BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California 1BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California

NORCAL NEWSRide to Camp Camp to Ride

AUGUST 2018

AUGUST 2018

Editors CornerCover Picture taken by me in Chicken Alaska. This bike wasridden by a guy from the Netherlands who is riding this '54R51/3 (on his own) from Prudhoe bay to Tierra del Fuego. Inmy opinion this meets all the criteria needed to be classifiedas a Real Adventure. Big thanks to Wynne Benti for her verywell written story. Check out the web site referenced in the

article for more pictures. Truly the storm of the century. Apartfor submissions by Nick and Greg it was a slow month forsubmissions to this newsletter. As a result I filled up some ofthe spare space with bits of nonsense. However, take a lookat my “read the small print” article. These facts were unearthedafter Jerry Bakers unfortunate accident on our Alaska ride.John Ellis

Presidents ReportBylaws, Budgets, Sierras and Range of Light. That prettymuch covers the next month.We will be presenting 4 bylaw sections for updating at the nextClub meeting in the high Sierras. There will be an opendiscussion and then a vote to decide if the members agree. Ifthe vote passes, the changes will be published in the nextnewsletter followed by a final vote at the next Club meeting.The By-Laws have more than a few sections that needupdating but rather than try to rewrite everything at once, wewill tackle the problem in small chunks.Then we move on to the proposed budget for next year. I’ll tryto do better than last year when I worked with the BoD to builda plan that supported multiple actions that benefited all themember’s activities such as free camping and subsidizing theOctoberfest, Christmas and election events. We were

supposed to lose $2,000 last year…instead the Club madeover $6,000. So this budget is just the start of a new processto increase member benefits within a long term plan. Kevinwill be heading up a Finance Committee with 3-5 members ingood standing who will be entrusted with formulating a longterm economic path. Please contact either Kevin or me formore information. And no, a new Beemer for the Tour Captainposition is not part of the plan!And the next weekend after the Club meeting in the Sierras,we’re going the other direction with the Gypsy Tour startingat the Napa Fairgrounds. We are constantly monitoring thefires across California and other States and will adapt ifnecessary to make sure the campgrounds and food vendorsare in place.See many of you at the Club meeting and Range of Light.Greg Huchinson

The Captain’s LogIt’s fire season and I’m sad to report that much of the Mendoand Lake, and Mariposa Counties are burning and air qualityhas been pretty poor for us as of late. And if you’ve been offto different rallies, you’ve seen some fires too. But, thatdoesn’t stop us from getting out. Recently my wife and I foundourselves in really heavy smoke, enough that it blacked outthe sun. I pulled my Buff neck gaiter up over my nose and Ifound it to be very effective at filtering the smoke, yet anothergreat use for that thing. I was happy I had that, even if myhelmet reeked of smoke for a while after. So maybe considerusing one or maybe you want to just stash dust mask in yourtank bag. Either way I recommend keeping some kind of filterwith you during fire season, in case you find yourself insmoke.The July ride found us skirting the Mendo complex fire just aday or two after it started. It was small, just a blip on the rideas we went past. The rest of the ride was awesome, and thecampout was just as great. The riding in that part of the Stateis a real treat. And the camping is right in the middle of somebeautiful, rugged county. Yes, it was a haul to get there butwe had a great turnout, around 35 in all. We had a group ofabout 15 start from breakfast and we broke up into smallgroups, which was fun and effective. Then at the lunch at theEel River Brewing Company we met up with another dozenor so club members. We finished the ride, leaving in our smallgroups, ultimately meeting up with folks that made their wayto the camp on their own. Some folks left a day or two earlyand really savored the ride, some heading up the Lost Coast,some stopping in Garberville for an evening of drinking andhitting the local music scene. For me this ride was a throwback to my first multiday ride. Richard Burton took me through

here almost exactly two years ago, when I had just 1200motorcycle miles under my belt. This area left quite animpression on me and I happy to finally share it with the club.I was also inspired by reading old newsletters where the clubwould sometimes push the distances, sometimes headingout for two-night meeting rides, stopping to camp out part ofthe way. By starting the ride in Healdsburg, I was able to getus on the direct route to the Northern part of the state prettyquickly. Also the July Meeting marked the launch of our NewCamper Program. Look for more info on that in this rag andon the website! Great seeing Ashok jumping in on thatopportunity!August we are at Lodgepole at Lake Alpine, in the Sierra –gorgeous with more great riding. September we get high at10,000’ at Saddlebag Lake, on the crest of the High Sierra.At this elevation we could get everything from sunburns tothe first snow dusting of the year. Then for October get readyto party, Oktoberfest style! You can expect another greatMember Meeting and Campout at Liberty Glen by LakeSonoma. Same line-up as last year, great riding followed bya great campout with German-ish food served up by thecooking wing of the Club. Don’t miss this one! And Novemberwe will be at Fremont Peak State Park. December is theholiday party – stay tuned for info on that…Also, did you knowyou can check out our past rides andcampouts by scrolling down to the bottom of the Event pageon the website? We have everything back to June of 2015.Before that you’ll have to dig into past newsletters…Lastly – make sure you’re registered for the ROL. It’s goingto be a great one so don’t miss it. I’m keeping an eye on thefires but so far we are in the clear…Thanks and ride safe folks!Nick Gloyd

AUGUST 2018

The 2018 Range of Light Gypsy Tour starts at the Napa Valley Expo!

So, August 31st show up and be ready for a great tour or, come a day ortwo early and enjoy the awesome Napa Valley before the Tour begins…

Part of what we’ll see firsthand on this year’s Tour is the damage from theOctober Firestorm that ravaged Napa and Sonoma Counties, but moreimportantly, the rebuilding and healing of the damaged areas.

Go to http://bmwnorcal.org/ROL for more information and to register!For volunteering and sponsorship opportunities contact Nick atrolchair@bmwnorcal.org

A visiting New Zealand coupleare seeking advice and helpplanning to do the TransAmerica Trail in Sept. They flyin to SF in mid August with theplan to buy a BMW R1200 GSwhen they get here and kit itout for camping. They wouldbe extremely interested incontacting someone who hasridden the trail camping outalong the way.

If anyone who has a suitablelate model R1200 GS orAdventure with hard side bagsand crash bars for sale, withlowish mileage and is reliableenough for this trip or campinggear that would be suitable fora two up trip of this naturecontact Jacqui and Steve atjakb99@yahoo.com. Theyare planning to arrive mid-August

New ZealandVisitors Seek Help

BMW NorCal unveiled its New Camper Program at the July Member Meeting and Campout.This pilot program, spearheaded by Board member Kevin Coleman and launched by theBoard in July, is an educational program intended to help first time campers get into motocamping and includes loaner gear. For those interested in pitching in, we are collectinggently used camping gear - primarily tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads. Our targetaudience, people new to moto camping that don't know where to start, haven't had thecamping experience, and haven't yet started to purchase their own gear.Taking advantage of the program was a very enthusiastic Ashok Subbarama. Not only wasthis his first time camping, it was his furthest motorcycle ride! And since we were campingup at the amazing Forks of the Salmon, he had a perfect introduction to moto camping!Contact Kevin Coleman at treasurer@bmwnorcal.org with questions and to donate gearand keep an eye out on the website for more information.

NorCals New Camper Program

Finance Committee NominationsThe Board of Directors has approved the creation of a financecommittee for our Club, serving as the voice of our membershipin providing important input to the Board on how we earn andspend club funds. We are looking for nominees from a crosssection of our membership in good standing that have a strongdesire to engage the membership and help us develop ourplans. One of the first tasks of the finance committee is tohold focus sessions, either in person or online with ourmembers to get their input and perhaps develop an online

survey. The expected time commitment is likely 8 to 12 hoursinitially, spread out over a few months, then roughly 2 hoursa quarter there after. Other tasks may include the periodicreview of our financial results with the treasurer. The term ofthe initial committee will be through June 29, 2019, the date ofour next election. Please email treasurer@bmwnorcal.org withyour interest or nominations of individuals you think would bea good club representative on the finance committee on orbefore our August club meeting on August 25th, 2018 forconsideration by the Board.

AUGUST 2018

The sun wasn’t supposed to set for another two hours,but the storm on the western horizon was moving this way atfast speed, turning the sky as black as an inkwell. Bolts oflightning snapped to the ground like white bullwhips with nopredictable pattern. The wind came first, rolling across the tallgreen prairie grass in waves, bending the scattered poplartrees eastward. A few raindrops trickled down the face shieldon my helmet like tears.

The clock on my motorcycle dash said 6:30pm as Ipassed by the whitewashed two-story clapboard house inCaputa, South Dakota. For over an hour, I rode across theprairie, vast and flat, yellow and green, edged by the low hillsof the badlands. About a half dozen men wearing bright orangeHarley Davidson tee shirts diverted my attention from the road,but only for the second or two it took to pass by. They weregathered beneath the big protective overhang of a porch,sipping their beers and watching the black clouds and lightningcome across the prairie. Behind them, a yellow and white neonMiller Lite Beer sign glowed from inside a big picture window.I thought they stopped because they had no rain gear anddidn’t want to get wet. No jackets. No gloves. No helmets.People rode their motorcycles wearing shorts, jeans, tee shirtsand tank tops, tennis shoes and high heels. There was somecomfort in believing that my waterproof pants, boots and‘new-to-me’ Aerostitch Darien motorcycle jacket, would keepme dry. Sun-faded in parts, I found the jacket for forty dollarson the table of used motorcycle clothing at the ‘49er. Aclub-mate immediatelychristened it, “Big Red.”

I’ve been throughthis before, I thoughtand wrapped my leathergloves around theF650’s well-worn rubbergrips. One does noteasily forget those darksummer thunderstormsin the Grand Teton andRockies, or out alongthe exposed Wyominggrasslands wherelightning surges fromsky to ground in longcrackling white bolts.

Not a mile pastCaputa, the wind beganto bend the poplars atdeep right angles, as farover as trees could gowithout splitting, thenpressed and held themdown. Rain and windjetted across the road, hurling clumps of leaves, twigs andbroken branches. The wind pushed hard against the Jessebags mounted on either side of the F650. I pressed hardagainst the handlebars to keep the front wheel from drifting

sideways, and leaned my left shoulder forward into the wind,but the wind blasted against the lower edge of the cases. Thewheels of the motorcycle angled deeply sideways as the windpressed against the cases, quickly pushing the bike out fromunder me. I lessened the angle of my shoulder and cut slightlyback on the throttle. The rain pounded the highway puddlingin shallow depressions, then spilling in waterfalls along thesharp edge of the pavement. There was no shoulder and thehighway dropped off on either side, its own levy to keep stormwaters from flooding over the top of it.

If it hails, I’m done. I’m not going to make it. Not going tomake it to Rapid City. Rain, wind, and hail and I would end upin the ditch or plastered to the front grill of a pickup. The rainpounded my face shield. I cracked the visor while continuouslywiping the clear plastic exterior with my gloved palm. I wasnow looking for a place to shelter or turnaround. On the right,maybe a mile ahead, was a long metal warehouse encircledby parked tractors and assorted farm equipment. I scannedthe building but there were no eaves. I pictured taking refugein one of the tractors. At the warehouse driveway, I slowlypulled off the highway and carefully turned the F650 aroundin the soggy gravel driveway. Foamy sheets of water spiraledoff the road, parting the gravel into tiny arroyos. The eye ofthe storm was upon me. My small window of opportunity wasabout to vanish, and I’d be stuck. I turned back to thewhitewashed two-storied house in Caputa, where the Harleyriders had taken refuge.

I focused on the road ahead and held on to thehandlebars. The wind grabbed my side cases and twistedthem back and forth, while a tailwind punched them frombehind. I made it to the dirt and gravel parking lot of thewhitewashed house, riding to the leeward side of the buildingto park. I opened one of the motorcycle side cases and yankedthe twisted nylon cover from its stuff sack, securing it over thebike for some protection when it started to hail small pelletsof ice. A two-toned turquoise and white pickup truck slowlypassed by. The passenger side window rolled down partiallyand from the shadowed interior of the cab, a man looked overthe small blonde head of his son and said: “It’s a good thingyou turned around. Wind speed in downtown Rapid City isalready 75 mph. This is a big one.”

“Thanks,” I held up my gloved hand and waved. Thewindow rolled up and the truck slowly pulled away turningtowards a neighborhood set back from the highway.

I walked around to the front of the house where the menwere gathered under the porch, holding beer bottles, watchingthe rain and hail tumble from the black sky upon the smallused car lot out in front. They smiled and stepped aside so Icould get through the screen and front doors into the bar. Itwas Sunday. The store closed at six, but because of the storm,the owner kept it open for the riders.

A big screen TV, tuned to the Weather Channel, wasmounted to the wall above the bar—the bottles of tequila,vodka, bourbon, Crown Royal and corked bottles of wine. Mensat at the bar watching satellite photos of big green, yellowand red storm patches of color stretched across Rapid City

Big Red at the realgeographic center of the U.S.,

near Belle Fourche, S.D.

AUGUST 2018

and the northwest corner of the state. The bartender wipeddown glasses and poured Miller from the tap. A chalkboardmenu was tacked to the rough wood paneled wall—spaghettiand hot buttered garlic bread. Comfort food.

“I’d like to order the spaghetti dinner and a cup of coffee,”I said to the owner who was lightly mopping the bar top witha white dishcloth.

“Sorry hon, but I already closed down the grill and cleanedit. I do have some cold sandwiches in the refrigerator, freshcoffee and homemade pie over there on the counter.”

I passed by the steel and glass refrigerator and examinedthe prepackaged cold sandwiches. A glass of wine would havebeen nice, but I still had to find my way back to my tent,guy-lined on a ridgetop in Sturgis—if the tent was still thereand hadn’t been blown out to Interstate-90.

Plenty of big round family style tables sat empty in thedining room surrounding the bar. A small group of women werespread out at two tables, passengers on the Harleys parkedin the barn outside. Blue jeans, and heels; ‘Harley Davidson’spelled out in big cursive letters and rhinestones on colorfuljackets and perfect hair. I overheard one of the women tellingthe owner that they had trailered their bikes in from Wisconsinand Minnesota for the 75th Annual Sturgis Rally.

I draped Big Red across the back of a chair, and laid mytank bag and helmet on the empty table. I bought a Gatoradeand a cold American cheese sandwich on white bread,prepackaged in a hard, plastic peel-apart triangular shell. Inthe reflection of the mirror, a fresh pot of coffee sat on the backcounter next to a glass display cabinet filled with slices ofblackberry pie wrapped in plastic on translucent white AnchorHocking glass pie plates. I poured a cup of coffee and stirredin three tiny containers of Half N’ Half and a packet of Equal.I carried my coffee and sandwich back to the table and satdown facing the window behind the Miller sign and thegathering of orange shirts outside. Visibility was maybe15-feet. It was raining hard.

I stirred my coffee, took a slow sip, and thought about thebeautiful day, my ride through Badlands, the miles of peaceful,

empty, winding roadsthrough the Pine RidgeReservation to WoundedKnee.

The day before, I rodefrom Billings, Montanaacross the Crow Agency toBroadus, stopping for a fewhours to walk the LittleBighorn Battlefield. At thetop of the highest ridge,Last Stand Hill, I stood in deep straw-colored grass andwatched the wind shift the prairie grasses back and forth likemusical notes whispering quietly to the earth. Red graniteheadstones marked where Sioux and Cheyenne died. Whiteheadstones marked where U.S. Army troops fell, or killed theirhorses and knelt behind them using them for breastworks inthe final desperate moments of battle. When I pulled back out

on the highway, I noticed rows of whitemarkers grouped in semi-circles along thelength of a ridge, as if gathered aroundinvisible horses.

When Bury My Heart at WoundedKnee was released in 1970, my mothergave me a copy of the book. I wasn’t goingback to California without seeing WoundedKnee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation nearthe South Dakota-Nebraska border. Sunsetwas at 8:45. There was plenty of time to

see the Badlands and Wounded Knee, about 300 miles, andto get back to my tent by dark.

It was almost eleven when I left Sturgis. I never thoughtto check the weather before leaving the campground. Thebeauty of the Black Hills and the morning sun filtering throughthe Jack pines, distracted me. My tent was situated a bed ofsoft forest duff and fallen pine needles, surrounded by tall Jackpines on a long, east-west trending pine and meadow-coveredridge, overlooking Sturgis. I heated a pot of water on my smallcamp stove and made coffee and oatmeal. With coffee in hand,I took a few steps to a small grassy knoll. South, past theinterstate, the pine-covered Black Hills rolled along to MountRushmore. North, patchwork squares of crops and naturalsagebrush prairie met the sky on the flat hazy horizon. A doe

At Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge Reservation

Camped in the Jack Pines

AUGUST 2018and buck, last year’s fawns, wandered into the meadow froma cluster of pines. When they saw me, they stopped,motionless, except for an occasional fluttering of an ear. Thenthey turned around and galloped back into the forest. Overa million motorcyclists were expected in the Black Hills areafor the rally.

I packed an apple, a small bag of walnuts, raisins anddried apricots, and two quarts of water, each laced with alittle Gatorade. My seven-year old Garmin Zumo GPS unitwas on its last legs. It had stopped charging on the bikebattery before I left California, but it was too late to order anew one in time for this trip. The Zumo 550 did not come witha wall charger, so I charged it directly on a laptop before Ileft home, and then again, for about six hours, on a borrowedlaptop at the BMW Rally in Billings. It was barely holding thecharge, and once it was gone, that would be it. I stashed theZumo in the tank bag and used paper maps, carefullybending them into tiny 4x5 inch quadrants to fit inside thesee-through map pocket on the tank bag. There was no hopeof reading them while riding as my sunglasses’ prescriptionwas for distance. Before Istarted and each time Istopped, I pulled the neatlyfolded, tattered Triple-A mapfrom my tank bag. If the windwasn’t blowing, I unfolded themap, careful not to let theworn folds tear any more,then memorized the mileagesto the next highwayintersection, the names of thetowns, the turns.

Between Sturgis andWall, the interstate speedlimit was 80 mph. Passed bybig semi-trucks pullingmultiple trailers, the F650valiantly chugged along at 65 mph, all the way to Wall,against a persistent, howling head wind. Along the interstate,flaking, hand-painted, wooden roadside billboards luredtourists to Wall Drug with the promise of a free cup of coffee.

At Wall, motorcycles were parked everywhere—alongcurbs, in quadruple rowsdown the center of thestreet, in every publicparking lot. I tucked theF650 into a space in frontof the Wounded KneeMuseum. An electricalfire burned the originalmuseum down in 2012,so it was temporarilyhoused inside an officebuilding. Directly acrossthe street was BadlandsHarley Davidson andcaddy-corner was WallDrug, a two-block longdrugstore painted to looklike a collection of oldwestern store fronts.

There was a Harley Davidson dealer in every town—in andnear the Black Hills—Sturgis, Deadwood, Spearfish, Hill City,Custer, Rapid City. The only difference between them wasthe changing dealer names on their merchandise. I strappedmy helmet to the throttle handle and laid my jacket acrossmy seat, then covered everything with the nylon rain cover.I didn’t go into Badlands Harley, but did wander around Wallfor a few minutes trying to find the advertised free cup ofcoffee, that never materialized.

At the museum, I read about the hundreds of dishonoredtreaties and broken promises made by the feds to the NativeAmericans; the events that led up to the massacre atWounded Knee; the subsequent military investigation andthe complete exoneration of those troops involved. Of interestto me was Wovoka, the Paiute spiritual leader from SmithValley, Nevada—in my own backyard. Wovoka revived theGhost Dance, which was not unlike the pneumatologicalshaking seen in today’s Pentecostal circles. It was anempowering spiritual dance embraced by the nations, but itscared the settlers.

From Wall south into Badlands, crosswinds pushed theF650 back and forth along the narrow road. Within the mazeof eroded sand castle-shaped hills, the winds subsided. Bigtour buses and lines of cars clogged pullouts and blockedscenic spots. A woman driving in the opposite lane, crossedover into my lane to pass cars, as if I didn’t exist. I pulled overonto the soft sandy shoulder along the road. The motorcycleriders behind her, shook their heads in disgust and yelled atthe indifferent driver.

Outside the National Monument, I stopped at a four-wayintersection comprised of a gas station and someoutbuildings—Interior. There wasn’t anyone around. Hot anddry, no wind, not even a slight breeze. I unzipped my tankbag, pulled out the South Dakota Triple A map and laid it outacross the handlebars and tank bag to study and memorizethe route to Kyle. I looked up to read the street signs, butthere weren’t any. I glanced at the faded yellow sky toconfirm where west was. The sun looked dead center, but itwas already 2:30. I rode in the direction I thought was south,to Kyle, winding through low green hills, across narrowbridges, passing a dilapidated house of weathered greywood, surrounded by miles of prairie. I passed a youngNative American man along the road wearing a daypack,stretched out lengthwise beneath the shade of tree. Lookingover his horned-rimmed glasses, he smiled and waved as Ipassed by. I waved back. I wondered where he was going,where he came from.

These were BIA roads, very narrow, two-lane asphaltroads. They made for nice riding even with the overgrownvegetation edging into the roadway. There were manyabandoned houses, miles apart from each other, miles fromany social center, obscured by tall thickets of overgrowngrass and weeds.

I passed through Kyle, then into Pine Ridge. At the southend of town, I arrived at the big bright red sign marking theWounded Knee site. The cemetery was across the street.Local vendors sold handmade goods and answeredquestions. I spent a half hour, but time was slipping away. Itwas time to ride north. On Bombing Range Road, I did notsee another vehicle for over an hour, until I stopped for gasin Scenic. Inside the gas station, the wind speed indicator

AUGUST 2018was spinning furiously on their desktop weather station.Massive black clouds gathered on the western horizon.

Two older guys walked into the Caputa Bar and sat down,looking up at the TV. They weren’t wearing rally shirts, so Iasked if they were from around here. They were. I asked whatthey thought about the storm and when it might be safe toleave. “This is going to pass pretty soon.”

Around 9:00, the locals said it was safe to go—the stormwas done. By then it was dark. Deer, drunks and black cows.I asked the folks on the Harleys if I could follow them back toSturgis, but I might as well have been speaking Russian. Onetoo many beers imbibed. I had already been called ‘Comrade’wearing Big Red, and was asked by one party what wouldcompel me to wear such a jacket. I responded that other thanthe Harleys, it was probably the only thing at the rally made inAmerica—made in Duluth!

I thanked the store owner for keeping her place open, thenstarted back towards Rapid City, sans Harley riders. TheF650’s singular headlamp lit the way. Near Rapid City, I pulledover at an intersection signed for Custer, a town in the BlackHills, and checked my Triple A map. Custer was on a route toSturgis, but when I saw a group of riders coming down fromthe hills, I thought, maybe not such a good way to go in thedark. The state map was useless in town, so I slid the Zumo550 into its mount and turned it on. By God, it worked. I typedin Sturgis and was off. Back at camp by 10:30, I covered theF650 and walked over to the trees. The tent was still there,looking serene and dry. Nothing indicated that the biggeststorm of the century had rolled through. I crawled into the tent,slipped into my bag and went to sleep.

In the morning, I awoke to find my Thermarest pad floatingin water. I moved the tent and dried everything out. A rally goerfrom Quebec, had come in on a brand new black HondaGoldwing pulling a matching trailer, and set up camp acrossfrom me. He reported that the storm dropped a few feet offist-sized hail in downtown Custer and snow plows wereextracting parked vehicles.

Yes, it was quite a storm.Check out the hail and streets of Custer on July 27, 2015,

follow this link:

https://www.weather.gov/unr/2

015-07-27

AUGUST 2018

ProblemSeam

OK, I admit it, I am addicted to gloves. I can’t resist. I buythem on line, at rallies at the local stores based onmagazine or online recommendations. In the past on a tripI packed three different pairs, a mesh pair for hot weather,lined gloves for cold and leather for in-between. I have gotbetter recently and now only take two pairs; one for coldand one for the rest of the time. (This of course doesn’tinclude glove liners for really cold conditions or waterproofover gloves for when it rains – but these aren’t reallygloves).

Lesson 1 - Gloves provide protectionI suffer badly from summer heat and a few years ago Iwas a big fan of mesh backed gloves, and then three yearsago I attended a rally where one presenter showed whathappened to his clothing after a run in with a deer. Whatstuck me most was the condition of his gloves. The gloveshe was wearing had plastic protectors over the knucklesand his off had worn this plastic protection down by at leasta quarter of an inch. I never worn mesh gloves again andimmediately bought some solid leather gloves with knuckleprotection. Lesson 2 – Try them on before buyingI was really into Rev’It motorcycle gear at the time andpurchased some summer gloves on-line after carefullyreading the associated feedback so I got the right size.Those gloves were the best I ever had. I wore them mostof the time and within 18 months or so they were will pasttheir best. No problem, just order another pair.Unfortunately, within this 18-month period the gloves hadbeen replace by a Mark II version. Looked the same soordered them on line. They didn’t fit. Could hardly get myhand in them and the fingers were about ½ inch too long.

Lesson 3 – When trying on gloves in thestore grab a clothing rack or somethingthat is similar in diameter to handlebars.

Make sure there are no potentialpressure point seams.

So which store is local and has a good supply ofreasonably priced (cheap) gloves. Based on this criteriamy go to store if Cycle Gear. Cycle Gear had the glovesI was looking for at half the price of the Rev’It gloves, madeof leather with good protection and they fitted by handperfectly. I had this pair for 6 months or so and althoughthey served their purpose, they had been made with aseam between the thumb and first finger. After a whileriding the bike the seam created a pressure point where Igripped the handlebars and it hurt. Careful examination ofmy hand showed the gloves had created hard callus. Iwent back to Cycle Gear and this time found some gloveswithout seams in the high pressure areas where I grippedthe bars.

A Guide to buying Summer Gloves

8600 mile update on Mitas E-07 TiresWhen preparing my bike for the Alaska trip I selected MitasE-07 Dakar tires for the trip. These were highly recommendedon a message board I follow. Mycriteria was primarily they would lastthe potentially 10,000 mile trip as wellas cope with the mainly unpavedDalton Highway between Fairbanksand Prudhoe Bay. The tread depthwhen installed were 12.5mm on therear and 7.25mm on the front. After8,600 miles there was around 4.3mmleft on both wheels. I would guess therear is good for 11k and and front maybe good for 13k. The only issue I hadwith the tires were that the front tire felt

a bit funny on grooved pavements for the first 2k miles. Afterthis the tires performed great on dry, wet and muddy surfaces.Surprisingly they felt really good on the twisties although withall the weight I was carrying I probably was not as aggressiveas usual. Here is a cross-ply tire witha fairly aggressive 50-50 tread patternfeeling much the same on drypavement as the Michelin andBridgestone radials. They certainlydidn't slow me down in the wet withFred and Jerry complaining that I spedup in the rain (my way of avoidinggetting wet). From a wear perspectivewhen compared with the HeidenauTires on Jerry’s bike, the wear wascomparable until the comparisonabruptly ended. Front

Front

Rear

AUGUST 2018

Gorilla Tape – Tested and Approved by Norcal Members

John Ellis uses Gorilla Tape to hold together his boot afterthe sole separated. John says the tape provides anattractive contrast and he received many complimentsfrom both motorcyclists as well as the general public. Hesays the addition of the tape provided a rather exclusivesartorial elegance to his overall appearance. If you havegloves, jackets or boots that leak simply wrap them withGorilla Tape – job done.

Fred Montano made aerodynamic improvements by covering all helmetcracks and gaps with Gorilla Tape. Fred prefers to use the transparentversion of Gorilla Tape for his modification after painfully determining thatthe opaque black tape interfered with his view through the visor. In acontrolled two-way, test Fred achieved a top speed improvement of 2.318mph with the Gorilla Tape enhanced helmet. Amazed at the success of hisexperiment Fred is now focused eliminating all his cracks and wrinkles.

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Central Call 33ND ANNUAL AUTUMN BEEMER BASHSeptember 14 - 18, 2018 Quincy, CAhttp://www.ccbr.org/event-2934877

Nakusp Hotsprings Rally, BC CanadaAugust 16 - 19https://beeceebeemers.com/index.php/rally/

Beartooth Beemers“The Best Little Rally in the West”20th annual Beartooth Rendezvous will be August 16 – 19, 2018.http://beartoothbeemers.org/

For more detailsClick on boxes above to be redirected to rally web sites

Range of Light Gypsy TourStarts at Napa Valley ExpoAugust 31 to September 3http://bmwnorcal.org/ROL

West Coast 2018 Rallies

Ho Chi Minh Trail Tour by John VashonSeptember 7, 2018 - 8 Day Guided Tour Limited to 6 riders - $1700 per person

This Ho Chi Minh Trail tour will be an adventure! Ethnic Tarig and Katu villages, river crossings, spectacular waterfalls, theancient Khmer Temple of Wat Phou, karst caves, crossing the longest bamboo bridge in Lao and of course, all the historyof the Ho Chi Minh Trail! This is an 8 day tour starting in Vientiane, Lao. We’ll ride Honda CRF 250s on a mix of sealed andgraded roads about 150 KM a day. We’ll pass through several karst valleys, Nakai Plateau, Champasak and the BolevensPlateau. Total cost including motorcycle, guide, support vehicle, all meals, accommodations and fuel, $1,700 per person.The link below leads to Facebook event page and a detailed day by day itinerary and a map of the route. If you questionsplease reply to me at jevashon@gmail.com or call (925) 698-6360https://www.facebook.com/events/423223911456890/?active_tab=discussion

AUGUST 2018

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July Camp Out - Pictures by Marcelo Fernandez, MaRu Casalia and Tom Connolly

AUGUST 2018

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1201 N CARPENTER RD MODESTO, CA 95351 209 524 2955

WE DO MONTHLY RIDES - BOTH ON AND OFF ROADTHREE MASTER CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS TO SERVE YOU

CELEBRATING 45 YEARSUNDER SAME OWNERSHIP

Store hours - Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00am until 6:00pm

www.cyclespecialties.com

FUN AND FRIENDLY STORE TO COME AND BROWSE AROUND

Remember to always read the small printThe SPOT satellite GPS tracker is a great device to allowothers to know where you are and track your progress duringa trip. It also provides a mechanism to summon help in remoteareas where there is no cell phone reception. However, aword of caution to potential subscribers. SPOT is offered with“insurance” that claims to cover the cost of transporting youto a medical facility and recovery of your vehicle in case of anaccident. If you are thinking about buying this additional“insurance” make sure you read the fine print. This insuranceis not offered by the SPOT company but by a partner

Firstly the insurance is only valid if you summoned help usingthe SPOT device. If this wasn't the case then you are totallyout of luck.

Secondly the insurance only covers the cost of transportingyou to the nearest medical facility. This could be a local clinicwith no full time doctors and not even having something assimple as an x-ray machine. If you need to be transferred toanother facility for treatment then you are out of luck again.Helicopter or Medivac by plane, you will be on your own.

Thirdly recovery of your vehicle. They will send out a tow truckto remove your bike from the side of the road only to be storedat tow truck facility, which could be hundreds of miles fromanywhere. Getting the bike home is up to you.

Insurance is a good thing except when it isn't. If you wantdecent insurance to cover you in case of an accident on theroad, check out SkyMed and read the small print.

John Ellis

AUGUST 2018

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AUGUST 2018

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

AUGUST 2018

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.bmwnorcal.org

BMW Club of Northern California, Inc.P.O. Box 2472Santa Clara,CA 95055

ContactsPRESIDENT*Greg Hutchinson(president@bmwnorcal.org)

(415) 205-7829

VICE-PRESIDENT*Mike Morlin(vicepresident@bmwnorcal.org)

(415)587-5158

SECRETARY*Fred Montano(secretary@bmwnorcal.orgTREASURER*Kevin Colemantreasurer@bmwnorcal.org

(925) 890-8449

TOUR CAPTAIN*Nick Gloyd(tourcaptain@bmwnorcal.org)

(707) 849-5582

SAFETY/TECH DIRECTOR*Jorgen Larson(safetytech@bmwnorcal.org)

(870) 273-4746

HISTORIAN*Rick Webb(historian@bmwnorcal.org)

(707) 494-6629

NEWSLETTER EDITORJohn Ellisnewseditor@bmwnorcal.org

(925) 918 3106

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORYRuss DrakeADVERTISING CHAIRopenAdchair@norcal.orgSECOND SUNDAY BREAK-FASTOpen*Board Member

AUGUST 2018

BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Board of Director Meeting01 Sep 2018, 10:00 AM 12:00 PMLocation MotoGuild SF, 849 13Th St. San Francisco

August Member Meeting and Campout - Lake Alpine!25 Aug 2018 8:00 AM Breakfast is at Suisun City BlackBear, the ride departs at 9.Location Lodgepole Group Site, Lake Alpine

2018 RANGE OF LIGHT GYPSY TOUR!31 Aug 2018 3:00 PM. End 03 Sep 2018 10:00 AMStart at Napa Valley Expo

Pre-registering for events atwww.bmwnorcal.org is highly

recommended. Avoids the needto sign a waiver at the event.

Events

September Tim Booth – 15 years

October Thane Beckstrand – 35 years

November Davis Opheim – 15yearsLee Wolff - 25years

Anniversaries