BMW has announced a recall of 122,000 bikes worldwide over brake problems.
The manufacturer says there is a risk of brakes leaking on boxer-engined models.
The recall affects bikes built since August 2006. Brake leaks can result from vibration on the models, according to the firm.
A BMW source said the recall included 6,600 bikes sold in the UK. "There's a possibility you could end up with a little bit of seepage which over an extended period could cause fluid to run low," he said.
Scott Grimsdall, the firm's UK spokesman, said: "BMW is in the process of contacting customers. There is no need for people to stop riding. They should check the fluid level in the front brake reservoir and speak to a dealer if in doubt." He said there had been no reports of accidents linked to the problem.
He was unable to confirm excatly which models were affected.
The firm said earlier: "We already had one technical service campaign three years ago, when we brought in new brake hoses for the respective bikes, but over time we realised that the outcome by using these new brake lines was not as good as we expected, so we developed a new solution.”
We pulled the trigger a few days ago on two adventure touring / dual sport bikes. After R&D'ing long and hard for months, the decision was made to acquire two BMW's. So we ended up with a F800GS, which by the way was Rider Magazine's 2009 adventure bike of the year. For the height challenged member we ended up with a low frame F650GS. The dealer is still hunting for the low frame, but promised us it wouldn't be a problem finding one.
So I have had a few days to make friends with the 800GS, both on and off pavement. All I can say is wow, what a machine this is. Not being an "expert" off the pavement, the bike felt very solid and stable, thanks in part to the huge 21" front wheel. Lots of torque on the low end, even though the gearing is unusually high. Because of that, I will probably go down one tooth on the front sprocket to get a little more refined response during low rpm's in the rough stuff.
I'll have time to get to know the 800 better in the coming days and weeks. So far, I am very, very happy with it. A blast to ride. There is a ton of stuff we're going to need for these bikes before they are adventure ready, everything from panniers to crash bars, skid plates and protection all the way around.
5/23/10: Lois took her baby out on dirt roads today, and had a blast.
that I have…..well maybe not. A few of you probably already use it. Anyway, its a product used in the aircraft industry, and is called ACF-50. You can use this stuff anywhere on the bike EXCEPT calipers / brake pads, because it is extremely penetrating, and will probably ruin the pads if you get it on. I have used it on bolts, nuts, fork tubes, switches, electrical connections etc. Look into it, read up on it. A can will last you a long time.
Description:
ACF-50 is a state-of-the-art compound for controlling corrosion on aircraft electrical and avionics systems and airframes. ACF-50 is designed for owners of strut equipped Piper aircraft to comply with new Piper bulletin 5280C requiring lift strut inspection.
ACF-50 kills the corrosion process with just one application and will last for 24 months. Microswitches, cannon plugs, and relays will remain corrosion free. Plus, ACF-50 will easily free seized nuts, screws and bolts. ACF-50 is qualified under Mil-PRF-81309F, and manufactured under ISO 9000 Certified Processes. ACF-50 holds written OEM approvals from: Gulfstream, Bombardier, ATR Regional Transport, Douglas/Boeing Helicopter, Bell/Textron, Robinson, Enstrom, Sikorsky, MD Helicopters, Schweitzer, Hiller, British Aerospace, Concorde Battery, Raytheon, Piper, Cessna, Pilatus, Beech, Van's, Extra, Air Tractor, Lake, Rolls-Royce, Britten-Norman, Learjet, McDonnell Douglas, and Canadair.
because it can do terrible things to you and your beloved motorcycle. It will not only leak out of your engine faster than than you can put it in, but it will also cause your oil filter to clog and implode, dumping debris and dirt into your lubrication system. It will also make every part of your bike permanently slippery because of its linear molecular chain dispersal action. It will leak onto your sidestand causing it to retract automatically, dropping your bike on the ground! But that's not all:
Synthetic oil will round off your gears and spin your bearings. It will splatter onto your seat causing your girlfriend to fall off in the apex of a turn and she'll never ride with you again. Synthetic oil will completely leak onto the ground overnight and your dog will drink it and die.
Synthetic oil will wear out your tyres and make your battery leak. It will give you the desperate need to urinate after you put on your full leathers, and then jam your zippers shut. It will contaminate your fuel causing your bike to stall on railway crossings and accelerate uncontrollably near police cars. It will make it rain during rallies and on weekends. It will lubricate your timing chain causing it to jump teeth and break your valves to bits. Synthetic oil chemically weakens valves and causes clearances to change every six miles. It melts the black soles of your riding boots the night before you walk across your new carpet.
While riding past groups of attractive women it will cause both of your handlebar grips to slip off at the same time so you smash your windscreen with the bridge of your nose. It causes your swing-arm to crack, your studs to break, and your discs to warp, and your rear shocks to leak, and it voids your warranty by changing your odometer reading. It wets your dry clutch and/or dries your wet clutch. It makes your clutch slave cylinder seal fail in the heaviest traffic on the hottest day of the year. It will put an angry wasp inside your helmet for good measure.
Synthetic oil hides your 13mm socket and puts superglue on your earplugs. Synthetic oil will scratch your visor and make your gloves shrink two sizes the night before a long ride. Synthetic oil will also steal your neutral and sell it to the Chinese. Synthetic oil will make you grow a tail. Have a good day, and ride safe.
Motorcycle fatalities declined last year for the first time in 11 years, a safety group reports today. Such deaths had been rising while nearly every other category of traffic death went down.
Based on preliminary data from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is projecting that motorcycle deaths fell at least 10% to 4,762 last year.
"This is fantastic news, but we don't want to get too excited, because one year doesn't establish a trend," says Vernon Betkey, chairman of the GHSA, which represents state highway safety offices. "The real challenge is sustaining the momentum, making it several years in a row."
Among the reasons cited by the GHSA for the drop:
• The economy. People drove fewer miles on motorcycles, just as they've driven cars less.
• Fewer rookie cyclists. With less disposable income, fewer inexperienced riders are buying motorcycles.
• Safety programs. Since 1997, more states have targeted motorcyclists with education and enforcement of laws on helmet use, insurance and drunken driving.
Jeff Hennie, spokesman for the 250,000-member Motorcycle Riders Foundation, discounts the first two. He attributes the drop to $25 million in federal motorcycle safety education grants since 2006.
"We think that program allowed the states to get creative with their motorcycle safety programs, and they began programs to educate the rest of the motoring public to look out for motorcyclists," he says. "Motorcyclists are definitely a different breed. We believe so strongly in education, not legislation."
Betkey and others say there's still work to be done:
• Boost helmet use. Thirty states don't have universal mandatory helmet laws.
• Reduce drunken motorcycling. About 30% of motorcyclists killed in wrecks are legally drunk, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says.
• Cut aggressive driving. Thirty-five percent of cyclists involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared with 23% of passenger-car drivers.
• Train bikers more.
Motorcycle deaths fell in about three-fourths of the states, the GHSA projects. Noteworthy declines: California, 29%; Florida, 27%; and New York, 16%.
Study author James Hedlund, a former associate administrator at NHTSA, says states can't let their guard down. He notes that motorcycle fatalities dropped nearly 60% from 1980 to 1997 but then began to rise.
"Just because it went down last year, that doesn't mean it'll stay down," he says. "Now is the time to put programs in place that you know work."
You can never get enough safety stuff on your bike, and so decided to add some serious lights to complement the stock brake light on the ST1300.
I ended up using the Whelen TIR3 High Intensity LED's. They are extremely bright, and should solve the potential problem of not being seen when at a stoplight or stopping for other reasons. They are installed side-by-side on a custom made bracket , tucked under rear rack.
The lights sit on a custom black aluminum bracket I made, and dropped down with two aluminum spacers off the two rear top box plate bolts using two longer SS bolts. Dropped just enough to clear the underside of the rack.
Full specs and technical information have just surfaced for Yamaha's 2010 XT1200Z Super Tenere – and it's immediately clear that BMW's R1200GS now has a serious competitor in the big-bore adventure sports category. Apart from its adventure credentials – spoked rims, sit-down/stand-up riding ergonomics and the like, it's also packing some very interesting technology – including a 3-stage traction control module and a super-smart braking system that looks like it might put Honda's Combined ABS system to shame. Extensive detail images.
Yamaha has pulled the covers off its highly anticipated XT1200Z Super Tenere – a brand new model for 2010 that harks back to its Dakar-dominating adventure bikes of the 80s and 90s. Full story here.
The latest government sponsored safety effort is good news for motorcycle enthusiasts, but not so much for chatty drivers.
As part of its continuing effort to combat distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is kicking off pilot programs in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can get distracted drivers to put down their cell phones and focus on the road.
One of the major complaints from riders are drivers who are distracted and more importantly, unaware of the motorcycles sharing the road.
The pilot programs, which are similar to previous efforts to curb drunk driving and increase seat belt use among drivers, are the first federally funded efforts in the country to specifically focus on the effects of increased enforcement and public advertising on reducing distracted driving. Drivers caught texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone will be pulled over and ticketed. The message is simple, “Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other.”
“Law enforcement will be out on the roads in Syracuse, NY, and Hartford, CT, with one simple message, if a driver is caught with a cell phone in one hand, they'll end up with a ticket in the other,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “It's time for drivers to act responsibly, put their hands on the wheel and focus on the road.”
High visibility enforcement will begin in the Syracuse metropolitan area from April 8 through 17, while the crackdown in the Hartford metropolitan area will begin on April 10 through 16. Subsequent enforcement waves in both states will take place throughout the course of the year-long program.
The program will be also be supported by a paid advertising campaign that focuses on men and women up to the age of 49 and will air April 1 through April16 in the Hartford and Syracuse metropolitan areas.
Each pilot program is supported by $200,000 in federal funds and matched by $100,000 from the state. Researchers will study changes in attitudes and behavior from beginning to end and the results will serve as a model for employing high visibility enforcement, education and outreach to reduce distracted driving behaviors in other cities and states across the country.
“There is no question that high-visibility enforcement combined with effective public advertising works. We've seen the results first-hand with national campaigns like Click It or Ticket and Drunk Driving. Over The Limit. Under Arrest,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “Distracted driving is a growing problem-the numbers tell the story of these preventable tragedies.”
We R&D'd long and hard last year to replace our old camping cookware. We ended up with the GSI Pinnacle Camper set, which is supposed to be a cookware set for 4 people. But, being just Lois and me, and wanting to carry with us more cups, pans and spaces to stuff spices etc, we found this set to fit us perfectly. We previously used a simple cook set from Green Country. It was ok, but food was sticking really easy, and I finally got tired of it.
The GSI Pinnacle Camper cook set
is plenty light enough to take on your bike, but it's also big enough and strong enough for extended road trips.
The first thing I noticed about the Pinnacle Camper set is how light it is given the number of pieces it contains, including: two pots; one frying pan; four cups; four bowls; four plates; a removable handle; two pot lids; and a welded PVC stuff sack that doubles as a wash basin. The set packs up to a compact 6 x 9 inches.
The design of this set is also very thoughtful, and contributes to the relatively small pack size.
We used to carry stainless steel coffee cups for camping, but I've never really found a great cup for the morning brew. Most of the plastic ones are just too big or they break, and the metal cups we used dissipated heat quickly. It sucks to make a good cup of coffee and then have it get cold while we cook breakfast. This set has 4 cups and they have cozies (and they fit inside of the bowls), which basically creates a double-layer insulated mug. The other two cups contain spices and such during transport.
The pot lids (2) also serve as strainers. Very cool. Be careful not to get the lids too hot though. They don't look like they can handle too much heat. I think they are mostly to be used as strainer. Another big plus is the non-stick coating that makes cleaning up an absolute breeze. I don't need much water to soak or clean the pot.
It's not the cheapest on the market. If I remember correctly though, Lois caught it on sale for some 55-60 bucks. Well worth the money.
member we ended up with a low frame F650GS. The dealer is still hunting for the low frame, but promised us it wouldn't be a problem finding one.
