Heinrich Maneuver

We also needed a few parts, so we stopped by Bob's BMW where RJ swung his lake over the R18 while I waited on my parts.

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We stopped in and said "Hi" to Bob for a few minutes, then headed back to the house to continue working on the bike.

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Bob's office is a "museum" full of neat BMW memorabilia

IMG_1430 Here a few more pictures of the Heinrich Fuhrmann tank

IMG_1460 IMG_1446 IMG_1447 IMG_1454 IMG_1457 IMG_1441 We still have to get the carburetors sorted, and then the bike should be back on the road. 

I have to admit, I think the Maryland Vehicle Emissions Inspection is largely just another "tax", but I abide by laws so begrudgingly I take my vehicles every two years using the self service kiosk, which can be frustrating - but hey, in the end it does seem to work and saves $4.00.

This morning I decided to take my truck (which i rarely drive these days) to the VEIP test site. After several attempts with the fvcking credit card reader, I finally was able to proceed and run the test. Yay me! Oh not so fast tough guy. Got some communication failure message, turn vehicle back off, disconnect and re-connect test cable, turn engine on again ....

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And again, test seems to proceed, finally prompts me to turn engine off, disconnect test device, etc. Completed all and then I get this final message that "The kiosk is not able to communicate with your vehicle, fee will be refunded, blah blah".  

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Ok, so totally frustrated, I now line up at the test line, of course I'm early, place is not open yet, so wasting my fvcking time ...

Test site opens, I'm first in line, pull the vehicle in, explained that I had self-service kiosk issues.  Guy assured me he'll have me in an out in no time.  And bam, his equipment could not communicate and "test" my vehicle.  He asked if I drive it much, I said I never drive it. His reply "Yeah, there is no driving history, you didn't pass or fail, we'll credit back your fee, drive the vehicle for 2 weeks or so and then bring it back." He sent me to the office so that I could get an extension since I would be past due if I drive it for the next 2 weeks. 

REALLY?  What are you testing for?  I thought this was to test emissions?  Wouldn't that be right here, right now, what emissions is my vehicle emitting?  Very interesting. Should this be concerning?  What "other" data about my driving history are you pulling? 

I think I'm not going to let this go citing the following:

1. If I don't drive my vehicle, it is not emitting anything  - PASS

2. Can the State of MD mandate how much or how little I drive my registered and insured vehicle?  I think not - PASS

3. Test the vehicles' emissions.  Don't "test" my driving history. - PASS

I will update this as warranted.  Curious to see how far I can take this ...  

Asked the Seller for Serial Number, since I thought I needed that to register the Drone with the FAA (turns out you don't need a SN). So I registered as a recreational Drone pilot on 11/27/2020, since the Drone was to arrive on 11/29/2020.  (The seller did a great job shipping it so quickly).

And this where things get bogged down.  After 1 1/2 days (item shipped from Plainfield, IN on 11/27/2020 - 12:10pm) it arrived in Hyattsville MD. Excellent, figured it should arrive in another day or two.  

Yeah, not so fast Cowboy ...  After several days I decided to check the tracker again, and the package is now heading to VA?  I live in MD - last I checked.  Item is addressed to be delivered in MD.  Uhhh - WTF?

As soon I saw the package heading to VA, I opened a Customer Service Inquire with the USPS (Where is my package, why is it going to VA when it was in MD 9where I live).  So far, I got SILENCE ....

I will update this further as needed.  Very frustrated!

9 Dec 2020 update:

On Sat 12/5 I received this email from USPS as a reply to the customer inquiry I created

Your package was missent to VA it was processed back out of VA on 12/1/20. Right now we do have some parcel delays and you may not see an update for a few days. Plwase be patient we are working to get parcels delivered as soon as possible.
 

eBay tracking info was updated as follows

In the meantime all I have is this ...

This morning I opened another customer service inquiry, asking for a tracking update, since supposedly the package has left VA (how does the USPS person know this?  There is no information that would support this "claim".  Felt like an email just to "shut up" the customer for a few days, and it worked! (well, until this morning anyway).  Update to follow.

This year (2020) I will attempt to join the Spin Sheet Century Club by spending 100+ Days on the water. This will be my personal journal as I complete this quest.  Exciting to see how many different vessels and trips this will turn into and the great memories made.

Day 1:  Rig rescue on "Elias"  (Omar's Hunter 33)

Day 1: Elias Rig rescue1/16/2020

Day 2: Two Frostbite Races on "Five O'Clock"  (Mike's O'day 40) 

Day 2: Frostbite on Five O'Clock

Day 3:  An outing on "Triple Threat"  (Tim's Corsair 43 Tri)

Day 3: Triple Threat 2

Day 4:   Sunset Sail on Triple Threat

Day4 Triple Sunset

Day 5:  Sunset sail on Five O'Clock

Day5 From Bow

Day 6: Late afternoon run to City Dock to watch Dublin 5 as part of the St. Patty's day celebration.

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Day 7:  beautiful sail across the bay on Five O'Clock

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Day 8: Irish Rowing Training  - Getting school'd by Egan and Brad.  Fun time, a good workout!

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Day 9:  Maintenance Day on Triple Threat.  Bowsprit install, Rigging & winch maintenance

Day 9 Allen

 Day 10: Sunset sail on 'Wiggy Wiggy"

Day 10 Wiggy Wiggy

Day 11: 

This morning I listened to no such excuses and finally stopped.  So glad I did ... Of course i only had my cell phone with me.  I am very certain I will return with the "good gear".

this is the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro No.2 Winner 24H Le Mans in 2013, raced by Audi Sport Team Joest A.McNish.
What an amazing machine ... 

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I will post additional picture which can be seen here

I packed up the '93 R 100 GSPD and headed towards Harleysville, taking the scenic Eastern Shore ride from Annapolis, MD. Packing the bike was a bit of a challenge, considering I took 3 cameras and the associated batteries, chargers, to take photos of this event. Of course I packed a few malted beverages so Endeavour was loaded down a bit. I felt quite a bit of buffeting that I don't get on my Triumph Tiger, might have to get a bigger wind screen after all. Admittedly, the ride was felt more solid on the ride home with malted beverages having been properly disposed off days prior.

IMG_1149-2My Ride, 1993 R100GSPD Arrived at Todd's, checked in with Laura and Ken, setup camp while enjoying a cold beer. RJ soon arrived, we hung out while he setup his tent next to mine and we had a chance to get caught up on things. Pretty sure it was Hot Dogs and Chili for dinner, met up with more good friends and had a nice evening by the fire. Dave Good and I looked at so many old rally photographs he has digitized and on his phone.  I saw quite a few of Unca Norm and his R100RS "Leiser Blitz", which has been in my possession for a few years now.  

Friday morning Hans and the entire entourage arrived,  we all were treated to Todd's ribbon cutting ceremony for the Dedication Ceremony of the Bavarian Bike Barn.  Hans cut the ribbon, and we all got to follow Hans in to see the AMAZING effort Todd and team has put into displaying the many bikes Todd has in his collection. One would not believe the transformation of the barn from two years ago.

DSC_7979www.ampmphotos.com DSC_8000www.ampmphotos.com

DSC_8017www.ampmphotos.com DSC_8028www.ampmphotos.com The day proceeded with Hans giving a great presentation on the overall design concept of the R80/GS. It soon became apparent why Schorsch (owner of the largest BMW Dealership in Germany) was attending this event. I do hope that I'm reciting Hans properly here .... in a nutshell: Hans left BMW and therefore was not able to see his R80/GS go into full production without his further guidance on the final design.  Schorsch and Hans have worked on the GS800 - THAT is what Hans envisioned for the R80/GS.  When Hans and Schorsch unveiled the GS800 in front of all of us there was a palpable gasp coming from the audience. Frankly, this bike is "stunning", it is what BMW should have built.  Schorsch's Dealership will build one of these for you! Oh my, that is tempting ....

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Dr. George Frazier gave a great presentations on his numerous" Travel Around The World" experiences.  How one has the stones to make this happen is beyond me.  Wish I could do that.  The memories one surely gathered have to be priceless. Greg used an R80/GS he calls "Ugly Helga" during some of these travels. Quite the machine.
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Tom Gietl, Bob Henig from Bob's BMW and Tom Cutter took the podium next, All three skillfully answered many audience questions on various topics, including bike mechanical / preservation and restoration considerations.

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Later in the afternoon Hans signed autographs and talked to many of the enthusiasts present.  I can only wish to have his stamina when I am in my 80's.

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We had a fantastic catered German inspired evening meal.  The evening/night was spent drinking good whiskey around the fire.

Saturday morning we started with paying special homage to Rocky. Rocky was in search of an R90S, of course with Karl Duffner's involvement, finding a suitable copy took some time.  When he finally got his R90S, he wanted Todd to organize a R90S "Day of Camaraderie". So in 2014, we had the first 40th Anniversary event and they seemingly get more incredible each year. Thank you Rocky for wanting an R90S!  Thank you Karl for helping him find one.  Thank you Todd for tying this altogether!

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The festivities proceeded with another presentation given by Hans about the R 65 LS and what decisions led to its' design.  It was a great presentation, Hans outlined the many interesting design features we sort of take for granted I suppose.  Hearing Hans point these out, makes me view this bike in an entirely different light. 

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There were more presentations during the afternoon, most notably by Tom Cutter, Karl Meyers and Armond Ensanian.

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We also managed a photo shoot with Hans and Schorsch, the GS800, a beautiful R80/GS owned by Dave and an R65LS were placed near the fire pit which provided a pleasing backdrop. Schorsch being ever playful wanted to give Hans a ride on the GS800, those would have been some great shots!

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The rest of the day was spent with hanging out with our special guests.  More autographs were signed, machinery looked at, beverages consumed, friends' made. 

I was able to sneak Hans away for a bit, so we could hang out with RJ and take a few photos (photo credit goes to RJ)

P1440745-2 P1440748-2 I got to fly Dave's drone with his supervision, while RJ wrenched on his bike for a bit.

DSC_8740www.ampmphotos.com DSC_8739www.ampmphotos.com Just a wonderful event.  In the evening we were treated to some great Accordion music, which Hans and Schorsch enjoyed as well.

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Sunday morning was special, in that Todd was leading a ride as part of the Motorrad Vintage Fescht, AND Hans and Schorsch would come along for the ride.  RJ and I stuck around to see off this Motely Crew, then headed home ourselves.

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While the boys were out playing around, Laura and i had some phone photographing her beautiful Aussie's.  Yes Ken that is your tent and chair!  LOL

P1440917-2 P1440924-2 DSC_8788www.ampmphotos.com RJ had a nice ride home, split up after lunch and each mushed on to our respective homesteads.  parking the bike, I reflected on another great motorcycle related event, possibly the best one yet.  Seeing Hans again, expanding on our friendship, and having a second bike in my collection with the iconic "Hans A Muth" signature is pretty cool!

P1440945-2 P1440946-2  Some of my photography for this event can be found by clicking here

In 2017, Todd and Laura hosted a similar event, dedicating the 40th Anniversary of the R100RS.  I rode Serial Number 40 to this event, and finally got to meet Hans.  Photographs of this rally can be found by clicking here

Thank you Todd & Laura.  Thanks to all that helped make this event one that will not be forgotten.  Top Notch!    

Click here for more images

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2019 - Team Xiberger is looking forward to another year of good racing. One major crew change is the loss of Warren since he relocated to NM.  

Series 1, Race 1:  4/DNC

Four of our crew are still in Ireland, boat did not compete

https://youtu.be/kA1U2Cs3XlU

Series 1, Race 2:  4th

I was still in Ireland, did not race.  Xiberger got a fourth, results were being contested.  

https://youtu.be/dCdKWh4QvKg

(minimal coverage, Xiberger at counter 9:30)

Series 1, Race 3:  4th

Finally on the boat racing again, interesting race, seemed like there was some confusion on which course to race.  We hoisted the protest flag, no idea where we finished.  Great post race party christening August Moon.

https://youtu.be/Uk3Q-vQ0KjU

Series 1, Race 4:  [6th]

Tore the starboard car off of the jib track about 5 mins before the start. M:I-2 skipper yells over to us to "McGywer that shit", so we did.  This probably adversely affected our start, another fairly intense affair.  We made up some ground on the long run to Hacketts.  Julian assisted with keeping the jib sheet in place by standing on it.  Interesting moment in the mooring field, when Kalevala was taken up by a Viper and almost collided with a big moored Trawler.  Fun at Pusser's for some Painkillers afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iSGDicP5wI

(good footage at counter 1:03, 3:14)

Series 1, Race 5:  4th

With both starboard and port cars rebuilt we set off from the dock promptly at 17:30.  Crew assignment were shoveled with only the skipper slot being unchanged.  I found myself doing starboard jib trim and really like that position.  Assisted here and there in the pit when needed. Sadly during our rounding Abientot rammed us from behind, leaving some railing and fiberglass hull damage (on both boats).  

https://youtu.be/x4_1cuOMGfU

(good footage at counters 1:01, 2:35, 9:30 and 10:12)

Series 1, Race 6:

Race got cancelled due to thunderstorms which past us to the north (never materialized) 

Series 2

Series2, Race 1:  [3rd]

Good race, Chuck was on-board to help out with general sail trim (and we made many minute adjustments).  Most exciting event was Aftershock's boom sweeping across out port side, damn near taking out our chute trimmer (he threw himself onto the deck and the boom missed him by mere inches it seemed). Aftershock's Skipper continued to smoke his cigar and was in total denial/oblivion that anything had even been remote dangerous.  WTF.  Race through the mooring field was interesting, weather is taking a turn, storm is brewing up.  Fun post-race gathering for food and drink at EYC.  

Series 2, Race 2:  2nd

Good race, can't remember much about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ngH7X-hqLU   (no coverage) 

Series 2, Race 3: 2nd

Good race, can't remember much about it.

Series 2, Race 4: 1st

Boat is finally running as we are more accustomed to. I skipped this race for personal reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3g8VevZLMA   (coverage @ 0.42, 

Series 3

Series 3, Race 1: 1st 

Another Race where everything seemed to work well for us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxY5f_dMZZw   (coverage 2:19, nothing after that). 

Series 3, Race 2: 2nd

Good race, light winds, light on crew (7), lots of discussion about Rattle and Rum's rating and sail setup. Mike ran the foredeck, Bill on Main and tactics, Jim and Don on Jib and Chute trim, Don did mast pit, Malinda in the sewer, Harald at the helm, I ran the pit with Bill's help.  Bummed I lost my Oakley's at the dock post-race.  Which Harald found by dragging a net across the mucky bottom on Saturday!  Yay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxa7IHxUJFk

coverage  0:34, 1:38, Xiberger in Background behind Mike Beasley's Rattle & Hum.  Some nice post-start drone coverage.  Watch the J105 start at counter 2;43 - WOW.  Bump at 6:15 - literally.  Xiberger @ 7:09, 11:00 Xiberger in background with blue, red & white kite), 11:20

Series 3, Race 3:  Cancelled midway through race.

Worst start of the season .... We were just about to set the chute at the far weather mark, radio comes to life, Race Committee is cancelling due to weather concerns. Why they even started us is beyond me.  We started the race with one reef in the main, dropped sails as soon as we got the cancel call. Some other boats must not have gotten the memo or wanted to practice some heavy air sailing.  We saw at least one boat with its kite flying some halyard lengths behind their boat. 32knts of wind, pelting rain, lightening.  And then as things go, it turned a nice evening. Here a few pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Lg7ZZ0Wp4&feature=push-sd&attr_tag=xibMckr_GUctgKrr%3A6

(Xiberger mention at 02:30, drone coverage also showing our terrible start)

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We were pre-gaming my birthday, and arrived at Irv's around noon, finding the basement bar closed.  No problem, my buddy peeked through the screen door and caught Irv sitting at his kitchen table having a bowl of oatmeal. Being ever polite my buddy asked if Irv would be so kind as to pour us a drink, Irv obliged muttering something about "Damn Early Birds" and came out to open the basement bar.

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My first "impression" was the musty smell as one entered the bar. Irv turned on a few lights, and one could now clearly see the insane amount of bras and various other undergarments stapeled to the ceiling. These all were left by visitors, reminded me a bit of the Elbow Inn at Devil's Elbow in Missouri my buddy and I visited on a motorcycle trip while partially retracing Route 66. There is a long bar, a great jukebox (play it - it sounds fantastic!) and a pool table, "graffiti" is everywhere. 

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I have to admit, I'm a bit of a beer snob, craft beers are not on the beer menu here ... I ended up joining my girlfriend for a Vodka and Sprite, when Irv makes a drink he literally measured the amount of Vodka using a shot glass.  We chatted with Irv for quite a while, what a nice person (albeit perhaps being a little too fond of the Lady's), but heck - the guy is 96 yrs old)!   

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Irv told us that he was recently featured in America's Best Dive bars, and generally talked about how he and his brother established this business many decades ago. Kurtz Beach was quite popular, but has fallen out of favor when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.  It is likely the only bar of this kind yet in existence in Maryland.  The house and property could use lots of TLC, don't come here if you require a certain level of "fancy", you won't find it here.  

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I'm fairly certain this is a cash only establishment, so bring cash and watch Irv still use his old cash register.  I have only been here for day drinking, cannot speak to what this place would be like at night, will have to plan a trip up in the evening sometime.

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  Neat place - go and visit. I'm already making plans to return here soon with friends.  Just too eclectic and unique of a place not to be visited.

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Oh yeah - don't come by boat ... the pier is long gone.  Apparently Irv is ok with folks bringing some food and having it on one of few picnic tables. I don't believe Irv serves food, so plan for that. IMG-9554

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I have always enjoyed spending time with my good friends on a sporting clay course followed by the obligatory lunch/drinks afterwards, with plenty of smack talk about the witnessed shooting abilities of the players on-hand.  All in good fun, of course.

I used to shoot with a Benelli 121 SL80 (12ga semi auto, 26in unchoked barrel. Only mod: thicker recoil pad to increase the LOP, Hi-Viz front sight).

While I shot decent with this shotgun, i always felt I struggled with longer range targets and attribute this to the 26 inch unchoked barrel. I do understand that part of the receiver counts towards barrel length but not ever being able to fit chokes to this gun made me look at Over/Under shotguns. Quite eye-opening how expensive the "B" gun line-up is (Blaser, Beretta, Benelli, Browning), never mind the Krieghoff, Perazzi and Caesar Guerini offerings.   

So the search for a good used "B" gun began, and while doing such research I stumbled upon a few threads discussing CZ-USA shotguns, all of which were very favorable.  Then some internal rationalizing: "Am I going to shoot 5000 rounds a year? No! Do I need to spend 3-4k on a gun? No!". I can always go that route if later I felt the need to "upgrade".

After extensive research I decided to purchase a new CZ-USA Redhead Premier Target O/U with 30 inch barrels and 5 chokes. Ordered it online (sight unseen) and had it shipped to a local FFL. As things go, I tend to continue researching post-purchase and came across various threads discussing the quality of the wood furniture on CZ's being somewhat lackluster.  Read forum entries on steps one can take to really bring out the wood grain hidden underneath the CZ finish, at the end of the day, I need it to shoot well, does not need to look pretty.  I'm generally not a fan of shiny wood stocks anyway.

After what seemed like forever, I was finally contacted by my FFL and arranged to complete the transfer at their gun store. CZ ships their shotguns in a case, which I was not aware off (but very pleased with). Removing the gun and taking the stock and barrels out of their protective purple velvet sleeves revealed an absolutely beautiful shotgun. The wood looks fantastic with nice grain, the silver aluminum receiver features simple & clean engravings. The chokes are black, I would have preferred them to be silver as pictured on most online images.  Whatever, not sweating that little detail.  Put the gun together and mounted it for the first few times, feels very natural, like the raised comb and the palm swell built into the grip.  Leaving the gun store 100% happy and excited to take it to the range.

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Maryland winter being what it is, it took several weeks before my buddy and I finally made it to the range. In the meantime I purchased a Plano Tactical Waterpoof case which provides much better protection for transport, then the CZ case. 

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He incidentally also purchased a new O/U shotgun, Stoeger Condor Competition and we went to the range with our new guns for the very first time. And we both sucked.  Still I am 100% happy, the weight feels good, the recoil is very manageable, guns function as they should (my buddy had one failed to fire). I guess I have to get used to mine, I also attempted to shoot with both eyes open, which is very difficult for me (but really need to do so). We went shooting the second time, and I still suck.  Need to practice more and need to learn to shoot with both eyes open.  Need to go by myself, practice and figure things out.          

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Being able to stay in Bermuda with Shiloh's Crew and family members was a treat.  We rented scooters and essentially explored many of the islands' sites. Here is a tease of some shots I really liked, I will add a gallery here soon.

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My long weekend began Thursday afternoon with a ride from Annapolis, MD to DuBois, PA where I met Lew and RJ at the DuBois diner near the DuBois Manor Motel.  I decided to ride the Triumph Explorer, still barely broken in with 479mi on the odometer. I need to test this bikes' "long-distance" touring capability and to see about its ergonomics and general handling characteristics while lightly loaded with camping gear and clothing for 3 days, the travelling bar, etc.  The ride to DuBois was largely uneventful, hit the usual traffic snarls around Frederick, MD. I also rode in some light rain, which in my recollection did not warrant putting on my raingear.  There was one small scare as I pulled in to get fuel, hit the throttle a bit too hard and spun the rear tire, luckily caught it in time before dumping the bike.  I immediately put the bike into "Rain" mode, lesson learnt here. Throttle input is much more tame on this setting. I was chasing the rain for several more hours, mostly able to dodge it.

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I pulled into the Motel around 8:30pm, met up with RJ and Lew for dinner.  Establishment was closing but kindly opened their doors and allowed me to order, I splurged on a delicious cheeseburger, onion rings and a cold beer.

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After we caught up and dinner was devoured we took the short ride back to the hotel and parked as obnoxious as the a-hole that double-parked their truck taking 2 spots in front of our room. (These photos were taken the following morning)

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The room was the typical low-budget affair that we treat ourselves to, it was clean and mostly functional (toilet flapper - not so much!l), The decor was probably left over from the 60's or 70's.

IMG_7385 P1270951 P1270954 While taking a break I noticed that RJ is able to turn his ankles about 90 degrees, he blames it on the many motel room nights with the sheets tucked in tightly at the foot of the bed (which I always kick mine so hard that my feet are not in any way constrained). Try it, can you bend your ankles like that while at rest?

IMG_7366  I offered to break out the bar and made us a Malibu Rum/Orange Vodka, Water and Tang mixer (sadly there was no ice to be had here). We later coined this drink to be the "Dirty Moon Putin".  It quite good - don't judge unless you tried it!

IMG_7367 The following morning we awoke early at 6am, stuck our noses out of the door to do a weather check, were a bit surprised how brisk of a morning it was but at least there was a visible sunrise.  We mushed on with RJ in the lead, until now on his third and final reserve I decided to get in front of him and for him to draft behind me, even is now only making 65mph or so. We took an exit and with RJ back in the lead, he passed two gas stations and kept going. Well,  for about another 1/2mile or so, until he ran out of gas. Turns out he was aiming to make an Ethanol Free Fuel gas station literally .6mi away.  After a few failed attempts to siphon fuel from the Triumph, Lew suggested that he head to the nearby Napa Auto Parts store to see what he could scrounge up.  I got on my bike to see if the advertised gas station was indeed a short distance away and open (to gauge how much fuel would have to be siphoned). It was close and open for business, so i returned with that good news.  Upon my return, Lew proudly displayed his loot (a 1 quart can of 4 Cycle Ethanol free fuel - the irony of this is funny, considering that quart cost $7, after Lew's Napa discounts).  Back on the road we made it to the gas station, filled up and i re-filled the "fuel can" in case we needed it again. Lesson learnt:  Don't fill up the can to the brim, as i did (a: it needs room to expand, b. without a funnel it is impossible to pour)  

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We skipped breakfast in order to hit the JibJab Hot Dog place in Girard, OH.  Had a nice breakfast and coffee, Lew and I were shivering a bit, I guess the 52 degrees was slowly sapping our body heat. Time to layer up and put on the rain gear (I didn't bring much else to wear).  Lesson learnt: When riding in the spring, always pack the heated vest.

IMG_7398 IMG_7399 IMG_7406 We pounded out the remaining miles, only stopping for fuel and short breaks.  We arrived at Roger's and pulled the bikes into his huge barn, where other attendees were already enjoying Rogers' hospitality.  The "barn" is simply fantastic and would serve as our headquarters for until Sunday. 

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"Sledge" (Boxer/Mastiff mix) might just be the friendliest dog in Indiana, this was a fairly common scene throughout the weekend, Sledge looking and receiving attention from everybody in attendance. IMG_7416

After quick introductions and looking over the bikes already there, we cleared out 4 bikes (into the house garage nearby) so that a table and chairs could be setup for dinner, etc. Don Beverage soon arrived and the party was pretty much "on". Meet Don, the Indiana Airmarshal and an all-around great guy.  IMG_7420  Later, Don looked at Brian's R80/7 electrical issues.  Cool bike which has an RS fairing mounted.  Brian asked if I wanted to take the bike for a quick test ride, I gladly obliged (he had some concers about proper clutch engagement), etc. Nice to ride an airhead again after the 500+ miles on the Triumph.

P1270990 P1280115 Roger & Holly served up a nice dinner with Hot Dogs, Burgers, Chile, Macaroni salad, beans, etc.  Fantastic spread.  Roger's kids joined us in the barn with some of their friends, later we joined them around the roaring firepit. 

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A good time was had by all, some of us stayed up until early Saturday morning.  Only Don & Brian pitched tents, the rest of us found floor space in the barn to inhabit - some of us in nicer style then others.

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Holly served Eggs, potatoes, bacon, coffee and Bloody Mary's. And so the day started out for me ... 

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Kind of funny, Saturday during the day Sledge would find and make himself a little nest in sleeping gear abandoned for the day.

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After breakfast Don herded us back into the barn so that the Tech Day could commence and wrenching could start in earnest. We addressed various things on a few bikes, fork springs on the R80/7, and final drive fluid leak fix on Joel's R65LS.  There were some trailer repairs being made.

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I took a few prom photos for the family.

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Others ran out to acquire more malted beverages, ice and O-rings needed for the R65 repair. It began sprinkling a bit, I tended to a few more pitures on the farm before the rains came in earnest.

P1280224 P1280226 P1280231 P1280238 P1280242 P1280246 So far we had been quite lucky with the weather.  Don decided to take his GS into a field for a bit of dirt riding, i joined in on the Triumph.  After a bit of fun we headed back to the ranch, I got lucky not to have dumped the bike as we excited the field and headed onto the gravel road.

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With all bike repairs having been completed, we ordered pizza and had another fun evening of telling stories, drinking - you know the usual airhead Tech-Day BS.

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We spent hours around the fire and also ran out for a bit to assist with a flat tire. 

P1280357 Sunday morning came way too early (had some torrential downpours during the night.  I left Roger's at 08:10am in light drizzle, rode 680mi in various states of humidty / wetness.  Was home by 19:45, 1800mi on the odometer.  What a great weekend!

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We also covered the following:

Air Filter inspection and replacement
Getting the gear box out painlessly  
Proper application of the spline lube 
Swing arm bearing greasing 
Swing arm alignment and bearing torque 
Driveshaft bolts torque  
Driveshaft boot placement 
Rear Brake adjustment
Proper Clutch adjustment
Throw out bearing cleaning and inspection

After the bike was successfully re-assembled, folks lingered and visited, looked at some of the bikes rode, etc.  Just a great event.

RJ looked over my new bike, I'm pretty sure he likes it!

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There was a brief demo on how to secure a BMW transmission on a 1977 R100RS.  

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Rob, RJ and I went for a nice Mexican dinner, after which Rob and I stayed until the early morning hours solving various First World problems.  Easter Sunday Rob took me to a diner for breakfast, after which we headed to Lawnview Cemetery to pay our respects to Mr. Karl Duffner. 

I had a mostly uneventful ride home, while unloading the bike I noticed that the Dealer installed aftermarket Arrow exhaust has worked itself out of the headers.  Interesting.  Put it back together, canister is now a little scratched, not 100% pleased, but it is an adventure bike, it's going to get ratty eventually.

My favorite picture from this weekend was this cool mannequin wearing a helmet and goggles.

The StoryTotally digging this

More event photos here

24 Feb 2018:

The incompetent elitist a-holes at Annapolis Rommel Hardly-Ableson (sorry fvcking auto-correct, I meant Harley-Davidson) sent me to Chesapeake Cycles when their Service Tech informed me that they could not change an innertube in my BMW wheel - Say WHAT? So I went to Chesapeake Cycles, talked to their Service Manager Vernon and he got my wheel taken care of, while I waited ... looking around the showroom, I saw Triumph's, Norton's, Victory's and Indian's. Nice selection for sure. I did however come back to the bike below multiple times (was already thinking about adding a newer BMW GS).

IMG_4468 IMG_4466

Vernon came over and we talked about the bike (a 2017 model), he answered some questions, explained all the items the bike came with. Before I knew it, I put down a deposit on this bike!  Thank you Harley-Davidson!

27 Feb 2018:

Went to Chesapeake Cycles and took the bike for a short 18 mile test ride. In all my years riding I have never owned a bike where I actually got to put all miles onto the odometer.  The '97 BMW K1100LT I purchased years ago had 80 miles on the clock when I purchased it.  This bike had 0 (OK, maybe 1 mile) on the clock.

IMG_4492 I returned the bike with 18 miles, albeit such a short ride, i was thoroughly impressed, instant throttle response, great brakes, decent wind protection.  Very happy.

IMG_4493 P1260913 I went back inside and finalized the required paperwork to complete the purchase.  While sitting down with Mike and Brad, i asked if one day i could have this banner that was hanging in their showroom.  They said "Sure, we switch these out with next years' models soon, we'll save it for you ...". Of course I was thinking: "Sure you will ...". 

I want this bannerI work with Epic everyday ...     

I went home happy and started to prep my garage for the arrival of the new addition. I have made the decision to sell the big '05 BMW K1200LT.  In a weird twist of Fate in all of this, my co-worker Bill is interested in the K1200LT!  This could not work out any better.  And Blue Angel gets to sort of stay in the family, since Bill and I are VERY good friends.

Bill helped me take the Triumph home, and he got a chance to see the K1200LT, I think he liked it right away ...

Happiness is ....Owning at least three motorcycles Bill and I agreed on a fair price and i began prepping the bike for him.  It needed a front tire, so I skipped Rommel Harley Davidson of Annapolis, and took a new tire and the wheel to Chesapeake Cycles once again. Vernon once again did not charge me for the tire replacement.  Brad also hands me the Triumph Banner I had asked about!  -WOW-  What a great place.

Over the next weeks and months I prepped Bill's bike for him.  Removed the 82nd Airborne Decal and Jump wings, installed a USB charger for him, installed the stock seat so that he could sell the Russell Day Long saddle.

Both blue Bill and I went for a test ride and I noticed some odd electrical behavior (brake light not working, horn not working).  Wow, this is huge, need all these to be working for the Inspection.  Also noticed that the central key bag lock is not working. Noticed that the horn fuse was blown.  Ordered some fuses, when the came in, the new fuse blew right away again.  Well crap ...  did some more research, this all appears to be a common problem when the K1200LT main battery fails, it will drain another battery within the alarm unit.  Of course that battery is not replaceable.  One has to order a new alarm unit - none of this is in the budget.  Bill and I agreed that he would buy the unit, while i would give him my Multivario Tankbag (I kept it since I use it on my '77 BMW R100RS). 

Multivario The alarm unit came, I removed the old and installed the new one, and then had all sorts of issues getting the new unit programmed with using the ignition and key fob, and the many iterations of pressing certain buttons in certain orders - while reading the instructions.  Finally Bill came over and with us working together over a few beers we finally got it (turns out our directions were slightly incorrect).  After a brief happy dance i could finally proceed and get the bike inspected. Bill needed some time to clear out space in his shed to park the bike, so neither of us were in a particular hurry to complete the transfer of ownership.

Sometime early in March i installed a USB Charger so that my phone can charge while riding the bike.  Also got the standard RAM mount and craddle to hold my phone.

11 March 2018:

Finally had a bit of time to take the Triumph for a little ride, this bike continues to impress on all levels. My only "gripe" so far is that the clutch engages a bit late, i tend to over throttle just a tiny bit, which I need to make an adjustment for (might be a setting I can change on the clutch lever).  The bike is just FUN to ride.  The brakes are incredible.  The "immediate" power on throttle input is remarkable. Cant wait to take her on the first long ride. Officially naming her Blue Angel 2.  

First Ride1 First Ride2 First Ride3Naming her Blue Angel 2

31 Mar 2018:

Headed to the Airhead PA SpecTech day held at my friend's Rob's house near Philadelphia.  Event photos here  I left at 6am and noted the lowest temperature to hit 36 degrees.  Chose the more relaxing Eastern Shore route to get to Rob's. I'm still in the break-in period, so not testing performance that much. I was very disappointed to see the low fuel light illuminate with only about 150 miles on the odometer.  I also noticed the stock seat to be fairly uncomfortable.  Other then that I'm very pleased with the bike. My good friend RJ also checked out my new ride.

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10 May 2018:

My last ride on the K1200LT when I took it to have it inspected.  One item of note is that the inspector remarked how clean and well kept this bike is considering its age.

last ride The same day i headed towards Auburn,  IN to attend a Tech Day on Blue Angel 2. The first day I only needed to get to PA to meet RJ and Lew, which is exactly what i did. As before, the bike is fun and a joy to ride.  The seat needs to be addressed, it is awful. The limited fuel range is actually a saving grace, can't comfortably sit in this seat for longer runs like i can on my other bikes with bigger tanks.

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Squared UpCool overhead shot

The following morning we mushed on, the only noteworthy event was RJ running out of fuel because he was stretching his mileage to get to a Ethanol Free gas station ....  We attempted to siphon some fuel from the Tiger, didn't really work.  Lew ended up buying a $9 48oz 180 octane (I'm kidding) fuel bottle, that got us to the Ethanol free gas station.  

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The other noteworthy mention is that i got to do a little off-roading when Don Beverage and I played around in a cornfield. 

IMG_7457 The Tech Day itself was a blast, partied quite hard, left Auburn with a huge hangover at 8am, and was home in Annapolis by 7pm.  Literally just rode tank to tank to tank.  I'm done with the seat. It's crap.  Will be looking into getting a Russell Day Long saddle (kind of standard practice for me).

20 May 2018:

The day finally came where Bill would take ownership of the '05 BMW K1200LT.  I decided to give him a little escort ride, just to make sure everything was good to go. By all accounts Bill & Izzy love this bike, which makes me so happy.

Transfer So this journal will now transition to exclusively cover the Triumph Tiger.

So far i learnt that the stock seat sucks. The gas mileage sucks. The fuel range sucks. When your bike sounds really throaty, ensure the exhaust is still in one piece.

The next ride was the first "longer" two-up ride to the Party Rider gathering in Bellefonte, PA. Steph also mentioned that the rear pillion is also not particularly comfortable. Yet another reason to begin talking to the Russell folks.

belle3 belle1

Two-up this bike performs about as flawlessly as when i ride by myself.  We were also camping, so carried a bit of weight in all of the panniers.  Still, no issues with handling, braking, rolling on power, etc.  This bike just runs well.  All around, possibly the best bike i have owned so far.  There may however be an issue with how much weight one can carry on this bike.  The allowable max load limit seems a bit low to me at 494 lbs.  We discovered this when my buddy bought the 2018 1200 Explorer.  He and his wife wanted to go on a trip and determined that after carrying the riders in full gear, they had 20 lbs  left before they would be over the legal recommended load weight.  Granted, he and his wife are a bit heavier then my g/f and I are, but this needs to be figured in, if you are looking to purchase one of these bikes.  My buddy and I looked for options to remedy this, I suppose pulling a trailer would make most sense, but is a PITA overall.  Curious how much weight the KTM Super Duke or the BMW GS can haul?   

2 Aug 2018:   15th Annual Don Beverage Tech Day, Crown Point, IN 

Bike is packed and I snapped this quick photo at 06:40am to head to Chris's house in Toledo, where a bunch of us met up to party into the night, and then rode to Beverage's the following day (in two separate groups).

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The ride to Toledo was largely uneventful, rode in rain for a while from Frederick, MD on.  Bike rides well in the rain.  I did switch the bike to the rain mode after having the rear tire step out on me when turning up onto a wet incline to turn into a gas station. The rain mode will reduce the power being able to be applied - it works well!. The rain setting also seems to lower the suspension a little (more on that later).

More to follow ...     

Installed a Vizi-Tec SupaBrake II, Taillight modulator.

Sometime ago I replaced the tires on my BMW R100GSPD.  Sadly the bead on the front tire never sealed properly, resulting in a slow but annoying loss of tire pressure. 

I figured that by installing an intertube, this problem would be resolved.  So I removed the front wheel, and decided to take it to a local Harley dealer with the intertube I had purchased.

IMG-4464 I walked up to the service counter and explained what I needed while holding up the spoked wheel and the inter tube. The gentleman replied: "Is it off of a Harley?" I truthfully proclaimed that it wasn't, and wondered why THAT would matter (it's a friggin wheel - for crying out loud).

Anyway, he responded with: "Sorry man, it's not off of a Harley, we can't do it".  WOW - amazing ... I turn to walk out with a "WTF" look, just before reaching the door, the service guy suggests I try Chesapeake Cycles just down the street.

I did go to Chesapeake Cycles, explained to Vernon at the service counter what I needed, and he asked if I would like to wait while they tended to it right then and there.

What happens when a motorcycle enthusiast looks around in a motorcycle shop?  I began looking at this 2017 Triumph Tiger 1215 XCA.  Vernon came over, answered a few questions and demonstrated a few of this bikes' features. IMG_4465

IMG-4469 IMG_4467

I soon found myself sitting down and finalizing the purchase of this bike by putting down a deposit, thereby securing the price and 0% finance offer, while also giving me ten days to think about this.

With my wheel work having been completed, I wanted to pay for this service, and Vernon insisted that there was no payment due - WOW.  In another interesting twist to this day, the wheel off the BMW i took in for service, is one manufactured by Akront. The wheels on the Triumph I plan to buy, are also manufactured by Akront! 

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IMG-4474  In closing:

Thank you Harley Davidson!  Thank you for being such elitist a-holes, forcing me to look elsewhere to complete a simple maintenance item. Thank you for being incompetent to work on bikes other then Harley's, for leading me to Chesapeake Cycles and making me open my eyes to bikes other then BMW's. I own four BMW's, and look forward to introducing another brand into my motorcycle life.

Ok, gotta run and test ride this bike.  Maybe if I don't like it, I'll buy a Harley instead - yeah right - FAT chance.

I would love to know a bit more about the various markings on this rifle, especially the ones that might indicate if this rifle has been issued to units that actually might have seen action during WWI (or WWII).  If anyone has knowledge about the potential military history of this rifle after seeing some of the markings, please let me know.

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So, here is what I have gathered so far:

Make: Lee-Enfield, Year: 1917, Model: SHT Mk III* (but partially converted back), Sn: 24183, Receiver: SSA

And immediately it gets fuzzy. I believe there was an asterisk symbol after the III which has been struck through.  From what I gather, this means that this rifle was converted back to an MK3 in some regard. Mine does not have the magazine cut-off, but it does have the volley sight.

DSC_2657www.ampmphotos.com

The receiver is stamped SSA (Standard Small Arms), with additional markings stamped above the SSA that I can't decipher (I suppose these were added when it was refurbished)? I did find some decent information that Alan referenced here:  further detail on Standard Small Arms 

DSC_2640www.ampmphotos.com

Opposite the SSA there are these markings:

DSC_2642www.ampmphotos.com The left wristband marking indicates RIF 1924, which I assume to indicate some sort of "factory refurbish" activity?  Refurbished where?  What parts in particular? This of course could indicate that this rifle did see some action during WWI, and required to be refurbished! 

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Despite the refurbish, it appears that most parts with stamped SN's remain with this rifle.  The only non-matching Serial Number I see is on the nosecap.  Of course the existing Serial Numbers are not without issue, case in point on the image below, the "4" in 24183 appears to have been struck over.  

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Also, the word "England" may have an "S" stamped over the "L".  This is interesting, as the rear volley leaf sight also appears to have an "S" above the Serial Number as you will see in a a few images below this one.  

P1260796  The bolt appears to be marked 24183 as well.

DSC_2702www.ampmphotos.com

Lifting the rear sight leaf also reveals an "S" with 24183 below it (with an additional number of: 8945 with a "B" above it, but with the letter and numbers having been struck out).

DSC_2673www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2674www.ampmphotos.com Still looking at the underside of the Volley Sight, there also is this stamp, which I believe reads:  EFD 9L with the broad arrow above it

DSC_2672www.ampmphotos.com

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On the right side of the rear sight assembly, I found the following marks:

DSC_2730www.ampmphotos.com

On the nosecap I can see this Serial Number: 39818

DSC_2684www.ampmphotos.com

The front sight bears this:

DSC_2724www.ampmphotos.com

Since there were so many markings partially obscured by the furniture, I decided to disassemble the rifle which provided me with an almost obscene amount of additional Inspector and proof? marks on the barrel.

DSC_2740www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2718www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2720www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2725www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2728www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2743www.ampmphotos.com

I would love to know what 14D35 means in the image below.  Almost as if this was another Serial Number?  This is getting confusing ...  DSC_2754www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2757www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2758www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2760www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2765www.ampmphotos.com

Would love to know what the  "* N" and the '17 mean in the shot below.

DSC_2779www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2769www.ampmphotos.com

DSC_2775www.ampmphotos.com

So this picture below has me scratching my head:  Is that not the Ishapore marking of ERI (with a poorly struck "E")?  I suppose this would explain the import mark of "England", when the rifle came back to England?

DSC_2782www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2784www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2786www.ampmphotos.com

The following image contains so much data:  On the left, the Import mark "England", struck through with the letter "S" that the Serial Number below has been renegated to be sold in the commercial market. To the right of the #3, (NP).  In the right portion of the image, we again see the "S" above the 24183 Serial Number, but in between we see the .303, which indicates that the rifle fired a .303 projectile, the case max overall length was 2.22 in inch’s and it was pressure tested to 18.5 tons. The NP stood for Nitro Proof, we see the London Proof House Nitro Proof mark, meaning it was tested and passed Nitro proofing.  (Whatever THAT means).  I'm not sure on the Crown with the A6 RE below it. DSC_2800www.ampmphotos.com

The Letter "Z" in the receiver, close to the magazine

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Several markings on the bolt:

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P1260814-2 Of course, the more I look at the bolt markings, now i also see a faint 'W" and then perhaps some symbols to the right of the #3

P1260811-2 And then there are these additional markings:

I have no clue as to what that stamp means ....  DSC_2713www.ampmphotos.com DSC_2668www.ampmphotos.com

DSC_2663www.ampmphotos.com

According to Stratton, "H.V." stands for high velocity, a mark stamped on rifles that had had the rear sight altered for the Mark VII bullet with its faster 174 grain bullet.  The "S.C." stands for small cone:  the forcing cone was lengthened 0.02 inches at the same time to improve accuracy.  Stratton terms these stampings the second variation, found on later Mark III and Mark III* rifles. P1260802 Any help would be appreciated! 

I found the following websites especially useful, this one being poss. the best:  All About Enfields 

My rifle bears the SSA markings which apparently make it a bit rare.  More on the "Peddle Scheme"

Decent references to various markings:  Another reference link for various markings

More Info on a SSA Peddle Scheme rifle: SSA 1918 SHTLE

Decent link with more good information:  Check out for further reference

All about Serial Numbers:  Serial Number reference

CBC2

CBC1

RJ arrived a bit later in the evening, we adjourned to Lew's garage for a cigar, more beer and some fine Port wine.

RJ Lew and Andy

Saturday morning came way too soon, we finished packing the truck and headed north to Connecticut.  Our first stop of mention was the Blackie's Hot Dog Stand in Cheshire, CT. We bellied up to the bar and soon enjoyed custom recipe hot dogs, made exclusively for Blackie’s by Martin Rosol's of New Britian, CT.  I topped mine with Pepper Relish and Mustard, terrific early lunch.

Blackies

Blackies2

We headed on to Waterbury to visit Holy Land, a defunct religious theme park that RJ mentioned might be worthy of a visit.  RJ never dissapoints with these odd site's we tend to visit, this place was no exception.  My only regret is, that I didn't bring my better photo gear.  We trudged around onsite for maybe 40 minutes, marveled at the site of the huge cross overlooking Waterbury.

Holy Land 3 Holy Land2

We mushed on to our gracious hosts and arrived by 2pm.  Relaxed for a bit before Partyrider Frank Podgewaite suggested that we should go for a quick plane ride.  Lew and I jumped up and took Frank to the local airport where Frank quickly retrieved the Cessna out of it's impeccable hanger stall.  Before we knew it, we were buckled in, headsets mounted and after a short taxi found ourselves waiting for take-off clearance, which came after a minute or two. Frank skillfully guided us onto the runway and after a very short of take-off run we were heading towards the Connecticut river to check out the ice floats. Had a very nice smooth flight during which I constantly inquired about the functions of the many instruments in the cockpit.  I am and always have been fascinated with all things aviation, this was a very special treat, thank you Frank!

Cessna Cockpit Frank & Andy Setting Stuff Cessna and Hanger

By the time we returned back to Frank's, the mystery guest (Diane Pratt) has arrived.  She would be joining us at the for the banquet and stay through Sunday to also go flying with Frank.  Penny treated us to various tasty h'ordeuvres as she has in years past.

We headed to the banquet at the Polish National Home in Hartford and had a very nice time.  

Polish National Home Brainfish RJ and Lew

Sunday we got a late start and headed south, I dropped Lew and RJ off, and headed home myself.  

Now that the pesky final drive oil leak appears to be fixed, I will move on and install some auxiliary lights.  A few months ago I replaced the stock headlight with an H4 R3 LED unit, it is great but still not sufficient (high beam is - low beam driving light in my view could be better).  Sep. 2017 I decided to leave my home in Annapolis for the Finger Lakes BMW rally at 9pm, and rode through the late night to arrive early morning at 02:30am.  Often I was the only vehicle on the road, the many deer carcasses reminded me to get some more lights mounted on this bike, since it might become the bike that gets the nod over others that have taken up residence in my garage. 

I used to have a set of PIAA 55's on my K1100LT, those were excellent for night time riding.  It appears that the LED light market has quite a few offerings, will go that route since I'm not in the mood to upgrade the 280W charging system yet, so keeping an eye on the consumed wattage will be important.

Of course, lights and switches should also be water-resistant so I'm trying to satisfy an IP-68 or IP-69 rating.  Our good friends from China have a few offerings on the eBay market that peak my interest.  I also checked out Clearwater, Twisted Throttle, Baja Designs, Advmonster and Touratech, most of their offerings range between $950 and $200, while I'm certain their products are great, are they better by several hundred dollars? 

We will see ...  I don't tend to ride that much at night anymore, these lights will primarily serve as daytime running lights.  I also want a mixture of LED's and at least one good ole' Halogen "spotlight", in case I were to lose the main headlight and needed a precise beam pattern.  So the fun begins.

Set # 1: MATCC 12V 125W 3000LMT

I had high hopes for this set but realized the limited install possibilities with the "built" in brackets not being adjustable enough for the roo bar install location. Gave up on these fairly quickly for the GS, might be able to use them on another bike.  $19.50 just squandered away - lol.

Set #2: Ultra Auto Parts, IP68 6" 30W CREE LED Light Bar

Two considerations here:  A.  This light could serve as a work light, and will be installed with that in mind (i.e. easily detached with hopefully some excess cabling) to use the light to help a friend in need, etc.  Will probably be wired directly to the battery and operated with an on/off switch. B. This light bar will emit a light pattern other than the regular "round" headlight look, hopefully a person will do a double-take to figure out "What is THAT coming at me?" If that is the case, then this project was successful.  Not bad for $15.79, although I will probably only use one, or have the second light already ready to go with connectors and a long cable ...  ideas, ideas ...  Simple plug and play, not having to dismantle the existing light bracket!

Set #3: Unbranded, 40W 3000LM IP67

One set of lights should be installed on the 1in diameter roo bar, since this set also includes the mounting hardware (which is fully adjustable), this will be a fairly straightforward install. These also claim to be "More Than Brighter" - what a deal for $62.05.

More Than Brighter I'm not certain that these will be powerful enough for nighttime riding.  I will update this thread as I move along.

Tying it all together: Unbranded, 12V 40A Harness Wiring Loom with Relay and switch

I ordered 2 of these, one with a red switch, the other with a blue one.  This harness has 10ft of wire, each has it's own relay with fuse. I plan to shorten the wiring looms for a "custom" fit, no need to stow several feet of unneeded wire. The two wiring looms were $17.52.   

wiring loom

During the 2016 winter i installed a voltage indicator utilizing a relay and a power distribution terminal strip.  Since the voltage indicator is a simple LED drawing virtually no amps, i should be able to run at least one set of lights tied to the existing distribution block housed under the tank. The Voltage indicator is slick, the single LED will turn Red when Battery is draining (at idle), and turn yellow when the system is overcharging.  During normal operation the LED is not illuminated.  

terminal strip

I had to order a bracket to properly mount the 6in LED light bar on the crash bar, so there went another $7.  I ended up purchasing another light to be installed on the opposing side (also on the crash bar) this light being a somewhat traditional round rally light: KC 1490 Hilites 4" Rally 400 55W Halogen

This presumably will be my night time running light with 40000 candlepower.  Coupled with the H4 R3 LED headlight on high beam, and the 6in LED light this should provide plenty of light.

So in November 2017 I finally headed into the garage to work on getting these guys mounted and wired up. Installing the first set on the roo bar, getting it all wired up, and right of the bat one light does not work ...  Great.  Checked and rechecked the wiring, without doubt the issue is with the light. This "More Then Brighter" claim appears to be a farce.  

LED Light issue

After a short email exchange I had another light shipped to me, no cost to me, of course since it is coming from China it took a little while to arrive.  This gave me plenty of time to decide on how to mount the light switches and to start trimming up the 15ft of each wiring harness that is clearly overkill.    

The install itself was fairly straight forward.  With all lights illuminated, here is what I get.

GSPD lights_sm

I came up with a pretty neat housing for the light switches themselves.  It essentially is a plastic electrical conduit junction box that cost maybe $4.00. The official name in Home Depot's inventory has it as a "Carlon 2in Schedule 40 and 80 PVC Type LR Conduit Body".  The round light switches on the two wiring harnesses I used fit absolutely perfect. 

More pictures to come.      

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Celebrating Hans A. Muth's "Silver Daughter"

Personally, this is THE premier motorcycle event for me for this year, heck possibly of a lifetime! Here is a fantastic write-up by Todd Trumbore about how this event came to be.  

Following is my personal account and perspective of this event.

Thursday morning I met up with fellow Maryland Airhead BMW enthusiasts, all of them riding an R100RS. Thankfully I was able to recently fix my faulty ignition switch and was able to ride my R100RS, with the fun twist being that my bike's Serial Number is 6180040 (40th bike produced). My bike called "Wings" is the third bike from the left. RJ(2) finished his R100RS just in a nick of time for the rally, his is the Silver Blue bike on the far right, also sporting a 9 gallon Heinrich tank sourced from the UK. 

Let's RollMD Airhead contingent Many other enthusiasts of this model are already heading to the event from all corners, some ride reports were trickling in - this will be an EPIC event! Sadly Brook Reams from Colorado experienced a sad tip over, followed by a near fatal transmission issue that left him momentarily stranded. In typical airhead fashion, assistance soon arrived and he was able to still bring his restored R77 to the rally, with Tom Cutter addressing the transmission after the rally.

We enjoyed a beautiful ride via the Eastern Shore of MD, avoiding most of the slab and traffic, stopped at Schaefer's Canal House in Chesapeake City for lunch and then mushed onto Harleysville, PA.

P1240074 P1240068 IMG_3402 We arrived at Todd's around 3pm and were checked in by Laura.  I saw several R77's as we checked in, had to get off my bike and take some pictures right away - as a photographer I was so looking forward to seeing so many R100RS's in one place, AND to be able to meet Hans Muth - Epic.

Getting Checked InMy crew is getting checked in

The HerdFive R100RS's greeting us as soon as pulled into the rally site

The rest of the rally can be best described as sensory overload, meeting so many nice folks, seeing the many variants of R100RS's and other bikes, being able to speak German again with Hans, Jochen, Harriett and Tommy.

DSC_0439 Tommy (Siebenrock's photographer) and I became fast friends, we setup a couple of photo shoots and shared many laughs over the next few days.

Tommy WeintzWhat a fun and talented guy

DSC_0683Jochen, Harriett and Tommy (l to r)

The Siebenrock's and Tommy (pictured above) are the nicest couple you will meet, of course some of us drilled Jochen on a few items we might like to see him add to his lineup of products. Didn't get to talk much too Udo Gietl, but very much enjoyed the presentation he gave.

The Line-up of first year R100RS's (R77 as we sometimes refer to them) was impressive, with Serial Number 1 stealing the show.  Tommy and I had some fun lining up the bikes to our liking and having a photo shoot.  

DSC_0484-Edit-EditQuite a few R77's in the lineup

Hans A. Muth sitting on Serial Number 6180001!  It just doesn't get any better then this! DSC_0505-Edit-EditHans on Serial Number 1

Being able to spend some time with Hans was just a treat.  His presentations were second to none, so nice to hear about certain design aspects of these machines right from the founding father. The trials and tribulation to sell his ideas to BMW Senior Leadership. The explanation for the color choice (and finish) and pinstripe color.  His display of witty humor as he described the 1 1/5 seat design. Pictured below, Hans and I were discussing the beautiful lines of Todd's 250cc Mondial. 

Hans Muth and IHans Muth and I looking at a beautiful Mondial 200cc and discussing her sexy lines.

Many heartfelt thanks to Todd and Laura, whom have worked tirelessly for a couple of years on logistics and site prep to make this happen, thank you for the hospitality, it was the best rally I personally have attended.  Many thanks to Dr. Sue and Dave, Kimberly and sadly other support staff whose names I did not get.  Thank you Mac and Bob Henig, and many thanks to the distinguished guests Ed Bach, Udo Gietl, Tom Cutter, Tommy Weinz, Jochen and Harriett Siebenrock and of course the man of the hour (or 4 decades) - Hans Muth.

Click here for more images

It is time again to head out to my favorite rally of the year, the 43rd Annual Finger lakes BMW rally.  Always enjoyed travelling to this area, quaint little towns nestled around the Finger Lakes, some great riding, good eateries and always a fun rally.

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IMG_3091 Before beginning to pack the bike, I noticed the front tire (newly installed Metzeler Tourance) being flat.  WTF - Looked around the bead, and noticed that a few of the rubber "nipples" are stuck in between the rim and the bead, that is precisely where it is leaking from.  A bit disappointed considering a local BMW shop mounted the tires for me ...  I checked and determined the tire to leak about 2lbs/hr, so I could make the run to Finger Lakes while stopping once to top off the air.  So I continued to pack the bike and got it ready for a 9pm departure (100% chance of rain on Saturday), if I leave Friday night I should be staying mostly dry.   

After a decent run, I was on the rally grounds at 02:20am, not too bad considering I made one brief stop to check front tire and luggage, then a longer stop for fuel, to put on another lay of clothing (it was downright cold).  

Just barely parked the bike onsite and was greeted by a few friends that immediately took me to the fire to warm up, which was perfect. The party was pretty much on, had mostly really nice weather, saw old friends, made new ones and had many laughs. Got to see an Avett Brothers Concert, made two trips to the Penn Yan Diner for some great breakfast fare. Another great Finger Lakes Rally in the books!

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After locking in a great Performance in WNR Series I & II, Series III has proved to be interesting to say the least.  Fortunately Team Xiberger secured a first place in the first race in this Series.  We then had multiple cancellations due to no wind, and even too much wind.   During one race we finished in first place, not realizing the race was actually cancelled sometime after the start. This last race we started, and had the race cancelled a few minutes after our start.  So we went sailing anyway, heck even flew the Spinnaker, had a wonderful evening aboard Xiberger and enjoyed this sunset.

19 Aug 2017

The fine folks at Bob's BMW partnered with the BMW Motorcycle Owners Of America to host a 40th Anniversary Celebration for yet another model designed by Hans Muth, the R100RS.  Bob has his personal R100RS on display, he and Paul gave us a historical recap on how this machine came to be, and some of it's (then) state of the art design features (wind tunnel designed fairing).  

The first 40 riders signed in were treated to a fantastic crab cake lunch from the Flash CrabCake Company.  I'm a huge fan of Jerry's Seafood Crab Cakes, I have to admit these are just about as good!

Sadly my R100RS exhibited an ignition switch failure on the way to Bob's, limped her home and went with the GSPD instead, while already at Bob's I elected to replace the horrible TKC80's with Metzeler Tourance tires.  Nice ride improvement for sure - but not perfect - read about it in the Finger Lakes blog ....

Bob opened his museum for tours, there were door price drawings and Mark L's R100RS Motorsport took the people's choice award.  What a great event, thank you for hosting this Bob!

Here a few images, click on the link below to see more!

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 Click here for more images

This past weekend I loaded the R100 GSPD and headed to the Airhead gathering at the Golden Age Air Museum in Bethel, PA (Grimes Airfield). This is an annual event which I only recently learned about, what a fantastic venue and location! Mixing motorcycles, aircraft and being in company of good and like minded friends makes this a first rate event. 

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Friday evening, those of us that got the meal ticket were treated to a delightful dinner prepared by Mark L, Will and John (and I'm sure others), so thank you all!

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A great time was had by all, despite the "biblical" downpour and incredible wind gusts Friday night. Only one bike tasted the Grimes mud, was quickly righted and parked under the Picnic Shelter. Some of us stayed up and partied well past the last drop of rain fell from the sky early in the morning.

Mudd'NRob took his bike mudd'n during a biblical downpour.

Saturday morning's coffee and doughnuts were long gone after I finally got up at 8am, head pounding and overall moving a bit slowly. Mark F and I took a quick ride to the local Sheetz for some breakfast and coffee.  I tacked on a quick local ride, and found a couple of spots that reminded me so much of Europe.  Pennsylvania is a beautiful state, especially in the less populated areas.

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Quite a few more folks trickled in Saturday, some just came by for a visit, others found spots for their tents and stayed the night.  Much to my surprise my good buddies Duane H and Chris came out for a bit!  Chris rode his fairly new KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, holy smokes - what a machine!  Duane got to ride it home for awhile, gave me some stellar reviews except that ergonomically the foot peg location caused him some back discomfort.  I sat on it at Grimes, it fit me like a glove ...  Hmmmm (the LAST thing I need is another bike ...) 

The DukeKTM 1290 Super Duke GT - what a bike!

Jyl and Eric took their Biplane Scenic ride, mentioned what a thrill it was. Luckily their friend Murd was looking for someone to go up, I decided to join him, taking a ride in an authentic, open cockpit, 1929 WACO GXE biplane was probably the highlight of the day for me. 

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There was no "shortage" (get it?  look at the pictures below!) of technical advice being bestowed upon us by Don P and others. Caught him wrenching and checking various bikes, never requiring them to be put on a lift. The comraderie and knowledge exhibited by this group of airhead enthusiasts is second to none.  So much fun hanging out with this group of friends, with all having some interesting backgrounds, accomplishments and aspirations.

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Saturday late afternoon we were treated to a catered chicken dinner and our own mini private airshow put on by Paul Dougherty flying the 1990 Christen Eagle II, while his daughter rated some of the acrobatic maneuvers to give her dad instant feedback.

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Mark L won the coveted Muskrat and will tend to it and it's beautiful wooden condo for this year, after which he will elect and present it to the next lucky recipient at Grimes in 2018.

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Saturday night started a bit like a repeat of Friday for me, but then "decided" to call it an early night to get at least a few hours of shut-eye.

Sunday morning started like a typical BMW rally, folks milling around the coffee pot, while others packed up and headed out at first light.  I took my time breaking camp, said my good bye's, took the southerly scenic route, crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and was back in Annapolis by 13:30. What a great weekend!  Many thanks to all you all that organized and put on such a nice event!

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Click here for more images!

Noticed something disturbing as it pertains to Endeavour's handling during "high" speeds (passing a vehicle, for instance). The front end begins to feel light, and there is a noticeable wobble or weave that makes you think a tank slapper might occur, if speed is not decreased. This appears to occur around 73mph.  

Once I back off to 65 mph the handling issues go away entirely.  The Laminar Lip I installed did not help eliminate the excessive buffeting the bike experiences around tractor trailers, or on windy days.  So, back to the drawing board.  By a few threads I read online,  my R100GS is not the only bike that is exhibiting this unstable behavior.  For several folks, a rear shock replacement fixed the issue entirely.  Since I have no history on the WP Shock currently installed, I decided to get an Ohlins, but then settled on the Touratech "Basic" offering, after Morgan from Touratech suggested that this could be a better option (also could be built that day, as opposed to a few weeks on the Ohlins). When ordering the Touratech Shock, I completed a questionnaire about my weight with riding gear, poss. weight I plan to have onboard when fully loaded for a trip, etc.  The shock/spring is assembled given the results from the questionnaire.

The shock came yesterday, the fit and finish are first rate, looks and feels like a solid, well made product.  Installation was straight forward, it did help to loosen the right rear passenger foot peg and the right luggage rack.  I installed the shock and have yet to make the rebound - damping adjustments, I wanted to see how it felt right out of the box. 

Went for a ride in similar setup as the day prior with the WP Shock, and I'm pleased to find the high speed wobble (or weave) is now gone.  The wind buffeting still makes the bike feel slightly unstable in certain conditions.  Overall the bike feels more nimble, yet much more settled at higher speeds.  This weekend I'm going camping, looking forward how this bike performs loaded down a bit and for a bit of a longer ride.  Morgan did suggest that I adjust the sag, which i will do tonight.

ShocksWP Shock (red) New Touratech shock to be installed (White)

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• Need to address the issue pictured below.  Small weep from the brake lever seal, which sadly is covering the brake shoes.  

Hmmm?Dropping what appears to be grease from somewhere .... Can't find the source. Only on right side of the bike, also occurs with new shock.

64873miFor my reference, installed the Touratech Shock at 64864mi

Test RideHigh speed wobble appears to be gone!

UPDATE!

Went to the Golden Age Of Airhead Rally, Bethel, PA - loaded down with "standard" camping gear, stock BMW bags, no tail trunk.  While passing a group of 8 Harley's that were "hogging up" the road (going just soo slow), the high speed weave is back, not when doing 80mph or so - YAY!  What great timing too. I didn't look at the speedo to see the exact speed since I was passing and had other worries (like safely wedge myself into the Harley Clusterfvck). Tires are next, the TKC80's are coming off, will try some tires a bit more oriented to street usage.  

Final Update. Highspeed Weave is now gone! 

The weekend was perfect, with great company, food & drink, lots of fun sailing, kayaking, a little golfing and just relaxing a bit.

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Sailor has her own Gallery! Check out the images here!

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Day 1 -  9 June 2017

We departed BWI airport at 6:30am on Southwest, arrived in Las Vegas and picked up the rental car by 10am. We had all intentions to do this trip in a Ford Mustang convertible, however that was not available when we arrived at the car rental agency. We were upgraded to a Chevy Camaro RS Convertible, but upon opening the trunk we realized that there was no way our luggage would fit. Fortunately we were able to switch cars and ended up with a white four door Nissan Altima, which turned out to be perfect. We left with 17111mi on the odometer, headed to Lee's Discount Liquors and Walmart for some supplies (Beer, Whiskey, Gatorade, snacks, ice, etc). And so this adventure began, driving towards Page, AZ.

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Our first stop was the Valley Of Fire State Park, NV.  Pretty impressive place, my first sight of the red rocks, love the contrast of the blue skies against the red rock formations.  We don't have skies this blue on the East Coast.

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We drove on to Page and checked out Horseshoe Bend, which given the time of day (6pm) was in terribly harsh light, we decided to abandon photography here and checked into our Hotel (Best Western Plus). After a most delicious Mexican Dinner we turned in, it was a long day!  

Day 2 - 10 June

During breakfast at the hotel we sat and talked with a couple from Germany,  We exchanged notes and suggested a couple of sites that they may also be interested in seeing. Later we took the short drive to Antelope Canyon Tours for our tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon.  This place is impressive, but very hard to shoot without a tripod. If you plan to do photography here, sign up for the 2 hour "Photographers' Tour". I put this canyon on the itinerary since RJ has never been in one. Sunny, our Navajo guide gave us a great tour, we were lucky to have been one of the first tours to arrive, so there were not that many folks here yet.

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I dropped RJ off at the Hotel and headed down to Horseshoe Bend which now was in much better light (10:30am).  Took a few photos here, then went back to the hotel and checked out, started our drive to Monument Valley.

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Seeing Monument Valley for the first time was absolutely impressive. We stayed in the Park a bit to soak in the views, then secured our cabin for the two night stay at Gouldings Lodge.

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Since we had a bit of time before the sunset at Monument Valley we decided to check out the Goosenecks State Park (light too harsh at 4pm).

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RJ then took us to the Moki Dugway (drive it if you can find it, impressive views from here!). We stopped for photos on a few of the cut-ins on this old mining road.

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We then headed into the Valley Of The Gods, which was my favorite so far.  Nice early evening light, getting close to the Golden Hour. Sadly I only took a few images here, should have spent more time for sure.

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We headed back to Monument Valley for some sunset shots, which turned into watching the moon rise (incredible) and then doing some low light photography.  Headed out to mile marker 13 made famous by the movie Forrest Gump.  Will have to re-shoot this in daylight. 

Day 3 - 11 June

Monument Valley - Shot the sunrise.

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Stopped at mile marker 13 again in daylight before heading to Mexican Hat for breakfast.

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After the most overpriced and awful breakfast burrito we decided to drive back to Monument Valley and take the driving trail.  Almost got the rental car stuck right away, aborted the drive to Artist Point Lookout. RJ inquired with some of the local tour guides and before we knew it, RJ and I were on a private tour with a Navajo guide named Dean taking us into the restricted parts of the reservation. Too cool.

Headed back to our cabin via the local grocery store to pick up items for our typical low budget late lunch, which was terrific.

Later we returned to Monument Valley for another Sunset shoot, and watched the moon rise one more time. Headed back to the cabin and lightly prepared for our departure in the morning.

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Day 4 - 12 June

Shot the Monument Valley sunrise one more time and said goodbye to this most unique place. Headed to the cabin to grab our belongings and checked out. We stopped at mile marker 13 yet again, took a few shots here, one cool thing to note were the 2 Aussies in Red Chicago Bulls Jersey's, cool contrast against the black macadam, I think I got a couple of shots of them.

With the fleeting morning light we decided to head into the Valley Of The Gods again, this time utilizing the west entrance off of 163. Took a few cool shots of a lone BMW rider with his tent situated in a terrific spot with stellar views.  Someday I would love to ride some of these dirt roads on my BMW R100GSPD.

We had a fairly uneventful drive to Moab, RJ got some much needed rest, we have been operating on limited amounts of sleep up to this point. Checked out the Lazy Lizard Youth Hostel where we will be staying for one night.  Very interesting place. Lot's of "kids", very neat concept, there were dorm rooms, tent spaces and cabins.  Every patron had use of a communal kitchen (do your own dishes), a TV / reading room, as well as a bath house.  Our cabin was not quite ready yet, so we decided to head into Arches National Park.  Seems like it took us an hour to clear the many other cars ahead of us entering the Park.

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Arches National Park is stunning, could not stop saying "WOW" with just about every turn we took. We looked at "RJ's rock", he's adopted this "rock" to be his many years ago.  It is a fine rock RJ!

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I walked over to the triple Arch while RJ hunted for a spot to park.  It was incredibly busy despite the heat and the blowing wind, which of course was saturated with fine dust and sand ... Later we ventured over to the Windows, the wind was wipping through them with almost unimaginable force.

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We left Arches heading north on 191, then turned west onto 313 leading us to Dead Horse Point State Park. Nice views of the canyon, reminded me a little bit of the Grand Canyon, only on much smaller scale.  We were not close to the Golden Hour, were getting hungry so we headed back to Moab.  

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For dinner we went to a Mexican Restaurant called El Charro Loco. It is the best Mexican food I ever had, if you are in Moab, and Mexican food appeals to you, I would strongly urge you to seek out this place. It's a hole in the wall, not easy to find, address is 812 S Main St, Moab, UT. 

We headed to the Lazy Lizard and secured our cabin for the night.  I began the usual nightly process of making RJ and I a nice drink, then began charging all camera batteries and downloading images onto an external hard drive.  Upon RJ's urging, we headed up to the office and hung out with the youngsters congregated here, some musicians were playing their guitars and singing.  Before we knew it, we were treated to a private concert by Caitlyn Jemma & The Moonshiners (Megan Graham and Michael Steinkirchner).  That was the highlight of the evening for sure.

Day 5 - 13 June

RJ and I packed up the car fairly early, headed to Arches National Park but sadly got their too early to be able to enter the Park. Instead of wasting the nice early morning light we drove a bit on UT-128 which essentially follows the Colorado River.  Took a few photos here.  

Finally we were able to enter the Park at 7am.  We stopped at the Park Avenue Overlook for a bit, had another look at RJ's Rock, then mushed on to the Delicate Arch parking area.  Very busy already, we prepped ourselves (water, applying sunscreen), prepped the gear (tripod, cameras, water) to take and then hiked out to the Delicate Arch. The Arch itself was impressive,  took quite a few photos here.

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We trekked back to the car and headed to back to look at RJ's rock again. RJ and I have been such good friends for so many years now that I thought it to be neat to pick the "rock" next to his as my rock, so there we both are.

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The blue sky and white clouds made it hard to leave here, but our itinerary was taking us to the Newspaper Rock Recreation Site on our way to Blanding, so we had to move on .... We did stop in the Arches Visitor Center Gift Store on our way out, I purchased a neat artist rendition print of my rock, oddly RJ's seems to be a little less famous.  

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We did stop by El Charro Loco again, the lunch we had there was equally as good as the dinner there the night before.  Check it out!!!!

The drive south on 191 was uneventful and scenic, we turned west onto 211, which was a fantastic road with incredible vistas. Chased a fellow and his dog in his pick-up truck was towing a classic restored Airstream Bambi trailer.  We stopped at the Newpaper Rock Recreation Site - very interesting. RJ tended to his "211 Burrito", leftover from El Charro's lunch.  

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We drove all the way to the entry sign for Canyonlands and decided that we will not enter the Park, because - let's face it, we had to leave something unexplored, so that we'd return to this area for sure.  We put the Canyonlands in the same category as Capitol Reef, a Park that always gets shlt on, because they are not "big and famous".  In true form, we essentially shlt on Canyonlands.  But wait!  There is more ....

Feeling a bit hungry myself, RJ dished up some cheese (skillfully sliced with a Veggie Peeler on his UT Atlas) and crackers while we headed towards Cliff Palace in Blanding, UT.  If this was his Palace, I'd hate to see his shed.  Place was a bit scary at first but ended up working out just fine.  

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We fueled the car and looked for something to eat in a very weird place ....  picture a Gas Station, Convenience Store, Fast Food Joint and Bowling Alley all lumped into one ...  Bizarre.  It was at an Intersection that only Partyriders can truly appreciate (191N & 191S). Dinner consisted of whatever rations we could dig up from the trunk of the car.

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This ended up being a banner day, not sure that we could have crammed any more into it.  But wait! There's more ....   

Day 6 - 14 June

Another early morning wake-up, packed the car and headed to Pop's Burrito shop next to the Motel, it looked to be open, we hoped to at least get a cup of coffee here.  We did get that, and ALSO a very good breakfast (I had a delicious breakfast burrito, while RJ enjoyed the same, only served in a bowl). Rejuvenated with fresh coffee onboard we turned onto 191S and then veered onto Hwy 95 towards Hanksville.  The first stop took us on a short hike to the Butler Wash ruins, an ancient Anasazi site. Neat site, but shitty light for photography at 10:30am.  We didn't loiter here for long. I had great hopes for the next stop.

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One side note, I found a pair of lady's sunglasses here on the trail, and decided to wear them to see if RJ would notice.  He never did - I ended up talking to quite a few folks wearing these rather feminine glasses.

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So we mushed on to the Mule Canyon Trailhead in hopes of finding the House On Fire.  After a couple of failed attempts hiking down incorrect paths, we finally noodled through that we were off by about .5 miles or so. Back to the car, driving the dirt road back we came and then parked with a few other vehicles.  I asked a very nice gentleman if we were close to the trail and he answered that indeed we were. So we set off on a decent hike and arrived at the House On Fire only to see a PBS film crew onsite, also documenting this neat ancient ruin. We looked around a bit, talked to the PBS crew and began taking some photographs.  I think the light might have bee just about perfect.

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We also took a look at the ancient handprints located just to the left of these Anasazi ruin, very neat.

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I have to say that seeing these ruins had a profound impact on me, trying to imagine living here with no food or water in the deep of winter or the dead of summer.  The gentleman that assured us earlier that we found the correct trail mentioned that the Anasazi Indians used these ruins primarily in the summer, lived a somewhat nomadic lifestyle and stayed elsewhere during the winter.  There was a riverbed below these ruins so there possibly was some means to grow crops here. Either way, I'm so glad we took the time to see this site.

We hiked back to the car and continued west on UT-95 towards Hite Overlook.  Some stunning views here, neat S-curves carving through the mountains.

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At Hite Overlook we met a neat couple from Austria, Hannes & Katharina, whom are currently on a carbon neutral around the world journey. Presently they are riding their bicycles from San Francisco to Boston.  From there they are hoping to catch a sailboat for the passage across the Atlantic to Portugal.  We took some pictures, chatted awhile, while they both attempted to indulge in a melted Hershey's Chocolate Bar. They got a kick out RJ essentially being from the area where Hershey's Chocolate is made. Check out their website below.

Katharina & Hannes carbon neutral round-world-journey   

We continued on to Hanksville and then headed into Capitol Reef National Park for a few photos.  Another neat site with it's own unique atmosphere and landscape.  

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Lodging: Day's Inn Torrey, UT, Subway Sandwich for Dinner, Lemonade and Jim Beam

Day 7 - 15 June 

This morning we decided to change the itinerary after we talked to a gentleman during breakfast at the hotel, he suggested we make our way to Burr Trail Road and shoot one of the caves there (he showed us some of his iPone pictures - which were stunning). We decided to scrap the Capitol Reef sunrise shoot (too late anyway), the Devils Garden and the Escalante Grand Staircase. All of which would have been visited via the Hole In The Rock Road, a somewhat rough dirt road, which would have taken a lot of time to navigate.

We took Route 12 towards Boulder and along the way stopped at several places to take in the views of the Birch Tree forests lining the route. The coolest thing happened here, but I will reserve that for RJ and I.

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There was cattle on the road in places, and some very nice scenic Lookouts. Had a bit of a photo session with a Prairie Dog mother and her young.

We made it to Burr Trail Road and found the cave we heard about, had a nice photo shoot here, having the cave entirely to ourselves.  

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We ran into two brothers as we left the cave, chatted for a bit and learned that they came from Peek-a-boo slot canyon, and showed us some pictures.  Seems to be mostly very narrow with a tough entry - so not that appealing for photography.  We scrapped it from the itinerary and decided to check out Kodachrome Basin State Park (what a cool name). 

And for once on this trip there was a bit of disappointment, Kodachrome was a bit of a let-down, it was hot, gnats and other insects were bugging us, we took one absolutely hilarious picture and bailed out. 

We drove to Bryce Canyon National Park, loitered there from late afternoon to a little after sunset. Bryce Canyon is spectacular!

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From here we drove to Panguitch, UT where we would stay for the next 3 nights (Blue Pine Motel, great little place - more on that later).

Day 8 - 16 June

We left the motel early for the 35min drive to Bryce Canyon for sunrise.  It is amazing to see the Hoo-Doo's come to "life" as they are illuminated by the rising sun.  What a show.  We then went to Bryce Canyon Lodge, I signed up for a Horseback tour for the following morning.  We had a nice breakfast at the Lodge and just loitered awhile, RJ found a piano and played for a bit.

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While we were mulling over what to do next, RJ came up with this idea that I was going to be on a mule, not a horse for the ride into Bryce Canyon. He had so much fun with it, I ended up going back to the Tour Representative and asked what the likelihood of being on a mule vs. a horse might be. (about 50%).  But I could request to be on a horse during the check-in the following morning.

We checked out the old gas station and then decided to hike from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point via the Queen Garden Trail and the Navajo Loop.  Bryce Canyon is something entirely different, when seen whilst in the canyon.  Just STUNNING vistas no matter where you look. 

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The hike back to the car was a bit of a challenge, the final elevation change as one exits the trail can be a bit of a challenge.  We were pleased with our performance and the fact that we got to see and experience from below. 

We headed back to the motel to relax for a bit, and to walk around main street a bit, maybe hit a couple of antique stores.  On the drive back we saw signs of a significant fire, which we later learned was a controlled burn.

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We headed back to Bryce for sunset, which was lackluster, the smoke from the fire had obscured the sun's rays.  Back to Panguitch to the Motel for what was a BANNER day. Gas Station Burrito's for dinner AND also a fine drink consisting of ice, Jim Beam, Coke, Mango Slushy, Pink and regular lemonade.  That was fantastic.  We ventured to the professional putting green and played a few "rounds" of golf.

Day 9 - 17 June

RJ's birthday, gave him a card and his only little mountain range consisting of small rocks of various different colors. We back to Bryce for the Horse Trail Ride. I checked in with no problem and soon was sitting on Juaquin, a very nice looking horse.  And off we went, it was another experience I won't soon forget.

Another rider ahead of me took these shots, thank you Rose!  

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RJ stayed in the park, checked out some other spots since the road leading to Rainbow and Yovimpa view points had previously been closed.  He used the Nikon D800E and did well with it, also got some great pictures of us returning from the 3 1/2 hour trail ride.

We stopped at another store called "Red Canyon" I found and purchased a pretty cool men's ring here. Took RJ for a fantastic lunch back in Panguitch at the Cowboy's Smoke House, where we met some nice folks from TX, named RJ and Linda! I had the best burger I EVER had here, try this place if you are in town!

We checked out the Red Rock Rendezvous BMW rally that was being held at the local fairgrounds, then played some more golf, and went back to Cowboy's Smoke House for a fine dinner. Yep - another BANNER day.  But wait!  There's more ....

Day 10 - 18 June

Drove through Zion National Park on our way back to Las Vegas.  Need to come back here for sure. 

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From here we drove to Snow Canyon State Park, another spot that warrants a longer visit.

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Found this marker at the Shivwits Paiute Indian Cemetery.

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Drove back to Las Vegas, cruised down the strip and took a few pictures of the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. We returned the rental car with 19309mi on the odometer in 115F of heat. We had a nice flight home, arriving at my house early Monday morning at 02:30.  RJ decided to head back home right away, I went to bed only to be awoken by the pesky alarm at 06:15 to head to work. 

What an EPIC adventure.  Will need to return to Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion National Park for sure.  Page AZ and the sand slot canyons need to be explored more as well. There are many more gas station burritos and Slushy flavors that need to be tasted.     

I will be posting a few pictures here in this blog, more images here:  Gallery can be viewed via this link.

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On The NoseNorth American P-51C, "Excalibur III"

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Click Here For More Images

First Race       -  No wind / Race cancelled

Second Race   -  Not our best showing, a very rare "DFL"

Third Race      -  No wind / Race cancelled

Since Xiberger was already rigged for this now cancelled third race in Series I, we loitered near the starting line, enjoyed some beer and addressed onboard network/compute items with new software and the B&G 5000 computer. The Pride Of Baltimore came past us, winds kicked up a bit, the Woodwinds were setting sail as well ....

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So, we decide to hoist the main, jib came out and before we knew it we were flying the chute.  Very nice relaxing sail while everyone had a beer in hand.

IMG_0183 IMG_0185 IMG_0199 IMG_0201 IMG_0202 Fun evening, had a nice dinner at the Eastport Yacht Club where everyone got to meet my mom (visiting from Germany). Very nice evening! 

Here is some great video footage from last weeks' race.  Xiberger had some decent coverage around video timer:  00:31 (Julian & Dave on bow), 6:03 (Spinnaker Douse, decent rounding)  

2017 AYC WNR Series 1 Race 1

Great wedding!  Congratulations to Susan and Jud!  Thank you all for making this such a special day!

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Click here for the wedding photos

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P1130467A neat /2 conversion with lots of patina!

More Images here! 

This weekend while looking through some old photos I decided to scan in a few of them and create a photo archive of all bikes I have ever owned. I might add a note here and there, it is amazing to see the correlation between the bikes I have owned and the people I then became acquainted with that certainly shaped my life or otherwise had a profound impact.

I remember having liked bikes ever since I was a young lad, growing up in Germany I enjoyed seeing motorcycles and the gear the riders wore, quite a difference then to my re-location to El Paso, TX, where you would see folks ride without helmets, in shorts and T-shirts.

1985

1981 Kawasaki LTD440

My first bike.  My grandma essentially funded the purchase of this bike ($800), this was my main (and only) means of transport while I attended the University of Texas at El Paso.  Met another German rider named Peer Salden at UTEP, he rode a Yamaha XT500. We became good friends and went riding quite a bit.  He and I dissembled the Kawasaki engine and replaced some rocker arm shims.  Bike got trashed in I guess a pretty bad accident (I don't remember it), my buddy Aaron was riding bitch and thankfully wore my helmet.

Kawasaki LTD440 BackyardMy first bike .... the passion for motorcycling develops

1981 Kawasaki 440LTDMy first bike .... the passion for motorcycling develops

1986

1976 Honda CJ360T

I guess I got this one to replace the LTD440.  Not a great bike, I remember that it had a torn diaphram in one carb which was such an easy fix, then it ran pretty well.  I think Peer was pleased I got this bike, he HATED the LTD.  I cannot re-collect whatever I did with this bike (or when/where I bought it).

CJ360TMy second bike. I guess 1985 - 1986? I think this was a either a '76 or '77 Honda CJ360T. Got it after the 440LTD was trashed in an accident. CJ360T and new Hein Gericke JacketMy second bike. I guess 1985 - 1986? I think this was a either a '76 or '77 Honda CJ360T. Got it after the 440LTD was trashed in an accident.

1988

1980 Kawasaki Z1-R 1000

Only my third bike, this bike was quite cool, first bike I never should have sold. This was my daily rider while being stationed at Ft. Bragg, I lived off-base in Spring Lake, would ride this bike year around as I still did not own a car.

Z1-R 1000 in NCMy third bike. First bike I began to do a few modifications on. These photos date back to about 1988 through 1991 maybe.

1980 Kawasaki Z1-R 1000. First bike I should never have sold.

Z1R 1000My third bike. First bike I began to do a few modifications on. These photos date back to about 1988 through 1991 maybe.

1980 Kawasaki Z1R 1000. First bike I should never have sold.

1990

1976 BMW R60/6

My first BMW.  And my last ...  This was the most dreadfully slow bike I ever owned.  I did not appreciate what makes an airhead an airhead, but heck I was young then.  This bike swore me off of BMW's for YEARS.

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1991

1982 Kawasaki KZ1000J

Don't really have much to say about this bike, this is the only picture I have of it. Don't really remember riding it.

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1991 or 1992

1980 Honda CB750K

The move to California prompted me to have to sell the Z1-R 1000, the BMW R60/6 and the KZ1000J because I needed a car. This was a bad move on my part, but lesson learnt.  The Z1-R I should have never sold, and now that I love airheads, the R60/6 might appeal to me again.  I bought a 1973 VW Super Beetle.  Finally after maybe six months or so, while living in San Diego my roommate Michael used to hijack my "Motorcyclist" magazine every time it was delivered.  We talked about bikes and motorcycling, he said he would like to try that.  So we found him a good starter bike (Yamaha Seca 550), went and looked at it, I test rode it, he purchased it and I rode it home for him.  Probably just being on a bike again got me excited about getting another one, so this is what I bought.

CB750K and Michael CB750K at Michael's  

1994

1982 Honda CX500 Turbo

I sold the CB750K in 1992 before moving to the Washington DC area towards the end of 1992. I remained "bikeless" for probably a little over a year. My good friend John back in AR contacted me about his CX500Turbo being for sale and wanted to give me first dibs on it.  Before I knew it, I had a trailer hitch installed on my car, and was heading to AR with a borrowed trailer to get the bike. Finally riding again, I went for a few short trips here an there, and ended up meeting my good friend Jim (he had a CX500 Silverwing) through some motorcycle forum online. We met up for quite a few rides and I saw him accumulate a few bikes over the next few years. Through a good friend (Dave) from work, I was re-introduced to BMW's.  During our lunch hour he would tell me about these great BMW rallies he goes to, including some as far as Montana ...  Wow.  On occasion we would run to Bob's BMW for lunch, I absolutely fell in love with a BMWK1200RS.  Dave invited me to join him at the BMW Square Route Rally in Thurmont, MD for the day, this was my first BMW rally (I rode the CX500T), it is here where I met several other guys from the Dutch Country Riders and realized that I want to be part of this rallying, and want to do it on a BMW.

1982 Honda CX500 Turbo CX500Turbo Test Ride, 29 Aug 1993

1998

1997 BMW K1100LT

A very good friend and fellow rider took me to Bob's BMW for lunch and I instantly was hooked on the K1200RS (Yellow & Checkered Flag paint scheme). A subsequent visit had me look at the bike below, one year old dealer demo with 80mi, discounted by some $3000.  Couldn't say no, purchased the bike and ended up putting almost 55k miles on it before wadding it up.  This bike was simply put a great bike. Added a Russell Day-Long saddle, Remus Sport Exhaust, PIAA Aux. Driving Lights and a 5gal Fuel Cell.  She was a runner and took me to quite a few rally's and on many great rides.  Totaled in 2/8/2008.

K1100LT

1997 BMW K1100LT, Fitted with external fuel cell to stretch the range a bit. Got my Iron Butt Plate riding the 1000 miles in 24 hours. Truly loved this bike, unfortunately was totaled in 2008 when an elderly lady pulled out right in front of me.

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2008

2005 BMW K1200LT

I decided not to get another bike until Aug/Sept 2008 or so. I healed up well from the accident and was beginning to strongly consider a BMW GS Adventure of some sort.  After more consideration and being that I tend to take longer hauls, I decided on a K1200LT instead.  In hindsight, a GS would have been a better fit, although the K1200LT served me well, and continues to do so.

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-2014-

1977 BMW R100RS

Going old school because "Old's Cool". First airhead since 1991, trying this again.  This time with a bike that needs a bit of help. What an adventure this turned out to be ... Too much to list here, but in a nutshell all I can say is that this is my favorite kike I have owned so far.  

Thank you to all MD Supertech "Hedz" that put on such a great event! 

P1120971_smEnrty to the Supertech Site. Great facility!

• The cut-away's are simply remarkable

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• KATDASH LED instrument pod solution, which appears to be a promising replacement to the ever deteriorating innards. 

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• Lester's, Zip-Ties and Soap .... What could possibly go wrong?

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• And there were a few Airheads! The weather was perfect all weekend to boot!

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• There was some very cool and thoughtful SWAG, and some great Door-Prizes 

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• Of course I had to tend to a bit of the artsy fartsy stuff ....

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• To see more images from Supertech 2.2 please follow the link below:

http://www.ampmphotos.com/supertech22

1977 -  UncaNorm acquires a 1977 BMW R100RS SN: 6180040.  Names her "Leiser Blitz", bolts on Lester Wheels and in 1979 a nine gallon Heinrich Tank, the miles pile on.  In 1981 the bike gets parked with 61k on the odometer.  Original fairing was removed and got lost in the shuffle ...  

2014 -  UncaNorm gives Gretchen the R100RS.  Gretchen knows that I'm looking for an airhead and contacts me. An email exchange ensues, in which I seek information about this bike, which she answers including sending many pictures.

In October 2014 I make the decision to purchase Leiser Blitz from her (although technically the original owner as far as the title is concerned is UncaNorm).  So I am the second owner of this bike.

2014 - 2015 -  Leiser Blitz endures a major overhaul ....  performed by RJ, Lew and I with many others being involved in the process somehow or another (all of whom I am extremely thankful for).  Too cool, during the build of the bike, Gretchen scans in a few pictures of UncaNorm and Leiser Blitz and sends them to me.  Priceless artifacts!

Aug 2015: The resurrection of Leiser Blitz is largely completed, Gretchen meets RJ, Lew and I to look at the bike.  She surprises us all with these most exquisite handcrafted clay R77 mugs (yes - she made them for us (one for UncaNorm as well), each mug is custom made for each of us, with our names inscribed in them).  Too cool.

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2015 -  UncaNorm and Leiser Blitz are reunited at "his" 41st Annual BMW Finger Lakes rally.  

Norm & Leiser BlitzUncaNorm re-united with Leiser Blitz, what a joy that was to see. He was pleased with the effort we put into this machine!  

The Mission:

Duplicate (at least visually) each of the five historic photos I received from Gretchen.  Most of these photos date back to 1978 - 1980. Dave Good was able to provide me with some particulars on these images.

Image #1:  1979 - Cass, WV, Leatherbark Campground

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My version:  Last Chance Rally, 2016

Cool facts: Gretchen took this photo!  The bike on the right belongs to RJ, the project lead and main builder/fabricator of my bike (now called "Wings"). In the foreground is my R77 "40" mug that Gretchen handmade.  

Re-enactorOur version of the previous image, which was taken in 1979.

Image #2: July, 1980...BMWMOA National Rally, complete with fairing scars after cat collision and asphalt slide. Norman thankfully uninjured.

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My version: 50th Annual Four Winds Rally, 2016

Cool facts:  The gentleman in the mirror (Dave Good) is the same person depicted in the original image above.  Dave and I have been great friends for years now. Another cool fact is that the mirror is attached to Gretchen's bike, this was her first ride to a rally!  Also, the funds she received from the sale of the R77 afforded her her current ride, a 1976 R90/6.  

It Wasn't a CatDuplicating a few old rally pictures. Loving this!

The following images are yet to be duplicated - updates to follow, no idea when this was taken.  See if Gretchen can inquire.

NormLB0Preumably one of the earlier shots of UncaNorm with Leiser Blitz

Image #4: 1978 Iowa Rally, Purple Cow restaurant for breakfast, Coralville, IA

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Image #5:  May, 1978, Cass Rally side ride on then new scenic byway just opened. 

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BMW France, working with HPN Motorradtechnik, a small Bavarian company formed by ex-factory race engineers, prepared three special R80G/Ss for the 1981 Paris-Dakar. They finished first, fourth and seventh. Though gearbox problems foiled their 1982 campaign, BMW won the event in three consecutive years from 1983-5 with a bigger-engined 1,000cc version.  Some more modifications were made and the R100GS was born.

Overall, the new GS was bigger, heavier and less off-roadable than the G/S, but struck the right note in terms of its intended market. Offered alongside was a Paris-Dakar version with larger gas tank, hard bags, luggage rack and front impact bars. These items (except the gas tank) were incorporated into the GS for 1991.

The R100GS was last produced in 1996, when it was replaced by the four-valve, oil/air-cooled R1100GS.

So, with all of this being said, and having recently caught the airhead bug, the R100GS Paris-Dakar would be the next bike to add to the lot. And so it begins ....  Harmless searches on the interwebs like a good friend of mine calls it.  An occasional nice example coming up on eBay. Nice Bumble Bee example in TX, little pricey but has my interest.  So I discuss this with my buddy and he says why don't we just build one?  Find a good frame, motor, transmission and we then just bolt stuff on and make a GS.  Hmmm, interesting thought.  Ended up finding someones abandoned project bike on eBay and bought it.  No title though, so this could be an issue in MD.  However, there are lots of good bits on this bike ...  And time goes by, not doing anything with this project bike ... and the GSPD bug strikes again.  

I see a listing on eBay depicting this bike:

1993 BMW R100GS Paris Dakar

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I contacted the owner via eBay, after some email exchanges and one brief phone call I decided I got the "warm and fuzzy" I needed and pulled the trigger on the "Buy It Now" on 10/28/2016.  He indicated storing the bike for a little bit would not be an issue, I promised to be up in a few weekends to retrieve it.

Drove to CT Friday 11/4/2016 - got the bike on Sat. the 5th.  Loved it right away, it is a bit "rough in spots, has quite a bit of patina, just like any good used GS should.  Bill and I went over a few items on the bike, I took her for two quick rides.  This bike is fun to ride!  The 1070 kit sure does give it a little "kick". My hands got cold (no hand guards) but the heated grips did the trick for the short ride.  I'm also not used to only have such a small fairing for wind & cold protection, might have to re-visit options for that down the road. Overall very pleased with this bike, loaded her onto the trailer and strapped her down real good.  Got to tour the an old Ivory Processing plant where Bill keeps this bike.  Very neat place, screams for a "photography visit". After all paper/title work was completed, it was time to head back to MD.

- Modifications -

1.  Used Bill Mayer Saddle

2.  Installed larger windshield (Bill gave me one)

3.  Made a metal bracket and fitted the National Cycle clear hand guard / wind deflectors.  Hoping that these will work well

4.  Installed H4 R3 LED Headlight (as seen on ADVrider)

5.  Installed Voltage Indicator (Red LED = not charging, Yellow LED = over charging)

6.  Installed add'l Relay (powered from black/grey switched taillight (license plate) wire and Distribution Block (jumpered). Will power future auxiliary driving lights through same relay.  (Noticed that previous owner added a few rows of LED's for running and brake lights, also added red LED's in each turn signal housing, so when brakes are applied turn signals illuminate red - kinda cool)  

7.  Installed 2 port USB charger

8.  Installed new Bumm Mirrors  

Not really a modification, but the bike is in desperate need of freshening up the patina.  I know it's a GS and all, and it certainly does not need to be clean, but I decided to spend a little time on rust and caked dirt removal, and "lightly" spot painted the frame to cover the rust here and there.

Removed the Front Engine cover to take a peek and to clean a bit, noticed that PO must have shaved off some material from the inside of the cover possibly to accommodate the "larger Diode board?  Found this hand written note of "2.6oz removed" on the inside of the cover.

Add some pics here ...

9. Installed Touratech Rear Shock

10. Installed a set of Metzeler Tourance tires.  Bike feels so much more sure footed.  Highspeed weave appears to be gone.  

Road Less TravelledIn the thick of it ...

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Sunny days will come ....

Red Sky At NightA few days before Hurricane Matthew came up the Eastcoast. We had chartered a 41ft Lipari catamaran and headed out to quite an adventure ....

Click here for more images

Changing Of The GuardMy new ride - what a beauty. Might need to call this one 'Tanker".

P1010779_HDR_1-Edit-EditBMW R100CS

• Meet my dear friend and the previous owner Dave Good.  He owns the beautiful Red Smoke CS in the image below.  Has been the original owner of that bike!  

Nothing But GoodnessDave Good with his beautiful BMW R100CS's. The red smoke one in the foreground has been my favorite bike ever since I first saw it decades ago. It sports a 9gal Heinrich tank.

A few more images here:

http://www.ampmphotos.com/bmwr100cs

Resurrecting Forty

This blog/journal will be updated as the R77 makes it's round through the rally circuit.  Hopefully these rallies will continue, sadly the crowd is getting older and younger riders aren't joining the BMW Riding Community.

2015

​Finger Lakes BMW Rally #41 (Sep):

UncaNorm sees the R77 back on the road at his rally. Asks me how I was getting home. Todd brought Karl Duffner's R90S with the 13 gallon Heinrich tank.  Ken (MOA) tasked me to capture the "Essence Of Rallying Catering to the younger crowd 5 years from now".  Holy crap, how do I do THAT?  Met lot's of nice folks, Poverty Riders, GS Girls, met two Party Riders (Don & Karl Anderson) I never met before. Great weekend overall, superb weather, entered her into the Vintage Bike Contest, missed winning by 1 vote, (Craig brought a really nice early R77 (#208)), in fact it pulled in as I went to register. Really nice bike.  Todd Trumbore brought Karl Duffner's R90Spezial to the rally with the huge Heinrich tank. So nice to see karl's bike on the rally circuit. Chatted with Todd a bit, what a nice guy! Odometer and tripmeter quit on the way home, Lew's coil crapped out, he had a spare, an hour later we were back on the road.  I ended up finding a good instrument cluster on eBay, used the circuit board out of my cluster, trip and odometer now working.  Mileage on "new" one indicates 67k, mine was at 62k, so not too bad.

RA National Rally, Harrison, AR (Oct):

Great trip with RJ after we completed the fairing (installed lowers and center piece). Nice ride west (first stop: Mr Ed's candy store) then on to the Motel 79 in WV.  Welcome From West Virginia Motel 79 Postcard - a truly funny moment. From there on to Cave City, KY for a night at the Wigwam Village.  Great spot for viewing the Supermoon Eclipse while indulging in a few adult beverages. I believe from there we hit Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO and then saw the famous Duck March at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis TN.  Onto the farm near Texarkana, TX where we spent some relaxing downtime and a nice day in Jefferson. The morning of us getting ready to head to the rally, RJ's bike wouldn't start. Bumped started him to the rally, while a new Starter was being shipped to the Motel near rally site. Uneventful ride to Harrison, AR. Had a couple of nice days there, hung out with a few Party & Poverty Riders. Ride home via quite a bit of old Route 66. Stayed at the Munger Moss Motel on night, great Seafood Dinner and some Moonshine tasting at a local Liquor Store.  Next day had a stop at the infamous Elbow Inn and finding John's Modern Cabins.  We were going to do the arch in St. Louis, but RT 66 kept us from doing the usual brisk pace.  Saw the Worlds largest Ketchup Bottle and Rocking Chair.  The bike uses about 1Qt for 600mi or so, and possibly the oil consumption is slowing down a bit. Overall it was a great trip!

2016

2nd Annual Workers Rally, Gettysburg, PA  (May):

Beautiful day, left in the morning, then about 2 hours into the ride, the bike suddenly died while stopping for slow traffic on 15N.  Horrible place to be in the left lane, dead in the water, no shoulder to work with.  Bike will not start at all.  Pushed it backwards a few hundred yards, then pushed it across 15 and up an on-ramp (against traffic).  Parked the bike in the shade, called RJ, he talked me through a couple of checks and then said that he would buy a battery and head my way. What a guy. However, as luck would have it, there was a CarQuest Auto place just over the guardrail and maybe a 100 yards away.  Went inside, the fine folks assisted with a jump start (to rule in/out battery failure).  Bike fired right up, and of course would not restart. Took battery out, had it tested (its dead) , purchased a new battery (close in size) - but still extremely valuable that we cut the stock battery tray in half to be able to accept a bigger battery!  (Thank YOU again RJ)! Installed it and I was on my way again, maybe an hour downtime total.  Got to the campground, set up camp, beautiful afternoon.  Hung out and watched the rally goers roll in.  As a group, rode to a nice place for dinner and had a good time hanging out at the campground afterwards.  And in the middle of the night, the rains came ... and it poured - seemingly for hours.  The rains finally let up just a bit late morning, we headed to the Battlefield and met the Park Rangers to receive our work assignment, which was to tear down split rail fencing on both sides of the road, maybe a distance of half a mile. We had this knocked out in no-time, Sam gave us a great insight about what occurred at the location of where on the battlefield we were.  Had a nice pizza lunch and then the rains came again.  I am still worried about my bike a bit, Voltmeter is a bit erratic.  Of course I am never really getting up to speed, just slow poking around town or on the battlefield trails.  Took an Uber into town for Dinner and drinks, that was a lot of fun.  Rained again at night, and also when breaking camp the next morning.  Rained the entire ride home.  Still not 100% sure that I may not be cooking this new battery, decided to buy and install a new voltage regulator.  Monitoring now - erratic voltage readings of 14+ are now gone.

50th Annual Four Winds Rally (Aug):

(previous Part#4)  Final Assembly

- The End Game -

• Early in 2015 as we began to see this bike come together so nicely we decided that we would have it ready for the 41st Annual Finger Lakes BMW rally, where this bike will be reunited at the rally with it's original owner. Truly a great goal for us to shoot for, even as some items during this build became taking a bit longer than we had anticipated (mostly because RJ's persistent quality control).
• The first time she started on the third push of the starter button was a thrilling moment.
• The bike came off the lift on 28 June 2015, when RJ took her for her first run down a couple of side streets.
• 5 July 2015, I took it for my first ride, impressive, smooth as silk, even in it's "temporary skin (Lew's tank, no fairing), it looks pretty darn good.
• Yet another milestone: Bike received its' Historical Plate 15 Jul 2015.  Insurance, registration, title work, paid the taxman.

• Got to get myself a set of carb sticks - or make some?  Sure could use some advice on this ...

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• The motor looks so nice and clean - amazing

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• A moment of reflection - anticipation of riding this bike is killing me.  Have not ridden an R100RS, EVER.   

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• Boys will be boys ....

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• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ....

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• Yes Lew - THAT is in fact THE look for you!  LOL - oh my - my brother! I love this guy.

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• Some more tinkering, fiddling, adjusting, re-adjusting.  Attention to detail is second to none.

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• RJ spent hours designing the fairing brace, that proved to be a PITA with the Heinrich tank. Not sure how UncaNorm had this setup back in the day, when he clearly was running the Heinrich with the stock fairing.

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• I couldn't begin to guess how many times we had the fairing on, Heinrich Tank on, Lew's stock tank on, another fairing on, no fairing on.  Just when the bike was beginning to look like "something", we'd peel the skin back off and make add'l final adjustments.

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• While RJ worked through designing custom components, I tended to some more of the "cosmetic" tasks, cleaning and light painting. 

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• Slowly things are beginning to take shape ...  What a good looking bike this will be (IMH and biased Opinion)

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• Oh my, THAT is SHARP!

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• Thankfully RJ is incredibly patient and willing to do things right, this fairing brace caused us a bit of grief to get it to where he was happy with it.     

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• We fitted the bike with K75S bars, the stock R100RS bars just seemed too aggressive to me

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• RJ brought over his Heinrich Fuhrmann tank to see how it would look.  

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• That is one fine looking machine!  I am biased - but holy smokes does that look sharp ....

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• Seriously?  WTF!  

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• UncaNorm had a 100k BMW mileage award affixed to the seat cowl.  We needed a clever way to "hide" these mounting holes, RJ came up with the brilliant idea of re-purposing a component from Lew's gas grill, and adding the Party Riders Patron Saint Bill Zuber!  Too friggin cool.  

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• My first outing on the R77 took us to a local establishment, J&B Moto Co. in Wrightsville, PA. Chatted with the fine folks there a bit, saw some neat rafe racers, these guys do great work. 

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• Gretchen Crane personally designed and handcrafted four of these most exquisite clay tumblers which are absolutely stunning.  The design and colors are perfect, each tumbler is personalized with our name and it holds exactly one 12oz beer, although we also use it now for our morning coffee at rallies. She came down from New York when the build was officially completed (8/30/2015) and presented them to us, which was one of those "I will never forget" moments.  The joy and delight of receiving these is clearly evident in these pictures below. Well done Gretchen! The 4th tumbler was delivered to the original owner at the 41st Annual Finger lakes BMW rally, where he got to see "his" bike in it's resurrected glory.  He was impressed!
• During this rally, Lew apparently sat his tumbler with beer down at a vendor's table. I guess he purchased something, walked off, leaving it behind. In the meantime, his tumbler gets sold!  Lew had to hunt down the new owner and purchase it back from him - that is just too funny, and you just can't make this shlt up!  

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• RJ attempting to guess what gift he will be bestowed upon. 

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• This is friggin priceless, so glad I had the camera at the ready to capture this moment of pure joy!

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• Of course we couldn't wait to test the tumbler's 12oz volume capacity and to ensure there were no leaks other than the big hole on top. What a day! 

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• Home for now (I had built a little "carport") at the house where I was renting.  

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• Just for general interest, I'm posting this image of R77 #260 (11/76).  It has the matching SN fairing decal on the right "lower".  (As does R77 #208).  Mine is in the main fairing as seen on one of the shots above.

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Created this video during the bikes FIRST official "destination" ride to the Prospect Diner. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqPRMy6d5dc

- All That Was Done -

• Installed new tachometer seal
• Assembled fairing, orig. headlight glass, checked, cleaned and repaired wiring harness's where needed.
• Installed fairing, few adjustment issues (finally resolved)
• Checked Carbs with vacuum tubes (almost dead on right from setup)
• Installed steering damper, after cleaning and re-greasing it
• Multiple Testrides
• Re-routed various cables, to enhance fitment of Heinrich tank.  
• Switched coils (ask RJ why)
• Fit throttle cable "bend relief"
• Installed new throttle cable boot
• Below tank fairing bracket re-design
• Designed and installed refurbished Sidecovers
• Cleaned and sealed Heinrich and stock tank
• Instrument cluster mounting bracket re-design, re-design - lol
• painted mirror bases (Dupli-Color Avignon Blue Metallic)
• Painted steering damper adjuster nut cover
• Fitted modified right carburetor lid (choke cable retention tab removed)
• Installed RJ modified Krauser luggage rack
• Removal of Krauser Bag Latches to be used on BMW bags
• Removed heated grips, installed some very comfortable ones Lew gave me (ask what kind)
• Shortened rear blinker bar to fit bags without touching blinker housing
• Mount marine hardware for bungee cord retention
• Painted lower center fairing piece (around shocks)
• Poss. conversion to Electronic Tach
• poss. fixing of MotoMeter Voltmeter with correct white face dial
• replaced fork oil with Dan King recommended oil (which is?)
• inserted 1.5 in spacers into fork tubes (PVC pipe)

- Possible "Stictation" Issue to be resolved, front end feels bumpy when going down fairly decent roads

• Removed fork spacers, installed Progressive Heavy Duty springs
• Fitted and installed Krauser latches to BMW Touring Cases, and mounted them to Krauser bag frame
• Still working through fairing alignment, RJ continuing to design under tank fairing brace to fit Heinrich Tank.
• Adjusted dead front spoke, front wheel, re-balanced and mounted wheel

- Multiple test rides (approx 30 mi. total).  Bike is strong, pulls hard, sounds and runs well.  Beginning to embrace the old school concept more and more. 

• Researching speedometer glass replacement, also need the rubber sun shield around each instrument (Capital Cycle)
• Custom under tank fairing brace completed and fitted
• Instrument cluster dissasembly, general cleaning, replaced bad high beam bulb, fitting speedo glass (lexan?)
• partial rebuild on Karcoma straight petcocks and installed into Heinrich
• Installed Oil Shim
• Front brake adjustment (squeels a bit)

- Few more test rides, including one to J&B Moto Company, neat bikes they are building:  http://www.jbmotoco.com/

• Fitted completed under tank fairing brace and installed Heinrich Tank
• RJ made crafted a nice piece of Lexan to replace the missing and tired looking instrument cluster glass. Got new rubber sun shields for Tach and Speedo
• Installed accessory plug for Battery Tender / USB power for iPhone/GPS
• Installed upper fork fairing "spider"
• Adjusted Front Brakes
• Checked and added a little oil
• Checked valves
• Installed new - old valve covers
• Installed very clean looking RAM mount for iPhone/GPS
• Original Odometer failed.  Rather then fixing, decided to get another instrument cluster (1975 vintage) that had about 5k miles more the original (62k vs. 67k).

- Final Credits -

• UncaNorm and Shari Strawser
• Gretchen and Chris Crane
• George Bressler
• Joe Mirenzi
• RJ
• RJ's welder
• Lew Sellers
• Lew's dad for the many tools we used
• Lew's family
• Mark Thrift
• David Lichtenwalner
• Frank Podgewaite
• Dan King
• Randy Long
• Todd McDannell
• The many mystery guests: Elsie, Mike & Desi, Goodie, Matt, Mark
• The fine folks at the Prospect Diner
• Ace Hardware
• PEZ Visitor Center
• Various Breweries and Beer Distributors
• eBay
• The writers and editors of the many technical manuals we referred to 

Final build stats:  an estimated 492 hours and of course over budget.  Was it worth it?  Holy crap yes!

(previous Part#3) The Assembly

- The Final Assembly -

• Early in 2015 as we began to see this bike come together so nicely we decided that we would have it ready for the 41st Annual Finger Lakes BMW rally, where this bike will be reunited at the rally with it's original owner. Truly a great goal for us to shoot for, even as some items during this build became taking a bit longer than we had anticipated (mostly because RJ's persistent quality control).

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