The Mail Boxer. The Prez Says. Upcoming Events

Transcription

1 The Mail Boxer February 2010 BMW MOA #7 BMWRA #5 The Prez Says By Todd Herbst Hello all, I must apologize to all who showed up to the January meeting at the Monona Gardens. We voted to change locations at the December meeting. Our new breakfast location is The Hilltop Restaurant about 2 miles south of Cross Plains on Hwy P. The Hilltop serves a buffet of biscuits & gravy, eggs, fried chicken, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, coffee, OJ, milk and even pie for 12 bucks, all inclusive, all you can eat. Betty and I were on our way to see the new S 1000 SS at BMW Milwaukee, and maybe get some shots of bikes to use for the rally poster, when Betty Saab decided to skip timing, and completely trash her engine. So, no eye candy for us, I just got to go home and look over my tired old beasts, neither of which are even road worthy right now... ohhhh...whoa is me. Now I m trying to figure something out for the poster and ads. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know. Our ads are coming due in the next week or two. We ll see you on Sunday. Upcoming Events Sunday, February 7, 2010: Monthly breakfast meeting Hilltop Supper Club - County P, between Pine Bluff and Cross Plains. Doors open at 9:00. Breakfast at 9:30. Saturday, February 20, 2010 The Slip Slide Ride at Rob Himmelman's Home for Wayward Motorcycles Come early and stay late Sunday, March 7, 2010: Monthly breakfast meeting Hilltop Supper Club - County P, between Pine Bluff and Cross Plains. Doors open at 9:00. Breakfast at 9:30. Sunday, April 4, 2010: Monthly breakfast meeting Hilltop Supper Club - County P, between Pine Bluff and Cross Plains. Doors open at 9:00. Breakfast at 9:30. Sunday, May 2, 2010: Monthly breakfast meeting and Slimy Crud Run Hilltop Supper Club - County P, between Pine Bluff and Cross Plains. Doors open at 9:00. Breakfast at 9:30.

2 Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 14-16, 2010: 36th Annual Great River Road Rally Veterans Park, Soldiers Grove, WI. Madison BMW Club P.O. Box 152 McFarland, WI President: Todd Herbst Secretary: Linda Low Membership: Jim Low Treasurer: John Ong Newsletter Editor: Sam Garst Rally Chairs Jim Harms Jim Low Activities Directors: Tom Schirz Bert Hefty from an anonymous source Happy February! You know what that means, time for Rob Himmelman's Slip Slide Ride. Lots of fun in the snow with his collection of two wheeled conveyances (and some tracked and multi wheeled as well). Big Fun!!!! Bring something for the luncheon eats and drinks. Who knows, maybe a car will burst into flames again this year. I don't know about you, but this time of year I read the moto catalogs from cover to cover dreaming of stuff to buy for next year's riding season. One thing caught my eye - a socket wrench with a removable handle so that it will pack small. It was only available in kits in the catalogues (pricey kits at that), so that got me to thinking, how could I make something like that? Well, here are my results. This is a relatively simple task that you can do in your shop without any special tooling. Here's what you need: a 3/8 socket wrench with a round shaft; a 9/16 deep well socket; a metal trim wheel for your dremel, air grinder, or drill; J-B Weld or access to a welder. First cut off the bulk of the handle of the wrench leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" below the head. The cut off wheel works real well, just go slow and try to work around the shaft keeping the blade perpendicular to your work. Then do a trial fit with the deep well socket with the 9/16" end going over the remaining stub of your wrench. It should slide on without too much slop. If it rattles too much, try the next size smaller. I found that the multi point sockets worked better than 6 point. Now it is time to choose to weld or J-B. If your wrench has any plastic bits in the head, you must use epoxy (don't ask me how I know that). Mix up just enough to coat the inside grooves of the socket and a little bit for the socket handle and press together. A light bash with a hammer helps lock them together. Do not let the epoxy flow into the square drive end of the socket - it will interfere with the extension handle. Smooth the excess epoxy by the head/socket joint before it sets. If you choose to weld, do not go crazy with the bead, a little dab will do ya. Finish up with a light grind to smooth the joint. That's it. You now have a stubby wrench that can be lengthened by use of your extensions or used by itself. Sears makes wrench extensions with a locking feature that will prevent accidental removal of the extension. It takes up less space and weight than a regular wrench and it's BMW rider cheap. Oh Yeah!

3 Useless Fodder by Tom Van Horn ZEN AND NOW: ON THE TRAIL OF ROBERT PIRSIG AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE, Mark Richardson, Knopf, 2008 Those of us who ride and read often seek out reading that properly describes riding. Some don t succeed (FREEWHEELING FRANK, SHE S A BAD MOTORCYCLE etc), and some do better (GHOST RIDER, JUPITERS TRAVELS, THE PERFECT VEHICLE). One tome that often pops up in the genre is Robert Pirsig's ZEN & THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE. In 1968, Pirsig - college teacher, writer, mental patient - rode from St. Paul to San Francisco with eldest son Chris on his must ve-been-loaded-down Honda 305cc CB77. Tagging along for part of the journey was another couple, John & Sylvia Sutherland, on their BMW R60/2. Sometime prior to the trip, Robert underwent shock therapy for schizophrenia, which caused a complete personality change. He named his old self for Plato s Phaedrus, Greek for brilliant or radiant. Pirsig's book is subtitled An Inquiry Into Values - he coupled his account of meandering small roads westward with mental meandering about quality. Not so much quality of things as quality of thought and action. Pirsig's obsession with Quality inspired a few of his students, alienated many others, and cost him several jobs. The bike trip was an attempt to bond (or reconcile) with Chris, whom Pirsig, in his post-treatment persona, didn t really know. In my opinion, Pirsig's ZEN is a convoluted mix of detailed travelogue and psycho-philosophical musing, which makes for turbid reading. It took me a couple tries to get through it, which Richardson also discovers. Having said that, Pirsig's tome has been a huge seller, inspiring legions of fans. Pirsig wrote such a detailed account of the route and stops that it is easily retraced, and is in fact available as a GPS route. Many Zen-heads and Pirsig pilgrims have retraced the route since Richardson, a moto editor writer for the TORONTO STAR, chose the 40th anniversary of Pirsig's trip to replicate it on his dual-purpose Suzuki. His book moves between the trip and accounts of Pirsig's life. Because of the detail Pirsig left, Richardson often finds motels, cafes and waysides used four decades earlier. Sometimes they re changed or boarded up, but once in awhile he finds them as they were. Both writers tend to shun big chains, preferring small local places to eat and stay. Richardson found one such motel in Oregon, whose owner said, The only kind of biker I don t care for are those BMW riders. They re all too snotty. Hmm. The Pirsigs preferred to camp, which the Sutherlands and Richardson, as it turns out - prefer much less. He also finds people who Pirsig met on his trip, who must be either very forbearing or very tired of all the pilgrims chasing them down (and he found the current owner of the Sutherlands R60 in western Wisconsin). In keeping with Pirsig's Quality meme, Richardson does his own maintenance on the trip, learning to deal with fast-wearing tires, a slipping clutch, and a leaky shock, among other things. All in all, I recommend ZEN & NOW. Richardson wrote a good travel account, and if you read Pirsig's ZEN, this book fleshes out some of things touched on.

4 First Pure Stodge Iowa Rally by Jim Harms In 2009, I attended many of the other fine BMW rallies in the area. This is about venturing to The Pure Stodge Rally, held down in the Amana Colonies, June 11-14, BMW & H2O Another after work start on a Friday June 12th with a after dark arrival imminent. Until the last hour of the ride, I was greeted with good weather. Then, it started to rain and rain and rain, stopping around 11 am the next day! At first it was just a light drizzle, hardly worth stopping to put rain gear on. I gave in at Marion, IA (just north of Cedar Rapids), filled the tank, and donned the rubber suit. By then, my leather gloves were pretty wet, as well as the bag holding my camping gear. The BMW signs directed me to the Middle Amana colonies campground as I arrived in a steady rain sometime past 9 pm. Registration had already closed, but I was greeted in earnest by Gina (from Gina s BMW) and others who were hanging around the closed registration table. The Rally Unfortunately I missed all the seminars, tours, and other activities that took place Thursday (great weather) and Friday, but the band was still playing and the beer still flowing. First thing was to set up my tent in the rain in the dark, something I ve never had to do before. It went pretty fast, but I picked a crowded spot and inadvertently staked it real close to my neighbor s entrance. I fixed that in the morning, to avoid more grumbling. I hung my gloves and other wet items from the tent s top nook and grabbed a brewsky. It was some dark micro brew, but there was regular beer too, all from a beer trailer with 4 or 5 taps making this an all you can drink event. Not seeing any familiar faces, I soon turned in, using my ear plugs to quiet the band. In the morning, I found some of the guys and

5 couples that Roland introduced me to several GR3s ago. John Snoot, was one of them, and we were both hungry enough to make a breakfast run down to a local Middle Amana colonies restaurant. The rally s location is very nice. On a hill side, so no chance of flooding... something I m told happened in the past. Big trees, 2 open shelters, and one large closed metal building, along with a bathroom/shower building. Total attendance was around 377. First, I checked out the vendors, registered, picked up local brochures, and put my name in for the door prizes (remember this last point). Some people like to go to rallies and more or less stay put. Having been to the Amana Colonies several times as a kid, I didn t have a burning desire to tour the many shops and buildings. In Search Of Twisties By 11 am, the drizzle had entirely ended and I was itching to ride. Decent twisties and hills are non-existent in this part of Iowa, so I headed south. It would take about 2 hours to make the Missouri state line. My unplanned route took me through many small towns along the way. Suddenly I came upon a flurry of activity in New Sharon, Iowa, a quintessential Midwest small town. The streets were lined with people setting up lawn chairs. Tractors, horses, bands, fire trucks and parade floats filled the side streets. I love stumbling on to things like these and soaking in the moment. An early stop was in order. I slid into a spot right next to a tree lined small town square. Packed with carnival rides, food, crafts and friendly people, I really felt like I was back in the 60 s. After a quick bite, I took in the free car show. Maybe only vehicles, but very high quality unique stuff. The gamut ranged for old sedans to muscle cars, trucks, and custom rods, but no bikes. As the parade came down the street, I slipped into a good corner spot to snap photos, watch the kids gather candy, and enjoy the atmosphere. Soaking complete. Back on the bike and onto Missouri. It wasn t until I was miles from the border that the roads started to get some character. When I reached Missouri, I was on Hwy 149 all the way down to Kirksville, Missouri. A very enjoyable stretch. Lots of banked curves, but little or no shoulders. Some web site road reviews said that the roads were great starting around Kirksville and heading south. I rode part of that, but in my opinion, from the border down was better stuff. Even in June, the sun eventually sets. I grabbed a sandwich in Kirksville, figuring at

6 least 3 hours to get back to Pure Stodge. Took the most direct route on a major road, Hwy 63. Arrived back after 10:30pm. John Snoot was pretty relieved when I returned, as he was thinking I could be in a ditch somewhere. Well, I got more than one ribbing about missing the dinner/awards ceremony, or more specifically the door prize drawings. Seems that I would have been the winner of an electric vest if I was there to claim it! This was something on my wish list. Oh well... I came here to ride and I did have a very enjoyable day of doing that! I see Gerbing has a new microwire vest, so penny saving will continue. After some chit chat with John, Bob, etc.. I briefly checked out the band for that night and headed for my tent. On Sunday, the sun had returned. Yeah! Coffee to jolt me awake and it was time to pack up. John and I did breakfast in Middle Amana and decided to ride part of the way home together. We were going just a little faster than what I thought would keep us under the radar, but on a Sunday morning, no local law enforcement were in site. National Motorcycle Museum We split off at Marion, IA. It was still early, sunny and warm. Checking the map, I figured I could stop at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa. Always wanted to go there. It was awesome!!!!! Two solid floors of two wheeled things! Heavy on the Harleys, but all the major brands were there, along with many many models I ve never even heard of before! I spent about 3 hours at the museum, but depending on your interests, you might spend more or less time. Some of my many pictures are included.

7 More Exploring Plenty of day light left, so no reason to go straight home. The bike wanted some more water, so I pointed it east toward the river. Crossed at Savannah IL and headed north. When I was still south of Galena, I decided to explore the side roads that led back down to the Mississippi. They were narrow tree lined paved roads that twisted down towards the valley. You ve heard me say this before, but I like finding new little towns, bars, and boat landings near the big river. On today s outing found a bar/restaurant and Blandings boat landing. I was still curious and my GPS map made it appear that I could head south and get right to the river s edge as well. The pavement eventually ended and I decided to keep going even after a dozen dirt bikes came tearing up the gravel. Keeping as far to the right as possible, I took a long dirt road that ran through the end of a cornfield. It looked like I could cross the tracks at the end. This turned out to be an old, locked up entrance to the former Savannah Army Depot. Well, that did not work as planned. I retraced my route, waving at the perplexed farmer in his truck, and headed back toward pavement, Galena, then the 2 hour ride home from there.

8 Madison BMW Club Membership Form First Last Address City State Zip Home # Work # Cell # Address Are you a New Member Y / N or are you a Current Member Y / N MOA # BMWRA # Bikes Owned Interests, comments, etc... Please send the Mail Boxer via Y / N A one year membership is $20.00 Madison BMW Club, Ltd. P.O. Box 152 McFarland, WI