Twitter Integration to the Blog

My red 96 ST1100 just north of Big Bend NP

I'm still looking for ways to organize these writings but Google's free application just doesn't allow for any kind of grouping or folder processing of the articles that we post here.  They are all in the last posted is first on the list order and that's the best of the options offered.

I just created a Twitter account that I intend to use for this blog.  I'm new to Twitter so I'm not sure how well this will work.  For Blog notifications you can always "follow" this blog but that still leaves a couple of issues unresolved.  One is that I don't think that followers are notified of any changes or additions made to existing blog entry and two is that there are many smaller motorcycle events that don't warrant a blog posting.  I'm talking about very short product/tool/etc. information and simple blog notifications.

For example, I just did an update to the Beemer Buddies post and I also adjusted the rating of the product.  I think this is the type of thing that I can use Twitter for.  I'm willing to give it a try.

My Twitter account: tspbikes

Thanks for reading,
tsp

My 2013 BMW R1200RT Makes It Home

2013 90th Anniversary R1200RT

 My new bike, my 65th birthday gift from my wife, is finally home. I ordered it over a month ago while it was still in the motherland, but it gradually made its way across the Atlantic to the BMW warehouse in New Jersey or thereabouts and to Austin's Lone Star BMW on Friday morning March 01, 2013. My wife and I towed up my motorcycle trailer on Saturday, arriving at the dealer at 4:57pm, with a whole three minutes to closing.
It was a real adventure getting to the dealer as I decided to get off the stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate Hwy 35 and take Red River Street, a parallel urban street, as it was faster than I35. That was true until I got to the Longhorn Stadium when a DPS Trooper stopped me and proceeded to wave through the Longhorn marching band followed by a few thousand fans right in front of us. By then I figured it was useless to get upset so I recorded the band as they marched by. Anyway, I made it to Lone Star with plenty of time.
We loaded the bike and we were back on the road to Mission within 15 minutes. It was slow going between Austin and San Antonio, but we finally made it South of San Antonio and opened it up a little. The 660+ mile round trip had us home about 11:30pm; a long day. My wife, Irma, was a real trooper on the 12 hour tow. I had thought of spending the night in Austin, but couldn't bear the thought of having the bike sit in some lonely parking lot so we headed right back home. It was a good decision to trailer the bike home instead of riding it through all that stop and go I35 mess.
Of course, I was in a hurry to get out of Austin and through the 5 o'clock rush hour so I didn't even bother to start up the bike or test anything on it. I took it on faith that the good folk at Lone Star BMW had checked everything out. When I entered the dealership the bike was right next to Gary, my salesman, with a "SOLD" sign on it.
My brother and I unloaded the bike, checked everything out and took it down the street two blocks and back. It had 5 miles on the odometer when I took delivery of the bike. Next report will be on my first long ride coming up at the end of the week.

Only 5 Miles on OD

At Home In Garage

Emblem

Blog Update Page...

The RT and a rider

This page is just an ongoing post about things that pop into my head on an on-going basis. I'll try to keep it related to motorcycles.




2012 Dec 18
We made some changes on the Blogger settings so that viewing on mobile devices and devices like iPads is better. Pages should now load much faster and each post has only a small part of the beginning of the post in order to fit more on a page. To select a post that you would like to read simply click that entry. If you are on a larger tablet or a phone with a large display you may use the link "view web version" which is located at the bottom of each page to view the blog using the desktop version.

2012 Sept 17
1 - Added a review of the Schuberth C3 helmet. C3 Review
2 - Updated the Grip Buddies review. Grip Buddies Review

2012 Aug 24
I'm late doing a number of posts, reviews and updates to this blog because it has been a few weeks since I got back from my yearly extended tour. We did a ride from Texas to Yellowstone NP and back where my bike did 4,453 miles during the 10 day tour. This year I upgraded a few items and added a few items to my daily carry pack. My new riding gear included a new Schuberth C3 helmet plus the relatively new to me BMW Airflow gloves. I also tried a CamelBak during the long hot ride home. The temperature range ran from 55 degrees F to about 105.

2012 May 21
It's time I did more postings. My 65W low beam upgrade did not last long. No, nothing wrong with that upgrade. I jumped the gun and did the HID upgrade. And while I was at it I also mounted my GPS (Zumo 660) over my dash. I'm happy with both upgrades. Reviews will soon follow.

2012 Feb 28
Planning on going to my BMW dealer for a 3rd time to get the left hand switches replaced. I don't mind the ride but staying at a hotel has already cost me more than $300. Status report when I get back.
Update (Mar 2012) - Finally got all of this resolved. Update in my bike R1200RT post.
tsp

2012 Feb 28
Warning - no motorcycle content
One of my hobbies or interests is aromatherapy. Been interested many years but it wasn't until recently that I found a good way to diffuse the oil blends that I make into the air in my house. I started a web page with info on the product a few days ago. It's very raw but a start. I'm not sure I'm keeping this service or use another service.
Web site: Aromatherapy and Stuff
tsp


2011, Dec 30

If you are like me you don't mind buying at least one pair of fairly nice riding boots. The sad part is that it took me over 40 years of riding to realize that I should pair up boots with a good pair of socks. I recently purchased a pair of tactical boots that I want to use for casual riding. Next to the boots was a rack of socks that retail for about $20 each pair. I'm used to buying packages of 3 to 6 pair of socks for a total of cost of less than $20!



You gotta give these socks a try. What I looked at had options for light, medium, and heavy socks. The heavy are too thick unless I up all my footwear by at least one size. I purchased some light and medium pairs and really like them. I got mine at Academy for a slight discount off of retail.

tsp



2011 Dec 1

I have a number of things wired up on my RT but I'm getting the urge to redo the job and clean up things a bit. I'll do some before and after shots (even to include the stuff I hate like the location of the power distribution box).

I'm breaking my rule of not tearing into any major work on a bike before a long ride. Planning to do a day's ride on Saturday.

tsp

2011, Nov 19 - This past Thursday my fellow contributor and brother had a business meeting in Austin, TX. He invited me to ride along with him and I agreed. It's about a 300 mile ride each way so we planned on returning on Friday. I had 639 miles total for the trip when we got back on Friday evening.

To pass the time while he was in meetings I visited the local BMW/Triumph shop. Well... after riding for over 40 years I finally decided to purchase my first pair of motorcycle riding pants. I can't review them yet because 1) only used them yesterday for the trip home and today I went on a very short 15 mile ride and 2) it's not cold and it's not hot at this time in my locale. The ride today was in 86 degree F and yesterday it started at 58 and was 78 by the time we got home.



But it appears that I have really been missing out. The pants felt so much better than regular jeans. Jeans seem to be beating on you as you ride at highway speeds while the riding pants stayed put very well.



I'll follow up with a review when I log more miles with them in both hot weather and cold. We don't get too cold here though. The review will be comparing jeans to these pants. Keep in mind that I wanted something for Summer riding. Anything else they do is a bonus to me.

tsp at Tail of the Dragon

tsp

Posted with Blogsy

For Sale - 1999 R1100GS

Sorry - This Bike is Sold

The same friend that is selling the R1100RS has added his other bike to the pool.  I just took these pictures today and will post them here.  I don't have all the sale details except that it is a 1999 BMW R1100GS with 58,000 plus miles.  This bike, as well as his RS, have many mods and upgrades.  I know that he rides his GS more than the RS.  

Update: Asking price for the GS: $5,500.  As of today this is the only place it has been listed.

His contact info:

Frank (Pancho)
McAllen, TX
956-686-2803 

R1100GS

Stock Seat - Bags Off

Bike has 2 or 3 windshields

Steering Stop & Stainless Steel Brake Lines

Ohlins Front & Rear

58,262 Miles as of 12/13/2012

ABS, Heated Grips, GPS Mount, PIAA Lights, Hand Guards, & More

BMW Bags and Tank Bag in Place

Marsee Tank Bag

Set up for touring

Sargent Seat in Place

For Sale - 1996 R1100RS

Sorry - This Bike is Sold

I agreed to post this for a friend selling a BMW motorcycle.  The bike looks great but I have not test driven it.  I'm just forwarding this for him.  It is 1996 R1100RS. The pictures I took today for use in this blog.  
His ad:

New reduced price: $4,000

Don't have time for 2 bikes anymore. This one is up for sale. I do not know how to do pics, but there are plenty on the internet. No dissapointment when you see or ride this one. Recent service. $4500, may help with delivery. location, McAllen, TX

Marrakesh Red w/36K
fuel injection and ABS brakes
Spiegler brake lines
Ohlin suspension
Marsee tankbag
BMW cases
Garmin GPS w/Touratech mount
PIAA driving lights
Sargent seats
running lights w/self canceling turnsignals and emergency flashers
heated grips
Throttlemiester-throttle lock
factory toolkit and owners manual

956-686-2803

Loving my RT Again (or what I hated about my RT)

New Left Front Rotor

For at least 6 months now I have been wanting to write a blog entry titled "What I Hate About My BMW RT".  One of the reasons I did not post it is that I don't like to present a problem or issue without also presenting a possible solution to that issue.  I now have resolution to my problem with my RT.

I have a 2010 R1200RT that I purchased new.  I now have a little over 35,000 miles on the bike but a little over a year ago my bike developed the dreaded pulsating front brake.  For those of you that have never experienced it you can describe it as rather minor problem... in a way.  The pulsating is not felt until the bike is rolling very slowly - almost at a stop.  I must use the front brake a lot because I felt it nearly every time I came to a stop.  Soon after the bike developed the problem I took it to my dealer for evaluation.

I let the dealer take their time working on the bike because I was 100% sure that the issue would be identified and correct under warranty.  Not so!  The SM told me that they were within specs.  I said how could that be because the front brake pulsated.  He said they were within BMW specs.  I argued that in over 40 years of riding motorcycles I had never had this problem.  I added that the RT was by far the most expensive motorcycle that I have purchased but I had to live with the problem.  I added that I purchased a used Cushman for $50 in college and the brakes did not pulsate.  He said they were within specs and that BMW would not pay for the replacement.

Let me add at this point that when I described the problem to my independent BMW motorcycle mechanic he immediately said "The rotors are wrapped".  I told him that the dealer had said no and that the rotors are within specs.  He says "The rotors are wrapped".  I didn't say anything but everything I know about mechanics told me that he was right.

Nearly a year later I decided to try the dealer again.  One reason is that my bike is nearly out of warranty and two is that the dealer had a new SM.  As it turned out the new SM was out for an extended period of time (months I was told).  I nevertheless rode the 265 miles to the dealer since I wanted them to check out the bike before I hit the 36,000 mile warranty limit.  Once there I decided to report the issue about the pulsating front brake and my cruise control switch acting up (again!).  BTW, as it turned out the acting service manager was the owner of the dealership.  I could not help but wonder... is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I had already resolved to try to correct the problem myself by first trying new pads and that failing I would switch out the rotors.  I had to... I was already getting to the point that I was adjusting my riding habits by avoiding the front brake at slow speeds.  I did not like that.

After the mechanic test drove the bike the SM (owner) walks into the waiting area and tells me that 1 rotor is wrapped and it will be replaced under warranty.  I was a happy camper.  I signed to work order that had a total of $540 for the work (remember - only one rotor and no new pads).  Everything was done in less than two hours.  The rotor was replaced (I'm lucky one was in stock) and the cruise control switch was ordered.  I was anxious to try out the bike after having the issue for about 14 months or 13,000 miles.

I pull out of the parking lot and come up to a stop sign about 30 yards from the parking lot exit.  I come to a stop and thought "WOW!  What a difference".  I drive to Willie's for lunch which is only about 2 miles away but this time I welcome every stop and stop light along the way.  Yeap, the problem is fixed!  The one issue I was having with my bike is now corrected.  New sparks plugs, oil change, and no pulsating brakes made the bike feel awesome.  I was riding alone but enjoyed the 265 mile ride back home.  Conclusion... pulsating front brake can be corrected by replacing the brake rotors.  Expensive - but a solution.  Maybe after market rotors will be a better solution.  I would consider them but for now my bike is fixed.

tsp

Blog Update Page...

tsp & RT

This page is just an ongoing post about things that pop into my head on an on-going basis. I'll try to keep it related to motorcycles.

2012 Sept 17
1 - Added a review of the Schuberth C3 helmet.  C3 Review
2 - Updated the Grip Buddies review.   Grip Buddies Review

2012 Aug 24
I'm late doing a number of posts, reviews and updates to this blog because it has been a few weeks since I got back from my yearly extended tour.  We did a ride from Texas to Yellowstone NP and back where my bike did 4,453 miles during the 10 day tour.  This year I upgraded a few items and added a few items to my daily carry pack.  My new riding gear included a new Schuberth C3 helmet plus the relatively new to me BMW Airflow gloves.  I also tried a CamelBak during the long hot ride home.  The temperature range ran from 55 degrees F to about 105.

2012 May 21
It's time I did more postings.  My 65W low beam upgrade did not last long.  No, nothing wrong with that upgrade.  I jumped the gun and did the HID upgrade.  And while I was at it I also mounted my GPS (Zumo 660) over my dash.  I'm happy with both upgrades.   Reviews will soon follow.

2012 Feb 28
Planning on going to my BMW dealer for a 3rd time to get the left hand switches replaced.  I don't mind the ride but staying at a hotel has already cost me more than $300.  Status report when I get back.
Update (Mar 2012) - Finally got all of this resolved.  Update in my bike R1200RT post.
tsp

2012 Feb 28
Warning - no motorcycle content
One of my hobbies or interests is aromatherapy.  Been interested many years but it wasn't until recently that I found a good way to diffuse the oil blends that I make into the air in my house.  I started a web page with info on the product a few days ago.  It's very raw but a start.  I'm not sure I'm keeping this service or use another service.
Web site: Aromatherapy and Stuff
tsp

2011, Dec 30

If you are like me you don't mind buying at least one pair of fairly nice riding boots. The sad part is that it took me over 40 years of riding to realize that I should pair up boots with a good pair of socks. I recently purchased a pair of tactical boots that I want to use for casual riding. Next to the boots was a rack of socks that retail for about $20 each pair. I'm used to buying packages of 3 to 6 pair of socks for a total of cost of less than $20!

You gotta give these socks a try. What I looked at had options for light, medium, and heavy socks. The heavy are too thick unless I up all my footwear by at least one size. I purchased some light and medium pairs and really like them. I got mine at Academy for a slight discount off of retail.

tsp

2011 Dec 1

I have a number of things wired up on my RT but I'm getting the urge to redo the job and clean up things a bit.  I'll do some before and after shots (even to include the stuff I hate like the location of the power distribution box).

I'm breaking my rule of not tearing into any major work on a bike before a long ride. Planning to do a day's ride on Saturday.

tsp

2011, Nov 19 - This past Thursday my fellow contributor and brother had a business meeting in Austin, TX. He invited me to ride along with him and I agreed. It's about a 300 mile ride each way so we planned on returning on Friday. I had 639 miles total for the trip when we got back on Friday evening.

To pass the time while he was in meetings I visited the local BMW/Triumph shop. Well... after riding for over 40 years I finally decided to purchase my first pair of motorcycle riding pants. I can't review them yet because 1) only used them yesterday for the trip home and today I went on a very short 15 mile ride and 2) it's not cold and it's not hot at this time in my locale. The ride today was in 86 degree F and yesterday it started at 58 and was 78 by the time we got home.

But it appears that I have really been missing out. The pants felt so much better than regular jeans. Jeans seem to be beating on you as you ride at highway speeds while the riding pants stayed put very well.

I'll follow up with a review when I log more miles with them in both hot weather and cold. We don't get too cold here though. The review will be comparing jeans to these pants. Keep in mind that I wanted something for Summer riding. Anything else they do is a bonus to me.

tsp at Tail of the Dragon

tsp

My Bike - 2010 BMW R1200RT

My current bike is a 2010 BMW R1200RT that I purchased new at Alamo BMW in Boerne, TX in March 2010.  I'm using this post for sharing tips, service items, modifications, and other things relating to this motorcycle.  I'll be adding to this post as I make changes or add items to the bike.  The main objective is to keep everything related to the R1200RT in one post (instead of a lot of short posts).


First and foremost: My prior bike was a 2003 Honda ST1300ABS.  You can read my comparison of these two bikes here: My review: BMW RT vs Honda ST


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My changes to the RT:
The only thing that I have changed on the RT is the driver seat.  After about 15,000 I had a chance to buy a nearly new heated Corbin seat.  I've had Corbin seats before on my prior two bikes.  I also like the Smuggler trunk that Corbin sells.  I had it on the ST1300 but non yet for this bike.  It's costly.
Wiring instructions for the Corbin here: how-to-wire-aftermarket-seat-to-bmw

I'm one of those guys that's happy with the windshield.  It does everything that I want from a windshield.  For example, being from south Texas it has more wind protection than I need where we have summers well past 100 degrees F.  Also I can have the top of the shield below my eye sight and still have the wind going over my helmet.  Maybe if it were very cold I would need a bigger windshield but at this point smaller might even be better for me.


My additions to the RT:

• Touratech tank bag
• Saddle bag liners
• XM radio
• Zumo 660 GPS
• AmpliRider amplifier
• FuzeBlock power distribution box
• P3 LED brake lights
• SilverStar H7 low beam bulbs
• Replaced the SilverStar low beams with the Osram Rallye bulbs. (Mar 2012)
• Grip Buddies
• Replaced the Osram 65W low beams with HID bulbs
• Added the Wunderlich GPS mount that goes above the dash

(I hope to do a review on some of the items listed above but that will be a separate post.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BMW RT Driving Light Special Functions
Some special light features that work on my BMW R2010 RT. Please feel free to add or correct anything on this list.

Turning off headlight: with engine running push signal to right and then push in to cancel and hold until headlight turns off. Headlight will come back on if the bike is moved so only works while you are stopped.

Turning on parking lights and rear tail light: As soon as you turn off the engine press and hold signal switch to right turn signal. Hold until parking lights turn on. Resets when you switch the bike back on.  Be careful of draining your battery by leaving these lights on too long.  In addition, I think some tank bags can cause the parking lights to be switched on without you knowing it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service History (Basic Format)
2010/4/6    -  600 service  - 812 miles
2010/9/15  -  12K service -  11,903 - Replaced front tire with Z8
2011/8/17  -  18K Service - 16,144 - Replaced rear tire with Z8
2012/3/12  -  Replaced front tire with another Z8 - 24,997 (12,000 miles and it still had thread)
...
...
2013/4/16 - Replaced front tire with PR 3 - 39,637 (the old Z8 wore in a weird way)


I got a few special services missing here. I'll find them and update this and do a recap of the tires used.  I seem to be getting very good life from the Z8 tires.  Currently I have 11,000 miles on the front with some life left but it does have some cupping.  The rear tire has 7,000 miles with lots of life left on it.  The bike came with Z6 tires.

R1200RT - First Week (no mods)

After 22 months and 23,000 miles the bike still feels like a new to me motorcycle and the engine seems to be getting better as the miles add up.  Some people say the boxer engine takes about 20,000 miles to break in.  I believe that now.


Update - Feb 24, 2012 - Horn stopped working.  I think it's the switch.  Seems to be a known problem with the new BMW RT's.


Update - Mar 5, 2012 - Got the LHS switch gear replaced under warranty by dealer.  Everything is good again.


Update - July 18, 2012 - Cruise control switch is acting up again.  How can BMW tolerate these poor quality switches?

tsp

Why do you ride a motorcycle?

If you have spent any time riding a motorcycle you always get the question "why do you ride that thing?". I always hesitate at least a few seconds before I say anything. Keep in mind that it is never the motorcycle rider that asks the question.

I grew up liking mechanical things... especially engines. In my early years I put small lawnmower engines on bicycles. They were very crude but they served as my first motorized transportation. Years later when I went to college I moved up - if you want to call it that - to a 1953 Cushman scooter that cost me $50. It was my only transportation. It would do 50 mph drafting a tractor trailer. That scooter never gave me problems but it did break a front fork by the front axle. I used wire to hold it together but running down the road I could see it bouncing up and down. Not very smart of me.

It wasn't until I was in my mid 20's that I got my first real motorcycle - a 1973 Honda 500Four. I rode it everywhere. I looked for excuses to go somewhere so that I could ride it. I was in college when I mentioned to a motorcycle friend that as soon as the semester was over I wanted to ride to Big Bend National Park along the border of South Texas. It was to be my first real tour with a total of 600 miles each way. By the way, my friend was riding a 500cc two stroke Kawasaki motorcycle. We lubed the chains at every gas stop. It was a one week trip and we camped the whole time. How we carried all our gear on those motorcycles with no saddle bags I do not know.

After that bike came a series of Honda and BMW bikes and of course many more tours and rallies. In addition to those formal rides I also joined a local motorcycle club so that I would have several short rides every month.

Well, that's a brief history of how I got started with motorcycles. It covers a span of a little over 40 years and I still find it hard answering the question of why do I ride. Of course the simple answer for me is that I like it but that almost always requires that I qualify that answer. Sometimes I answer by saying "I don't know". That usually ends that topic. I think I have many answers and not simply one reason for riding. I like the quiet thinking time when I am riding long distance. I like the sensation of motion/speed. I like how you can smell what is around you. At this time of year (Spring) it is awesome as you ride by different fields both man made and natural. I like that I am covering as much as 50 miles for every gallon of gasoline. I like the power to weight ratio of a motorcycle. I'm sure there are more reasons I can't think of right now (like that motorcycles are pretty).

I would like to make this post interactive. I would like for you to post in the comments section your reason for riding. If you see your answer already posted by someone else continue to write your answer also. That will give us an idea what the most popular reasons are for the riding that we do. So... have at it... post your answers.

Thanks in advance for your input,

tsp