of mournful mufflers on the air and tires upon the ground. There it is again. The call that starts my heart to yearning, to see that white line stretching out and keep my wheels a-turning.
Geo Marquette #25313 Fort Atkinson, Wis.
Why I ride a Beemer I have been actively pursuing a 2004-05
BMW R 1200 C Montauk for about ten years now. During that time, I have con- tacted about two dozen nationwide own- ers/consignees listing a Montauk for sale. My initial inquiries always include a list of questions to give me an idea of the bike's cosmetic and mechanical state. I am known to be very particular, and a bike must pass both my cosmetic and mechanical musters before I am willing to talk price. In nearly all occasions, sellers either never reply or offer incomplete answers to specific questions, with some tiring altogether with my questions and stating “this is not the bike for you.” On the few occasions where I was satis- fied with the replies, the sellers changed their minds about selling and to this day each still owns their Montauks, but because of our discussion I now call each a friend and maintain periodic contact, which brings me to the present. I recently came across a sales listing for
a Montauk located in Prosser, Wash., at Desert Valley Powersports, which had just taken in a Montauk on consignment. My detailed email resulted in a prompt reply from business manager Tony Tarr, who indicated that he would need some time to collect all service documents that I requested. Over the following weeks, Mr. Tarr was able to collect and provide me with service records from no less than three dealerships in the state of Washing- ton, comprising the entire service history for the bike as well as detailed photo- graphs of all those areas on the bike for which I made specific cosmetic inquiries. Moreover, the dealership put the bike through specific operational tests, out- lined by me in my email messages, and reported all results. This Montauk passed my cosmetic and mechanical musters, and I was quoted a fair price.
I am now the proud owner of a Sap-
phire Metallic Black R 1200 C Montauk which I will cherish until my riding days are over. But that is not the point of this story. I am amazed at the lengths to which Tony Tarr and Desert Valley Power- sports went to satisfy my purchase regi- ment for a bike the dealership had no stake in other than a consignment fee. Thank you, Desert Valley Powersports, for reminding me why I ride a Beemer.
Dale Sanderson #116640 San Jose, Calif.
Keith's suggestion I enjoyed reading the article by Keith
Thye. Twenty years ago I was in Seattle on a business trip with a day to kill. I visited Ride West BMW to learn about BMWs. Having been a
dirt rider who had
neglected to obtain a license, Keith sug- gested a test ride on the back of a R 850 R with him. I bought it on the spot and have been riding BMWs ever since. His intro- duction to BMW has given me 20 enjoy- able years of riding.
Eric Holby #108606 Breckenridge, Colorado
Battling mice Enjoyed the Shiny Side Up article “A case
of me, my bike or them.” We also live in the country and fight the same battle with the mice. But instead of passive systems like traps or poisons, we employ a “continuously active targeting system” better known by its acronym C.A.T. Ours is a Siamese named Sulu who relishes the hunt.
Mike Fettinger #130641 Bloomington, Indiana
BMW dependability Jim Fretz, #33199, recently received his
600,000 mile award from BMW MOA. While that alone is reason to celebrate, what makes his feat so amazing is that all those miles were ridden on one BMW motorcycle, a 1980 R 100 T that Jim bought new in 1980. Jim has won our local club's mileage
Learning French A funny thing happened while I was sta-
tioned in the Comoros as a Peace Corps Response volunteer last year. While I was getting water from the cistern, my neigh- bor came by and he said he was going to look after his moto. I said I have a moto in the states, too. He asked me how old my moto was, and I said mine is about 15 years old. He was impressed and told me that is old for a moto. He then said he was going to his moto now, and I asked him if I could come along to see it. After we walked quite a distance, he untied two sheep and moved them to another grazing area. In French, I asked him what these ani-
mals were called. “Mutton,” he replied. It seems the words for mutton and moto sound very much alike in French (at least to me)!
Allan Goldberg #186228 Des Moines, Iowa
contest many times over the years, so I can attest his miles. He does all his own maintenance and modifications as well as painting the bike and building a camper trailer. Jim is from Port Colborne, Ontario, and is a member of the Niagara BMW Riders Club #298. Jim’s wife Vicki has just about as many miles as passenger on this dependable BMW. Cheers to you, Jim!
Darryl Cainey #40164 Fenwick, Ontario
Thank you Al My sincere gratitude goes to Al Butcher
for his response in the February 2016 issue of BMW Owners News to my inquiry about turning and leaning a motorcycle. His lucidity of thought and clarity of
explanation are only exceeded by his ability to extrapolate the essence what I was really asking. Well done, Al!
Henry Tyszka #14367 Harrison Township, Mich.
April 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132