03 SEP 07 Labor Day Weekend Mackay Is NWR NC

Last evening we attended a party in the neighborhood. They say that a promise made drunk is sacred. So it was that this morning 5 of us met for a ride. There was myself, Jim and his R850, Ian, Jim's neighbor and his H-D 1200, Todd and his "new" Honda VTX and the youngest member of the group, Adam and his Ninja. Pretty strange group, but short of Carson and his 919, that was every bike in our neighborhood.

30 AUG 07 95,000 Miles

First good milestone since owning.

2007 August Maintenance Log

Minor tweeks

2007 July Maintenance Log

July 15 Ordered and received a set of rockers and pushrods from an 81 RT. Funny though, I probably won't put them on. I spoke with the maintenance experts down at Adventure BMW in Chesapeake and was told that all I needed to do was to retorque the head and that the rocker assemblies 'float' on the head bolts. Sure enough...that made a big improvement.

2007 June Maintenance Log

Last Log Mileage: 94567

Current Mileage:

Cumulative Miles:0

01 JUNE 07 Did a very quick check on the valve clearances. Not much to do there since the noise seems to be coming from the end play in the rockers. Just a bother, not a problem. No performance issues related to rockers. Maybe in a few thousand miles.

10 JUNE 07 Brake Failure warning light coming on intermittently.

11 JUNE 07 Topped up brake fluid. Just a little low. Will have to monitor.

12 JUNE 07 Lost bid on Ebay for a set of rockers. Original gear, before the shim upgrade. Will have to continue to look. Perhaps I can snag a set of the newer ones from post 85. Had a nice test ride. Brakes are fine. Must keep on top of fluids.

20MAY07 - A Few Good Miles

After replacing the carb float bowl gaskets with I tore into the issue of the choke lever. After an hour of fiddling around and learning more than I wanted to about how the bike is assembled, it was out for a ride. A beautiful Sunday in the 80s. I had just started out when I saw my friend Jim in his driveway and we decided to take a short ride together.

If one BMW on the road looks good, 2 are better. Jim is 'borrowing' his son's bike, a beautiful 96 R1100R. One of the more serious things we want to do is some speedometer checks. It looks as though mine is indicating about 5-7 miles per hour under actual - assuming that Jim's is probably more accurate.

That evening it was over to our friends house with my wife Beth on the back. Great little ride, just about a mile through the neighborhoods. The look on our friends faces were priceless - and approving. Not only was it 'cool bike' but the husband immediately pointed out that it was a BMW. Nice to have a bike with a good reputation.

13 MAY 07 Toe Warmers

A little cold today so it was great to have the fairing and the 'toe warmers'. The opposed cylinders on the BMW have always been a mixed blessing. There are the basis of the wonderful balance and low vibration for which the bike is famous. They are also two huge things sticking out of the side of the bike that naturally tend to be the first thing to hit the road in a slide. Then again, they also keep the frame from resting completely on the ground and may offer some advantages to keeping a riders legs from being pinned. Last but not least, as long as you live above the 43rd parallel, it is nice to have some warm air to keep the toes warm on a cool ride through the Black Forest on a crisp fall day. It is not so nice to feel your feet bake on a nice warm day at the Virginia Beach oceanfront.

Today I had my first rider-rider compliment while on the road. A fully dressed Gold Wing the size of an aircraft carrier pulled up and the rider complimented me on the nice old bike. Okay, that was nice, but I am really waiting to hear that from some young kid on a GSX-R. That will be even better. Hey, it could happen.