and it is all preventable. I only ask that we as an association, a club, and as fellow rid- ers do what we can to support Tom's efforts today, at our rallies and into the future. Unfortunately, these kinds of resources will be needed for years to come as the fight continues and more personnel are conducting new, stressful missions that have high suicide rates. As a fellow vet- eran, GS therapy patient, and the father of a special operator, Tom has my complete and unwavering support. Brian Dutcher #160860 Des Moines, Iowa
GS Owners News Having owned several bikes over the years, I can say it’s great to be back on a BMW. Of course, one of those reasons is to receive Owners News, but here’s the rub: I don’t own a GS. I owned an ‘04 GS Adventure several
years ago, and it just wasn’t for me. I have little opportunity to go off-road and quite frankly, it’s a bike that is beyond my ability to pick up if it goes over in deep sand. I prefer to ride alone and enjoy nothing more than paved mountain roads, twist- ies, gentle sweepers and the sublime per- formance of my machine. I was excited to see an article in the March issue entitled, “Determining the Best Bike for You.” I had to chuckle when it was “which GS is the best bike for you, 650, 800, 1200, GS or GSA?” Among the bikes that have graced my
garage, I had a 2008 K 1200 S. Wow, just wow. I loved that bike. It fit like a glove, met my needs and had power, refinement, wind protection with no buffeting (can’t say that for my ‘04 GSA!). Well, my fickle side took hold, and I sold it and went “off-brand.” A short year later, I found a nice ‘07 tri-color K 1200 S and was back on my perfect mount. A couple years later, that fickle side took hold again and away she went. Well, I’m pleased to say that after a short
stint on an S 1000 R, I’m back on a new 2015 K 1300 S Motorsport. Oh my God! I guess no one has ever said this before, but this one will be with me for a long time. With its quick shifter, looks, handling, power, quality, reliability and…well, I could go on.
But, as in previous times, I still feel the
Owners News should be called GS Own- ers News. I have three kids, including two in college and a demanding job. Simply put, I will never tour Andalusia or camp the back roads of Russia. When I can fit them in, my rides are mostly measured in hours, not days—one hundred miles here, two hundred there, and frequent 30 mile runs to simply blow out the cobwebs between my ears. Now, I know the K 1300 S is the red- headed step child, as ‘15 was its last year, but I’m not alone in believing that it’s probably the most perfect sport tourer ever to grace the planet. But BMW makes several bikes for many different riders. It would be great to see a little more bal- ance in the Owners News. BMW wants to attract younger riders or those of us with lives which don’t take us on extended trips to exotic locations. It’s great to read stories about trips like that, of course, but high-mileage contests and retiree adven- tures only meet the needs of part of your constituency. This is just my opinion, of course, but thought I’d share.
Mike Feinstein #206492 Fayetteville, Georgia
Never been stranded I recently read in Owners News where a reader was quoting BMW reliability issues based on a Consumer Reports article. Good Grief! The internet is full of erroneous calls
done by Consumer Reports. If you want to educate yourself about a brand of motorcycles, talk to owners and read evaluations done by professionals. Every brand has its problems and recalls, and every playing field is not level. Certain brands offer up very few models loaded with technology, while some offer tech- nology on most models. A simple nuts and bolts motorcycle is
going to be more reliable overall and less prone to small glitches than a high-tech model, thus skewing the overall numbers of the brand. It seems if you take your BMW to the shop for a simple, electronic fix, the brand is dinged as if it was a major failure. By the way, I own two BMWs, and by the time you read this I will have logged
200,000 miles on four BMWs since 2002. I've never been left stranded on the side of the road.
Ken Bowen #104748 Dallas, Texas
Why I ride BMW I have been following the recent articles in the “Rider to Rider” section about the reliability issues of the BMW brand with some amusement. I have been riding since I was 15,and I’m
now 61. During that time, my wife and I have had most brands in our garage: Hondas, Yamahas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and Harleys, finally settling on BMWs. My first one, picked out by my wife, was a new 1996 K 1100 RS, which I just sold with 251,000 miles on it. I hated to part with it but had too many BMWs in my garage and needed the room for new GSA. Since 1996, we have had no fewer than eight BMWs, ranging in size from a 650 to a K 1200 LT. In all that time, I have had nothing out
of the ordinary happen on any of our bikes. The BMW crowd rides, and they tend to ride hard and fast, at least I do. Nothing is more satisfying than leaving work and taking the long way home, blasting through the mountains. I also travel for work and take the BMW all the time. As long as you stay on top of your maintenance, your BMW WILL last a long time and give you lots of trouble-free miles. Have I had final drive failures? Yes, I
have, but it was more from my abuse than anything else. We settled on buying only BMWs early on because we are a high mileage couple and had heard about the reputation of the bikes going the distance. We will not own anything else. Yes, they are a little more expensive to
own and operate, but the choice is yours, either a thoroughbred or just another run-of-the-mill copy. They both will get you there, but one is a keeper and one is a throw away. Just my two cents worth on my way to 500,000 miles on BMWs. Bryan Holladay #138157 Sanger, California
June 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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