issue 224 march april 2019 three happy campers · less previously announced via e-mail. the ride...

ISSUE 224 M ARCH -APRIL 2019

PREZ Notes/Financial Statement - Page 2

Club Calendar - Page 2

New MOA Ambassador Announced- Page 3

May Officers’ Meeting Notes - Page 4-5

Michelin Plot Road Trail 5 Review- Page 6

MOA Rally Pics - Page 7-8

How Tight Should Your Spark Plugs Be? - Page 9

Base Layer: Polypropylene Versus Merino Wool - 0

Three Happy Campers

Hi from the home front after returning from the BMWMOA Rally in Tennessee and visiting some local club members at the rally. Most split up after the rally and headed in different directions. I did the same.

I headed slowly out of Tennessee on back roads and into some of the most rural America on the eastern side of the Mississippi and then a jaunt across and into Appalachia. Camped where I could from the Cumberland Gap to Smokey MTN Nat'l Park and hills of West Virginia and North Carolina. The bears making a comeback in this part of country adds to camping site selection as well!

Helen gave me a kitchen pass as long as I returned before the 4th of July...which I accomplished. I only managed to melt the cover on my Jet Boil cup the first morning....remembering it about time I saw it smoke and run onto the table...lovely! No mechani-cal's, no flats, No visits with any LEO's,and no bike drops Chuck!, but some seriously worn tires and mus-

cles from chasing my tail on those twisty roads. All the crazy weather gave me a break during riding hours for the most part, the nights were a bit differ-ent. Giselle hit 143K and still purrs along...with ear-buds in anyways.

Anyways, lot more of that story at some point. Was told what happens in the forest stays in the forest, so we will see!

Hope everyone’s June was safe and productive and are out doing some riding before the oven gets turned on by the end of the month. Come join us for a club ride and I will try to stay out of the low water crossings.

I missed the latest meeting and have been off the grid mostly on this trip...have a lot of catching up to do with the team.

Safe travels

PREZ Notes

SAN ANTONIO BMW RIDERS ASSOCIATION

Do you have a Saturday/Sunday ride destination you would like to try or a restaurant you would like to ride to--give the club officers a call. The club needs your help in finding new places

Club Calendar ACTIVITIES – This calendar does not include every Thursday social and Sunday breakfast ride. Events will be filled in as they are planned.

*Every Sunday there is an informal breakfast ride (weather permitting). The destination for the Sunday breakfast ride will be determined by participants un-less previously announced via e-mail. The ride de-parts at 8:30 a.m. from the Starbuck’s at 1604 and NW Military Hwy (Shavano Park).

*The first Wednesday of each month is Euro Bike Nite at about 6:30 at Pizza Italia, 3023 Thousand Oaks, just east of Jones Maltsberger.

2019 Events Calendar -Date in bold is a club activi-ty, dates not bolded are simply items of interest to members. NOTE – Everything is subject to change so remember to check the club calendar, http://www.sabmwra.org/html/calendar.html for the latest.

July

13 July. Club Officers’ Meeting. All are welcome. 10:0 AM @ Alamo BMW. Come prepared to help put together the club activities calendar for the rest of the year.

http://www.sabmwra.org/html/calendar.html

http://www.sabmwra.org/html/calendar.html


The ride to Hoover Valley Café (no relation to Dave) that had been previously rained out was re-scheduled for Saturday, June 1st (first day of hurri-cane season BTW). There was an excellent turnout with 20 people on 19 bikes. VP Mary brought along several of here friends from work so we had a few non BMW’s in the group. Just before departure Prez Steve, who was leading the ride, held a short meeting to talk about the route and ride safety. As we were about to break up Chuck Wetzel announced that a member of our club had been nominated to be an MOA Ambassador (more on this below) and handed Steve the paper-work to name the lucky winner and make the presentation. But, to everyone’s surprise our new club MOA Ambassador turned out to be…wait for it…Steve Henson!

Congratulations to Steve Henson for an honor well deserved. Our club is fortunate to carry 8 ambassa-dors on our membership rolls. One deceased, three emeritus, and four active ambassadors; Chuck Wet-

zel, Paul Mulhern, Rick Nelson (the winter Texan) and now Steve Henson.

BMW MOA Ambassadorship is an honor bestowed on an individual who has been instrumental in their local club as well as helping promote the BMW MOA. At the national level Steve was an MOA forum mod-erator for several years and has been awarded the Helping Hand award for his efforts to assist other BMW riders. At the local level Steve has held posi-tions within the club numerous times, helped plan and execute several of our rallies and held several tech ses-sions at his Blanco hideaway/shop. To become an ambassador you must be nominated and that nomination must be approved by the BMW MOA Board of Directors. Ambassadorship is both a recog-nition of past contributions as well as an expectation of future efforts to promote the club (both local and national). Going forward Steve must be addressed as “Mr. Am-bassador” and all must stand when he enters the room (Helen being the notable exception). Congratulations Steve!

Local boy makes the big time

By Paul Mulhern


SABMWRA - May Membership Team/Meeting Notes

Meeting: May 29, 2019 @6:30 pm Sandra’s Cantina & Grill, Spring Branch Attendance: Mike Cornett, Mary Putnam, Tom Wilmotte, Dick Kreutzer Membership Team members discussed ways of in-creasing communication and comradery among pre-sent club members and of inviting new members into the SABMWRA. Below is an outline of discussions and decisions. 1. Contacting inactive members: Other than paying dues we don’t have a good way

of knowing who is or isn’t an active member. At the end of this memo is a list of non-paying mem-bers and their phone numbers. Please review this list and let me know of people who you know that (1) have participated in a club event over the last year or so; (2) you would be willing to reach out to or contact; or (3) that are no longer riding or interested in participating in the club. I will fol-low up with a letter to other “inactive” members on our roles. We will ask Paul Mulhern to set up a past members group in the file.

2. Quarterly Cookouts: Mary Putnam will talk Suzanne at Alamo BMW

about hosting one or more of these. Steve Hen-son volunteered to host a picnic at his home in Blanco and maybe do a tech presentation.

3. Monthly Events: The idea is to have one major event each month

(other than an evening social, club meeting or weekly Sunday ride). Quarterly cookouts will be held every three months and we will fill in with rides, tech sessions, etc. once a month in between.

4. Motorcycle Related Speakers: I’ll develop a letter to club members explaining

what we are trying to do and inviting their input about what or who they would like to see/hear at club gathering.

5. Motorcycle Driver Training:

Guy Putnam served as a rider trainer in England for BMW mounted police. He has offered to do training for us. Training could take the form of classroom presentation, parking lot skills im-provement or on the road coaching. Mary Put-nam will talk with Guy about dates when he would be available to do this.

6. Club Decals or Patches: Have decals, patches, shirts available throughout

the year for members to purchase. Tom Wilmotte will look into the design and cost of SABMWRA Logo decals or patches. We might also give a patch to each person when they pay their dues or join the club.

7. German BMW Club Connection: Michael Bowie had suggested we establish a sis-

ter relationship with a BMW Club in Germany. We could host them her in the States and hopeful-ly make a SABMWRA trip to Germany to tour with them. Michael has a connection in Germa-ny. I will contact Michael Bowie

8. Club Meetings: Mary will talk with Steve about setting up a

schedule of Club Meetings (at Alamo BMW) for the rest of the year. It is recommended that new members or guests be introduced during the meet-ing.

9. Name Tags at Meetings and Events: It is recommended that name tags we worn at

every meeting or social event. Name tags should include; Name, Home city, and what kind of mo-torcycle the person is riding. I will work with Mike Cornett to develop name tags with the club logo on it. Mike Cornett will fill out name tags at the meetings and events.

10. SABMWRA Flyer: It was recommended that we develop a new flyer/

card that could be handed out or placed on a mo-torcycle, introducing the SABMWRA, inviting participants and guest to join us, and giving the website/Facebook info for people to get the latest


info on rides and events. Mike Cornett has ideas for this and will work with Tom Wilmotte on de-veloping the outline. They will pass it along to Tony or someone the group for artistic layout.

11. Newsletter distro: It is recommended that 100 copies of the latest

Newsletter be printed and club members be invit-ed to take the newsletter to their favorite motor-cycle related spot where they can be offered to the public. The first 25 copies should go to Ala-mo BMW, with Suzanne’s permission of course.

12. Christmas Party Presentation: Recommendation was made that an introduction

of club officers and newer members, and review of the past year’s events, as well as a look at the year ahead might be included at the annual Christmas Party. Also a short discussion about any ideas or suggestions that members would like to see for the coming year.

What Was Invented in 1867

And Still Used On Virtually All Motorcycles To-day? The obvious thing you would answer would be the wheel, well that was the Stone Age, around 3500 BC. Or would you guess the tire, you are getting closer. In 1839 Charles Goodyear was credited with the discovery of the vulcanization process. Vulcaniza-tion is the process of heating rubber with sulfur. This transforms sticky raw rubber to firm pliable material which makes rubber a perfect material for tires. story of Charles Goodyear is a sad one. Although he dedicated his entire life to making rubber a bet-ter form, he would never profit from all his work. Charles Goodyear died bankrupt. How about something a lot simpler? The twist grip, it is debatable that Roper steam velocipede had the first twist grip, where in fact it had a handlebar that rotated completely not just a sleeve rotating…but the idea was born and it is credited with the first use of a similar mechanism still in use today. Glenn Curtiss, unlikely to have been aware of the prior uses of the twist grip, used it in his 1904 mo-torcycle land-speed record machine, and is some-times credited as the inventor of the device. A man known for unique inventions from his small shop. His first motorcycle’s carburetor was adapted from a tomato soup can containing a gauze screen to pull the gasoline up by capillary action. In 1904 Indian Motorcycles claimed in their adver-tisements, for their 1904 models, to have invented the twist grip. Whether Curtiss, Gottlieb Daimler, or Roper, were the true inventors, is up for debate to this day. What Indian Motorcycles can claim is, in 1904 In-dian would have the earliest use of the device on a production motorcycle and still use it to this day…and they put a patent on it just to be sure. US Patent 765138.

May Membership Team/Meeting Notes Cont.


road is very tight and curvy with blind 10 mile per hour uphill switchbacks sprinkled around to keep you on your toes. There are no road condition or warning signs of any sort on this road. Much of the center third of this road is only 1.5 lanes wide with a short section of one lane. In short this is a very technical road. You must constantly be alert for changing road conditions, direction and traction conditions. Oh, did I mention is was raining much of the way? Under these conditions the PRT’s handled beautiful-ly. Changing road surfaces, tight turns, wet pave-ment, nothing could upset them. Not only was trac-tion excellent but control a well. The front wheel never felt vague or give any hint of traction loss. These good manners continued when I hit Highway 101 south at the coast where the rain was joined by a stiff coastal breeze. In short, traction and feel is excellent regardless of surface conditions. The ties are quite (especially compared to the Anakees) and really make the bike easier to ride. In large part this is due to the better front end feel and control they offer. Obviously, I am very pleased with my decision to switch to a more road-oriented tire and would recom-mend the PRT to anyone riding an “adventure bike” that doesn’t adventure any more.

Before heading to the rally this year, I faced the typi-cal tire dilemma. I had a set of Anakee 3’s with about 6 k on them. While that was more than enough to make it to the rally and back it was not enough to last the additional 6k+ miles I had planned after-wards. If I changed tires before I left, I would be giv-ing up almost 50% of the Anakee’s wear but if I did-n’t change before the rally, I wouldn’t have sufficient tire for my entire planned journey. My only reasona-ble option was to ride the Anakee’s to the rally and get new tires there. I choose door B and called NoMar to arrange for a set of Pilot Road Trail 5’s to be mounted at the rally. The deal was sweetened by a $65 rebate from Michelin. A little back round here as to why I choose the PRT5’s for my GS. After my 2017 trip to Alaska two things became apparent. I was too old to be riding a big Adventure bike off road and my bike was too tall for me to comfortably control (you get shorter as you get older, it’s called gravity). After shortening my Ohlin’s at the last rebuild I figured it was time to quit posing as an adventure rider and admit I was now almost exclusively on road rider now. Besides I had finally gotten to the point that I just wanted better on road handling than the Anakee could deliver. So far on this trip I have ridden several roads that demonstrated how competent the PRT was but non better than Bear Camp road in southern Oregon. Bear Camp road is about 60 miles long and runs from Merlin, Oregon thru the Wild Rogue Wilderness in the Siskiyou National Forest and alongside the Rogue river to the coast at Gold Beach, OR. I found it on the Butler G1 (paved roads) map for southern Ore-gon. It is referred to as a PMT, Paved Mountain Trail. This means that it may be narrow, rough and in some places unpaved. There were about a half dozen sections of hard packed gravel, but most were only 10-20 feet long with one about 100-foot section, nothing you couldn’t handle on street bike tires. The road is very rough in some areas with bumps and heaves but again nothing any street bike couldn’t do. The surface is a very coarse chip seal finish. The

The PRT meets the PMT A review of the Michelin Plot Road Trail 5 By Paul Mulhern


BMWMOA Rally Pics


How Tight Should Your Spark Plugs Be?

Denso – 1/4-1/2 turn on plugs with a gasket. 1/8 turn on plugs with a tapered Seat. E3 – For spark plugs with a gasket: 1/2 turn on 10mm plugs, 3/8-1/2 turn on 12mm plugs, 1/2-3/4 turn on 14mm plugs. 1/16 turn on plugs with a ta-pered Seat. NGK -1/2-2/3 turn on plugs with a gasket. 1/12-1/8 turn on plugs with a tapered Seat. PLEASE NOTE:

Torque recommendations are for spark plugs with new gaskets.

If using anti-seize compound, use sparingly and reduce torque by 30%. Each spark plug manufacturer has created their rec-ommendations based on the general consensus of most engine manufactures. In the case of a discrep-ancy between the plug manufacturer and engine man-ufacturers recommendations, always default to the engine manufacturer.

Article shamelessly taken from ADVRIDER (advrider.com)

@rtwpaul , 6/13/2019

The manufacturers of each brand have the answer – It is essential to tighten a spark plug to the specified turning angle or torque setting as torque directly im-pacts a spark plugs ability to remove heat from the combustion chamber. Over tightening can cause dam-age to the threads in the cylinder head and the threads of the spark plug, stress the spark plugs internal seal, or fracture the spark plugs Insulator. Under tighten-ing will prevent the spark plug from being properly seated on the cylinder head, resulting in insufficient contact with the head to transfer heat. Either of these would result in elevated combustion chamber temper-atures, followed by pre-ignition and detonation. Proper Tightening Procedure Clean the spark plug threads and ensure the cylinder head is clean of debris. Screw in the spark plug finger tight until the Gasket meets the cylinder head. Then tighten the plug as specified below: With a Torque Wrench: Please note there are slight variations in torque recom-mendations between spark plug manufacturers. To find the manufacturers recommended torque setting, please enter the spark plug number in the search box. While viewing the part detail page, click on the “specs” tab. If a recommendation has been made, it will appear under the “Specifications” heading. Without a Torque Wrench: If a torque wrench is unavailable, finger tighten the spark plug, then use a plug wrench to tighten. Autolite -For spark plugs with a gasket: 1/4 turn on 10mm plugs, 3/8 turn on 12mm plugs, 1/2 turn on 14mm and 18mm plugs. 1/16 turn on plugs with a tapered Seat. Bosch – 1/4 turn on plugs with a gasket. 1/16 turn on plugs with a tapered Seat. Champion – 3/8-5/8 turn on plugs with a gas-ket. 1/16 turn on plugs with a tapered Seat.

https://www.sparkplugs.com/learning-center/article/421/plug-torque-settings#42

https://advrider.com/author/rtwpaul/


Base Layer: Polypropylene Versus Merino Wool Which material do you prefer?

Negatives: - Can become saturated and lose some moisture wick-ing ability -Wears out faster than synthetics So which material is best for a base layer? For me, it’s polypropylene. When traveling on the bike, certain attributes are important to me. First, it has to be wash-able, dry quickly, and be durable. You’ve probably heard it before but you can wash your poly underwear and socks in a river/sink in the evening and have them be totally dry when you are ready to go the following morning. Merino wool takes somewhat longer because it is a natural fiber. If you sweat a lot, polypropylene keeps wicking. Me-rino wool can ultimately become saturated and at that point, it’s not doing its job well. Finally, it’s quite durable and that’s good if you are going on an extended trip and don’t want to worry about the material wearing out or losing its wicking ability. That’s not to say that merino wool can’t be a great base layer, but for moto related activities in hot or cold, polypropylene is the most efficient and easiest to maintain. There are manufacturers that make combination meri-no wool and polypropylene base layers. Whether they provide the best and/or the worst of both is debatable. What works best for you? Another article shamelessly taken from ADVRIDER (advrider.com) Mike /@Ride2ADV, 6/17/2019

When moto traveling for distance, there is one acces-sory you should seriously consider. Decide what you want to wear as a base layer. It doesn’t matter if it is going to be hot or cold. Either for the transfer of heat away from your body or retention of heat, a base layer will assist in efficient temperature control.

Base Layer Materials There are two major types of materials that handle this duty well. Both polypropylene and merino wool do their jobs very well. That’s not to say there are not any other good base layer materials, but polypropyl-ene and merino wool are the best that are widely available.

What’s The Difference? There’s a lot of discussion on which of the two mate-rials is best. It’s kind of like determining which oil is the best for your bike. But there are some knowns about each material that can help you make the best decision for you. Polypropylene Positives: -Arguably the best at wicking moisture -Quick drying -Durable, washable fabric does not wear out quickly -Comes in different weights for different activities Negatives -Can retain odor -Needs a snug fit to work best Merino Wool Positives:

A natural fiber that is not itchy

Washable and won’t shrink

Moderately durable

Doesn’t have to be snug to the body to wick

Comes in different weights for different activities Naturally odor resistant (not odor proof)


For Sale 2002 K1200RS converted to K1200GT with GT han-

dle bars and comfortable foot peg lowering

plates. Price reduced; $3,700. Recently serviced,

recent tires. Somewhat rare color. One of BMW's

best looking bikes ever in my opinion. Runs flawless-

ly. 130 HP, Electric motor smooth engine, ABS

Brakes, Heated Grips, Adjustable windshield, Elec-

tronic Cruise Control, BMW System cases (Luggage/

saddle bags) in excellent condition. A few scratches

that have been touched up that most folks never see.

Comfortable, quick (these bikes pull like a freight

train up to the red line), very low maintenance and

very durable bikes that are known to go 300,000+

miles.

I have done a few 800 mile days on this bike and was

very comfortable (and I'm 68 years old). Great sport

and touring machine.

Brian Collins 512-593-0732

2013 BMW K1600GTL with 10,518 miles is on sale at the moment at the Alamo BMW Dealership for $13,500, price negotiable. Michael Bowie 210-269-2144, [email protected]

I have for sale a Tourtech “Dri Ride Breathable Sad-dle” for 2006-2012 R1200GS/GSA. Also a Cee Baily tall windshield for same bikes. Bert Whitaker (210) 710 6038

FREE- Used women’s riding gear – First gear mesh-jacket, red/black sz WM; Roadgear jacket, Black/grey, jackets has venting and comes with thermal lin-er, sz small (probably men’s); Olympia women’s jacket, orange/yellow, sz M with liner ; two pairs women’s motorcycle boots, Daineese in sz 9 and Sidi in sz 7. Also have gloves, all in small. Call Paul at 210-279-6074, leave a message.

More on the next page


Bikes For Sale

FOR SALE 1972 BMW R75/5

Excellent Condition and ready to ride! $8,000

64018km (39,779 miles)

I bought this motorcycle in Germany from the first owner’s son. The frame and engine serial numbers match and the majority of the parts are original. The seat, tires, exhaust pipes, roundels, center stand and mirrors were replaced (parts bought at S. Meyer GmbH in Hillesheim, Germany). There are only a few minor dings and two small scratches on the tank. Krauser pannier frame was sandblasted and powder-coated black. I also added an LED license plate hold-er. *Speedometer is original and in kilometers. *Original tire pump under seat but does not work. Includes $900 worth of extras: Workshop Manual & Owners Manual (English) 2 Ignition keys 2 Front fork rubber boots (new) 3x Rubber boots/throttle assembly for two throttle ca-bles (new) 4x Rubber boots for clutch and brake cable (new) 2x Rubber/clutch switch in handlebar assembly 1x Rubber speedo cable in gearbox Krauser Pannier Set complete with locks (fits perfect on genuine BMW bag holder) Motorcycle cover Serious inquiries only! Call Matt at 850-625-0888


Steve & Helen have camping and cabins for rent & a web site - check it out at http://www.blancobeemerwerkes.com/cabin/index.html

http://www.blancobeemerwerkes.com/cabin/index.html


SA BMW RA P.O. Box 15143

San Antonio, TX 78212 WWW.SABMWRA.ORG

Club dues are $15 single,

$20 w/associate(s).

President Steve Henson

(512) 413-5662 [email protected]

Vice President Mary Putnam


Secretary

Bill Edwards (210) 410-9638

[email protected]

Treasurer Gerard Lobosco (210) 349-1039

[email protected]

Ridemeister Chuck Wetzel


Newsletter Editor Dave Hoover


The San Antonio BMW Riders Newsletter is published bi-monthly solely for the use of its members. Any copying and/or duplicating is acceptable provided it is not done for profit. Classified ads are free to members Please call or e-mail the ads to the editor. Advertising rates for businesses are: One year - 6 issues Business Card $ 50.00 Quarter Page $100.00 Half page $190.00 Full Page $350.00

Editor Notes

I hear everyone returned safely from the MOA Rally. Thanks to Paul Mulhern and Steve Henson for sending in some photos of their adventure. To get ready for summer riding, I decided to replace my year round riding jacket with one that would let in the air. For short runs and commuting to the office, this textile jacket is working just fine; however, as some club members have warned; in ex-change for the cooling effect of evaporating sweat, these type jackets will really dry you out on a long trip. Always be mind-ful of the threat of dehydration and carry and routinely drink enough water before you start feeling the symptoms of dehydra-tion. Enduring the heat in a wind proof jacket may be preferable to drying out too quickly. A reminder to all club members. There will be a club officers’ and members meeting on Saturday July 13, at 10:00AM at Ala-mo BMW One of the activities will be developing the activities calendar for the rest of the year. Please come and add you thoughts on places to visit, restaurants to try and rides to take. Be Safe.

Hank Arriazola 201 N Commerce, Dilley Texas 78017 (830) 963-1203 [email protected]

Steve Henson

In The Heart Of The Hill Country

(512)413-5662 [email protected]

Call For an Appointment

Blanco BeeMerWerkes

http://www.sabmwra.org/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

issue 224 march april 2019 three happy campers · less previously announced via e-mail. the ride...

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