much as I'd like. I tried the other member's suggestion of using Bose ear buds instead but found that they did not work well for me. Although wind noise did go down, other road noise did not. What I did find while thinking about
alternatives was that when I pressed on a side of my helmet, wind noise went down considerably. I believed if I could wedge something between both ears and the helmet liner, things may improve. A solution that I came up with was buy- ing a pair of "ear bags" off Amazon which are normally used to keep ears warm in winter weather. The Sprigs brand are made of Thinsulate and have a band around the edges to keep their shape. To use the Sprigs, simply cover the top
of your ear and the bottom lobe inside the bag and then put on a headliner that goes over the top of my ears. I think there was a measurable improvement in reducing wind noise when these were used in con- junction with my ear plugs. Not bad on the comfort side, too.
Nick Sloane #171437 Bloomingdale, Illinois
Remembering George A recent “Final Journeys” article (October 2016 Owners News) remembering George Rahn struck a chord. In 1978 my husband Tom and I rode our BMW R 60/5 from Haines to Fairbanks, Alaska where we found that the prior owner of the bike had stripped two drain bolt holes after we experienced a slight oil leak when we arrived in Fairbanks. We somehow located George and his BMW dealership out in the boondocks. The following is Tom’s entry from our diary Sept 8, 1978: "Met the local BMW dealer (George
Rahn), and he tapped two drain pan holes and put in new bolts for $5, really a char- acter, sold bikes out of his house." George must have taken pity on us
newlyweds, as he immediately repaired the leak for what today would be a $30 (or more) job. Our riding partner needed something for his 1977 Triumph, so we also met Triumph/Guzzi dealer Ren Rueger. Ren was likewise a very generous and friendly guy who let us camp in his shop driveway and made us ham and French
toast the next morning. This past summer Tom surprised me
with another 1973 R 60/5 we found that had been sitting in a barn for 12 years. We are just back from a three-week trip through the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Arkansas and back to Wisconsin on our newer Guzzi's, but nothing compares to the sound and feel of the R 60 and the fond memories of our Alaska adventure.
Debbie Kelly #149022 Spring Green, Wisconsin
"Known" rear drive issues I read Mr. Shader's BMW “No More” letter (October 2016 Owners News) and agree with him that BMW Motorrad will not acknowledge known rear drive problems. From what I've experienced and after
talking with other riders, these known failures are occurring very frequently, and just as the handlebar switch gear issues, but not as frequently as the fuel strip problems. Motorrad does address the out of warranty fuel strip and switch issues through goodwill, but the rear drives are not covered. Their goodwill appears to be inconsistently applied, as Motorrad will not answer my question as to why they give goodwill for some repairs on machines over ten years out of warranty but not for a machine one year out of warranty. I've experienced the same failures as
Mr. Shader, with two drive bearings failing in the last four years and both happened at the 35,000-mile mark. I had not had any rear drive failures until going to the newer drives, as my 1973 Slash 5 has 150,000 miles and my 1999 R 1100 RT has 200,000 miles. Additionally, all of my other BMW motor- cycles had high mileage with no failures. I expect that more ‘05 and newer model
rear drive failures will start showing up and suggest that owners add a scheduled maintenance item to their list—replace the rear drive bearing every 30,000 miles—or run the risk of a lengthy and costly travel delay, or maybe even an acci- dent because of the failure. All the best to Mr. Shader and his FJR.
Lester Vermiere #36473 Grand Forks British Colombia
I don't care anymore A couple of months ago I was privileged to have had a letter to ON published regarding the lack of K 1600 articles. There were a few published acknowledge- ments…again, a privilege, as we all like validation. This morning, looking, again, at the cover of the September issue, with that gloriously gaudy racer on the cover, I found some clarity and a topic to write about regarding my beloved GTL. Owners News and other BMW forums and publications focus mostly on off-road adventure riding on the GS, or the adren- aline inducing bikes like the Scrambler or the pictured S 1000. What dawned on me was that the K 1600 series, even as mildly as I, compara- tively speaking, ride, was that the highest and greatest attribute of this bike is its consolidation of all that is BMW motorcy- cling...with an air of security, reliance, style, technology, power, comfort and daily satisfaction, rarely, I believe, found in a single motorcycle. When I ride, I am imbued with an hon- est sense of confidence, control and dis- tinction, knowing that I have the ultimate expression of what riding, in general, is all about. The bike does what it’s supposed to…it responds to every input, every demand put upon it, with quiet dignity. Yes, it has a few minor issues. What
marvel of advancement doesn’t? But overall, the bike exceeds where others merely aspire. Yes, the bike is limited to paved sur-
faces. Yes, it is large and is expensive. So, I have decided that while some
periodic reference, article or photo of the K 1600 in Owners News would be nice, I no longer care. Validation in a magazine is not required. I know, and am confident that whenever I ride, wherever I ride I am on the best damn motorcycle on the road. How I feel riding that bike, with the
biker waves, head nods, thumbs-up and appreciative stares just makes me feel about as good and special as I can be…. except, of course, when my granddaugh- ter runs into my arms yelling ‘grandpa!’. On top of all that, I live in Florida and
ride all year long. How much more per- fect can it get?
Eric Kuritzky #189895 Orlando, Florida
December 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 15
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