HOT weather - your gear solution - comfort, protection, or skip the ride?

[waterman]

Originally Posted by schoeney

ST1300's are the only bikes allowed to escort CHOKER'S... they didn't want your BMW near them. GOOD luck

That explains a lot Greg.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by ponch

Was the farmer liable?

We never pursued it. Two farmers' land on each side of the road, but that did not prove they were guilty, as othher farmers use the road gettig to their fields also; thus no way to tell if it was in fact over-spray or a sprayer leaking while going down the road.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by glwilson

We never pursued it. Two farmers' land on each side of the road, but that did not prove they were guilty, as other farmers use the road gettig to their fields also; thus no way to tell if it was in fact over-spray or a sprayer leaking while going down the road.

And of course none would fess up to it either.

[schoeney]

Hey Ponch..I notice a couple comments from you about bad luck with your bike...is something not right with it?

[schoeney]

Originally Posted by waterman

That explains a lot Greg.

Yep. We did choke this year. Can't hide from that.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by schoeney

Hey Ponch..I notice a couple comments from you about bad luck with your bike...is something not right with it?

The throttle pulleys on the throttle bodies broke off. They are plastic…Anyway, they can't be replaced as a part, but the hole throttle body has to be replaced and they are over $500 each new. I found a used set on eBay and replaced them, so it's fixed, but I wasn't happy about it.

[schoeney]

Ouch..that is spendy. Glad you are back on the road.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by schoeney

Ouch..that is spendy. Glad you are back on the road.

I found a used set on eBay for $265 and then I had to get a tool for the clamps, which was another $35, so $300 fixed versus $1400 if BMW did it.

[schoeney]

Is that a common issue with that model?

[ponch]

Originally Posted by schoeney

Is that a common issue with that model?

No, I've only heard or read of 3 others. I put in a complaint with the NHTSA as did two others. BMW doesn't care. They said if I had it fixed at a dealer and set the receipt, they'd look at it and consider it, which is no guarantee. I don't have $1400 to make that bet.

[schoeney]

That sucks.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by schoeney

That sucks.

It's fixed now, screw it. Just have to keep an eye on shit.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by ponch

It's fixed now, screw it. Just have to keep an eye on shit.

Expensive toys are expensive to own and maintain -- has been my experience so far. Just be glad you do not own an airplane. Geez... the expenses there are unbelievable.

I have always been conservative when purchasing cars. Cars do not thrill me, so I do not require anything overly expensive; and when I buy one I drive it until it just about falls apart.

I am beginning to look to replace my Volkswagen (which was not necessarily inexpensive to maintain); and was sticker shocked yesterday when looking at various dealerships for the class of vehicle I am interested in. I also noticed technology has taken over vehicles more and more each year. I am convinced I am going to buy the base model of whatever I buy to avoid all the "add-on" electronic/computer features because they are surely going to fail sometime during the time I would hold onto it.

Seriously, automatic door-openers? ...automatic parking? Automatic parking really killed me. I mean... seriously, if you cannot park your car then you should leave the damned thing parked permanently until you learn to park a car. It is similar to getting a math degree by only using a calculator, rather than learning the actual mathematical calculations. Anyone who cannot park their car should save every other driver the aggravation they cause when on the road demonstrating their lack of basic skills.

There... I am done and feel better now.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by glwilson

Expensive toys are expensive to own and maintain -- has been my experience so far. Just be glad you do not own an airplane. Geez... the expenses there are unbelievable.

I have always been conservative when purchasing cars. Cars do not thrill me, so I do not require anything overly expensive; and when I buy one I drive it until it just about falls apart.

I am beginning to look to replace my Volkswagen (which was not necessarily inexpensive to maintain); and was sticker shocked yesterday when looking at various dealerships for the class of vehicle I am interested in. I also noticed technology has taken over vehicles more and more each year. I am convinced I am going to buy the base model of whatever I buy to avoid all the "add-on" electronic/computer features because they are surely going to fail sometime during the time I would hold onto it.

Seriously, automatic door-openers? ...automatic parking? Automatic parking really killed me. I mean... seriously, if you cannot park your car then you should leave the damned thing parked permanently until you learn to park a car. It is similar to getting a math degree by only using a calculator, rather than learning the actual mathematical calculations. Anyone who cannot park their car should save every other driver the aggravation they cause when on the road demonstrating their lack of basic skills.

There... I am done and feel better now.

We buy VWs, so far, so good. The trick is to buy the low end model, like an S instead of a SE or SEL. Fewer stuff to break. I had a 2001 Jetta GL before the 2013 Passat S. 150K miles, original clutch. Nothing outside of maintenance broke in 12 years, but it was a low end model. No auto trans, even had crank windows. The Passat has more stuff than the Jetta and it's auto, but I've had it almost 2 years and 40K miles. No problems so far. It's better with oil consumption than the Jetta, which was it's only problem. It drank a quart every 2000 or so no matter what I did. The Passat does a quart at a rate of every 10K miles. My only complaint is the 5 cylinder engine. Power of a 4, gas mileage of a 6, but it should be reliable.

A lot of beemer folk drink the kool-aid and won't fess to the idea that BMWs are less reliable and if they do fess, the qualify it with that's the price of owning a ferrari like car or bike. The BMW bikes used to have legendary reliability but they put too much high tech in it and on the other side, their QA/QC needs to be improved and they are ruled by cheap Germans (is that redundant?). That said, they know what ingredients to use to make the best soup, but they don't always shop at the best markets and make sure the quality of the ingredients matches what they are charging for the meal.

Some day in the future I will probably replace it or get a second bike, but it won't be European. It will be American or Japanese.

[schoeney]

Originally Posted by glwilson

Expensive toys are expensive to own and maintain -- has been my experience so far. Just be glad you do not own an airplane. Geez... the expenses there are unbelievable.

I have always been conservative when purchasing cars. Cars do not thrill me, so I do not require anything overly expensive; and when I buy one I drive it until it just about falls apart.

I am beginning to look to replace my Volkswagen (which was not necessarily inexpensive to maintain); and was sticker shocked yesterday when looking at various dealerships for the class of vehicle I am interested in. I also noticed technology has taken over vehicles more and more each year. I am convinced I am going to buy the base model of whatever I buy to avoid all the "add-on" electronic/computer features because they are surely going to fail sometime during the time I would hold onto it.

Seriously, automatic door-openers? ...automatic parking? Automatic parking really killed me. I mean... seriously, if you cannot park your car then you should leave the damned thing parked permanently until you learn to park a car. It is similar to getting a math degree by only using a calculator, rather than learning the actual mathematical calculations. Anyone who cannot park their car should save every other driver the aggravation they cause when on the road demonstrating their lack of basic skills.

There... I am done and feel better now.

I can relate to your thoughts on this, I have never bought an extended warranty on a vehicle but with all the fancy crap on my latest truck purchase I'm thinking about spending $2300 on the extended Lifetime unlimited mile warranty. Need to make sure I'm going to keep it long enough to justify the expense.

Just about everything is computerized. It is not the power trains that fail anymore it is the electronics.

Heated steering wheel? Puddle lamps? Speed adjusted volume control? 4 cylinders that shut down at steady hwy speed? 8 speed tranny that "learns" how you drive to establish shifting pattern? WiFi hot spot? Computer reflashing?

Yeah like I could fix any of that.