoped it might). I had different standards, most notably among them, where would my bike live? Call me eccentric, obsessive-compulsive, or just plain weird, but it’s my custom to keep my bike in the basement through the long Wisconsin winter. Maybe it’s the effect of a garage’s temperature fluctuations and condensation, maybe I can’t stand the thought of a BMW banished to the caste of snowblowers and lawn mowers, or maybe I just like being able to look at a bike while the snow piles up outside, but my understanding realtor (Gold Wing Owner) raised her eyebrows, pulled me aside and whispered, “So, a walk-out, then?” With each showing, while my wife methodically checked for soft-closing drawers, I searched for a closet worthy of my hoarder’s collection of helmets, gloves, jackets, rain suits, boots and all the gear that populates my panniers. Against which wall would my seven tiers of painstakingly organized issues of BMW Owners News and Motorcycle Consumer News go? Would the garage support some serious farkling? And what about the driveway? A severe pitch was a deal breaker. Long story short, we eventually made an offer on a home. Apparently its Kitchen Triangle is sufficiently equilateral to stave off starvation, and the feng shui of the living room is shui-y enough that visitors won’t shriek in horror. And yes, it’s walk-out.
www.progressive.com
member teste 18
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SHOEI RF-SR helmet with Transitions shield By Marcia McGuire #206242 MOTORCYCLE HELMET SAFETY STANDARD TESTS
remind me of the sixth grade competition where students built an encasement to protect an egg from breaking when dropped from the school roof and then had to quickly remove the egg without cracking it. Those were also the days when bread making machines were popular for home kitchens, and my solution involved placing my egg into a hole I bored into a loaf of bread. Using this solution, my egg stayed perfectly protected, though opening the Ziploc bag holding the bread did take a little longer than ideal. This elementary school science experiment translates well to motorcycle helmets–how to best protect the head and brain from damage upon impact, and how quickly and safely can first responders remove the helmet from the downed rider? Shoei’s RF-SR helmet is designed to do just that, with both DOT and the even stricter SNELL certifications , and integrates a lot more sophisticated technology for riding comfort, including an optional CWR-1 Transitions Photochromic Pinlock Shield. The RF-SR color collection includes neutral white, grey and black with a couple of matte options and adds to the line a stunning orange and a rich blue. The face of the helmet has a large, black “Y” styling across it, giving it an aggressive, war paint look, only sleeker. Adjustable air intakes lie within these lines on the forehead and at the chin, with two exhaust vents at the back. A chin curtain and breath guard can be added, as well as the anti-fog Pinlock lens. The QR-E base plate system makes for a much easier installation of the visor compared to my few years old Shoei GT-Air. Marketed as a helmet for both short jaunts and touring, the RF-SR is light and comfortable throughout a full day of riding. Riding at freeway speeds behind a tall windscreen on my BMW G 650 GS and without a windscreen on my Yamaha XT250, I was pleased to experience no real buffeting. Aerodynamics testing in Shoei’s in-house wind tunnel is evident. I wear earplugs when I ride, but rode without them at times to judge the noise levels: the new Shoei helmet performed about the same as the GT-Air (though when the GT-Air’s internal sun shield is down
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
the noise is cut a little bit more than in the RF-SR). Riding in the rain, the helmet kept me dry, and at the angle I sat, the water beaded off of the visor; I did not need to use my glove’s finger squeegee to clear my view. One of the additional values of the RF-SR is that it is designed to accept the CWR-1 Transitions Photochromic Pinlock Shield, a product of a collaboration between Shoei and Transitions Optical. I was very curious to see how quickly the visor transitioned, how dark it got, its gradations, and how it adjusted. The shield blocks 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays, and it is the shield’s molecules’ interaction with the UV rays that produce the change of darkening or lightening, with temperature being a moderating variable. Indeed, the shield that starts clear can go to a dark where my facial lines are hardly visible behind the visor. Shoei’s description notes that the transition can “become as dark as ordinary sunglasses, with a 23 percent light transmission level at 72° Fahrenheit”.
Though I did not manage to time it, the transition from clear to dark seems quicker than dark to light, and so the technology seems to err on the side of retaining dark slightly longer. I suspect that, if riding suddenly from broad daylight into a tunnel, one would have to open the shield some to be able to see the road better. The Shoei description says the transition occurs within two minutes. Qualitatively, I would look at myself in the mirror when the sunlight levels seemed to change. When blue skies went to brief, patchy cloud cover, I went from not being able to see my eyes through the visor to being able to see more of my face, reflecting the lightening gradation and photochromic adjustment. Not only that, but the impact, scratch resistant, 3D injection-molded shield allows crisply clear vision, and with the darkening, even seems to increase the saturation of the view, making the surrounding colors more vibrant. My eyes are actually pretty light sensitive, and although the photochromic transition shield does not get as dark as my sunglasses, riding all day in the bright sun did not tax my eyes, and never did I feel a headache coming on (for me, the true test). Because of this, I count the CWR-1 Transitions Photochromic Pinlock Shield a success. If you want a Snell certified helmet that also adjusts while riding to light levels, this is it. The GT-Air with its manual internal dropdown sun shield, for example, is DOT but not Snell certified. Likewise, over time, the GTAir’s internal sun shield can begin to fog up when it is cold outside, because it is not the component with the Pinlock; I suspect that fogging would not be a problem with the RF-SR and transition shield, because the transition shield can take a Pinlock directly. The SHOEI RF-SR helmet is made of multiple layers of fiberglass and organic fibers (Advanced Integrated Matrix / AIM+), with four shell sizes with different customizable, fully removable and washable internal pad options that provide a size range from XS to XXL. The RF-SR helmet starts at $399, and the optional CWR-1 Transitions Photochromic Pinlock Shield runs $169.99. More information is available at shoei-helmets.com/helmets/rf-sr.html.
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Moto-Skiveez compression socks By Lance Gines #196845 I consider myself a fairly avid rider and running an adventure motorcycle touring and rental business gives me a fair amount of seat, or in my case, peg time. I average somewhere between 35 and 50 thousand miles a year, primarily on dirt roads. As many of you know, finding a great pair of socks is just not that easy to do. I own a whole drawer full of socks from different companies, and while at the BMW MOA International Rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, I picked up a pair of Moto-Skiveez riding socks. While I find many of my current socks okay, I’ve found the MotoSkiveez socks take comfort to a whole new level. Moto-Skiveez socks begin with a slight compression, just enough to combat swelling of the feet and ankles, but not enough to be a struggle to get on. This compression feature also keeps them from becoming loose or bunching up and creating hot spots or blisters. The socks are made from a 40 percent anti-bacterial aloe fiber which helps to keep them from becoming stinky even after several days without being washed. I found that they breath well and that my feet seemed to sweat less than when I wore other socks. Priced at $25 per pair, they are right on par with most other riding socks I have purchased and way less than other compression socks I bought to support the broken ankle I suffered in a get off last summer. Beyond riding, I’ve found myself wearing the Moto-Skiveez socks for hiking and at my day job as a hair stylist with equally great results. I will definitely be buying more. For more information visit motoskiveez.com.
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Brave New World: Nuviz Heads Up Display By Phil Linsalata #207159 IMAGINE A CRISP COLOR DISPLAY
in the bottom right corner of your field of vision, tucked nicely out of the way but clearly showing critical data: where to turn next, your speed, your
direction and the next bend in the road. Imagination no longer needed. Nuviz, the first-ever Heads Up Display, is now on the market. For $699, a startup company based in San Diego with software roots in
Finland will send you this slick, highly developed technology. With a still and video camera, it will replace a GoPro and integrates with a Sena, and its GPS system will give you exact location, direction and speed. Coupled with downloadable global maps, this allows you to ditch your handlebar-mounted wayfinding device. High quality headset speakers mount inside your helmet and link via Bluetooth to your phone, so you can enjoy the music stored there, and you can place or receive calls as well, using the phone directory you’ve already built. In other words, you can either buy a lot of technology in one kit or you can strip off a bunch of onboard technology and replace it with a single unit, while gaining the ability to capture data within the field of vision defined by your helmet’s visor. The heart of the beast is in a chin-mounted processor feeding a projection prism and controlled by a wireless toggle switch mounted anywhere on your handlebar—or anywhere else on your bike, for that matter. Activation of the Nuviz is accomplished
At the heart of the Nuviz Heads Up Display is a chin-mounted processor and a wireless toggle switch.
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A rider's view of the Nuviz Heads Up Display.
through your iPhone or Android. You download the Nuviz App and maps and then link your phone to the controller and the processor. The processor/camera mounts to your chin bar with a strong, secure adhesive pad, and the earphones and mic mount inside your helmet. The processor and camera are powered by a battery with a reported 10 hour life that is rechargeable via USB cable. The chin bar unit measures 5.8 inches by 2.3 inches and is easily removed and reattached. Nuviz supplies a plate to hide, cover and protect the exposed contact points when the unit is detached from your helmet. The controller allows you to toggle through an array of functions and displays, including a dashboard display with speed, time and your next turn, which also lets you know what the speed limit is—just in case you care. The navigation function displays a cleanly simplified map, with your route superimposed in blue. Call functions let you know who’s trying to reach you, the music display tells you who you’re listening to, and the camera shoots stills, automatically downloaded to your phone, or videos that are stored in the unit until you fetch them to your movie library. All very smooth.
A fourth function button on the controller remains unassigned, with reports that it will serve a helmet-to-helmet communication system now in development. In other words, what individual riders like most in this setup will depend on individual preference. If you are a photo hound and want to upload pics and vids to your Facebook account, you’ll love the cameras. If you’re a hardcore explorer of off-road or untraveled touring routes, you will most
appreciate the GPS. If you are tethered to business or otherwise needing to stay in touch, the phone function might be your favorite. You get the idea. But there’s an elephant in the room. Or maybe it’s sitting right there on the chin bar of my Schuberth: Distraction. Let’s start with the basics. If you buy this arguably revolutionary device, DO NOT make the mistake I made, which is to jump on the bike and test it out while riding.
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Instead, turn it on, sit on your bike, and play with it until your hand has memorized the control functions and what they bring to the display. Spend some time at it, however long it takes to develop a comfortable familiarity. You really do not want to be learning this thing while vectoring at lethal velocity. It’s intuitive and easy to learn—but still… Now back to the distraction issue. The best discussion I’ve seen of this was in a string that followed a review at Motorcycle.com. The poster presented his case succinctly: “The U.S. military— who invented these things—has identified a condition called 'Attention Capture.' Essentially, your brain, which is pretty good at doing what it wants and not what you want it to, starts de-emphasizing actual reality happening outside the HUD in favor of the pretty color moving pictures put up by the HUD. “In combat aircraft… the military has seen and documented declining pilot performance and has begun to de-emphasize such systems, on the grounds that the distraction and minute cognitive delays translate into risk of injury or death…”. His conclusion: “I just ride the effing bike, thankyouverymuch.” The flip side of that argument shrinks the elephant pretty dramatically and is found in a response from the same string: “So how is using a GPS and looking at it too much any different than what you describe? Isn't that even worse since it is not in the direct field of view? Why? Because while riding or
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
going someplace new, they allow MORE attention to the road immediately ahead than to spending time searching for road signs and streets and addresses…” My experience riding with this unit traversed a spectrum that opened with a strong appreciation for the elephant: yes, it started out being a distraction. But with
time, the display stopped nagging at my attention. I learned to look at the display only when I had a reason to and simply turned off the display when I didn’t need it. (You can turn off the display without turning off the processor. This saves battery and does not require a full reboot to reactivate.) I found that beyond testing for fidelity (which is excellent), I rarely used the music function. I turned my phone off to prevent unwanted intrusion, except in a couple of cases where I really was anticipating an important call, and I really appreciated the option. I used the camera rarely, at which time I thought it was fun and a lot easier
than pulling out my phone. For me, that boils this down to what I believe is the core of the matter: the GPS. I ride in New Mexico, where bright sunshine can require a stop to read a handlebarmounted GPS. And I ride in remote, lonely places where a wrong turn can cost you 50 miles or more to correct. The Nuviz GPS and maps are excellent and highly detailed. They take the stress out. You ignore the display until you approach a turning point, when a quick glance at the Heads Up Display confirms your wayfinding, and you ride on with confidence. You know where you are going, and you don’t have to look down at a bar-mounted display (or at turning points written on your wrist) to figure out what’s next and when. Whether the Nuviz is for you depends a lot on whether you’ve got $699 to throw down and on what you would find useful among the key functions included in this package. It may also depend on whether you’ve already invested in GPS, Bluetooth phone links or a helmet cam. Value is in the eye— and wallet—of the beholder. The Nuviz is a well designed and manufactured piece of technology, but just remember: this is not a video game. This is reality. NUVIZ HEADS UP DISPLAY:
Available at www.ridenuviz.com/products/ nuviz-head-up-display PROS: Consolidates the functions of multiple electronic devices into a single unit, is easy to control, and provides displays that require only a minor shift of focus to capture. Thirty day return policy. CONS: Distracting until thoroughly learned, or if not treated with discipline.
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Get your phone out of your pocket
Quad Lock, a longtime manufacturer of smartphone cases and mounts for runners and bicyclists, has released a mount for motorcyclists. The Quad Lock Motorcycle/Scooter range includes mounts for motorcycle and scooter or mirror stems. The mounts enable riders to use apps seamlessly with their smartphones to navigate their rides and monitor track and road conditions. Both on- and off-road riders can benefit from the new mounts, knowing their smartphones are securely mounted while still easily accessible. The Mirror Mount allows users to mount their smartphone using a clampstyle system to the mirror stem and includes an indexing head to achieve a desired angle. The Motorcycle Mount is designed to allow users to mount their phone in a convenient location on handlebars and uses a rotating head feature for desired placement. It includes an extension arm for extra clearance. The Motorcycle Mount and Mirror Mount are compatible with all existing Quad Lock cases and the Universal Adaptor for other smartphone devices. Quad Lock Motorcycle and Scooter Kits start at $54.90 and are available from quadlockcase.com
LED lighting upgrades from Weiser
Weiser’s new Ultrabrights 2-in-1 LED Driving Light/Turn Signal upgrades for the front wheel increase a rider’s visibility from the front on any road in any weather condition. Similarly, the 2-in-1 LED Brake Light/Turn Signal upgrades significantly increase a rider’s chances of being seen when braking, helping to avoid rear end collisions. The new 2-in-1 motorcycle lighting upgrades use Ultrabright high intensity automotive LEDs to help riders be seen and safe and are designed specifically for BMW motorcycles. They fit inside the original turn signal housing with no need for brackets, drilling or clamping. Weiser has been making turn signal upgrades for BMW and many other motorcycle brands since 2007. Ultrabrights 2-in-1 LED Driving Light/Turn Signal upgrades for the front wheel and Ultrabrights 2-in-1 LED Brake Light/Turn Signal upgrades for the rear are available at weisertechnik.com. MSRP is $249 for either set, and a 30-day no hassle refund guarantee is included.
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CruzTOOLS expands product line
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It’s not uncommon to find safety wire pliers in a technician’s tool box, especially if they’re involved in competition. Often referred to as SWIPES (for “Safety Wire Installation Pliers”), they ease the operation of twisting wire to firmly secure fasteners and other parts, and the two primary components of swipes are the locking jaw and a lever that rotates pliers when pulled out. Professionals will agree that quality pliers are necessary for confident completion of the task, especially if safety of the rider is at stake. CruzTOOLS has developed safety wire pliers that rival top professional units, but are priced for a much broader audience. The SWP8 features a precision diagonal nose jaw and heat-treated cutting blades, using prospec chrome vanadium material. The locking mechanism operates with ease, as does the self- retracting twist lever. Fit and finish is professionalquality. The SWP8 measures 8.5” tip-to-tip and retails for $39.95. CruzTOOLS provides tools and tool kits to the motorcycle, music product, and general aviation industries which are sold through dealers and distributors internationally. For more information, please visit cruztools. com.
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Chasing the Horizon
The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America is pleased to announce the debut of Chasing the Horizon, a podcast by, for and about motorcyclists. Each episode centers on a discussion with a motorcycle rider, first and foremost, though that rider might also be a manufacturer, inventor, world traveler, business owner, Iron Butt Rally competitor, product tester, tire expert, or any number of things. Produced on an every-other-week schedule from late summer through early spring by the MOA's Digital Media Editor, Wes Fleming, Chasing the Horizon is available on the MOA website at bmwmoa.org/podcast and will be available in iTunes in October.
Product updates from Sena
Sena Technologies’ new 10Upad Bluetooth Communication System is designed specifically for the HJC IS-17 helmet and simply snaps into the inner body of the helmet. The 10Upad, HJC communication system, was created with an unibody design for simplified installation into the HJC IS-17 and offers HD speakers, microphone and Bluetooth 4.1 technology in two easy to install cheek pads. From the outside of the helmet, the 10Upad system is completely undetectable; installation is done by replacing the helmet’s existing cheek pads. The 10Upad allows riders to listen to music, take and make phone calls, hear turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and more. It is controlled by the three button control located on the bottom of the left cheek pad. The 10Upad is equipped with universal intercom, music sharing and Advanced Noise Control™ which greatly reduces wind and road noise without sacrificing awareness of your surroundings. The new 10Upad is compatible with all Sena accessories, including the Sena Headset App and the new Sena RideConnected App. The Sena headset app allows for simplified configuration of the 10Upad, while the RideConnected App allows riders to communicate with riders all over the world via a mobile network. The 10Upad will be available for the retail price of $199 from your local dealers as well as from buysena.com and will soon be available for the HJC IS-MAX II and the Shoei RF-1200.
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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MOA Foundation to raffle Classic Airhead THE BMW MOA FOUNDATION IS
switching gears from their traditional new bike raffle, and giving away a 1978 R 80/7. MOA Board member Sam Garst donated the unrestored motorcycle to the BMW MOA Foundation. According to Garst, the motorcycle was purchased at an estate sale— a true barn find, just without the barn. The motorcycle wasn’t running at the time and was described as having electrical issues. Garst purchased the motorcycle with the intent of making it roadworthy and donating it to the Foundation. He brought the motorcycle to fellow Wisconsin club member and MOA Ambassador Randy Boris,
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
who wrenches occasionally at Anschutz Motorsports in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Boris inspected the motorcycle, performed some basic maintenance and repaired an electrical issue that kept the motorcycle from enjoying a curvy road or two. Within a few weeks of seeing it for the first time, Boris was test riding an exceptional 1978 R 80. The 1978 R 80 is unrestored with 55,000 original miles. Included in the raffle are the Krauser bags and luggage rack installed at the time of purchase. There is an original technical manual with the delivering dealer’s signature and date of delivery from November 1, 1977! Boris added fresh fluids, inspected and lubed the splines, cleaned and repaired the carburetors, installed new points and a condenser, and
rebuilt the forks. He also solved the electrical issues with a few new relays and a peek at a wiring diagram. Finally, Boris gave the motorcycle a thorough test ride and a clean bill of health for the next owner. The best feature of the R 80 is that it can be yours. The Foundation will award the motorcycle to one lucky MOA member on December 16, 2017. Tickets are on sale October 1 through November 30 for only $25 each (or buy five for $100). Tickets can be purchased online at bmwmoaf.org, and all money raised will be used to support the Foundation’s mission of advancing rider safety, education and training. Special thanks to MOA members Sam Garst and Randy Boris for donating this beautiful, original BMW motorcycle and keeping the heritage alive!
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An Anonymous rescue By Rick Salazar #212666 I BECAME AN MOA MEMBER A
week before this summer’s BMW MOA rally in Salt Lake City to receive the member discount. This was something I had been planning to do since attending my first BMW MOA rally in Billings, Montana, in 2015. When I registered, I also submitted my information to be included in the Anonymous Book. I had no idea just how important this would be. Just as I did two years ago, I had a great time at the rally and on Sunday was heading home to Denver aboard my '03 R 1150 RT. My route took me to Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Wasatch Mountains southeast of Salt Lake City and then through Guardsman's Pass before finally reaching Vernal, Utah. After meeting a few friends for lunch, I gassed up and prepared to travel the 120 miles or so miles across
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the Utah and Colorado high desert to Craig, Colorado. With my fuel tank full and as I prepared to get back on the road, a little voice in my head said, "check your rear tire pressure." When I looked at my rim, I was surprised to see that my differential seal had failed and gear oil was covering the rear tire and rim. About 335 miles from home and in 98-degree heat, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I was just grateful it didn't happen while I was in the desert riding at highway speeds. I was stranded, all alone on a Sunday afternoon. My trepidation was quickly building. Also at the gas station were a group of adventure riders coming from the rally and heading home to Michigan. One of them took a look at the bike, described a similar experience and asked me if I was a member in the MOA. "Yup, just last week," I said. He said that I probably didn't have an Anonymous Book yet so he proceeded to
pull out his and found the single contact listed in Vernal, Utah. I felt it was a shot in the dark, but I called, and Randy answered (with his permission, I will use only his first name). A short time later, Randy came out and took a look at my bike and said, "I'll be back in 20 minutes." Twenty minutes later, Randy shows up with a trailer, and with the help of the other MOA members at the gas station, we loaded the bike. I figured we would just trailer the RT to a shop or his house, but no. Randy trailered my RT 135 miles and more than three hours to Grand Junction, Colorado, which was the nearest BMW dealership. During the ride, we enjoyed great conversation, as we talked about his decades of riding BMWs with his wife of more than 30 years and his three Iron Butt rides as well as his 48 states in 10 days experience. When we finally arrived in Grand Junction, I offered to pay Randy for gas and
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food, but he would have "none of it." Together we unloaded the bike, and Randy said he was happy with just a "Smile and a Thank You." Randy said this was the only time in the three years he's been in the Anonymous Book that he has been called. As Randy drove off, I knew that I would be paying this forward with an enormous sense of gratitude. I just couldn't believe it. That single tow had paid for my membership many times over, and by the end of the day I was safe and sound in a hotel room a mile from Grand Junction BMW. When the shop opened on Tuesday, Becky took in my bike, and it was serviced that same day for a reasonable cost. On Wednesday, I was on the road again and on my way back home. What I experienced both at the rally and through this experience made me realize that I didn’t just join a club, I joined a brotherhood with a responsibility to serve. Thank you, all of the MOA members who stepped up to help me. As a new member, I will share this and hope others can experience the purpose we share with each other on the road. See you in Des Moines in 2018!
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Another great rally in the books By Matthew Parkhouse #13272 the back of Strider. The grounds were spread National Rally! The out enough that riding the rather thirsty truck bike was the way to explore. did the run to Salt The next couple of days were Lake City in two filled with catching up with days without any friends, helping set up Airproblems. We head Central and helping found the BMW other groups set up their MOA building and off-loaded the stations. pile of door prize boxes. We then I did get a little exploring located our camping spot and with of the downtown area of Salt the help of old friends, emptied the Lake and located an Italian truck of our gear and the pair of airgrocery I have done mailheads. We camped under a tree on order with for several years nice grass. The only catch? The spot Greg Hutchinson, in Airhead Central, helping one of several airhead (Tony Caputo’s - their Crem- riders with the mysteries of their CV carbs. was inside a fenced enclosure and the inelli Finocchiona is the only gate was way at the other end. I 90s. BEST cold cut/sliced meat used a bit of the wood that I had As Thursday’s show time approached, I’ve EVER had!). I also stumbled across evibraced the bikes with on the truck to several folks approached me asking if I had dence that the city really does have a huge set up a step to allow easy climbing of a diode board for an airhead BMW. I had homeless problem as I threaded the bike the fence. The Budget facility in Salt brought along my usual travel bag—about through a crowd of several hundred folks Lake turned out to be about a mile 20 pounds of tools and parts. Yes, I had a who were simply hanging out, spread out away from the Fairgrounds, so the diode board, so I was led to a group camp of for a few blocks right behind the downtown return of the truck was accomplished some Minnesota BMW riders, with several train station. Per an article in Salt Lake’s quickly, with Susanna riding back on airhead folk among them. They had already alternative weekly, this trouble-shot and stripped down the probstruggle has become a lematic R 100 GSPD bike. A visual inspecdeadlock among the vartion of the diode board showed it had ious players dealing with overheated to the point of shedding solder the issue. On the same at several points. As I had a soldering iron subject, we had been told and solder in my bag, I suggested trying to that there were several repair the board. There was an outlet at folks camping along the hand, so I plugged in the iron and rapidly Jordan River, which borrepaired the diode attachment points, using ders one end of the Fairlong-nosed pliers as a heat sink. The owner grounds. At the other had purchased a set of new brushes; they end of the grounds, there went in as well for good measure. When all were a few dodgy-lookthe parts were replaced on the engine, it ing people hanging fired up with a good reading on a pocket around in the parking lot voltmeter with the red light going out as it of the local 7-11. Neither should. We fixed the problem, and I got to group proved to be a hang on to my spare diode board. I started problem during the rally, carrying that bag on our Europe trip in and I certainly patron2006, and it has proven to be a very good ized the 7-11 for ice and It is nice to see some airhead parts among the vendors’ wares. In Slurpees as I dealt with thing to have with me many times. this case, Airhead Cycles out of Virginia. One enjoyable thing about this Rally was temperatures in the high ANOTHER GREAT
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
that Tommy, of Airhead Cycles in Manassas, Virginia, had a booth set up. I’ve gotten to know this gentleman over the phone for many years, as he had worked for Capital Cycle for several decades. He was at the last National in New York and I certainly hope that he will continue to show up at our gatherings. It was good to see those tables of his, covered with airhead parts. I’ve never taken a demo ride at a National Rally but was intrigued by the C-Evolution bike that BMW had among their demo fleet. I showed up at 8 a.m. to sign up for a mid-morning ride on the all-electric bike that is built along the lines of a large scooter. Jenn, our guide, gave me an individual orientation as the bike did have some differences in the controls and instruments. I built an all-electric three-wheel bike about 10 years ago (and have brought it to a couple National Rallies), so I had a basic idea of the quirks inherent in electric vehicles. After a run of about 10 miles, I was very impressed! Keeping up with the somewhat spirited riding of our guide was not a problem. It has a regeneration system that captures coasting energy and adds it to the onboard battery. This feels just like engine braking to the rider. The staff told me the bike has around a 100-mile range, partly depending on what setting the rider selects. It easily ran up to 60 mph with more speed obviously available. BMW is supposed to bring in 50 of them next year (all to be sold in California) with other plans “unknown now.” I’d consider getting one, but I already have my home-built “Priapus” for fair weather urban riding here at home. My only objections to
Me, after a fast ten miles on the new BMW “Concept E”. Obviously at its best as an “urban commuter” rather than a touring machine, but who just has one motorcycle? Pretty good if the only faults found were my opinions of the styling!
the C-Evolution were too much plastic and too much Back to the Future styling. I would definitely take a rattle (spray) can to the neon-green side panels! The rally went by quickly, as they all tend to do. I spent a fair amount of time at Airhead Central, keeping my hands clean most of the time. Greg Hutchinson from California was getting his hands dirty as I observed him helping several airhead owners set valves and deal with electrical issues. I did get my soldering iron out a second time to
help a rider install new brushes in his alternator My seminar went well, with lots of good questions. I laid out the contents of my travel bag to illustrate things that could be useful on any trip out of town. I brought my Slash 5, Strider, in to allow me to illustrate the technique of balancing carburetors on flat twin bikes. The following day saw Tom Cutter do his style of Airhead Q&A. I enjoyed learning a few more bits of information from the fellow who taught a couple of Butler and Smith mechanics training courses I was part of in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Come Sunday morning, Susanna and I tore down our camp and loaded the bikes with our gear. We took Interstate 80 across Wyoming for the return trip. Nice roads, mild weather and minimal winds and good-running airheads made for a pleasant couple of days. As we approached Laramie, where we would turn south toward Denver, I was reminded of the advertisement for the 1923 Jordan Playboy car: “Somewhere West of Laramie…” I arranged the camera and our riding for a few miles to get some shots of Susanna riding east toward that city. "Somewhere West of Laramie.” Near-perfect riding conditions as we headed home from Salt Lake City. Warm but not hot, a bit of a tailwind, good pavement and minimal traffic. It took awhile to get that 1923 advertisement for the Jordan Playboy out of my brain!
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It got hotter and hotter as we approached Denver. As the temperature went up, so did the traffic congestion. We ended up in a stop-and-go pattern with the air temp in the high 90s – NOT good for our air-cooled bikes! About this time, we picked up a companion, a fellow on some sort of oilhead RT. He too, was heading home from the Rally as we could spot a “Crossroads of the West” sticker on his fairing. As I led the two of us through the slowing traffic, I could see this fellow creating openings for Susanna to follow me. He ran interference for her like this for several miles until we came to the crash that was causing the backup. As we picked up speed riding to the South, he gave us a quick wave and accelerated off ahead of us. Just one more example of the camaraderie we find in the MOA. Thank you! We were home about 20 minutes, gear still partially on, when our friends from Wisconsin, Sue Rihn and Tom Van Horn, pulled up on their GSs. They spent a few days with us. The plan was that we would all ride to the Top ‘o the Rockies rally in Paonia, Colorado. At the last minute, Sue and Tom decided that they would head for home instead. We bid them a fond goodbye and set out for Paonia. It was a good rally this year and one that we would recommend. The riding around there is great, especially the road along the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. As I write this, we have just returned from our week in Fargo, North Dakota. The Pyrotechnic Guild International held its annual six-day meet at the Red River Fairgrounds. We camped in a familiar setting the primitive camping area. Our next-door neighbor was a former BMW MOA member who still regrets selling his R 90 S, and he spotted me as the writer of this column. We had two other MOA encounters. Peter, a fellow from New
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
York, is a PGI member who follows the convention around the country just to attend the final Grand Public Display. This is the closing evening of the Pyro Convention and consists of two hours of absolutely world class display pyrotechnics. He and I failed to connect in person, but he was up there in the stands, enjoying the show. Our third MOA encounter involved an RV pulling into a South Dakota rest area. We paused to spread out our dew-soaked tent and sleeping gear in the clear sunlight of late morning. I do not like to pack up wet tents and sleeping bags and have found that a half-hour or so of being spread on clean pavement is enough to dry things out. As I was arranging things, he and his wife walked up, asking if I was the “worldfamous airhead writer.” We enjoyed a short visit while the fabric pieces dried and then we both took off on our respective journeys. I continue to be pleasantly surprised at the social encounters working on this column has provided for me and Susanna. My next ride will probably be chasing the eclipse. The Path of Totality runs a couple of hundred miles to the north of Colorado
Springs. After reading a few articles about mobs of people arriving from large population centers, I’m leaning against going to the Casper, Wyoming, area (the path runs right through downtown Casper), since I don’t want to be in the company of folks from the population centers of Denver and the Front Range. Driving to Fargo, I found myself very close to the predicted path of the eclipse in the Sandhill area of Nebraska—a bit over five hours of driving from Colorado Springs. The largest nearby town is North Platte and the scenery really can’t be beat. If I can get away from here, I’ll probably carry a couple gallons of fuel and a bit of food—no telling what the impact of a lot of short-term visitors will be. The remainder of August is looking to be very busy. A visit from the grandkids (triplet three-year-old boys and their sister), repairing a damaged rental house, attending to a couple of local airheads’ mechanical problems, and the eclipse is a lot to fit in. Susanna will be flying to Boise to visit her 92- and 96-year-old parents after the grandchildren leave. The big Rally seems so long ago!
“Backstage” at the Pyrotechnic Convention. Well over a thousand of these big guns were used in the previous night’s display. Susanna and I have definitely been spoiled when we watch our town’s efforts for the 4th of July!
www.ceebaileys.com/cycle
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batterytech
Battery technology: AGM vs LFP By Wes Fleming #87301 IT’S A TENET OF POLITE DISCUS-
sion in the motorcycle community that you don’t bring up the synthetic vs. natural oil debate, despite the fact that nearly all commercially available oils we use in our motor vehicles are at least semi-synthetic to start. Only slightly behind that on the scale of “We don’t discuss politics, religion or these things” is the type of battery that is best to put in your motorcycle. There are a lot of myths surrounding batteries, and this article will attempt to explain away some of them, especially those attached to AGM and
lithium batteries. All batteries work in the same fashion and contain the same basic components, which are an anode, a cathode and the electrolyte. Electrons produced by the electrolyte flow from the anode to the cathode, creating the electrical power we use to start our motorcycles and power our add-on devices like heated jackets and GPS units. First up is that one battery is “better” or “best” for your motorcycle. The truth is that as long as the battery does what it’s supposed to (start your motorcycle), lasts as long as you expect it to (usually three to five years) and fits your budget, that is the best
battery for your motorcycle. Second: gel batteries and AGM batteries are not the same thing. Both are lead-acid batteries, but their similarities with old car and motorcycle batteries that had to be periodically topped up with distilled water largely end there. Gel (or gel-acid) batteries keep the electrolyte (the solution of sulfuric acid and distilled water) suspended in a silica paste. Absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries are a more advanced form of battery, but are often confused with gel-acid batteries because of misinformation or misunderstanding, as their electrolyte is absorbed
Even when you use the proper charger for your battery, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Improperly charging your battery can result in catastrophic damage, as seen here, which could result in fire, injury and/or death.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
into fiberglass plates, or mats. It’s often easier to simply refer to both gel and AGM batteries as one or the other, but they are significantly different. Gel batteries add sand (silica) to the electrolyte solution to turn it into a thick paste, thus creating a spill-proof battery that can be installed at just about any angle. Gel batteries are well suited for deep cycle use and generally have a long life. They’re not as susceptible to internal corrosion as wet cell batteries, so they usually last a long time. The biggest disadvantage to gel batteries is that they can be damaged by high temperatures, which can harden the gel and cause it to shrink away from the plates inside the enclosure, thus adversely affecting the battery’s performance. Gel batteries unfortunately do not function well below freezing (32 F / 0 C). Gel batteries are quickly and easily damaged by overcharging, which dries out the electrolyte paste and creates pits or holes in the gel that degrade its function. Special chargers are available to keep gel batteries properly topped up. It might be confusing, but the AGM battery is also a sealed lead-acid battery, it’s just that its electrolyte (the sulfuric acid + distilled water mix) is suspended in a series of plates made of polyester and/or fiberglass. This not only keeps the electrolyte evenly distributed throughout the battery no matter what angle it’s at, but it prevents any leakage or spilling if the bike is anything other than upright. One of the reasons AGM batteries work so well for motorcycle applications is because the cells are constructed under pressure and remain in their compressed state inside the battery housing. This is why AGM batteries are smaller than traditional wet lead-acid batteries, and also means that they handle vibration better, resulting in a battery that can handle the rigors of even the most off-roady of off-road motorcyclists. In addition, AGM batteries recharge more efficiently because of how the electrolyte is distributed, which means that when properly cared for, an AGM battery will last much longer than a traditional wet leadacid battery.
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TEC 40
batterytech
On paper, AGM batteries appear to be the best for motorcycles because of their low self-discharge rates, hearty construction, low susceptibility to sulfation, ability to function in low ambient temperatures, and resistance to damage and failure when deep cycled. AGM batteries require a purpose-built charger, however, as they are easily damaged by improper charging practices. I’ve been using an OptiMate charger for a number of years with excellent results, as all my motorcycles have AGM batteries in them. The reason many people confuse gel and AGM batteries is because they are similar in many of their characteristics. Their chemical processes are identical, in that oxygen produced by the positive plate is absorbed into the negative plate, which subsequently produces water (instead of hydrogen); this is why we don’t have to top them up like a wet lead-acid battery. Lithium-iron batteries are a variation on the lithium-ion batteries used to power consumer electronics like laptop computers and smartphones. Their chemical notation, LiFePO4, means that for every atom of lithium (Li) present, there is one atom each of iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) as well as four atoms of oxygen (O4). When phosphorus and oxygen exist together in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio in the same molecule, that molecule is called a phosphate. A lithium-iron battery contains inorganic phosphates, while organic phosphates are used in herbicides, insecticides and nerve agents. Organic phosphates are toxic to most insects and animals, including humans. For the remainder of this article, we’ll refer to lithium-iron batteries as LFP, which stands for lithium ferrous phosphate, the easy-to-say version of LiFePO4. LFPs are currently the safest, most fire-resistant and most powerful form of rechargeable lithium-based battery, but because the technology is new,
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
they are difficult and expensive to manufacture. The biggest benefit of the LFP battery is that its discharge rate remains consistent almost until it is completely discharged, providing a steady, reliable source of power. The disadvantage of this is that you get almost no indication that the battery has reached the end of its functional service life. One day it works perfectly, the next day it’s worthless. When it comes to myths and LFP batteries, there are many going around, so let’s take a look at them and see if we can get into the differences between AGM and LFP.
Myth: Lithium batteries are lighter than AGM batteries.
This isn’t a myth, it’s true. Lithium batteries tend to be smaller in size and lighter in weight than AGM batteries used for the same application. A typical AGM battery for a BMW motorcycle weighs about 15 pounds, while a lithium battery for the same application weighs just under five pounds. While this may be attractive for a race bike, where every ounce is critical, an R 1200 GS weighs 580 pounds with an empty gas tank! Saving ten pounds on a 600pound motorcycle should probably not be the primary consideration for choosing a battery.
Myth: LFP and AGM batteries are the same.
If this were true, we’d call them the same thing. They’re quite different, and in fact, not understanding these differences can result in a damaged battery. A fully charged AGM battery will show a voltage of about 12.8 volts. An LFP battery that reads 12.8 volts, measured across the terminals and with no load on the battery, is down at least a full volt from its fully charged state. This is why a lithium battery reading at 12 or 12.1 volts will have trouble starting the motorcycle.
Myth: An LFP battery won’t start my bike if it’s cold outside.
A clear disadvantage of LFP batteries is that they often have difficulty starting a motorcycle in cold weather. One way to get
around this problem is to turn the ignition on, wait for 30 seconds or a minute, and then try to start the motorcycle. It may take a few attempts to start the bike with a LFP battery when the weather is cold, so patience is often rewarded. A better solution is to combine the above with keeping your LFP battery on a proper charger.
Myth: An LFP battery has a higher capacity than an AGM battery.
A standard AGM battery will have six cells of about two volts each, while a standard LFP battery has four cells of about three volts each. In other words, both are 12-volt batteries. However, when you look at battery capacity, the number to look at is called “amp-hours” (Ah), which lithium battery manufacturers derive from a “lead equivalency” (PbEq) rating. A battery with a PbEq of 20 may only have six amp-hours of capacity, which is actually less than an AGM battery—up to four times less! What happens as a result is that a rider may charge their GPS, comm system, Go Pro camera, cell phone, etc. and end up surprised that their LFP battery is dead after just one or two days. The solution to this is to check out the true amp-hour rate that some LFP battery manufacturers are starting to list on their packages. A standard Odyssey AGM battery for a bike like a K 1600 GTL has 16 amp-hours of capacity, so compare an LFP battery to that.
Myth: It’s impossible to overcharge a lithium battery.
Maximum voltage for an LFP battery is 14.6 volts. Higher voltages will damage the cells, degrading their ability to be recharged. More importantly, damaged cells in a lithium battery may overheat when recharged, which could not only damage the other cells in the battery, but could, in rare cases, start a fire and do far more damage.
Myth: Lithium batteries must be kept fully charged at all times.
LFP batteries tend to function best when kept between 13.05 and 13.6 volts, but if they are discharged below 10 volts, that
messes with the chemical balance in the electrolyte. An LFP battery discharged below 13 volts is unlikely to even start the motorcycle, which would lead many riders to try to jump or bump start the bike. This is a mistake; the unique charging requirements of an LFP battery (see the next myth) mean that bump starting the bike and engaging the motorcycle’s onboard charging system is likely to damage the LFP battery’s cells, causing them to eventually overheat and possibly catch fire.
Myth: Any charger will do for LFP batteries.
If you buy an LFP battery for your motorcycle, don’t cheap out on the charger. It is critically important to buy a charger that is optimized for use on LFP batteries for a number of reasons. The most important reason is that the proper charger “under-
stands” the LFP battery’s unique charging requirements, which are not the same as those for a lead-acid battery—and that includes AGM batteries, which use the same basic electrolyte as your grandfather’s vintage pickup truck’s battery. Bikes with “always on” electronics (clocks, alarms, etc.) will discharge an LFP battery fast; remember that while the lead equivalency may be high, the actual amp-hour capacity is low, and while a good LFP battery charger can bring a discharged battery back from as low as one volt, it has to be done properly, by using low current until the LFP is above 12.8 volts, when it can then be hit with higher current for faster charging. A lead-acid battery charger uses high current at low voltage, which could easily damage that expensive LFP battery. Both AGM and LFP batteries benefit from being on a charger when the
motorcycle is not being ridden, but it is more important for the LFP batteries, which also MUST use a purpose-specific charger. If you have a mix of AGM and LFP batteries in your motorcycle fleet, that means you need more than one charger, and don’t mix them up. In the words of Ghostbuster Dr. Egon Spengler, “That would be bad.” It’s important to note that BMW Motorrad does not spec LFP batteries for their new motorcycles; they continue to use AGM batteries, even on the standard S 1000 RR. While I’m certainly not opposed to updating my motorcycle with new technology, the battery is one of the things that I don’t mess around with and tend to stick close to the OEM specs. Nobody wants to look down while they’re riding and see flames between their legs.
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discover 44
lessonsfromtheroad
That's My Book! By Ken Decroo #178241 LIKE MANY WRIT-
ers, I often wonder how much of an audience I actually reach. I feel this mostly in the quiet of the evening when I close my laptop and let the scenes and my characters retreat for a while. I was encouraged last spring during an impromptu moto trip to Baja. Spring is a good time to be in Baja on a motorcycle, and between rain storms, the mild weather is perfect for exploring both sides of the peninsula. It is also the time of year when offshore storms can kick up big swells and form some huge waves. When this happens, my young friends drop everything and race down to the legendary surf spots of Baja, which gives me an excuse to leave my writing table and get on a bike for a nice, long adventure ride. After my friends called, I wasted little time to pack my gear and head south on my BMW F 800 GS Adventure to be part of this gran adventura. I crossed the border at Tecate, wound through the Guadalupe Valley and raced to my place six miles south of Ensenada, Playa de Estero. The next day I set out early to ride south down Mexican 1D and join them. The ride there consisted of a 40 mile dirt trail winding through the coastal mountains, small settlements and ranchos before arriving at the cliffs of Cabo San Jose. Recent rains had complicated this ride with mud and washouts, and some of the water crossings were deep and long. Overall, it was a typical ride in the dirt until I accelerated out of an unusually deep and long
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
water crossing only to meet a drop off into a ravine where the runoff had washed out a whole section out of the trail. That was where I unceremoniously went down and found myself lying next to the stern of a shattered panga (boat) thrown into the hole to fill the ravine. Thank goodness for my light and agile 800. After I picked my bike up, I noticed something was not quite right. I was worried I had suffered a concussion as every time I picked a line, my bike seemed to veer off to one side which made my progress slow. Eventually I reached the cliffs overlooking the surf spot. Once off the bike, I discovered I had twisted my handlebars out of alignment. It was an amazing sight, looking over the blue and wild Pacific Ocean. It had been well worth the ride (as though you really need any reason to ride on two wheels). Huge waves kicked up on the offshore reefs, and I watched in awe as my friends streaked across the face of these racing giants. The juxtaposition between the power of the giant waves and their small but agile frames streaking across them was mesmerizing and beautiful. Now that my bike tracked properly, I parked it next to a small encampment of surfers and made my way down to the beach below to get a closer look. As I stood on the shore, I noticed a young woman sitting reading a book. It seemed odd to be nosed in a book with all the beauty and acrobatics going on just offshore. She
looked up and briefly smiled at me and returned to her book. That was when I noticed she was reading the novel I had written, Almost Human! She must have sensed I was still staring and looked back up. “How do you like the book?” I asked. She smiled and replied, “I love it. I can’t put it down.” Before she could return to it, I continued, “You know, that’s my book.” See frowned and replied. “No it isn’t. I bought it on Amazon.” Without saying another word, I smiled and returned to my bike. On my ride back, I wondered what the odds were of finding someone reading my book in such a remote spot. Sometimes you just have to step out of the way of a story and let it unfold on its own.
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BMW’S BAGGER: A First Look
By Wes Fleming #87301
Photography by Kevin Wing and Jon Beck.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
47
Close your eyes. Picture the kind of motorcycle they call a
“bagger.”
You probably see something close to the ground, long, sleek and shiny. Acres of chrome. Maybe apehanger handlebars, maybe not. Hard cases that complement the lines of the bike, but no trunk. Forward controls stretched out past the front of the engine. A pair of fat exhaust pipes with open mufflers letting people for miles around know the bearded guy wearing jeans, engineer boots and a leather vest riding it is a badass.
As any number of mystic gurus might advise, when it comes to understanding BMW’s entrance into the bagger genre, you must unlearn everything you know—or think you know, for that matter. The unlearning started in late August when BMW Motorrad hosted its press launch event for the K 1600 B at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.
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Asheville is in the western end of the state, less than an hour from Tennessee and South Carolina, and not far from Virginia; all four states boast access to some of the greatest riding roads east of the Mississippi River, including the Blue Ridge Parkway and dozens of other popular routes. Over the course of two days of riding, journalists from a dozen states and a
handful of countries racked up hours in the saddles of their baggers, exploring everything from interstate highways to one access road that could only generously be called such by exercising one’s imagination. Along the way, we experienced every kind of riding from high-speed getting-downthe-road to sitting and sweating in stopand-go traffic.
October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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BMW’s brand-new K 1600 B is indeed close to the ground, 2.8 inches closer to the ground than its sister, the K 1600 GT. It is long, sleek and shiny. There are hard cases on either side that complement the lines of the bike and a pair of fat exhaust pipes. There are a few chromebits—especially obvious are the mufflers on either side, tucked in tight below the hard cases—and more are available for aftermarket customizing. In place of forward controls are floorboards that cover crash protection bars and which can be replaced with storage compartments if you don’t want them. The tubular handlebar looks like a drag-style bar, wide and flat, and connects to the triple clamp with an oval loop. Despite the frame getting nearly three inches closer to the ground, the K 16 B has just ten millimeters less ground clearance than the K16GT, so you needn’t worry about bottoming out on rough roads, potholes or speedbumps. With ESA and all the suspension modes available—Road or Cruise for rider, rider + luggage or two-up—the Bagger’s suspension is as refined as anything BMW Motorrad has offered. As a matter of fact, the whole motorcycle is packed with the kind of technology that modern BMW motorcycle riders have come to expect. Dynamic traction control (DTC) keeps the driveline tamed in slippery conditions. Fuel injection mapping provides throttle response ranging from slightly soft (Rain mode), to crisp (Road) and even immediate (Dynamic). ABS Pro means the rider has access to anti-lock braking even when the bike is leaned over. Shift Assist Pro means never having to use the clutch unless you want to. Even the radio is high tech, with Bluetooth connectivity (for helmets) and a USB jack (for your phone or MP3 player) tucked into one of the side cases. It’s this technological wow factor that has some asking hard questions about the appeal of this motorcycle. Baggers do not traditionally have this refined level of electronic wizardry, and riders looking to cross over from other brands may find themselves intimidated by all the menus and
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settings available. Reading the owner’s manual should be a critical step in the ownership of a BMW motorcycle, something riders who have never owned one may not grasp immediately. When it comes to the looks of the Bagger, so far BMW riders seem to be polarized, with a love it or hate it division emerging. The Big B is deep within the acceptable styling of the target model, the bagger. The only thing about it that doesn’t look traditionally bagger-styled is the inline six-cylinder engine and aluminum frame spar coming down from the tank. It may not have a traditional batwing-type fairing, but the lines of the front are solidly within the realm of baggerdom.
If the technology intimidates riders of other brands of baggers and the looks intimidate people who already own BMW motorcycles, who is the target market for this motorcycle? All of those people and more. The rider who loves his V-twin bagger for an evening dinner meet-up with his chrome-polishing buddies will benefit from having a K 16 B in his garage for when he wants to go on a longer trip for the weekend or more. He can load up the side cases (which have the same capacity as the ones on the GT/GTL, 37 liters), strap down a bag behind him, and ride to meet his friends on the other side of the country. Similarly, the rider who has an F 700 GS already for general all-around riding may find himself or herself desiring something a little bigger, a little smoother for those longer trips that don’t involve any dirt or gravel roads. He or she can set off on the Bagger and put in a 500-mile day, arriving ready for whatever
the evening presents. From a drive train standpoint, the Bagger is all K 1600. The smoothness of the inlinesix engine is there; there is simply no vibration that makes it through to the hand grips or foot pegs (or boards). Proper clutch technique and appropriate use of Shift Assist Pro results in no driveline lash, though downshifting with SAP can be a bit abrupt and even jolting, depending on your speed and how fast you’re trying to stomp down through the gears. That same K 1600 engine that powers the GT and GTL is powering the B, and it’s everything you expect. The major difference, then, is in the ergonomics of the motorcycle. The K 16 B is unlike any other motorcycle BMW has ever made. BMW’s oft (and unfairly, if you ask me) maligned R 1200 C and CL motorcycles had forward controls. Rather, they had controls as far forward as you might be able to get the controls with a boxer engine. Without protruding cylinders, there’s nothing here preventing the existence of forward controls, but BMW avoided them, perhaps understanding that having two places to put your feet is better than locking them into one location on a motorcycle of this style. The floorboards are placed well from an ergonomic standpoint, and switching from the pegs to the boards shifts where the rider’s weight sits on the seat, trading one set of pressure points for another. The seat on the K16B is my only real beef with the bike. I opted for the factory tall seat for the two-day press event, and I’m glad that I did, as the hip and knee angles when my feet were on the pegs were a little sharp. Not uncomfortably so, but I am only about 6’ 3” with my riding shoes on. Anybody taller than I am may find themselves a little cramped. That feeling will go away by moving the feet out to the floorboards, but then, of course, there are no controls out there, which forces the rider to abandon the boards to shift or use the rear brake. It is not a difficult motion to get used to, as everything is intelligently placed, but it is something that some riders may not be comfortable with. Between the two
positions available (low/high) for either the tall or standard seat, then, the K 16 B can easily fit riders from just over five feet tall to over six feet tall—no doubt the vast majority of riders. I can’t blame BMW too much for a seat causing butt-burn after several hours on the road. My rear end has never met a stock BMW seat that it likes, and I am constantly on the search for the perfect seat for my backside. By the end of the first day of riding, I was ready to get off the bike, and by the end of the second day, I decided that if I ever buy a Bagger (and I would dearly love to) my first and possibly only aftermarket purchase for the bike will be a seat that conforms more to what I prefer. I spent those two days on the bike searching desperately for something to dislike, only to come up short on everything but the seat. Handlebar reach – perfect. Dash – bright, packed with information and viewable in direct sunlight. Throttle – responsive to a T. Brakes – fantastic. Windshield – great, easily adjustable to control noise, buffeting and wind flow. Heat – manageable, even in stop-and-go traffic. Suspension – excellent. I even love the way it looks, possibly because it doesn’t look like anything BMW has ever done before. I do hope BMW decides to offer the Bagger in more colors than black, but if they don’t, I’ll be perfectly happy riding a black one.
Bagger Specs
Engine
Type liquid-cooled inline six-cylinder
Capacity
Bore/Stroke
Valves per cylinder
Output
Torque
Compression ratio/Fuel
1649 cc 72mm x 67.5mm 4 160 hp at 7,750 rpm 129 ft-lbs at 5,250 rpm 12.2:1/premium unleaded (95 RON)
Engine control BMS-X
Emissions standard
Electrical System Alternator
EU4
700 W
Battery/Ah 12V/19 Headlight Xenon low-beam, Halogen high-beam; adaptive headlight optional
Transmission
Clutch Multi-plate wet clutch, hydraulically actuated; Shift Assist Pro optional
Gearbox Constant-mesh sixspeed gearbox w/helical cut gears Rear wheel drive
Shaft (bevel gear)
Suspension
Frame Aluminum bridge frame, load-bearing engine
Front wheel
Duolever, 4.5 in travel (GT: 4.9 in)
Rear Wheel
Paralever 4.9 in travel (GT: 5.3 in)
Wheelbase
63.7 in (GT: same; GTL: 66.1 in)
Steering head angle
62.2 deg
Other Data
Wet Weight
740 lbs (GT: 736 lbs; GT: 768 lbs)
Fuel tank capacity
7 gallons
Fuel efficiency
0-60 mph
3.09 seconds
41.3 mpg
Top speed
>125 mph
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Jordi Torres on the Althea World Superbike S1000RR. Torres has just crested the hill after the short straight at Laguna, is traveling approximately 160 miles an hour, is knee-down and the bike is touching the pavement so lightly after the crest that you can hear the traction control modulating the throttle to provide maximum power and speed for the grip available. Standing at this spot, watching and knowing what is happening on the bike is powerful proof of how well modern electronic rider aids work.
RR BY MICHAEL GOUGIS
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I know these roads. I have ridden them for as long as I have ridden a motorcycle. They are the asphalt capillaries away from the highways that link Southern to Northern California, the two-lane roads that offer an escape from the beaten path. For decades now, I've ridden them for weekend getaways, for motorcycle road evaluations, and every spring for a visit to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to watch the world's best roadracers on one of the most iconic circuits in the world. They offer everything that the roads can throw at a rider. There are wide-open spaces that test the ultimate power of the fastest machines (There is a reason that BMW brought us here, years ago, to sample the K1300S, at the time the most powerful motorcycle BMW ever had produced). There are tight, twisty sections, long, open sweepers, and if you are so inclined, you can escape these roads and jump onto long stretches of freeway to get you between Point A and Point B in as little time as possible. At the end of a day on these roads, you Highway 33 and respite from the heat.
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are deeply immersed in the experience of riding. Your vision is tuned in to the images at speed. Your skills are sharper, your knowledge of your machine more intimate, and your appreciation for the art of motorcycling never greater. For the 27th year since we first made this ride, the same group of friends joined me for the annual ride up to Laguna, this time to watch the Superbike World Championship and MotoAmerica races. This year, I wanted to do the ride on a machine that would, at first glance, seem to be out of its element. It's easy to focus on the sporting elements of the BMW S 1000 RR. Hard to overlook 190 or so horsepower at the rear wheel, semi-active suspension, massive disc brakes, dynamic traction control, and a riding position that looks like something off a Superbike grid. But the fact is that more than nine out of ten Supersports machines sold in the U.S. never are taken onto the track. They are used on the streets, as weekend sport riding machines, as commuters, and even as
long-distance touring bikes. Look at the parking lot at the WorldSBK races, and there are lots and lots of sportbikes with soft luggage attached. I have, in my library, Ian Falloon's book on the history of the iconic BMW R 90 S. The machine was praised for its ability to compete with the best on the track and perform the role of gentleman's express on the highway. So, the question here is simple: Can the finely honed blade of the S 1000 RR cut it in the role of touring bike? From the saddle of BMW's most advanced, most powerful and fastest motorcycle ever, can you hear the whispers of the ghosts of the R 90 S?
The Route Fire up the 101 in heavy traffic out of the Los Angeles basin. Overnight at a friend's house, where each year dinner gets a little longer and the boots-up time the next morning gets a little later. First up is the two-lane Highway 33 past Ojai, away from the coast and up over the mountains toward the great central plains
of the state. This road has everything: blind, tight switchbacks with the occasional rock and shale on the verges, long, sweeping turns with clear lines of sight for half a mile, and long, long stretches of straights that look like they were drawn on a map with a ruler. Drop down onto Highway 166, where the temperature is soaring. More two-lane highways get you over a high-speed mountain pass with broad, wide-open corners clearly drafted by a sportbike rider who had infiltrated the state highway department. Into Taft for fuel, with temperatures well into triple-digits. Back onto Highway 33 and onto a long, straight two-lane highway populated by big trucks and farming equipment, bisecting vast expanses of oil drilling rigs and empty land. Up to Highway 58: more tight, twisting two-lane asphalt with dramatic elevation changes thrown in. One stretch of straight pavement is just a series of blind crests, so steep that the other side is hidden. Even after riding that same road for so many years, the experience never fails to amaze me. A few more fast sweepers, up to Paso Robles for lunch, then a straight shot up the Highway 101 to Monterey, battling the vicious crosswinds through the vast agricultural tracts north of Greenfield. By the time the sidestands go down in Monterey, it's been more than 278 miles since Ventura. This portion of the ride tested both the sporting and touring capabilities of the machine. Loaded with a camera, a computer, running gear and everything else I'd need on a long weekend, the S 1000 RR carried a full complement of tank bag, passenger seat bag and saddlebags. The machine didn't seem to notice the load while riding at a pace that was appropriate for public roads, but quite far toward the enthusiastic end of that range!
Sport Riding The Metzeler Racetec RRs provided more than enough grip for anything I care to do in a corner, and the electronic rider aids really prove their value in real-world riding. I left everything on Sport mode, where the ABS just sort of sits in the corner and lets you get on with the task of braking (which is really just setting your corner entry speed). I was comfortable in the knowledge that if the unexpected occurs, the machine
Sylvain Barrier.
October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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has your back. In addition, the anti-wheelie and anti-slip allow you to get on the throttle enthusiastically, and if you cross the line, the machine once again keeps you out of trouble. This allowed me to more thoroughly enjoy the ride, accelerating harder out of corners with less worry. It really is amazing how unobtrusive the system is in street riding. When I'd dial in too much throttle for the available grip at the lean angle I was at, the machine just sort of gathered speed a little more slowly than the right hand wanted, then when all was well, picked up its skirts and flat flew. Clutchless shifting is one of those things that once you experience it, you're thinking, why did it take them so long? Accelerating out of fast corners, grabbing gears as you go, is seamless and doesn't upset the chassis
when leaned over, the power on hard. And clutchless downshifting means one less thing to think about when entering a corner. That is, really, the advantage of clutchless downshifting to racers: More of their brain is available to slice ever closer to the limits of braking, turning and leaning. The more brain available for that, the better (read, the faster, safer and more accurately) it can be done. And it works just as well on a two-lane highway. In short: The bike is a missile. The electronic rider aids make all of that capability accessible to you.
Touring with an RR What I found most interesting was that the technology incorporated into the bike for the purposes of getting it around a
Kevin Williams has done the 800-mile round trip to Laguna Seca for years on his BMW S 1000 RR.
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racetrack more quickly paid big dividends while touring on the bike. As on most long rides, comfort becomes a major factor on the way home. For me, that meant 371 miles straight, almost all on the 101, from Monterey to the far eastern corner of Los Angeles County. After two days of watching the races at Laguna, we chose to head home on Sunday night to try to avoid the worst of the heat. It was only partly successful, as it was still well over 100 degrees at 5 p.m. I recall thinking, as we rode south and the sun sank, that it couldn't possibly get any hotter, that eventually it was bound to cool down, and then rounding a corner past a foothill, I found that yes, actually, it could get hotter, thank you very much. After fueling at Atascadero, the temperature plummeted more than 40
degrees and then rose into the high 50s as we approached Pismo Beach and the Pacific Ocean. It shot back into the 90s a few moments later as our route brought us back inland toward Santa Maria and stayed there nearly the entire way home. It was still almost 90 degrees when I pulled into my garage at 10:45 p.m. Little things normally associated with reducing lap times made such a mile-eating grind far, far less unpleasant. Clutchless shifting made dealing with traffic a onehanded affair, not that you needed to do a lot of shifting with the torque and flexibility of the S 1000 RR motor. I first experienced an S 1000 RR on a test ride when the machine first was introduced, and all these years later the engine still thrills, every time. ABS took even more stress out of traffic. (And yes, while ABS isn't normally associated with racetrack use, the fact is that modern ABS systems would likely get most club racers around a circuit more quickly. Old superstitions die hard.) Add in a couple of touring-oriented
features like the heated grips and cruise control, and the bike becomes a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours without stopping. The electronic cruise control on the S1000RR is nice and accurate, and gave me peace of mind while stretching my right hand for a moment or two. Not that my wrists, back or legs ached much. On a modern sportbike, the bars are low, but the machine is so short (for agility on the track) that the reach to them is not far. The S 1000 RR's seat was well-padded, the pegs high but not cramped for my 5' 10” frame, and the sporting fairing does a decent job of deflecting the wind. Six hours straight on a cutting-edge sportbike platform capable of winning National-level Superbike races (see Jordan Szoke, the dominant rider in the CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship on the Mopar Express Lane BMW Superbike Team S 1000 RR) was a lot more pleasant than it had any right to be. The proof, to me, was that when I got home after that six-hour, 371-mile ride, I just got off the bike,
www.mortonsbmw.com
unloaded it, took off the luggage, wiped it down, showered and went to bed. The next morning, I felt like I could do it again—and wanted to.
Epilogue There was a moment on the ride up, in one of those big, fast, wide-open sweepers. My friend Kevin was ahead of me on his 2015 S 1000 RR, Chuck behind on his 2016 S 1000 RR. I was following Kevin closely enough that I could feel the turbulence left behind by his machine slicing through the air. Leaned over, knee out, upper body cranked into the wind for a proper cornering position, the wind noise and exhaust note provided the final sensory elements of a symphony of speed. The S 1000 RR was in its element; loaded with luggage and hundreds of miles into the trip, perfectly settled and stable, power pouring through the rear tire, giving me everything a sport-touring rider could want, and I thought, I wish I could live right here, in this moment, all the time.
www.mortonsbmw.com
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E lipsed by Kindness By William Cline #206386
Photo by Kevin Wing
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I
began planning a ride to see what became known as The Great American Eclipse several months ago. The plan was simple enough: find two points, each a day’s ride from my home in northeast Ohio, one to the west and one to the southeast, each of which would allow a half-day ride to the area of totality. When the eclipse was only four or five days away, I would pick which area was most likely to have clear skies and make a hotel reservation at what would then be my base camp city. On the day of the eclipse I would ride into the area of totality, witness the eclipse, then ride back to the base camp city. The plan accommodated the distance I had to ride and would avoid the inflated rates that were being asked for hotel rooms near the centerline of totality. I pitched the idea of this ride to several of my riding buddies. My friend Dan, whose touring bike is a Triumph Trophy SE, committed to the ride. The others probably thought I was a bit crazy to ride that far for an event that would last less than two minutes. As the forecast became reasonably reliable I chose the point to the southeast, Lexington, Kentucky, as my base of operation and Livingston, Tennessee as the place to watch the Eclipse. Lexington was a day’s ride from northeast Ohio, and the hotels were not over priced. Livingston was chosen because it was on the northern edge of the area of totality, was a small town with a nice city park, and was off the beaten path. I created routes using Google Maps, converted them to GPX files, and transferred them to my Nav IV via Garmin’s muchmaligned Base Camp software. We rode from Dan’s house in Wooster, Ohio, to Lexington the day before the eclipse, leaving in the middle of the morning and taking mostly secondary roads. Only about an hour’s worth of the five plus hour trip was on interstate highway. We rode through some great scenery on the way down and crossed two remarkable bridges, one over the Ohio River and one over the Cumberland River in Kentucky. The styles were vastly different. The first was the William H. Harsha Bridge, a cablestayed bridge that carries Routes 62 and 68 over the Ohio River at Aberdeen, Ohio. It
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was opened in the year 2000 and is a splendid tribute to modern bridge engineering. The other had no name, but was an interesting squared-design. The steel structure’s surface was allowed to rust creating a pleasing hue of reddish brown. Light poles in the middle would illuminate it at night. It was like riding through a brown box. My 2010 RT ran flawlessly, comfortable on the long stretches and very agile when things got more interesting. Dan’s Trophy, which we know looks remarkably like the RT but for the absence of the cylinder heads protruding from the sides of the engine, also gave us no problems and matched the RT the whole way in terms of speed and fuel consumption. Dan is a fine rider, and we took turns taking the lead. Livingston proved to be a great destination. The city had organized a public event in its practically new park. We arrived early enough to get a place to park our bikes and throw down a tarp at the edge of shelter. There was live music, free food, and free bottled water. The people around us, a collection of adults, senior citizens and little kids, were all in a great mood and extremely friendly. Even when I revealed that I was a Yankee from Ohio they still treated us well. They all ignored Dan’s provocative shirt which proclaimed Ohio State as National Champions. The weather was good with a few clouds that created some concerns around noon. But by the time the Eclipse was underway the clouds had dissipated and the skies were clear and blue. At some point in the beginning of the trip I made the flip remark that a journey does not become an adventure until something goes wrong. It did. As I was attempting to get up from our tarp to watch the beginning of the eclipse I lost my balance and twisted my left knee. The pain was immediate. I could barely put any weight on my left leg. It began to swell. This was not good. I managed to enjoy the eclipse, witnessing the corona, the beads and the diamond ring effects at the beginning and end. But then came the reality that I was hundreds of miles from home and doubted I could handle the weight of the RT, much less get on or off of it. The people around us were remarkable. I
was offered a place to sit, food, cold water, and pain medication. The local EMT’s arrived, checked my knee for mobility, and then applied a cold pack, securing it with a flexible wrap bandage. I was dependent upon and accepted the kindness of strangers. Seriously hobbled by the injury, with Dan’s help I somehow got on my bike. We then rode to Lexington, about 146 miles and nearly three hours away. It was not pleasant. The pain was constant and my leg was painful and stiffening. The staff at my hotel, another group of strangers, was extremely accommodating and made sure I had a supply of ice for my knee. Room service was the only option for dinner. I was offered assistance with my gear and all expressed concern for my well-being. That evening I contemplated my options: get out the Anonymous book and seek the help of an MOA member, leave my bike at the nearby BMW dealer and fly or drive home, stay another day or two and hope the swelling and pain subsided, or gut it out and ride the 300+ miles home. After a sleepless night I chose the latter. On the day after the eclipse we rode nearly six hours and over 300 miles, avoiding interstate travel for all but about the last 90 minutes. The pain and discomfort were all I could endure. A late day thunderstorm drenched us and blew the bikes around, but we made it to my house without incident. The assistance and concern of those total strangers was matched by my riding companion who rode with me all the way to my home in northeast Ohio, helping me get on and off the bike at rest and fuel stops. He had intended to split off part way back and ride to his home, but he stayed with me to be sure that I arrived safely home. So the journey became an adventure. The Great American Eclipse was all it was built up to be, but for me the kindness of others, all strangers but one, eclipsed the solar event.
www.aerostich.com/bmwon
Stage Road is protected from California's windblown coastal roads by gentle, rolling hills.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  October 2017
My Favorite Ride By Colleen Sepulveda #108960
Stage Road
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I
f you’ve ever heard of the Santa Cruz Mountains or, better yet, have had the opportunity to ride through them, you know how amazing the views are, how exquisite the twisting, turning pavement is and how many other motorcyclists love this area. My favorite ride covers some wellknown and lesser-known roads in this area. My 2016 R 1200 GS is an excellent partner for this ride but serious fun will result no matter what bike you choose to pilot. I taught myself to ride using my dad’s Honda 350 when I was 16, hung up my helmet until my kids were old enough to drive, and have been riding lawfully for the past 15 Once I started riding, I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop. I am a life-long learner and I try to improve my riding constantly through additional rider training and practice. I also teach new and advanced rider courses in California. The San Francisco Bay Area is full of interesting towns, people, and arts. Not far from the hustle, bustle and mind-numbing traffic of the area lies pristine and isolated
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
jewels that beg for exploration by motorcycle. If you begin in the San Francisco Bay Area, take Highway 92 over the mountains to Half Moon Bay. While the road can be filled with other traffic attempting to escape the rat-race, it is still a fun route and it gets you to the coast! Half Moon Bay is a charming coastal town and if you visit during October, you can check out the Art and Pumpkin Festival, one of the oldest and largest local festivals in California. Highway 1 south from Half Moon Bay offers travellers full views of the sparkling ocean and leads to Stage Road, a very narrow and empty road that winds southward as it parallels Highway 1 to the east. As raw and windblown as Highway 1 is, Stage Road is protected and enveloped by the rolling hills. Instead of ocean vistas, you are treated to quiet hidden enclaves within the twisty valleys. Spanish moss hangs from the Monterey Pines that look like life-sized bonsai trees in the little pockets between the golden hills. There isn’t any sound or traffic as you enjoy the peaceful road and old oak trees in quiet solitude. Don’t worry about
the lack of a centerline because no one is coming from the other way. Quiet farms and lonesome hills with twists and turns populate Stage Road. You just might feel like the only person for miles around on this pavement…but that doesn’t mean you are alone. Look for piglets and other farm animals lounging in the shade next to the road as well as hawks quietly floating above you. Upon entering the small town of Pescadero, take a left onto Pescadero Creek Road, away from the ocean. The view changes quickly from rolling coastal hills to Redwoods. The twists come fast and furious which are very fun, especially on the fresh pavement. When Pescadero Creek Road ends at Highway 84, turn right to head for Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline (Hwy 35). The restaurant has been a captivating destination for Bay Area locals since the 50’s. Lunch at Alice’s isn’t just filling for the belly, be sure to check out the amazing motorcycles and exotic cars in the parking! Yes, you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant!
A ride through the redwoods.
After lunch, head southeast on Hwy 35 to Hwy 9. Logging redwood trees is the reason this area was first populated so you will find lots of twists and turns, forests and hills, oak trees and views of the Bay Area far below the hillsides. Keep your eyes open for sights that will delight any rider. Two wheelers on push-bikes accompany you as they burn calories on the uphill climbs and glide like hawks on the downhills. Westbound Hwy 9 takes thrilling tight turns to an even higher level as riders continue through oldergrowth timberland until reaching Hwy 236. The aroma of sun-warmed pine needles and tree bark reminds you that this place is more than just beautiful to the eyes. At Hwy 236 the road narrows as you enter the redwood forest for perfect pavement and hairpin turns. There is no centerline as you navigate around blind corners
Alices Restaurant
October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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on perfect pavement. Moss coats the tree trunks and the air smells ancient. The solitude is complete until you find another vehicle coming around the corner‌so beware! Eventually, the forest fades to golden hills and gnarled oaks. The road widens a bit and then plunges back into the tall trees as you descend back to lower elevation. The stupendous view as the ribbon of pavement enters Big Basin State Park always
reminds me of elves and other magical creatures. The roadway enters from above the gigantic trees and the sun is only allowed in concentrated shafts of light through the thick forest growth. If it is hot in the Bay Area, natural air conditioning can always be found in this ancient grove. Big Basin is California’s oldest State Park and well worth the visit. My favorite route always reminds me just how fortunate I am to live in this beautiful
Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park along California Highway 1.
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area while still being close to modern conveniences. The best times to ride this route are whenever it is dry and the road is clear. Steep hillsides combined with heavy rains often lead to small (and sometimes large) landslides so late April through November is the optimal window. The views are amazing, the roads are world-class and the thrill of riding a motorcycle with a goal towards mastery of the machine is undeniably rewarding.
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September 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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www.m4motorcycles.com
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  October 2017
www.bmwmoaf.org
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FOUNDATIONNEWS
FOUNDATION OUR MISSION
The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Foundation is dedicated to supporting motorcycling and its rich heritage for BMW MOA members and the motorcycling public by funding programs that advance rider safety, education and training.
BMW MOA FOUNDATION OFFICERS
Chuck Manley, President cmanley@bmwmoaf.org Mark Austin, Vice President maustin@bmwmoaf.org Bex Becker, Treasurer bex@bmwmoaf.org Greg Straub, Secretary gstraub@bmwmoaf.org BMW MOA FOUNDATION DIRECTORS
Vance Harrelson vance@bmwmoaf.org Randy Logan rlogan@bmwmoaf.org Will McHardy wmchardy@bmwmoaf.org Peter Perrin pperrin@bmwmoaf.org BMW MOA FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS
2539 John Hawkins Parkway Suite 101-111 Birmingham, AL 35244 866-865-1055
GEARS, GS Girls and Silipints By Mark Austin #72590, Foundation Vice President OUR 2017 RALLY IS NOW HISTORY. THE
BMW MOA Foundation has played an active role in providing rider safety training and education at the international rallies for many years, as hopefully all BMW MOA members know. This year was no exception, as a number of activities were part of the schedule of events. One of the best-known events is the annual GEARS (Gaining Early Advanced Riding Skills) program, which provides training for young riders, some of whom had never operated a motorcycle before. We had three females and six males in attendance from as far away as Michigan and Florida. Three of these riders participated in the advanced portion of the training, as they had already completed a basic MSF dirt training program. All students successfully completed the course and were fortunate in being able to spend a little riding time on the GS Giants track. In addition to receiving hands-on training in motorcycle operation, students also received classroom instruction, including use of the SMARTrainer (Safe Motorcyclist Awareness and Recognition Trainer). The trainer is a computerized tool that allows riders to experience simulated potential
Ted Moyer, Executive Director tmoyer@bmwmoaf.org
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
real-life dangers that might be encountered while riding a motorcycle on their choice of road types. The SMARTrainer helps students develop awareness skills and the ability to predict events that might occur while riding on streets. The safe environment of a computer-based simulation can increase awareness and prepare students for their first street experiences. Peter Perrin, the Foundation Director responsible for planning the 2017 GEARS program, reported that the majority of riders advanced their skill levels and that there were no injuries, despite the extra toll placed on riders by the heat. Randy Logan, another Foundation Director, summarized that “GEARS is an amazing program that changes families’ lives.” Parents voiced their gratitude and some of the young riders expressed their desire for an additional day of training. One parent, Ken Hall, was instrumental in lending a helping hand with GEARS. One of the goals of the Foundation is to “promote programs for first-time riders, with an emphasis on youth, women and families.” GEARS, with its emphasis on young rider training, supports the first portion of this goal. In Salt Lake City, we expanded our outreach by co-sponsoring a
seminar with the GS Girls, a BMW MOA chartered club. Approximately 45 women and men attended the morning session on Friday of rally week. After a continental breakfast of pastries, fruit and coffee, the GS Girls presented discussions of their group and individual accomplishments, goals and plans. A young participant in the GEARS training program talked briefly to the group and was warmly welcomed into the “tribe,” as the GS Girls like to refer to themselves. After the seminar, many of the participants and attendees braved the hot weather for training and practice on the GS Giants course. The GS Girls do not limit their participation to women’s events and are involved in a number of activities, including their support of the Motorcycle Relief Project, which provides riding experiences for veterans who suffer from PTSD and other injuries. If you would like to learn more about the GS Girls and their activities, please check out their website (gsgirls.org) or ask any member for information. They are a very congenial group and exemplify the type of motorcycling community that many of us value as part of our motorcycling family. We would like that thank the many rallygoers who stopped by our booth to chat or support the Foundation by purchasing a Silipint cup. We are looking forward to our participation in the 2018 rally in Des Moines, Iowa. If you have a young person in your life between the ages of 13 and 18 who would benefit from GEARS training, please watch the Foundation website for a later announcement. The program is free and participants also receive free rally registration. Also, don’t forget about our other programs, such as the Paul B Scholarships, which are available all year to help fund rider training. These scholarships are available for all ages. As one former Paul B Scholarship recipient, Jason Bourke, stated, “Gadgets are nice. New gear is great, but none of that helps you go faster. For a fraction of the cost of a snarling Akrapovic exhaust, you can buy something that will help you to ride faster and guarantee more fun. What’s that? Learning to ride more skillfully.” The Foundation is here to promote safe riding and other related goals. Please feel free to take advantage of the resources that we have available. For more information, see our website: bmwmoaf.org.
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skills
RIDEWELL
Getting there:
My first experience transporting my motorcycle By Marven Ewen #150506 I OCCASIONALLY
see motorcycles on back of pickup trucks and wonder why anyone would do that. Is there something wrong with the bike? Is it newly purchased? It always seemed to me like “real” motorcyclists ride. Well, this year I found myself doing the unthinkable. I carried my bike on my pickup from Minnesota to southern Ontario. I have made the trip many times on my bike. I have relatives in Ontario and love to ride the back roads there. This time we were traveling there in order to attend a wedding. My wife is also a rider, but really doesn’t care to spend entire days traveling by motorcycle. We would definitely have to go by car, which would rob me of the opportunity to do some riding while there. I considered riding my bike while she drove the car, but that just didn’t seem right. A plan started to formulate in my mind: why not put the bike on my pickup and take it with us? With no experience, I started doing some research. Would my bike even fit in the truck bed? After some careful measurements, I realized the bike would fit but I would have to leave the tailgate down. Next, I started looking at ramps. Thirty years ago I had the terrifying but successful experience of riding a motorcycle up a long, 18-inch wide ramp onto the back of a home mover truck. More aware of my mortality these days, I decided I wanted the widest ramp possible. I settled on a 48-inch
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wide ramp that actually breaks down into three foldable pieces to stow beside the bike and ordered it from Discountramps.com. I went to the local motorcycle shop and bought some friction style tie-downs. I have tried ratcheting tie downs in the past on other projects, but never got the hang of them. At some point I always end up losing
some skin off my fingers and jamming the mechanism. I would also use this type of tie-down to secure the ramp to the truck while loading. I bought a locking wheel chock. Driving the front wheel into this would keep the bike from falling over on me as I tied it down. Not wanting to drill mounting holes
in my truck bed, I attached the chock to a piece of three-quarter inch plywood sheet that I cut to seven feet. It was probably overkill, but I also wanted to avoid having the back wheel rest on the tailgate unsupported. Apparently there is some risk of the tailgate supports failing according to the truck owner’s manual. The heavy plywood would help distribute some of the weight off the tailgate. I then wrapped the plywood with a tarp and fastened it with staples. This would prevent the wood from getting soggy if it rained. I decided to take my V-Strom. It is lighter than my RT, has better tie-down points and would be cheaper to replace if this project ended in disaster! After all the planning and everything in place, including straps to secure the ramp to the truck, I walked up the ramp picturing how I was going to ride it on. I realized once I got the front tire on the ramp I would not be able to stop until the back wheel was on too, because my legs would not be long enough to hold me up at that point. I then mustered my courage and rode the bike up the ramp and onto the back of the truck without stopping until I was on the truck. It took a couple of attempts to get the wheel into the chock, but once I did, the bike was stable. I then tied down the front and back. With trepidation we left for our trip, fully expecting the motorcycle to fall over on the first corner. More than 900 miles later, it had not budged. The success of this trip has made me more confident to do it again. I can see the rationale now: in certain situations, arriving where you prefer to ride, with the appropriate bike for the style of riding you like to do. Arriving fresh and with tires that aren’t squared off from riding hundreds of straight miles...hmm, I wonder if my wife would notice an S 1000 RR in the garage!
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October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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skills 74
askapro
Add rider training to your bucket list By Lee Parks #162125
Q: Hi Lee, I have
enjoyed your column in the ON magazine! I have great case study for avoiding speeding awards. While at the RA rally this year, I met a woman who said she has a distinct advantage whenever she is pulled over. She does solo, long distance travel, and once she pulls off her helmet and the officer sees she is a woman, she then proceeds to tell the officer how she is travelling to see her grandkids, because most of the time they do wonder where she might be going “by herself.” Well, most of the time she is also on her way to a rally, but she said the officer might not understand that. Then she follows that up with, “Here, let me show you some pictures,” but by that time they just give her a warning. I think all grandmas deserve such a break! Additionally, I know you have touched upon this in a prior column, but in particular for new riders, what training courses do you recommend? I suspect there may not be too much difference between recommendations for experienced riders and those starting, after a couple of years, mainly because we could probably work through some courses, and then just keep that rotation of courses going over the years because as we refine our skills each year, we can pick up new information. I’m a woman rider with 1.5 years of experience on a 2009 F 650 GS, who rides every weekend with Gateway Riders club members on curvy back roads. I’ve done two longer camping trips/rallies, including the
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
MOA last year and the RA rally this year with my husband who rides a 2015 R 1200 GSA (I was a backseat driver for awhile). I have about 7,000 miles experience and have taken the MSF BRC and took the half-day advanced cornering parking lot course and the advanced backroads guided ride with a coach for five hours, the latter two at the MOA last year. I do plan to stay mostly on road, but as it always happens, I have ridden on gravel roads (including a U-turn!), through shallow flooding during rain storms, etc. Is there kind of a bucket list of training to contribute to being a good rider? For that matter, is there a bucket list of mustread motorcycle books? Lastly, is there a bucket list of skills that every rider should practice? Sorry for the long-winded email! As a new rider, I just want to keep improving, with a focus on safety. As I discuss things like this with more experienced riders, many admit to me (because I’m new and because I am a woman) that they too are interested, but maybe we all just need a bucket list/check list reminder! Thank you for taking the time to read my email! Joy to you, Tracy Anderson
A:
Thanks Tracy. I will endeavor to answer your myriad questions and consolidate some of them, if I may. To begin with, I’m very impressed with both your curiosity and gumption to become a better, safer rider. If all newer riders had your dedication to safety, our fatality numbers would be a fraction of what they are today. Incidentally, motorcyclists make up approximately 13.5 percent of the total traffic fatalities each year, yet we ride well under 1
percent of the total miles driven on our roads in the U.S. Do the math, and it comes out to 38 times (3,800 percent) more dangerous to ride a motorcycle vs. than to drive a car per mile as far as fatalities go. Our training team feels this is so important that we teach that fact in all of our California Motorcyclist Safety Program Motorcyclist Training Courses and Total Control Beginner and Intermediate Riding Clinics across the country. As far as a “bucket list” of training, books and skills, I’ll give you a short list based on ones I’ve personally taught/taken/read/ used and can recommend. This should not be taken as a complete list, as there are many other great options I have not tried. I simply don’t want to recommend anything that I don’t have any direct, first-hand experience with. Given that caveat, here is an excellent alphabetical appetizer list to start any enthusiast’s lifelong learning process after completing some sort of beginner training.
Training Schools (Intermediate Street)
Total Control Intermediate Riding Clinic
Training Schools (Advanced Street) M Gymkhana MGX Day Session MotoMark1 Maximum Control Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic
Training Schools (Track) California Superbike School SoCal Supermoto Total Control Track Clinic
Training Schools (Off-road) American Supercamp MotoVentures (multiple levels) Rich Oliver’s Mystery School
Training Schools (On-street/ Adventure)
MotoMark1 Adventure Motorcycle Training Tour Stayin’ Safe Class and Tours
Riding Skill Books
A Twist of the Wrist, Volume II How to Ride Off-Road Motorcycles More Proficient Motorcycling Proficient Motorcycling Street Strategies The Upper Half of the Motorcycle Total Control, Second Edition
Critical Skills to Learn/ Practice Body position Concentration Fear management Lane position Line selection Maximum threshold braking Right attitude Throttle control Trail braking Tight U-turns Vision
Feel free to read magazine and online reviews—and get personal recommendations from friends—to see which educational/training opportunities are the best fit for you to start. Think of them all as tools in your riding skills toolbox. I’ve never met anyone with too many safety tools…but you can easily end up with too few if you don’t make acquiring them a priority.
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. www.heidenautires.com October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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jacktheriepe
The little crush washer that could By Jack Riepe #116117 THE TRUTH NEVER
serves me well. Throughout my cursed life, people with long faces have always told me, “Tell the truth. It is the best policy.” After more than 30 years in public relations, I can tell you that truth is like penicillin. It may cure clap once or twice, but after that, it just makes things worse. Take my August column in the BMW MOA’s Owner’s News. I told the simple truth about a motorcycle, a woman, a snake, and something that all male riders take a delight in doing. There were no references to hit-and-run romance, gin mills, fast riding, cheap liquor, nor the whiff of a cigar. There was no profanity. I didn’t even resort to innuendo. And still the Pitchfork and Burning Torch Crowd found umbrage in my now famous “Snake” story. My writing is colored by my perception of a motorcycle. To me, a motorcycle is a sensuous object. It is a machine designed by hedonism, with hedonism defined as “the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.” Because that’s what a motorcycle is: the satisfaction of the senses. And the key word in this definition is “ethical.” Why else would anyone choose to endlessly ride a machine in the heat, in the rain, in the cold, in the backwash of huge trucks, at the mercy of stupid deer, subject to vibration, and occasionally fraught with inconvenient breakdowns that can cost millions of dollars? (I am exaggerating. BMW “K” bikes do not vibrate.)
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
The answer to that question is because riding a motorcycle simply overwhelms the senses. Throwing a leg over one immediately makes me 19 years old again. And when I was 19 years old, I was a quarterinch off centerline feral. There are thousands of BMW riders out there who feel the same way. They just don’t say it. Fortunately for me, most of them like it when I do. But I don’t want to alienate readers who prefer their motorcycles stories to begin with, “Once upon a time…” So I am trying a new concept with this column. This piece will be a gentle story that everyone can relate to without experiencing an emotional laxative effect. It is called, “The Little Crush Washer That Could.” Once upon a time, in the reign of the Pharaoh Imohotep III, a company based deep in the Black Forest (nestled between expensive ham and ridiculous cuckoo clocks) built a motorcycle in which the cylinder heads hung out both sides like twin circus riders on one horse. It was a happy time for the world, and the Pharaoh was buried with this motorcycle, the design of which did not undergo any major mechanical changes until last week. One of the marvels of this motorcycle was the creation of “the crush washer.” This was a single-use metal disk with a hole in the center that acted as both a seal and a way to seat a bolt or a plug without fear of it coming loose. It was the least expensive part of the motorcycle and priced at three silver strands, or 25 acres of wheat, or ten sheep plus five wives and one pyramid. In 1908, Sir Henry Hookstaff discovered the tomb, liberated the motorcycle into his secret collection, and took it apart to learn its mysteries. He was astounded to discover a semi-precious coin (worth a pyramid) used to keep the sacred whale oil lubricant from leaking on the tomb floor. Anxious to conceal this coin from the prying eyes of annoying authorities,
Hookstaff hid it in plain sight, by having it sewn into the face of his granddaughter’s doll, as the left eye. For years, the child carried this doll in her arms, never realizing the priceless treasure it masked. Then in 1929, while on a trans-global zeppelin flight, the child dropped the doll from an open window on the dirigible’s observation deck. The airship was cruising over the least known part of the Amazon jungle, and the doll was thought lost. Two days later, the zeppelin blew up as it approached Buenos Aires, struck by fireworks to celebrate its arrival. No one thought of the doll again. The doll was not lost. It had been found by Ooglabagah, a giant among pygmies and the leader of the “The Anteater People.” (The Anteater People got their name from an incident that occurred once in their 7,000-year history, during which they found a wounded anteater and ate it.) Ooglabagah had been contemplating a nice centipede and fungus lunch, when this object fell from a silvery cloud and struck him on the head. (Historians note it was a lucky thing the kid didn’t drop a motorcycle transmission.) Ooglabagha recognized the doll as a female shape and thought it was intended by the god of the Silvery Cloud to be his seventh wife. In time, the doll became Ooglabagah’s favorite wife, as it said and expected nothing. He kept it on a little alter. The cloth doll deteriorated in that oppressive humidity, until only the crush washer remained. Ooglabagah then carved a stone idol in the shape of the doll and set the crush washer in the place of its left eye. This idol became known as “The Silent Goddess,” and quickly became a legend among the tribes of the Amazon. At night, jungle drums carried the story of the beautiful, silent woman worshipped by the Anteater People. Then, in 2016, A BMW rider named Stewie Lomanski from Lodi, New Jersey, rode his custom-painted silver GS
Adventure out of the jungle and into Ooglabagah’s village. Ooglabagah was long dead and remembered by his descendants, who’d roasted and eaten his body decades before. But the stories Ooglabagah told were very much alive. The tribe had never seen a zeppelin, but this silver mastodon on two wheels was the largest moving thing they could imagine. They fell to their knees, chanting, “Zeppelin… Zeppelin… Zeppelin.” Lomanski knew a good thing when he saw one. He had been competing in a fierce race, testing the bike’s handling capabilities on the smoothest paved roads constituting a course between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, when he took a wrong turn. Fourteen days later, he was in the Amazon. “This is amazing,” thought Lomanski. “Every time I order something online it comes from this hellish place.” Lomanski was at the end of his rope. The 87-gallon gas tank on his bike was almost dry. He’d been searching for 97 octane for the last 72 hours and had given up hope. He was willing to be a god for a weekend, to gain some rest in a thatched wattle, and to drink the extract of ground tarantulas from the skull of a capybara. Then tragedy struck. The plug fell out of the GS’s oil pan and disappeared. Lomanski spent six months, watching his pygmy hosts hack down a giant ironwood tree, nearly two hundred feet high and 28 feet in circumference, to carve a single plug for the oil pan. During that time, he took three native wives just to be sociable. The plug would work, but not without a crush washer. Lomanski did the unthinkable. He pried the ancient crush washer from the face of the idol, and replaced it by painting a simple little circle with some silver nail polish that GS riders always carry. Then three hundred members of the tribe lashed themselves into a harness and pulled the gasless giant through the jungle all the way to
Minneapolis, to the race in which Lomanski still placed third. Lomanski was on this fifth oil change after the race, when he instructed the mechanic to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the crush washer, so it could be used again. The mechanic was familiar with the Hookstaff saga and recognized the ancient Egyptian markings on the crush washer. When the crush washer was thrust into a fire, the markings became easily visible. They read, “One crush washer to rule them… One crush washer to find them… One crush washer to draw them all and in this story bind them… (My apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien.) Now let’s see who gets pissed off at this piece.
My book, Conversations With A Motorcycle, is back in print and shipping, but the last five chapters — dealing with douches in New Jersey — have forced me into hiding. Worse, the controversy over the Alex Coprey chapters in the sequel book Motorcycles Speak Louder Than Words, has broken my health. I need five operations to get out of this wheelchair and get back on my K 75. There are rumors going around that one of these operations is for a sex change. The rumors are true. I am trying to change my sex to “Frequently.” Buy both books at jackriepe.com. These last few lines ought to get me the firing squad.
www.ztechnik.com
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mileageslaves
What I learned this summer By David Cwi #28490 THIS
SUMMER
was spectacular, especially the ride to and from the National Rally. Thinking back on that ride, I realize that it proved “they” are right: Old dogs resist new tricks, especially when the dog is having so much fun with the old tricks. Let me illustrate: I LIKE messing with Clyde. Not often mind you, but I’ve been doing the same trick for years, so why change to something new? Who the heck is Clyde, and what the heck am I talking about? Well now, your questions set the table for the necessary back story, so you can appreciate my state of mind and how it all started. Clyde is a retired commercial pilot. He is, in fact, an original Raider who typifies, in some respects, what is happening to that group and to riders in general. He’s already announced the date on which he’ll park his trackday bike, and he knows when he’ll stop riding altogether. These decisions are totally driven by the calendar. Commercial pilots exit the cockpit by law when they hit a certain age. Clyde is applying the same logic to motorcycling. But Clyde, and John, too, and before him, Carl, started to resist and reject long days in the saddle when they hit a certain age. Some no longer want to ride at night, which shortens the day. More to the point, age can, it seems, trigger a reluctance to even contemplate a 1,000-mile day run. That had an impact on how I planned this year’s Raider ride to the Rally. I wanted to ride with Clyde this summer. He wanted 500-mile days,
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
so 500 miles days it would be. After all, there is always the ride back home, and Lo and Behold Indy to Salt Lake was a near perfect 1,500 miles—a sweet, fast “day ride.” I could plan a scenic ride west on great twisty roads and even make a stop in Vegas since old Blood and Guts was along and he’d never been there. Gee. The Million Dollar Highway in Colorado. Then Utah and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Zion, Vegas, and twisty Utah to Salt Lake City. This was going to be way cool, and then I could get my long-distance jollies on the way home. To return to our tale, Clyde is a good guy, but he can drive me nuts in one respect. I send him emails with trip details that he either never reads or can’t find, so he can be exasperating as he repeatedly asks for information already sent. And he is always sent a GPX file charting the trip route with gas stops that he never loads to his GPS. Since he does not know the route, that makes him easy pickings for Clyde torture. You see. I know when he is going to run out of gas. How so, you ask? Well I just listen to his claim about how far his precious Ducati ST 4 can roll on a tank and deduct 15 percent. We are going west and going fast and that means we are rolling out of Hays, Kansas, in a headwind and going uphill. Although you might not realize it, the bike does. So gas stops need to happen short of 220 miles or Clyde is going to be in a panic. Naturally after a “short” first stop to get rid of morning coffee, I make the next one 220 miles. So we meet up in Hays, Kansas, and the first stop goes as planned. Eventually as we roll along, via the helmet COM system I hear, “Dave, watch your six. Clyde is coming. He pointed to his tank and now is on the move.” Laughter follows. So Peter has alerted me that Clyde has no idea that six miles ahead we are stopping for gas. What to do? To put this another way. What would you do?
Naturally, I sped up. A lot, but incrementally, to keep the distance between us constant. So childish. And soon enough, he slowed down. When we got to the gas stop, he just smiled and shook his head as he knew when I speeded up that I was messing with him. But he also knew that this meant gas was near. Now payback is an itch if you know what I mean. And later that day Clyde got a chance to scratch his. It happened when Route 50 west of Gunnison was being resurfaced. As the Colorado DOT put it, “Motorists can expect single-lane, alternating traffic through one or more work zones. Please plan for possible traffic holds of up to 20 minutes; delays could exceed 20 minutes as traffic queues are cleared in both directions.” That does not even begin to describe the mayhem. It was a scene out of Mad Max. First, there were three of us, and we’d been passing cars, trucks, Harley’s, RV’s and pickups towing fifth wheels. So Route 50 had what you’d expect by way of traffic, and we were making short work of it before coming to a stop. I was in the lane all the way to the right with Clyde near the center line next to me, and Blood and Guts was in front. Before us was an unbelievable sight. They were down to one lane. But that “lane” consisted of what seemed like a mile of mounded asphalt not quite wide enough for a fifth wheel, or so it seemed. Imagine if you will that a truck dumped this stuff and then a front end loader dropped its shovel and backed up and sort of flattened it. Then, maybe they ran something over it in an attempt to flatten it some more. This “flattened” mound was maybe 10 inches high. Now, put ruts in it. Now make it wet…and why wet you ask? Because it had been raining off and on. And that was the detail that soon would bedevil. Suddenly as if on cue a rain cell perched itself overhead and a deluge started. So, I’m
sitting there in my “waterproof ” textile jacket and think, “Self. We are going to be here a while and you are going to get soaked. Why take a chance? Jump off this bike, open that side case and put on that rain jacket….” So I did. And as soon as I got off the bike and had one arm in the rain jacket struggling to get it on the other, the doggone line starts to move. I know I’m toast if Clyde to my left moves as then all the traffic is going to roll next to me, bumper to bumper, and move in front of me, effectively blocking my way. Now DD is no fool. I try to have situational awareness at all times, and for sure, right then I was on task and knew in a panic instant what was about to happen. I’m going to be lonely and wet and in the back of the pack. If Clyde to my left moves, all the traffic we’ve passed is going to move around me and start on down the line. I yell at Clyde, “Don’t move.” If you are Clyde, what do you do? [This is where you want to inject some blank space in the text to simulate that crescendo of music before on TV they yell out the winner’s name.] You’re right. He took off. By the time I got that jacket on and got back on the bike I’ve got a fifth wheel, six Harley riders, an RV and assorted others in front of me, and they are inching along this “road.” Once I got moving I could see that the fifth wheel in particular was in a panic because his trailer wheels are just about over the edge of this “roadway” so he is creeping along. Ahead I see Peter and Clyde about to reach a real road surface. As soon
as their wheels hit concrete, I literally see Peter’s FJ go into hyper drive, or so it seems. We are 35 miles out of Montrose, and they are in a hurry. Oh well. I have the route in my GPS. I know where they are going. And when I got there, Clyde just smiled. Before he could even say “Hi,” I remarked that payback is …well, you know. We laughed and high-fived. Another Raider story. So I learned this summer that men at any age can still be boys who like to play with their toys. And it sure is fun. But I also relearned (yep, about to change the story). I also re-learned not to mess with the Devine Ms. Cindy, especially when she has you in her sights via the tracker on your bike telling her where you are at all times. Recall my planned 1,500-mile roll back to Indianapolis from Salt Lake City? It seems I forgot to share that plan with her. And it occurred to me on the way back that I better do so once I calculated in my head my arrival time. So, at 5:30 a.m. Mountain Time I was off. I wanted to accomplish two things: test out a new route to and from the west and set a personal record, possible because of the speed limits in the west. That nuanced route was designed to keep me out of Kansas City and away from St. Louis, even if it meant slightly slower speeds once I got to Missouri. If your travels take you to I-90 and you are coming from the east, look real hard at US 36 between St. Joseph and Hannibal. Four lane. Pleasant. Well patrolled, so watch your speed. You can come out of Indianapolis and connect easily, totally avoiding I-70 out of Indy
going west. You know what I discovered? Siri on my iPhone cannot make a call and get an internet connection while on US 36. So I’m not able to call home and warn Cindy that I’m going to arrive the next day before dawn. But that’s okay. I can receive calls, and soon enough I did. “Don’t even think about it. You are not coming home at four in the morning and waking me up. Park that bike.” Yes, Dear. Oh well. Truth be told, I was edgy about completing that ride anyway. Once you get past 1,200 miles, you spend too much time focusing on staying sharp, but as you age that seems tougher or maybe it just seems that way. So, truth be told, I was happy to park it for the night in Hannibal. There’s always something to learn from these rides if you approach them that way. Winter’s coming. And for lots of us that leaves time for sorting out lessons learned. I look forward to learning from you when I next see you down the road. Don’t hate me BMW, but new fangled faux old bikes so the millennials can look cool? I guess they sell and that’s why your in business. But it’s not my fault that these “sport touring” posers don’t like to work up a sweat and get dehydrated on a long day but just want to show off on a day ride. Again, I digress. Well, not really. Use your smartphone for a GPS? Are you nuts? UMMMM. Breath in through the mouth out through the nose. Or is it the other way around? Anyway feeling better after that brief rant as I watch my old-school hard core rider world collapse around me.
www.machineartmoto.com
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You rode through a construction site on a brand new set of tires! This could definitely ruin your ride. But not if you have the MOA’s new Platinum Roadside Assistance and Tire Protection membership. With 24/7 Roadside Assistance, you could be towed to a repair facility and have your tire replaced for free! All for only $79 a year, including your MOA membership. Join online at www.bmwmoa.org bmwmoa.org or convert your current BMW MOA membership by calling 864-438-0962. BMW MOA Platinum Roadside and Tire Protection. Another great benefit of your BMW MOA membership.
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www.sargentcycle.com
October 2017  BMW OWNERS NEWS
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RALLY
2017 BMW MOA INTERNATIONAL Rally
Thanks for the Fish! Crossroads of the West Rally recap By Greg Feeler #2241, Rally Chair Brian Burdette #77050 and Pat Carol #48876, Rally Co-Chairs IF YOU THINK CHRISTMAS IS OVER
in a flash after all its preparations, try spending a year plus planning an MOA Rally only to have it come and go in six days! But, go it did, and it seemed to go very well. People had fun, which is the point, after all. There was a lot to do and see: • We enjoyed the support of about 122 vendors offering a great array of products.
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• The GS Giant event was well attended and offered a lot of entertainment and inspiration. • Chartered Clubs support was excellent. • You donated $12,623 to our charity team, which went to The Christmas Box House and the Motorcycle Relief Project. • We gave away not one, but two winner’s choice R nineTs! • The attendees provided great volunteer support to help run the rally. • We had 4,200 attendees, and although
short of what we wanted, those who braved the heat found it wasn’t that bad and had a wonderful time. • The entertainment got toes tappin’ and people up and dancing! • There was a greatly expanded Rally App listing seminars, speakers, and a personal agenda. • The Rally Program was available online a month before the rally for the first time! • The rally site was beautiful and cozy. • Downtown Salt Like City was beautiful,
tasty, and entertaining, and the TRAX system made it accessible. • Utah was beautiful and expansive! • We think that many of you really did “Find Your Crossroads” in Salt Lake City! There are a lot of people to thank for making this rally happen, starting with the 100 Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs. These are the hard working volunteers you saw in the Committee Chair shirts and hats making sure that Registration, Vendors, Food,
Entertainment, Pin-and-Patch, the Bike Wash, the Internet, Signs, and dozens of other functions come off as planned and needed. Many have performed their functions for a number of years, and to a person, each was so amazingly professional, reliable, competent, and capable. And, fun to work with! Yet again, these great people have made the rally chairs du jour and the BMW MOA look great! As a club, we can’t possibly thank them too much for all they do. Coming next are all the “attendee”
volunteers who stepped forward to fill all the many necessary tasks: greeting you at Registration, manning the Security Gates, driving Shuttle Carts, and a thousand other things. In fact, there were over a thousand volunteers this year, which means essentially one-quarter of the attendees made the rally their own. It’s been said many times that the BMW MOA is a volunteer-powered organization, and here is the proof. Thank you all! While speaking of volunteers, let’s not
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RALLYrecap
www.edelweissbike.com
forget the Board of Directors. Trust me when I say we wouldn’t have a club without the critically important, but often tedious work these nine people do completely out of sight and out of mind all year long. Among other things, they select the rally sites, approve the budgets and select the Rally Chair. In addition to endless hours of conference calls and meetings in windowless rooms, they also volunteer at the rally, often chairing key committees. The GS Giant event has become an MOA Rally tradition, and we want to thank all the hard working members of the GS Giants, Chartered Club #354, for making it great again this year. In particular, thanks to Tracy, Mark, and Dennis for your commitment and patience. Another special “Thank You!” goes to the fabulous Beehive Beemers, Chartered Club #169, and President Jeff Thurmond. Jeff and his fellow club members went above and beyond in helping in any way they could. In particular, they ran the “Hospitality” booth and provided great information about riding Utah, both during the rally, and in issues of the Owners News. Not everyone is a volunteer. We have a very, very dedicated and hard working professional office staff, each of which is totally committed to the club. Here is a shout out to Bob Aldridge, Executive Director; Ted Moyer, Associate Executive Director; Bill Wiegand, Owners News Managing Editor; Ray Tubbs, Digital Marketing Mgr.; Wes Fleming, Associate Editor Digital; Karin Halker, Art Director; Noelle Boiano, Membership Associate; and Lesa Howard, Membership Services. Each one of them provided invaluable help and support. In particular, thanks to Bob Aldridge for his steady hand, wise counsel, and patience. We also want to thank Harrison Eurosports – the local BMW motorcycle dealer for their great support. They extended their shop hours and reserved it for rally
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
www.captialcycle.com
attendees, provided free commemorative t-shirts, ran a continuous shuttle between their shop and the rally, and provided a beautiful loaner display R nineT Racer! The staff of “Visit Salt Lake” and the Utah State Fairpark did an outstanding job for us. They provided support and cooperation at every turn and made us feel welcome in their beautiful and friendly city. This was the 45th annual BMW Motorcycle Owners International Rally. This one, and every one before it, was a true labor of love and dedication. Every Rally Chair and Co-Chair since 1973 deserves our collective thanks. We have come a long way since my first MOA Rally in 1977 where we camped on cactus and showered in plywood stalls, and we got here because of the contribution of every one of them. Finally, we want to thank all of you for the great honor of being your Rally Chair and Co-Chairs this year. We wanted to make things a little better, a little different, and help you all “Find Your Crossroads” in Salt Lake City at the “Crossroads of The West,” Hopefully, that happened for many of you. We know it happened for us. Ride well and often, and we hope to see you all in Des Moines for the 46th BMW MOA International Rally!
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Outstanding rider awards By Don Hamblin #09931, Awards Chair THERE WERE BIG DOGS AT THIS YEAR’S RALLY, AND
there were great big dogs whose names were highlighted on the big screen during the closing ceremony. This year’s really big dogs were:
Long Distance Male Solo Rider 1st Place: Douglas Caldwell 3,234 miles 2nd Place: Jerry Humphrey 2,564 miles
Long Distance Female Solo Rider 1st Place: Murial Farrington 2,333 miles 2nd Place: Carol Taub 2,067 miles
Long Distance Sidecar Erika Winn 1,962 miles
Long Distance Trike Wayne Thomas 2,552 miles
Long Distance, 2 Up
1st Place: Bob Weber & Mary Deloray 3,099 miles 2nd Place: Hal Read & Mary Read 2,330 miles
North American Grand Tour 1st Place: Warren Brownell 13,343 miles 2nd Place: Mark Warner 12,866 miles
World Tour
1st Place: Carol Taub, 79 years 2nd Place: Murial Farrington, 75 years
Oldest Saddle Passenger Cleste Hall, 89 years
Youngest Saddle Passenger
1st Place: Liam McCandless, 7 years, 4 months 2nd Place: Kelton Gines, 7 years, 5 months 3rd Place: Nathon Gifford, 8 years, 3 months
Youngest Sidecar Passenger Isabella Donovan, 4 years, 11 months
Youngest Female Rider Cheyanna Kraly, 16 years
Youngest Male Rider
1st Place: Lucas Hettinger, 14 years 2nd Place: Tyler Stinson, 15 years 3rd Place: Brendon Madia, 18 years 4th Place: Ian Hettinger, 21 years 5th Place: Adam Creer, 25 years 6th Place: Graham Knight, 25 years
Oldest BMW Ridden to the Rally Jeff Smigla, 1972 R 75/5
1st Place: Daniel Senicar, Chiang Mai, Thailand 15,500 miles 2nd Place: Ben Bridge, Port Arlington, Victoria, Australia 13,580 miles
Largest Chartered Club at the Rally
Oldest Combination of Rider, Passenger and Bike
GS Giants, 221 members
Leroy Braxdale and Celeste Hall, 184 years
Oldest Combination of Rider and Bike: Chuck Otto, 117 years
Oldest Male Solo
1st Place: Robert Wakeman, 88 years 2nd Place: Bruce Haserot, 83 years 3rd Place: Richard Sandow, 83 years
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
River City Beemers, 52 members
Largest Virtual Club at the Rally Theirs were the stories that make a BMW MOA Rally special, and their personal accomplishments deserve their earned awards. Compiling and sorting all the data for those awards fell on the small army of volunteers along with Awards Co-Chair Karen Mans and Emergency Co-Chair Michael J. Mans. Those hard working folks have earned our appreciation. I tip my helmet to them all!
2017 Charity Challenge Karol Patzer #27994 WE HOPE YOU FOUND YOUR CROSSROADS THIS YEAR!!!
This was the 24th year of the Charity Challenge for our national rally charity, and many clubs met the challenge by supporting our two charities, The Christmas Box House and the Motorcycle Relief Project. Thanks to the following clubs for meeting or exceeding the challenge: BMW Motorcycle Owners of America...............................$1,000.00 BMW Motorcycle Owners of Alabama................................ $500.00 BMW Motorcycle Owners of Cleveland...............................$325.00 BMW Free Rides of Washington........................................... $300.00 BMW Motorcycle Owners Club of Minnesota................... $300.00 South Coast BMW................................................................... $280.00 BMW Motorcycle Club of Nashville......................................$120.00 Badger Motorcycle Club of Wisconsin..................................$100.00 BMW Motorcycle Club of Indianapolis................................$100.00 BMW Motorcycle Club of Port Washington........................$100.00 BMW Motorcycle Owners of Vermont.................................$100.00 BMW Club of Houston............................................................$100.00 Citi Beemers of New York City...............................................$100.00 Madison BMW Club................................................................$100.00 Moose Whiskapalians...............................................................$100.00 Wisconsin BMW Club.............................................................$100.00 Yankee Beemers.........................................................................$100.00 Kansas City BMW Club............................................................ $20.00 Northern California BMW....................................................... $20.00 During the rally, Miranda, Bruce and Deborah, along with their team of 50/50 Volunteers, raised another $6,207, while three lucky winners took home some unexpected cash and donated it back! Donation collection points included Ice Sale (collecting $320), Electronics/Charging Station ($252), and Bike Wash/Oil Change ($320), and Black Ops dunked some folks to add another $225 to the pot. Charlie and William and the coffee team collected $650, while Linda, Allison and the sewing team collected $1,480. Thanks to Jack for all of the patches. Through our combined teamwork, we were able to present a check for $6,500 to Stefani Zind and Gina Barker for The Christmas Box House, while Tom Larson of the Motorcycle Relief Project accepted our check for $6,234, for a grand total of $12,734. Thanks for your generosity, and thanks to a lot of hardworking volunteers at the rally. If you’re a member of a club that wasn’t able to meet the challenge this year, please consider challenging your members for 2018.
Karol Patzer, 2017 BMW MOA Rally Charity Chair, presents checks to representatives of the Motorcycle Relief Project (above) and The Christmas Box International (below) during closing ceremonies.
The Christmas Box International
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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122 vendors serve rally-goers By Deb Lower #9927 IT WAS A WARM RALLY. THANKS
go out to the 122 companies who brought a wide variety of products to Salt Lake City to display and offer for sale to the rally attendees at the Crossroads of the West Rally. Indoor exhibitors had space in three buildings, and the outdoor exhibitors were located around the indoor exhibitor buildings and along the perimeter of the camping area. We had fantastic support with
onsite exhibitor registration from Miranda Sanders, Theresia Shearers and Peggy Garrison. They spent two days making sure the Commercial Exhibitors had everything in order before being directed to their exhibit space. They handed out over 400 exhibitor wristbands and during set-up, Bruce Sanders and Indianapolis BMW Club members Wayne Garrison, Tom and Kurt helped secure buildings. During set-up and as the exhibitors opened for sales, we had support from Paul
Wilson of the Colorado Springs BMW Club. He worked with us to respond to exhibitor questions and issues. Thanks to Greg, Brian and Pat for providing us the opportunity to work with the Commercial Exhibitors. Our volunteer effort was supported by MOA staff who kept the online exhibitor list updated and continually made improvements in the commercial exhibitor registration process.
Rally registration a success By Karolina Francis #193671 REGISTRATION WAS
A
GREAT
success this year thanks to our amazing volunteers and the enthusiasm of our rally attendees. Registration is the first point of contact for rally-goers, and it was important to make the registration process as quick, efficient and pleasant as possible. Many riders were tired and hot after a long ride, and all they wanted was to get out of their riding gear, park the bike, set up tent and get a cold drink with their friends. Thanks to registration volunteers, we were able to make a great first impression. Our first shift was from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesday when Registration team opened for all rally workers and committee chairs and co-chairs, and we registered nearly 1,000 members during this first shift Registration opened Thursday morning at 8 a.m. and closed Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., and during that time, we ran three shifts per day of up to 30 volunteers.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  October 2017
Thank you to everyone who committed their time to work with us. It was a privilege to be working with everyone there to make another rally a success. I personally want to thank everyone who made my daughter Ella’s first rally experience a great one. Many of you may remember the crazy 12-year-old girl with the stickers all over her body. She had an awesome time and has become a rally rat for life, already looking forward to the 2018 rally in Des Moines,
Iowa. Thank you to Registration team members Gretchen Crane, Mark Austin, Marty Sackman and Roger Trendowski. Special thanks to Ted Moyer and his crew from BMW MOA for your amazing help. We will be opening the Registration volunteer website for the 2018 Rally and sending invitations and reminders next spring. We hope to see you all in Iowa!
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Preserving our heritage By Lee DeYoung #31683 THE VINTAGE DISPLAY AT THE
2017 Crossroads of The West was a great time and the heat couldn’t keep the people away. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of BMW motorcycles from the past, the Vintage Display included motorcycles from 1928 through 1975, along with a 1956 BMW Isetta car. Jack Wells brought three, very nice pre-war singles including a 1931 R 2, 1934 R 4, and 1936 R 3. He also brought his beautifully restored 1938 R 61 with sidecar labeled “Deutsche Reichspost.” Jack Wells on his 1938 R 61 and I on my 1928 R 52 made a point
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
of riding around the rally grounds once every hour for the enjoyment of the rally goers who hadn’t yet seen a pre-war motorcycle in operation. More than 60 enthusiasts attended Friday morning’s seminar “Restoration and Preservation of Vintage BMWs.” Jack Wells gave an informative talk on pre- and postwar singles and the history of his 1938 R 61 German post office sidecar. We talked about paint and different types of insurance, followed up with a lively discussion on vintage starter bikes, restoration versus preservation, where to find parts and more. Judging of the vintage bikes took place Saturday morning. We sincerely thank judges Jim Benge, Rick Huemmerich, Jerry
Sullivan and Jack Wells for their time, efforts, and expertise. The Vintage awards ceremony took place at the display on Saturday afternoon. The Jim Falk Memorial Award given for continuously supporting the vintage display over many years honored Dave Kaechale for his tireless dedication and by sharing his experiences and knowledge. This year he brought a true survivor, an unrestored and mostly unmolested 1938 R 17. The Vern Mitchell Award is given to those who personally do most, if not all of their work and honored Peter Groshnbach for his 1956 BMW Isetta car. His craftsmanship and attention to detail shined through. The car runs on a BMW 300cc single and
tops out at 45 mph or so “possibly downhill with a tail wind,” Peter said. Five Awards of Excellence for the restoration and/or preservation of vintage BMW motorcycles were presented to owners receiving the highest scores in their category. Plus three Awards of Special Recognition and four volunteers who contributed to the success of the rally were recognized with Awards of Appreciation. Following is a list of the Vintage Award recipients:
Jim Falk Memorial Award Dave Kaechale
Vern Mitchell Award Peter Groshnbach
Awards of Excellence: Richard Kuschel Jerry Sullivan Ed Vaillancourt Perry Excell Rich Huemmerich
Special Recognition Dave Kaechale Jack Wells Lee DeYoung
1976 R 90S 1975 R 90/6 1967 R 60/2 1962 R 60/2 1952 R 68 1938 R 17 1938 R 61 1928 R 52
Awards of Appreciation Sheryl Arnold Gord Apperley Cathy DeYoung Rich Huemmerich
The ceremony concluded with a raffle drawing for BMW owners who exhibited their bikes in the Vintage Display, with prizes donated by Bench Mark Works, Bob’s BMW, Dunlop Tires and Max BMW. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked above and beyond in helping at the Vintage Display and to all our visitors for your growing interest in the evolution of these wonderful machines. It was fun for all.
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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A salute to our MOA Pioneers By Norm Phoenix #1222 MOA PIONEERS INCLUDE THE 31
people who attended all of the first ten BMW MOA International Rallies and include some of the founding fathers of our organization such as the first MOA president, vice president, treasurer, and editor. Also included are some of the key people who helped develop and advance the MOA and its rallies in those early years. Overall, our group includes 11 Ambassadors, 10 past officers and directors, eight Distinguished Service Award recipients, one Meritorious Service Award recipient and two recipients of the One Million Mile award. Each year since the 10th rally, the Pioneers get together for an anniversary dinner, and of the nine Pioneers remaining, I was the only one of the nine that was able to make this year’s rally. So how do you hold a Pioneer Dinner with only one Pioneer? For
the past few years, we have had some high rally attendees as our regular guests at the dinner. This year, our high rally attendees included Terry Clark, Tom Harbrecht, Dick Hautau and their companions. We also had MOA President Wes Fitzer and First Lady Paula Fitzer in attendance, making nine people altogether. The eight remaining Pioneers unable to make this year’s rally include Sue Atria, Milton Hall, Susan McCallister, John Moore, Marty Simpson, Chuck Smith, Betty Smith, and Dave Swisher. The culmination of the Pioneer Events was the presentation of the Perfect Attendance Award on stage during the Saturday’s Closing Ceremonies. I am now the
only Pioneer to maintain perfect attendance by attending all 45 rallies and also have the distinction of having ridden a BMW motorcycle to all. High rally attendees Terry Clark, Leland Prothe, Slina Prothe, Tom Harbrecht, and Dick Hautau stood on stage with me as I received the award. I believe that this is the first time that they have been publically recognized for their remarkably high rally attendance, and that made the event feel more complete.
Security keeps rally-goers safe By Gray Buckley #27846 MORE THAN 100 HIGHLY SKILLED,
good looking and well-groomed MOA members stepped forward to help protect our 2017 rally from enemy attack and unruly forest animals. Reinforced by an overnight contract security team when rally gates were locked, the work directed toward the safety of everyone and everything at the State Fair Park was largely successful, with an ambulance or two called to offer assistance for some dehydration issues and other pre-existing conditions.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
Additionally, a middle-of-the night fire in one of the food trucks was caught by our alert security team and along with the prompt response from fire fighters stationed at the northeast edge of the Fair Park, no other trucks were damaged. Our thanks to each and every security volunteer and to all the other attendees who consistently demonstrated respect and courtesy for their colleagues.
Rally Door Prize recap Thank You volunteers By Paul Ruffel #119204
By Susanna Parkhouse #56786 THANK YOU TO ALL THE WONDERFUL DOOR PRIZE DONORS WHO HELPED TO MAKE
this year’s BMW MOA International Rally memorable. Several hundred lucky rally-goers won prizes which included gift certificates, electronics, clothing, tires, motor oil, polish, luggage and more. The donors were more than generous, and we thank them for their contributions and for supporting the BMW MOA.
WE WERE EXTREMELY DELIGHTED AT
the number of attendees who approached the volunteer tables asking where they could help. More than 1,000 MOA members stepped up at the Salt Lake City Crossroads of the West Rally and lent a hand at another BMW MOA International Rally. These members made our task of finding help for the many committees in need of assistance extremely easy this year, and their giving of a few hours of their time made the 2017 Crossroads of West Rally operate smoothly, contributing to the rally’s tremendous success. To all rally volunteers, we offer a Thank You!
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comed 22 clubs this year at The Cross Roads! Many clubs found relaxing shade under their rented canopy tents, and all enjoyed the close proximity to the beer garden and vending areas. Club members were very appreciative to have such a prime location. Chartered Club Camping allows for holding reserve space for members of their respective clubs. It’s a great way for everyone to enjoy visiting with members from around the country.
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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First Aid helps members in need By Hank Pfister #85148 OUR RALLY FIRST AID TEAM CON-
sisted of highly experienced volunteers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, paramedics, nurses, EMTs, and Advanced First Aid providers, and during the rally we served just over 100 rally-goers. Fortunately, most of our encounters were minor problems including
blisters, cuts, minor burns and insect bites. We also treated for a few heat-related issues, re-wrapped bandages, treated several sprained ankles and performed an “operation” to remove parts of a hearing aid that came apart in a rider’s ear. As with all of our rally committees, it is the hard work of the volunteers that makes
our rally a success. The folks that volunteered in First Aid were all a tremendous asset, and I want to thank them all again for taking time away from their rally experience to help others in need. I hope to see you all next year in Des Moines.
Receiving the usual and some unusual By Steve Reynen #38356 and RuthAnn Reynen #48142 RECEIVING
DOES
EXACTLY
that—we receive packages and other items sent via UPS, Fed Ex and USPS to the rally site for the attendees and vendors. We then log in the received items and hold them until the addressees come to pick them up. As the week progresses we also deliver many packages to the vendors. This year, as in years past, we are witness to some interesting and surprising stories from the people looking for their “stuff.” One rider was anxiously awaiting a package from his wife holding a key for his bike who broke off the tip
of the key opening a bottle of beer! Another rally-goer was giddy with joy as he quickly opened a small box containing his cell phone which he had left behind at a stop on his ride to Salt Lake City. Another rider, frustrated but keeping his sense of humor, visited us several times looking for the new cooler he had shipped to the rally. It arrived Saturday morning! The most bizarre situation this year regarded a lost cell phone. We had received two small packages addressed to the same person, but no one came to claim them. After checking with registration to verify the person was indeed at the rally, we called the telephone number on the address
label and a man answered. No, he was not the owner of the phone, but he had found it on a dirt trail in Colorado and took it home with him; the addressee on the package had obviously not attempted to call his own cell phone to try to locate it, and a bit of sleuthing on Facebook found a GS rider with the same name as the package addressee; a message was sent, and we received a simple “thank you,” but no explanation! A big thank you to our dedicated volunteers, including Jerry, Turk, Jack, and Larry. We appreciate the long hours you offer to help us do our small part to make the rally a success.
Black Ops keeps rally-goers cool THE BLACK OPS TEAM ORGA-
nized a successful pilot training exercise in Salt Lake City during July of this year, and the thermoregulatory safety of the local population was significantly improved as our patrols successfully identified individuals in need of a wetting down. Additionally, funds were secured for a Motorcycle Relief Project, thanks to our Special Black Ops Dunk Tank Team.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
Plans are underway for next year’s deployment, including a three-pronged focus on strategies, equipment requirements and personnel needs. These plans are currently classified and additional recruitment efforts will be undertaken in order to expand the effectiveness of next year’s operation. Please consider enlisting with the Black Ops Team voluntarily, although we consider implementation of the draft and/or
the use of mercenaries to be valid options. As always, our Mission is to keep rally attendees cool and smiling! I personally want to thank Don Morell and Bruce Davidson, our faithful team members and the good cheer of persons from the transient population who were temporarily housed within the Utah State Fairpark. I hope that you have all been resettled safely into secure and stable home environments.
Charging Station powered all By Ross Copas #39319 and Jean Copas #49338
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WE ALL CERTAINLY GOT A BIG CHARGE
out of this year’s rally! Our tables were always full of wired wizardries of communication, with more Apples than Allen’s Juice! All of these high tech treasures were lovingly cared for by our dedicated volunteers who give their time year after year to make sure you can continue to reach out and touch someone while many miles from home. Thank you to all Charging Station volunteers and thank you rally-goers for trusting us with your devices and showing your appreciation through donations to the Rally Charity. See you next year!
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Rally Bike Wash cleans up By Milo Bunda #8249 ANOTHER YEAR AND ANOTHER GREAT
BMW MOA rally is in the books. We had a great time again this year, and as always, volunteers make the event so much more enjoyable. Stephanie and I would like to thank all of the new and old faces that helped us this year including Brian Scott, Chuck Wetzel, Rod Anderson, Steve Amstutz, Jim Purves, Jim Gerke and Claude LePendu. Hope to see you all next year!
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
95
www.haynes.com
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(Almost) Rally 5K results by Andrea Borella #25375 SALT LAKE CITY HAS MUCH TO
offer adventure seekers on many fronts. The Rally 5K took runners along the Jordan River Parkway Trail, which provided a nice shaded run along the Jordan River over bridges and trails for a hardy group of moto adventure runners. When the race began at 7 a.m., it was cooler, and plenty of Gatorade and fruit replenished the finishers as they arrived back at the Utah State Fairpark. The overall winner of the Race was Mark Duncan, and the first female runner was Margaret Pisacano. The youngest runner was Annabell Miklavic, and the oldest runner was Jim Lang. We will see you next year in Des Moines, Iowa!
Name 1. Mark Duncan 2. Brandon Bohlen 3. Kimo Zaiger 4. Ben Proffitt 5. Camilo Duque 6. Jason Knauff 7. Robert Cowin 8. Kevin Brown 9. Rick Johnson 10. Margaret Pisacano 11. Thom Rieck 12. McInerney 13. Eric Pincus 14. Chris Marshall 15. Laura Pleban 16. Marinka Daradis 17. Annabell Miklavic 18. Jim Lang 19. Martin Ford 20. Peter Pleban 21. Ron Heeren 22. Peter Kedrick
www.bmwusrideracademy.com
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BMW OWNERS NEWS  October 2017
Place, Age Group 1st, Men 40-49 1st, Men 30-39 1st, Men 55-59 1st, Men 40-49 2nd, Men 30-39 3rd, Men 30-39 1st, Men 60-64 1st, Men 65-69 1st, Men 70+ 1st, Women Under 20 2nd, Men 30-39 2nd, Men 60-64 1st, Men 50-54 3rd, Men 60-64 1st, Women 50-59 2nd, Women 50-59 2nd, Women Under 20 2nd, Men 70+ 2nd, Men 55-59 4th, Men 60-64 5th, Men 60-64 2nd, Men 65-69
Hometown Ontario, OR Seattle, WA Somis, CA Denver, CO Topanga, CA Wichita, KS Oak Ridge TN Leland, NC Burleson, TX Flagstaff, AR Rochester, MN North Glenn, CO Melrose, MA Maryville, TN Wapita, WY Springfield, MO Gibsonia, PA South Dakota Bartlesville, OK Wapiti, WY Friday Harbor, WA Bronx, NY
Time 20:50 21:06 21:58 22:12 22:16 23:54 24:39 24:53 25:09 25:13 25:30 26:29 26:58 27:39 28:17 28:37 30:09 30:46 32:04 32:10 32:22 42:29
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Conversations overheard in Salt Lake By Stephen C. Weston #21713 MY WIFE, SUZANNE, AND I JUST
returned from the BMW MOA national rally in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was hot, lots of vendors, good seminars, old friends, and it was hot. While the vendors who were inside had a cool space, the outside vendors and mechanics contended with heat in the 100-degree range. I felt sorry for them. While the seminars were inside, they were still hot. The air conditioning just wasn’t quite up to the task. There were old friends, though. I got hugs from several female friends of long standing. Guys don’t generally hug. They will, on rare occasions, if there is a really good reason. “My wife just divorced me and took all the money.” “Congratulations!” Hug. “I crashed the slash 2 beyond repair.” “So sorry.” Hug. “I had a blowout on a curve and ruined my ‘stich.” Hug. “Thanks for volunteering at the rally.” Hug. Men do have conversations, though. I’ve known Jack since the mid ‘80s. So, I was really glad to see him at the rally. “Hey, Jack.” “Hi, Steve.” “Gracie here?” “Rode the Can-Am Spyder.” “You still riding the same piece of junk?” “Yeah.” “You?” “Yeah.”
“Thanks for your help with the cruise control.” “Okay.” “See you.” “OK.” I saw David. “Hi! How are you?” “Spinal stenosis. Surgery. Okay now. Found out I could pee a liter! How about you?”
“I’m still riding the GS you sold me in ‘88.”
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
“Still there. Won’t sell it.” “Yeah, I offered him five grand for it back in ’01.” Ted wandered by. “Hi, Steve. I’m still riding the GS you sold me in ‘88.” “Can’t afford a new bike?” “No, just like it.” “See you next year.” I saw George outside a seminar about touring in New Zealand. “George, you been up to Mom’s Café on 30 in Wyoming?” “Yeah. I was there two years ago. Judy’s gone, though.” “Really? How come?” “They said she ran off with a trucker out of Bakersfield.” “Too bad. She was nice.” In order to protect the guilty, I have changed the names of the friends mentioned here. And I want it clearly understood that “David” is NOT the same person as “Number 3” on the list of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted. Number 3 has slightly longer hair than David. I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t understand these conversations. These few words are based on friendships that have lasted for decades. Some of us do visit from time to time, and we do have long conversations about everything under the sun. David shows up for our New Year’s Eve party whether we invite him or not. He knows he is welcome. And I know that I’m invited to his shack anytime I’m in his neighborhood. I would spend more time in his house if he stocked a better single malt Scotch. These guys are friends of long standing. I know that if they were ever in jail that I would be in the next cell saying, “Wasn’t that one hell of a time?” A good friendship does not require a lot of words.
“Can’t afford a new bike?
“Mayo Clinic reduced size of prostate so I could pee. I’m okay now.” “Good” “George still around?” “Yeah, he’s old, though.” “Still has a bunch of special bikes in storage?” “Yeah.” “The butterscotch slash 6?”
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event
fromtheboard
Open session board minutes Salt Lake City, Utah, 7/14/2017 By Reece Mullins #143779 THE THIRD QUARTER BMW MOA
Open Session Board Meeting was held at the 2017 International Rally in Salt Lake City, Utah. The MOA conducts open session board meetings quarterly at various locations throughout the year. All members of the MOA are encouraged to attend. The open session board meetings are a great opportunity for members to engage with MOA leadership and the staff. The fourth quarter open session board meeting will be held in October, on site, in Des Moines, Iowa, the location for the 2018 BMW MOA Iinternational Rrally. At this time, the exact date has not been determined. Check our website, bmwmoa.org, for the latest updates. The board and staff always encourage as much member participation as possible. We sincerely look forward to hearing what the membership has to say. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: President Wes Fitzer, Vice President Jean Excell, Treasurer Sam Garst, Secretary Reece Mullins, Directors Marc Souliere, Chad Warner, Deb Lower, Roger Trendowski. Former Outgoing Directors Jackie Hughes and Stan Herman. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Executive Director Bob Aldridge, Director of Membership and Marketing Ted Moyer, BMW MOA ON Editor Bill Wiegand, BMW MOA ON Art Director Karin Halker, BMW MOA 2017 International Rally Chair Greg Feeler. BMW MOA MEMBERS PRESENT:
GS Giants Vice President Russ Kruse, Foundation Director Vance Harrelson, ON Advertising Director Chris
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Hughes, Ambassador Muriel Farrington, Ian Schmeisser, Terence Davitt, Tom Gary, Dan Finazzo, Tracy McCarty, Alex Calder, David Mason. President Wes Fitzer brings the meeting to order at 10:40 MDT and begins the meeting with introductions from each member present and an official welcome from the Board of Directors. After introductions, President Wes Fitzer formally recognizes former BMW MOA board members, Jackie Hughes and Stan Herman for their numerous years of volunteer service to the BMW MOA. Both Jackie and Stan are presented with a plaque commemorating their years of service. President Wes Fitzer recognizes Rally Chair Greg Feeler for his hard work and effort putting together the 2017 BMW MOA Iinternational Rrally at Salt Lake City, Utah. COMMENTS BY GREG FEELER: Greg accepts his plaque on behalf of his two cochairs Brian Burdette and Pat Carol. Greg thanks his co-chairs, Bob Aldridge, and the many volunteers who worked so hard to pull off a successful rally. Much hard work was put in to making the rally successful. “You focus these guys on any other project in the world and they pretty much solve it. They take it over, they make you look good, they take care of issues, and as the rally chair…I will not take any credit away from them, they are just amazing!”
Treasurer’s report – Sam Garst:
Our investment account as of today stands at $616,502.70 which is in excess of our long term liabilities.
Executive Directors report– Bob Aldridge:
Bob Aldridge introduces himself and provides a brief overview of his duties to the members present. Normally, at the quarterly meetings the Executive Director and the Staff present about an hour and a half slide presentation and briefing to the members. Due to the demands on the staff at the rally, Bob Aldridge conducts a two slide, brief overview on membership statistics and the overall finances of the organization: In the fiduciary role that I serve in we have three basic sources of income for the MOA: membership dues, advertising income, and other income (events, Nation Safe Drivers program, and ancillary income.) On the expense side we have: The cost of servicing our membership, the cost of goods, (creating hard goods; products like the Owners News, and the cost of shipping and production) and general and administrative expenses (often referred to as overhead, or the cost of running the organization). Membership: Membership falls under the purview of Ted Moyer, our Associate Executive Director. Under Ted, we have Ray Tubbs, Lesa, Howard, and Noelle Leopard. These staff personnel represent our membership services team. We measure membership on a regular basis. (Bob Aldridge proceeds to brief the membership members present on the membership slide graph to the members present.) The graph represents total MOA membership numbers from 2013 until present. (Bob explains the total numbers, their ebb and flow over the years, and associates those numbers with Motorrad promotions, market influences, and the national economy.) As a membership organization we find ourselves affected by forces that drive
motorcycle marketplace performance. If you took the big chart and compressed it over a period of time and looked at it like you would the stock market, you would see that we are pretty much flat at this point but relatively stable, but the MOA is not growing at the rate we would like to from a membership standpoint. During the town hall meeting preceding the open session board meeting, Membership Committee Chair Sam Garst talked quite extensively about our strategic goals in regards to membership retention and recruitment. We are a membership organization that has a lot of pieces and parts that can, at times, tend to overwhelm the other aspects of the organization. For example, this time of the year, during the rally, we look more like an event organization; balancing the time and resources necessary to run an event like the rally as a member/volunteer based organization, can be challenging, but at the end of the day, we are a membership organization and need to ensure we resource effectively that critical aspect of the BMW MOA. Ted Moyer and his team work very hard to create and analyze a wide range of statistical variables associated with membership, retention percentages, return rates, demographics, etc. not all of which are represented on this one slide. For example, I will share some of the analytics derived from statistics gained recently just from this rally. Of the three thousand people that are pre-registered for the rally, that we have the data on, almost 40 percent are age 65 and older, and in the next percentage below that demographic, we are looking at 45 to 65 yearsold. Less than 4 percent of the pre-registered rally attendees are in that 35 to 45-year-old range. Clearly, this product (the BMW MOA International Rally) as it exists today, while
it’s a very successful product within the organization, relative to the numbers of people that participate compared to other organizations that are like the MOA in size, can be better overall. This is a very mature event. It has its own demographic that enjoys it the way it sits currently; we have some challenges, clearly, in terms of attracting or reaching out to a different demographic. Which leads into that other aspect of membership, “What are we doing to bring in or attract younger members?” First of all, we have to define what “younger” is, what that pool looks like, where do we go to get them, and most importantly we have to put forth the resources to bring them in and to develop a product that they will want. We have a very mature product in the form of the Owners News, the flagship of this organization. Certainly it is a significant part of what 31,500 members want today in the organization, but does it represent what the next generation, whatever that demographic is, the forty-five-yearold BMW rider and younger would want? These types of questions are what we have to ask to more effectively target our recruitment and retention programs. I’ve often been asked who do you want as an MOA member, and my answer is always, “I want everybody that rides a BMW motorcycle to be a member; I think that’s fairly clear.” We have to seek all BMW riders in multiple demographics and age ranges. As a club we cannot be exclusive we must seek all riders from many walks of life and bring them in, we cannot close our eyes to multiple opportunities. (Bob Aldridge opens the briefing to any questions from the members.) IAN SCHMEISSER: “You use the word ‘product’ a lot, and I understand what you mean. What do you think is the central
product is that the BMW MOA makes?” BOB ALDRIDGE: “Community. As we went around the room earlier with introductions, community is clearly that which draws many of us together. When you are talking about ‘buying’ a product in the traditional sense of buying goods, one has to ask the question what is it that motivates a rider to ‘give’ us forty dollars? Historically, it’s been the magazine. I think the national rally, historically has been a central focus of the organization relative to what people see as a value to the organization. I don’t know that the next generation up and coming in the wings places the same value on these two traditional products. So I ask myself, what is that product that would attract the next generation, and I’m not talking about a ‘widget’ but something that would be seen as valuable to a potential member from a younger demographic. To sell community effectively, one needs to demonstrate the value of the organization.”
Ian Schmeisser discusses potential options with Bob and relays experiences gained from the past regarding the recruitment of new members and how to sell the value of the organization by informing riders of products like the Anonymous Book. Another member present joins the conversation and highlights the virtues of the Weekend Getaway events as an effective recruitment tool and asks if there is any conversion data from the events that show riders becoming members as a result of their attendance. To attend a weekend getaway event, one does not have to be a member of the MOA. BOB ALDRIDGE: “We currently don’t have a program in place for the getaway events
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that would demonstratively annotate a direct correlation between number of events to members gained and the cost benefit analysis associated with that data. I think a reasonable approach to take from the anecdotal information we are currently garnering from these events is to understand that we have a lot of members coming to the organization that need a platform to ‘engage’ with the organization. If the new member is not engaged in that first twelve-month membership cycle, there is a reasonable expectation that the member will walk away from the organization.” IAN SCHMEISSER: “Regarding the twelve-month free membership program facilitated by the purchase of a new BMW Motorcycle, what did the MOA do to reach out to and attempt to engage and retain those new members?” TED MOYER: “The free membership program was not an automatic enrolment program. BMW North America would send those new owners a free membership card embedded in marketing material that was mailed to the customer. It was incumbent upon the new motorcycle owner to fill it out and drop that membership card in the mail. “This overall structure is problematic in that it is a “voluntary” reply. It only applies to customers that want to take advantage of this program. If they do reply, and are then placed in our membership database they fall into the same profile of engagement as any other member at that point, regardless of how the member was enrolled originally. “To answer your question directly, our engagement with these new members is very little honestly. We recognize that we can do better at catching people in that first year of
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membership and improving how often we ‘touch’ them and how and where we engage that new member. We currently don’t have a good process or plan for that. BOB ALDRIDGE: “I’ve recently joined the AAA, and in doing so, as a new member within the first three months I have received several letters and publications from the organization, including a letter from the president of AAA.… Wwe recognize that to engage the new MOA member with this depth it would require a resource allocation we currently do not have budgeted. IAN SCHMEISSER: “Email letters and digital correspondence to the new members would cut costs.” BOB ALDRIDGE: “The market research indicates that the direct mail option still holds a viable piece in the retention of new customers. I’m not disagreeing with you regarding the email notification as a less expensive option that might yield results. We don’t struggle with how to do it or how to implement these options; we struggle with allocating resources for these programs, even the email notification requires the resources to capture that information gained and follow up with and continue to engage with the member on a personal basis.” TED MOYER: “One of the problems we experience is we miss the personalization in the process. We have an organization, and I’ve used this analogy before: it’s like putting a group of Ford 4x4 truck owners in the same room as a group of Ford Shelby GT 350 owners and expecting that they would be excited about the same form of contacts, ‘touch points’ and materials presented; it’s just not the case. We lack that personalization to be able to go through and break down membership on a personal basis. Membership cards, welcome kits, etc. are currently generic across the organization regardless of the experience
you are looking for. Where we are lacking is understanding what it is that you the member want to get from us and then providing that individually tailored experience for that individual member. IAN SCHMEISSER: “I understand you have put in place the tools to do that now. I’m liking what I’m seeing in theat membership management system.” BOB ALDRIDGE: “Unfortunately, having the system in place and fully functional is slower than we would like, but it is coming along.”
Another member present addresses the board with a comment and questions: “I came because I thought this meeting was something else, but now that I’m here, I find this quite interesting. I’m a first-year BMW MOA member, this is my first BMW MOA rally…I joined the MOA and I love the magazine…regarding emails for notifications, I think it is the wrong way to go because everybody does it. I like the direct mailings. What I am trying to find now that I have joined a national organization is what’s local to me? What is available for me to attend locally?” BOB ALDRIDGE: “That is exactly what we are talking about here: Being able to connect new members geographically and demographically to their local riding community. If you look at the history of the organization, it grew out of local charter clubs. There were clubs, before there was a national organization. Through the 70s 80s and 90s the MOA grew through this organic structure of local charter clubs feeding the national organization. Over time, due to technological and societal forces we are seeing that model shift somewhat. Like yourself, we have riders joining the national organization, the MOA without connecting to the structure of a local organization to engage the new member. This is what we are currently struggling with. How do we do that? How do we
connect the clubs that ‘want’ to grow and connect them with you? The MOA charter clubs are not controlled directly by the MOA. Each Charter Club is independent and sovereign. I can’t say, ‘Hey, I got a guy over here, and he’s now in your club, because he’s local.’ Connecting the dots on this current structure is very difficult. Occasionally, we have new members that join the MOA and don’t want any of their personal data shared with anybody…we have to respect that. “I can connect you with a local club today, but to be able to do that on a national scale with each new member within the first month that they join, that’s another layer of complexity altogether. We have other resources that are out there attempting to do this, we have ambassadors, regional coordinators…right now, our challenge is to synergize these resources and to pull them together in a much stronger manner to maximize every opportunity we have structurally as an organization.” Another member’s comment and question: “I appreciate this conversation, I am a member of a local charter club. As I talk to other members within my club, it’s evident to me that there is a disconnect between the historical relationship of charter clubs and the MOA. How do we go back full circle and pull those charter club members within the local clubs (mine is about 50 percent MOA membership) and bring them into the national organization?” BOB ALDRIDGE: “And that’s the struggle we were talking about at the town hall meeting. So, the first thing I would ask is, “How many members of your charter club are MOA members?’ Most of the time what we get from the charter club is, ‘We don’t know.’ This represents part of that piece we are looking at specifically to resource. If we recruit in the charter clubs, what is our opportunity there? We need more data from the clubs to identify that opportunity. The process can come from us as a national program; however, the strongest
recruitment comes one-on-one, and this has to happen at the local charter club level. “It can come full circle, but we have to figure out a way to connect the MOA member that doesn’t have a local club and get them plugged in and engaged. We also have to identify those clubs that “want to grow.” We do have clubs that have no interest in growing their membership. We have to incentivize and resource those clubs that express interest in growing their membership.” IAN SCHMEISSER: (Shares an experience when he was the president of the Georgia Charter Club.) “The club had almost 100 percent MOA membership; maybe we were not the ordinary club, but the MOA at the time gave us a zip code data base of every member in Georgia, and that put us in contact with a lot of MOA members that were not members of the Georgia club, and we did an “e-marketing” campaign that more than doubled our Georgia club membership.” BOB ALDRIDGE: “We still need to work on these membership models. Your example of an effective regional campaign may not be the best approach on a national multiclub level that would be fiscally prudent and effective for all charter clubs. What may work in one region of the country may not be so effective in other regions. W, we would have to look at the broad spectrum approach to service all charter clubs, as well as potentially allocating those resources in regions where specific tactics may be more successful.”
Members present join the conversation and offer valuable feedback to Bob Aldridge and the board regarding the dynamics of the relationship between their charter club and the MOA. Bob Aldridge moves the conversation from membership and presents the budget slide for discussion. Bob Aldridge goes into detail and explains each component of the
budget slide. Bob summarizes the budget briefing: “We’re not too bad in terms of our overall budget from where we set ourselves at this year’s beginning. For this five-month period of time we are showing a profitability of $29,000 but that includes the $40,000 dollars of interest in investment income; we can’t really count that in the hard numbers, so we are really about $12,000 under where we would want to be for this time of year. We are making progress. “At this point in years past we may have been $150,000 underwater and climbing. This is a much better performance from that standpoint, but we are hardly what I would call ‘solidly in the black.’ We are still depending too much on variable income, meaning, ‘How many people are coming to this rally?’ If this rally draws 5,000 we did good, if it draws 3,000, then we have a problem. Because of this we are also not able to put enough back into our investment account to build it for that next cycle when something else happens in the world we can’t control, as it did in 2008-2009.” Ian Schmeisser asks a question regarding the purpose of the investment account. BOB ALDRIDGE: “The purpose of the investment account is to cover the organization’s long-term liability. That long-term liability is not just our lifetime members, that’s a very short piece of it. Our longterm liability includes five-year members, three-year members, and a portion of a one-year membership that has not been used yet. IAN SCHMEISSER: “Is it just membership
related?”
BOB ALDRIDGE: “We have no other liability, no notes, no line of credit, we don’t owen anybody anything. That long term liability is a booked liability for providing that membership to that person within that membership time frame.”
Bob gives several budgetary examples of
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Director’s report, as there were no further questions. President Wes Fitzer: At this point we don’t have any other board business, as I stated earlier, this board meeting is somewhat of a perfunctorily meeting due to the fact that we all have rally responsibilities, those volunteer duties that each board member is responsible for. At this time I’ll open the floor for any questions from members. A member present asks, “Could we maybe think about moving the rally to sometime other than the middle of July? This has been a very hot rally.” Director Marc Souliere answers, “About five years ago, we did a survey. The survey included members at random, vendors, a broad sampling throughout the MOA community. The results of the survey indicated that the vast majority of people surveyed, indicated that anything before the first of July or anything after the end of August would cause a significant problem with being able to attend the rally. The board since has elected to stay in this time frame. We can go a little earlier, maybe the last weekend of June, but of course all of that depends on the availability of sites conducive to a rally, which are limited. If we go too far into the year, then we compete with the fair cycle, where these sites exist.” Member comment: “Nobody else wants them in July.” MARC SOULIERE: “Exactly. Moreover, if you go into early June, then you have families and kids that have to deal with the school schedule.” MEMBER COMMENT: “I haven’t seen a
whole lot of kids here.”
MARC SOULIERE: “We have a few. These are the main reasons right now we are in
July. We really looked at the possibility. Of course, if we did make a change we would have to look three to four years in advance because the vendors would have to be notified and adjust their schedule. If we want them at our site, we have to give them two or three years notice.” MEMBER COMMENT: “I understand that.” MARC SOULIERE: “We also have the philosophy that we want to choose the sites in a rotating basis in the four regions, so that our members that can’t get away for a week will have an opportunity to attend. So when you take all of those things into consideration, it really does limit the time when we can do it.” WES FITZER: “To answer your question strategically, this board continues to look at opportunities to move the rally date to a more conducive time frame. We understand that as our demographic ages the heat will become more and more of a problem. This board will continue to look at opportunities to have relief from that. I appreciate that comment. You are not the first person to come to me regarding this issue. “My wife and I rode to the rally from Oklahoma, where we are from, and as we traveled through New Mexico, we encountered 105 degree Fahrenheit temperatures during the day. We stopped to put on our cooling vests and get something to eat, get hydrated, and got back on the road. Later that day in Utah, we stopped again to get gas and re-drench our cooling vests, and there was a K 1600 GTL sitting in the parking lot of the gas station. As we went into the gas station to use the restroom, (there was a Wendy’sDairy Queen attached to the gas station) we noticed a rider sitting at a booth with his head down. I went inside to check on the rider, and he was obviously in severe heat exhaustion or some other state of heat injury. “Paula and I ended up sitting with him for several hours, getting some liquids in
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how decisions are made regarding the fiduciary responsibility of maintaining the investment account in compliance with our charter as an organization: “When we look at a non-profit organization such as ourselves, what’s our absolute obligation? It would be to service the membership through the range of that membership time period, that’s our absolute. An example would be when a director comes to me and Fall days and Arkansas wants a certain amount of money for…let’s roads go great together. say, market research to obtain more memCheck out some of our bers. That $50,000 figure, to use Ian’s favorite rides. example from earlier, has to come from somewhere; if it’s not 1 in the budget, we have to take it from somewhere, but we PIG TRAIL SCENIC BYWAY can’t take it from an investment account One of the most scenic that is not in in a state of great excess spots the state, the Pig Trailas it has been in the past, where it held 1.8 million was recently named the top motorcycle in the dollars. So many goodride ideas cannot always “USA Today” be actedUnited upon States simplybybecause we are flat in Readers’ Choice poll. our budget at this time. We have to build that investment account back up. 2 “I would say that we are very flat right NATIONAL now, we TALIMENA are a little underwater in terms of SCENIC where we would like toBYWAY be. At the six month gorgeous stretch of pavement mark This I would at least like to be even; obviwinds through the Ouachita ously, IMountains would like aheadany from that andtoisbe beautiful standpoint. I’ve set certain objectives time of year, but has garnered that I on with. One have asked its thereputation board tobased help me flaming autumn foliage. is I would like to have at least one month of money in the bank at all times; that would 3 of how I think runbe a minimum in terms ning the business side of the organization ARKANSAS should be SCENIC approached. We set a goal of 7 BYWAY $25,000 $50,000 a year to putriding back in the This nationally recognized treasure traverses almost investment account to keep thatthegrowing. entire state from north to south. We need to talk about reinvesting in those It crosses the Ozark and Ouachita resources for the charter and the mountain ranges alongclubs with the redevelopment of the staff personnel to do Arkansas River Valley. that. That takes a certain amount of cash to ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF do that, as well as we need to look forward, THE ARKANSAS MOTORCYCLING and then longATterm; where are we going www.arkansas.com/motorcycling GUIDE ARKANSAS.COM/ with all theMOTORCYCLING other things that ORwe are not 1-866-566-5727. able to do CALL currently, whether it is in terms of social media, media in general, membership development and recruitment, events…pick whatever priority you would like at that point.”
scenic
rides
Bob Aldridge concludes the Executive
event
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him getting him cooled down. He had a reservation for a hotel a couple of hours up the road, and I basically told him, ‘No, you have no business getting back on the bike at this point. It’s still 102 outside.’ I pulled out my Anonymous book; there is one listing in Kanab, Utah, where we were currently located. I called that gentleman, and he said, ‘I’m ten minutes away… I’ll be there in ten minutes.’ He showed up, we loaded this gentleman into his car, he took him to his house, and I rode the heat victim’s K 1600 GTL to the house of the Anonymous book member. He stayed there for three days. He showed up here at the rally grounds yesterday. He’s from Florida; he’s looking for a way to trailer his bike back home. It becomes personal to me in these situations, and I understand it is an issue as our membership continues to age. It is something that we will continue to look at, but it is as Director Marc Souliere said, a difficult problem to address.”
logistics necessary to run two events simultaneously. “Having said all that, I think in the future we have got a mutual plan that we need to discuss with each other, maybe treat it (the GS Giant track) like a separate event, with our insurance, etc. I just want to make sure that the MOA board knows that we appreciate everything you have done for us to get the space allocated that we have. On behalf of the GS Giants, thank you for what you have done for us, for this, and any future endeavors. “Along with that, you saw the support that the GS Giants came in with today (at the town hall meeting). We really want to bring people into the GS Giants, but also bring them into the MOA. We are all on the same sheet of music on what we want to do to help the MOA grow. I’m sure that we will have an opportunity to talk more often.”
WES FITZER: “Absolutely. I look forward to our discussions.” (Wes calls for any further discussion or questions.) AMBASSADOR MURIEL FARRINGTON:
“How does attendance (for the rally) look so far?” TED MOYER: “We have about 3,400 registered right now, a little under 3,000 on site this morning (Friday).”
As there were no further questions, President Wes Fitzer calls for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director Marc Souliere makes a motion to adjourn, seconded by Director Chad Warner; all in favor aye, no nay, no abstentions. The Open Session Board meeting was officially adjourned at 11:45 MDT.
Ride into The Heart of Historic Hot Sp The Arlingto Ride into The HeartRide of Historic Hot Springs National Park into The Heart of Historic Hot Springs National Park
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE GS GIANTS RUSS KRUSE: “I would just
like to say to the board, as the Vice President of the GS Giants and a board member for them…to voice my extreme pleasure for what you’ve done for us with the GS Giant track and your support for us from the MOA. I hope we can continue a good relationship from here on out. I know there was some confusion regarding some equipment earlier; I understand there is a whole lot of logistics that go along with putting something like this together, and getting these issues taken care of. There were some hard feelings with that; we’ve cleared the air on that issue. There was a town hall meeting with the GS Giants. Wes came over, and we had a good dialogue. I realize, we are an ‘event within an event’ which makes it difficult sometimes to try to do all of the
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WHENANDWHERE
Email your event information to editor@bmwmoa.org
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Map courtesy of
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October 1
10/6/2017 - 10/8/2017
Colonial Virginia Rally
Location: Lenexa, Virginia Contact: www.bmwmchr.com/rally Come join the fun and help the BMW Motorcycle Club of Hampton Roads celebrate our 40th annual rally. We’ll be at Rockahock Campground. The campground is just north of Williamsburg and outside of the Historical Triangle of Virginia. There are many wonderful historical sites (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) close by with lots of great riding roads.
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10/13/2017 - 10/15/2017
42nd Annual Falling Leaf Rally
Location: Potosi, Missouri Contact: Rich Race rally@gatewayriders.com The St. Louis Gateway Riders, MOA charter club #22, welcome you to the foothills of the Ozarks, offering exciting riding for road and dual sports, and beautiful Fall colors.
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10/19/2017 - 10/22/2017
2017 Adventure Ribfest
Location: Centerville, Tennessee Contact: Lee Waggoner ribfest@bmwmcon.org Enjoy great paved roads or dirt roads and trails with many creek crossings for a true adventure. The GS Giants will be hosting the Trials Course as well as an off-road skills
class. There will be plenty of primitive camping, lots of campfire conversations, entertainment, and some of the best ribs you’ll ever eat.
November 4
11/3/2017 - 11/4/2017
47th South Central BMW Owners Reunion Location: Fayettville, Texas Contact: Gene Ronchetto vp@bmwclubofhouston.com Enjoy tent and RV camping, guided road rides or GS rides, social events, Texas cooking, awards, and great fellowship on the shore of Lake Fayette. All in a pleasant wooded lakeside park, with hiking and fishing opportunities as well.
Detailed information for all events is available online at: bmwmoa.org
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11/3/2017 - 11/5/2017
Middle of the Map Rally
Location: Mansfield, Missouri Contact: Brad Calbert skunkwerksadv@gmail.com Unique off-road ranch nestled in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks. The venue is a 750 acre riding resort 5 miles south of Mansfield Missouri. There’s easy highway access from US 60. 40 miles of trails are offered on site with everything from challenging wooded and rocky hills and valleys, to fire roads, to twisty single track.
6
11/10/2017 - 11/12/2017
16th Swamp Scooter Gumbo Rally
Location: Carencro, Louisiana Contact: James Carpenter president@swampscooters.net Everyone is welcome at our Annual Gumbo Rally so come pass a good time and laisser les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll) at Bayou Wilderness Rv Resort near Lafayette.
7
www.redverz.com
11/10/2017 - 11/12/2017
MOA Getaway
Location: Texas Hill Country, Texas Contact: bmwmoa.org/getaway Join us this November in the rumpled terrain of Texas’s famed Hill Country, an area laced with endless miles of appealing twolane blacktop running through wooded canyons cut by spring-fed rivers. A $89 event fee includes a Friday night welcome party and dinner with cash bar, Saturday night dinner and awards with cash bar, $500 worth of door prizes, event t-shirt, special MOA gift and a silent auction to benefit the Motorcycle Relief Project. Event Fee does not include lodging. Visit bmwmoa.org/getaway to register.
January 8
www.bmwmcmag.com
01/12/2018 -01/14/2018
BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida 35th Annual Winter Rally Location: Starke, Florida Contact: William Botkin, Co-Rally Chair wfbotkin@comcast.net Camping, door prizes, local rides, seminars and much more. Enjoy camping along the shores of beautiful Kingsley Lake, a roaring campfire and camaraderie with like-minded riders. All riders are welcome. October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Join the BMW MOA FACEBOOK page today! Get the MOA Newsfeed via Twitter for more BMW and motorcycle news – www.twitter.com/bmwmoa
www.legalspeeding.com
info@motorelief.org
Join the BMW MOA FACEBOOK page today! Get the MOA Newsfeed via Twitter for more BMW and motorcycle news – www.twitter.com/bmwmoa
110
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2017
advertiserindex Action Stations/Bohn Armor................. 31 Adriatic Moto Tours................................... 33 ADV Depot.................................................... 29 Adventure Designs.................................... 85 Adventure New Zealand Tours............. 29 AeroFlow....................................................... 89 Aerostich-RiderWearHouse.................... 61 Alaska Leather............................................. 31 Alaska Motorcycle Adventures............. 45 Arkansas Parks & Tourism............104-107 Ayres Adventures....................................... 39 Beemer Boneyard...................................... 71 Beemer Shop, The...................................... 67 Best Western Inn of the Ozarks...........107 Bike Log......................................................... 45 Bing Agency................................................. 19 BMW MOA Foundation............................ 68 BMW Motorcycle Magazine.................109 BMW Performance Center...................... 96 Bob’s BMW.................................................... 43 Boxer Works Service.................................. 31 British Motorcycle Gear........................... 42 BullRack......................................................... 45 Capital Cycle................................................ 85 Cardo Systems............................................. 41 Cee Baileys Aircraft Plastic............... 37, 81 Colorado Tourbike Rentals..................... 31 Corbin Pacific............................................... 21 CruzTools....................................................... 25 Cyclenutz....................................................... 25 DMC Sidecars............................................... 99 Dubbeju Motorcycle Rentals................. 25 Edelweiss Bike Travel................................ 84
EPM Hyper Pro..................................... 33, 71 Euro Moto Electrics................................... 67 First Gear......................................................IBC Geza Gear...................................................... 19 GS-911 Diagnostic Tool............................ 45 Global Rescue.............................................. 21 GSM Motorent............................................. 71 Hannigan Motosports.............................. 97 Haynes North America............................. 95 Heidenau Tires............................................ 75 Helmet Sun Blocker................................... 29 HEX-ezCAN................................................... 29 Ilium Works................................................... 45 IMTBIKE TOURS................................... 19, 85 Kermit Chair Company............................. 85 Kinekt Gear Ring......................................... 39 LD Comfort................................................... 39 Lee Parks Designs...................................... 71 Legal Speeding Enterprises.................110 M4Motorcycles.................................... 67, 99 MachineartMoto........................................ 79 MedJet........................................................... 11 MOA Member Benefits............................ 73 MOA Platinum Roadside Assist............ 80 Morton’s BMW Motorcycles................... 57 Moto-Bins...................................................... 99 MotoDiscovery............................................ 33 Motonation..................................................BC Moto Skiveez............................................... 89 Motorcycle Releif Project - psa...........110 Motorex USA................................................ 42 Motorrad Elektrik....................................... 29 Mountain Master Truck Equipment...... 89
MTA Distributing/Olympia Moto Sports..IFC Overseas Speedometer........................... 45 Palo Alto Speedometer............................ 25 Parabellum................................................... 97 Paradise Motorcycle Tours...................... 95 Peru Motors.................................................. 89 Progressive Insurance.............................. 17 Ray Atwood Cycles.................................... 25 Redverz........................................................109 Re-Psycle BMW Parts................................96 Rider Magazine..........................................110 RKA Luggage............................................... 42 RoadRUNNER Magazine........................... 99 RTW Moto Tours......................................... 99 Russel Cycle Products............................... 25 Sargent Cycle Products............................ 81 Scenic Wheels Motorcycle Tours.......... 45 Side Kicker.................................................... 89 Spectro Oils of America............. 29, 31, 33 Spiegler.......................................................... 89 Springdale A&P.........................................107 Stop ‘n Go...................................................... 42 Suburban Machinery................................ 29 Total Control Training............................... 39 Touratech.........................................................1 Touring Sport BMW................................... 95 Tourmaster......................................................5 Twisted Throttle.......................................... 25 Weiser Technik...............................................9 Wilbers USA........................................... 19, 96 Wolfman Luggage..................................... 96 Ztechnik......................................................... 77
BMW ON (ISSN:1080-5729) (USPS: 735-590) (BMW Owners News) is published monthly by BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Inc., 640 S. Main Street, Suite 201, Greenville, SC 29601. Periodicals postage paid at Pewaukee, Wisconsin and additional mailing offices. Opinions and positions stated in materials/articles herein are those of the authors and not by the fact of publication necessarily those of BMW MOA; publication of advertising material is not an endorsement by BMW MOA of the advertised product or service. The material is presented as information for the reader. BMW MOA does not perform independent research on submitted articles or advertising. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO BMW ON, 640 S. Main Street, Suite 201, Greenville, SC 29601 © 2017 by BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Inc. All information furnished herein is provided by and for the members of BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, Inc. Unless otherwise stated, none of the information (including technical material) printed herein necessarily bears endorsement or approval by BMW MOA, BMW NA, the factory or the editors. The editors and publisher cannot be held liable for its accuracy. Printed in the USA. Volume 47, Number 10.
October 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
111
talelight
Eerie darkness
Mark Janda #198513, photographed his K 1600 in Swan Valley, Idaho, during the recent total eclipse. 112
BMW OWNERS NEWS  October 2017
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BMW OWNERS NEWS – A PUBLICATION OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS OF AMERICA
OCTOBER 2017
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OCTOBER 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS www.bmwmoa.org
