East-West Brother's Garage Update

It has definitely been a long time since we last posted anything. With life generally catching up to both East Brother and myself, we lost touch with this blog and let it slowly wither away. Now that most of the country is in lock down due to COVID-19, there is definitely one thing that we all have much more of these days: time. Even though the automotive industry is at more or less of a standstill, there is still lots to report on, whether it's general industry news, or our own automotive adventures (that happened before California's shelter-in-place order).

When we last left you, we reported that we had parted ways with our 2016 Honda Accord Touring long term vehicle and some new changes were coming to our long term and personal garages. Since then, our long term fleet, which was technically empty when our last post went up, has seen the addition of a 2019 Infiniti QX50. We're definitely not big fans of any sort of CUV, but the decision was really out of our hand. Reviews for this vehicle were in the works prior to our leave of absence, but both East Brother and I struggled to find much good to say about the vehicle. With life happening, the reviews were shelved, but it still might be good to share some insight on this...fairly mediocre and somewhat overpriced re-badged Nissan.

Another addition, which is actually a personal addition to my own garage, comes in the form of a 2020 Honda Civic Si Sedan. This was actually a somewhat recent addition, purchased in December of 2019. My decision behind obtaining the Civic came because my S2000, which was being daily driven again after parting with the Accord, was starting to slowly lose its value as I inched closer and closer to 100,000 miles on the odometer. Also, maintenance on the vehicle was starting to become cumbersome, especially since I started doing much of the maintenance myself. I found myself having to replace some critical parts, which became longer than anticipated projects. Rather than running the risk of encountering a project that would take me multiple days to complete and being stuck without a vehicle, I decided to get a daily driver that would be fun and reliable while allowing me to take as much time as I needed to work on the S2000.

As for East Brother, his garage has not changed since we last posted. The Chevrolet Bolt and BMW K1200S are definitely still there. Will there be any changes in the near future? If there are, I'll let him write something up.

So that leaves the final question: are we officially back? Only time will tell. I may post sporadically throughout the next couple of months as time allows, but who knows? With the extreme uncertainty in our world right now, it's hard to say what's going to happen next...

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #8

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I have had to start over, in a sense, with the K1200S. My bike, before things went sideways, wore the BMW sport saddlebags and had the SW-Motech adapter installed for a top case. It also had a set of  auxiliary driving lights that have been useful on more than a few occasions. Now, I am in a position to need to re-install the bags, along with the components needed to hold the bags. Given that the opportunity has presented itself, I felt that this was the right time to add a Kaoko throttle lock, which has sat uninstalled in my garage now for a few months. The next time the bike goes into the shop, which may need to be soon, I will need to have a few additional items addressed as well.

Road trip: The Road to Paso

Sometimes, you just need a break from the drudgery of the day-to-day and do something a little different to recharge the batteries. I hit this point around the end of July this year and decided to treat myself to a couple of days away. The goal was to put in a full day of riding to clear my mind, ending in a destination where I could grab a good meal, have a drink or three, and then just relax and get a good night's sleep. With the goal of arriving at my destination by early evening, I scoured the map, trying to find a location that would provide the right mix of great riding, great food and drink, and relatively inexpensive accommodations. Thinking back to our trip to Monterey for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, I settled on the Central California winery town of Paso Robles. And to maximize the fun riding, I plotted my ride through Ojai and up through some windy roads of the central valley before heading back west towards the Pacific Coast, saving the more direct ride along the coastal route for my return trip.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #7

Update #7
Mileage: 30,010

When people say BMW's are expensive to maintain, they certainly aren't kidding. This pretty much applies to both their motorcycles as well as their cars. While it has been a while since I have had to experience the bad taste of paying for repairs to a BMW, I did have to get maintenance completed on my K1200S earlier this year and the price tag was several times more than I anticipated, largely because of a few unexpected items.

First, the bike needed basic maintenance. That meant an oil change, inspection, and general check-up on electronic components. Typically, this costs around $150-$200. On top of that, I knew that the front tire was looking a little thin on tread after only 6,500 miles so I was expecting to need to replace that pretty soon. The low mileage is likely due to my tendency to ride with the preload set very high in the rear, resulting in greater wear on the front tire. It makes the bike handle better, but the trade-off is that the greater loading on the front tends to wear that tire down. Since I decided to go ahead and replace that tire, that added another $200+ to the tab for the tire plus the installation labor.

Brand new Michelin Pilot Road 4
front tire on the K1200S

However, within an hour or so of dropping my bike off at the dealer, they called and informed me that the rear brakes were worn and needed to be replaced while the battery was showing low voltage and needed to be replaced. That battery, which I had replaced just a few years ago, was apparently already out of warranty when the dealership in MA sold it to me. That dealership has a reputation for less than ethical treatment of customers so I suppose I should not be surprised when the Yelp reviews prove to be right. As for the brakes, the combination of linked brakes on this bike, where grabbing the front brake level also applies one of the rear caliper pistons, as well as my tendency to use the rear brake to stabilize the rear-end while doing low-speed lanesplitting, is the likely cause of the increased brake wear. The brake job was going to be another $300 while the battery added around $100 to the final bill.

With taxes and the cost of the rental bike, the total came to just under $1,000. What I save on gas and time with this bike likely gets made up with the increased maintenance costs. Fortunately, my enjoyment of the bike outweighs all of the cost factors and a few of the costs I can reduce by simply making minor adjustments in my riding habits.

Road Trip: Two-up to GMR

I often take those few days before Thanksgiving off to recharge and this past year was no different. It having been a particularly busy year so I was excited to have a few days to go out and do something I had not done in a while. Since my wife was able to take the time off this year as well, we decided to take a morning and revisit one of my old haunts. Being fall, it was still quite cool in the morning and I knew from experience that the temps would get even colder up in the mountains, so we bundled up and headed out on the Beemer.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S Post #6

Update #6
Current mileage: 28,929

Oh the horror! After nearly 10k miles and over 3 years of ownership, I finally had my incident with the big Beemer. Of course, it would have occurred during a two-up ride with my wife, but luckily, it was a rather minor drop. What happened was that we were stopping at the intersection of Glendora Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road and I had ridden the bike onto a dirt embankment to try to turn it around. It was a bit steeper than I anticipated and misjudged the amount of clutch slip for the slow maneuver. Before I knew what happened, the weight of the bike had teetered dangerously far to the left and at what was basically a standstill, the Beemer tipped over onto its side like a wounded buffalo. Luckily, we both jumped off before the bike hit the ground, and the presence of the frame sliders meant there was basically zero damage, except to my ego. The only signs that something had happened was a slight bit of scuffing on the left frame slider and a bit of dirt trapped in the left side mirror housing.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #5

Fifth update
Current mileage: 26,833

Southern California's mild weather continues to cooperate and that means I have the chance to put more miles on the big Beemer. My only constraint, of late, has been that two-wheeled transport is not a great way to travel with four-legged companions, especially one that is rather precocious and weighs about 40 pounds. Still, whenever I can, I try to make use of the opportunities to go out and ride, having added another 1,000+ miles since the last update. Most of those miles are highway miles, traveling back and forth between various corners of LA County to run errands or attend events. In the last six months, I even had occasion to use the bike to attend a dressier event, which required a bit of pre-planning since trying to keep my shirt from looking too wrinkled and my hair from being too disastrous.

Much of the riding has been putting the Beemer to use as a workhorse, hauling our biweekly veggie haul from a local garden or gathering less common Asian frozen goods that elude me in Long Beach from grocery stores in other neighboring areas. The BMW continues to prove its versatility as it carries plenty without feeling unbalanced and without a significant impact on the handling or the fuel economy. In fact, the overall fuel economy is not significantly different from my Ninja 650R, which sported a motor that was half the size and produced less than half the power.

One thing that I admittedly enjoy is just how much attention the K1200S gets. In the tri-color pattern, it is an eye-catching combination and people seem to notice it on the street. On more than a few occasions, I have caught a passerby doing a double-take or a driver or passenger in a car staring as the bike goes by. The bike is not obnoxiously loud and does not garner the same kind of attention as our long-term Jaguar, but it has its own admirers.

Finally, there is something to be said for smart design. Access to so many basic repairs for the K1200S are designed to be extremely easy to do. A perfect example is replacing a burnt out headlight bulb. On my old bike, the Ninja 650R, it would have required dis-assembly of much of the instrument cluster to make the switch, as is the case with many of the bikes on the market. On the BMW, they smartly designed caps that twist off the back of the headlight and it is possible to replace the bulb with nothing more than your hands. This comes in handy when you blow a bulb in the early evening and need to make a fast swap. At least on this front, I appreciate that this bike was notably more expensive than many of its peers.

Road Trip: Ojai, CA

The idea was to take a vacation with my wife's family. We would head somewhere fun and enjoy a couple of days away from all of the craziness of LA, especially in the post Christmas shopping rush. Ideas were thrown around and various destinations proposed, but the one that stuck was to visit the small secluded mountainside town of Ojai, CA. Known for being a haven for Southern California travelers seeking a boutique tourism experience, the city that once dubbed itself "Shangri-la" would prove to be the perfect destination for this particular weekend away.

As the plans for the trip began to take shape, my desire to spend sometime with my K1200S, especially after seeing some of the roads that we would be driving through, got the better of me and I proposed that to make everyone more comfortable, I would ride while the rest of the family could take the car, allowing us all to travel without cramming five people into a car for the multi-hour drive.

Road Trip: Seeking a great burger in Western MA

Sometimes, I just get a craving for a great burger. It might just stem from growing up in Southern California and having regular access to In'N'Out or it might just be that most burger places I had come across in New England were pretty mediocre at best. Whatever the reason, this particular weekend, I had a craving. Digging through my list of highly recommended places, I spotted one that looked like it would fit the bill - local owned burger place specializing in grass-fed beef on house-made buns with a great selection of options to go on top. Best of all, it was located out in Western Massachusetts, which would mean the opportunity to explore some great roads on the Beemer. Not even 20 minutes later, I was geared up and headed out to start my quest.

Road Trip: Fort Revere and the Tiny Town of Hull

The night before, the weather had been promising. All signs pointed to only a slight chance of rain and only in isolated patches. I made up my mind to go for a ride and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, the ground harbored small, but shrinking puddles. I took that as a sign that whatever rain was going to happen had already passed, although the sky was gray and thick with clouds. Throwing on my gear and grabbing my pack for the day, I confidently stepped outside to prep my motorcycle and brought it alongside the house as I finished putting on my helmet and gloves. The moment my visor came down, the first corpulent drop of rain splatters itself all over my field of view. Crap!

Riding in the rain is never much fun. The slicker road conditions mean not only less lean angle and more tire slip, but also crazier drivers who seem to have no clue how to deal with the slightly wet conditions. Add to that the possibility of ending up soaked from being exposed to the elements and you might start to see how the enjoyment can be sucked out almost entirely. Still, on this particular day, traffic was light and it was early enough in the day that I figured things would still be pretty calm by the time I returned. With those thoughts barely having time to fully register, I pressed on to the coastal town of Hull in Massachusetts where the remnants of Fort Revere sit, slowly being worn away by visitors and the ceaseless beating of Mass weather.

Road Trip: Cape Cod Whale Watching

Whales are among the most majestic creatures that one can encounter in the wild. The opportunity to go and visit with them up close is something everyone should take the opportunity to do at least once in their lifetime. My opportunity came during a breezy day during the middle of summer here in New England.

The morning was dry and sunny, a rarity during Boston's summers, which are known for being hot, muggy, and fairly unpleasant. My wife and I had made the decision the night before that we would be taking the motorcycle down, intending to stop and grab some brunch along the way before arriving in Barnstable to board our boat. However, a confluence of factors delayed our departure and the unanticipated crush of traffic as we neared the Cape created further delay. By the time we had arrived at our brunch destination, they had shut down brunch service and would be not seating for lunch for another hour. Hungry and a little worn down from the heat, we quickly searched for options near the harbor where we would be boarding our whale watch boat and hopped back on the bike to try to make up for lost time.

Now that we were out of the heaviest traffic trying to get to the Cape, I had a chance to actually enjoy the windy roads that connect many of the little town along the north shore of Cape Cod. The narrow highway was lined on both sides with large trees that provided a much needed respite from the suns rays that had been beating down upon us on the way down from Boston. The road itself is smooth and well maintained, making this section of the ride the most enjoyable, yet. Unfortunately, it was all too short as we quickly arrived in Barnstable and found ourselves tromping through a gravel lot, the big Beemer perched somewhat precariously on its side stand. Stopping in for a quick lunch at the little seafood shack adjacent to the parking lot, we grabbed our stuff and hopped on the boat.

Product Review: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Sport-Touring Tires

Getting new tires for a motorcycle can be a bit nerve racking. Trying to figure out the best tire that fits my riding needs, but also satisfies my pocketbook and lasts long enough that this is not becoming an annual or semi-annual affair can be challenging. Add to that the fact that motorcycle tire technology seems to be constantly changing and the need to take it easy for a couple hundred miles while the new tires get scrubbed in just adds to my anxiety. So you can imagine that when my annual state safety inspection pointed out that the Metzler's that were on my BMW were on their last legs, I was not exactly a happy camper.

Luckily, the folks at MAX BMW in NH came to my rescue. The Metzler Sportec M3s that were on my bike when I purchased it had served me well, but were not suited to my riding style, which is heavily focused on lots of long distances along back roads and not necessarily all out grip. If anything, the Metzlers provided too much grip and did not allow me to enjoy the control of the bike as much as I would have liked. When I finally took the BMW in to be serviced, I asked for a recommendation from the team at MAX and they suggested switching to the Michelin Pilot Road 3.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #3

Third update
Current Mileage: 24,075

After one of the longest winters I have ever experienced, it was nice to finally get the bike out again and enjoy the burgeoning warmth of a New England spring. Since the big Beemer had gotten a full service right before it was put away for winter, I just needed to take the battery off the tender and hook everything back up. Without any hesitation, the bike fired up and settled into a smooth idle. Relatively fresh Michelin tires meant that the first rides this season were very tentative, especially given how much dirt and debris littered the roads.

This spring has also been unusually wet, with regular thunderstorms and even the odd snow flurry well into late March and early April. That meant several of my spring rides resulted in my getting caught in seriously sudden downpours. Still, in full gear from head-to-toe, the water stays outside, I stay dry, and the bike gets a much needed bath. The full fairings do an excellent job keeping me from getting drenched in the first place and channel away most of the wind and water, making even the worst storm tolerable. However, all that extra precipitation has resulted in an unusually prodigious spring, causing everything to be coated in a layer of fine green pollen.

Still, despite all of this, the bike has been flawless, not even so much as a hiccup.

This year, my wife and I started collecting our food scraps for composting, a decision we made because we were cooking at home a lot more, generating a ton of compostable waste that just felt like it could be put to better use than be thrown in the trash. One of my criteria was that I wanted the bin that we used to collect and store the food scraps to be able to fit in the top case for the Beemer, allowing me to take the bike to our local compost drop-off point. It just goes to show that with a little thinking ahead, motorcycles can be incredibly utilitarian, despite their reputation for being totally impractical.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #2

Second update
Current miles: 23,065

With just over 23,000 miles, the K1200S has been nearly flawless. The power is still utterly intoxicating, offering speed on demand anytime I want it. The versatility is amazing, as I have used the big Beemer for everything from canyon carving in the mountains of New Hampshire to picking up groceries from at the Chinese grocery store in Downtown Boston to day tripping down to Cape Cod for whale watching. In every situation, the bike proves that it is capable of everything I have to throw at it and I continue to explore the limits of its usability. As I ride pretty much year-round, it has experienced temperatures ranging from well down into the low 30s all the way up to well into the high 90s. No matter what the temperature, the bike is comfortable and offers a sense of stability and security that my much smaller Kawasaki Ninja 650R was unable to provide.

Of course, as with any high performance vehicle purchased pre-owned, it has not been entirely without issue. Last fall, the battery started to struggle to provide sufficient amperage to overcome the resistance in the wiring, leading to challenges starting the bike when the engine was hot. That created a few embarrassing moments at gas stops when I had to push start the bike in order to get it going and on more than one occasion, had to jump-start it to get it running. Luckily, a swap of the battery from the older and less efficient lead-acid variety to the new
AGM model used on current BMW motorcycles more than cured the issue. I have also taken to pulling the battery and storing it on a trickle charger anytime I expect to be unable to use the bike at least once every 2 weeks. The battery issue also created a minor problem with the electronically adjustable suspension, causing the damping setting to get stuck. Luckily, it was stuck in SPORT mode so I was still able to really enjoy the ride, though I do admit that I missed the other damping options on some of the longer trips.

In July, when I had the bike's inspection brought up to date, the mechanic doing the inspection notified me of a few items that needed to be addressed in the near future if the bike was to remain safe on the road. This is what prompted my detour to MAX BMW during the Kancamagus Highway trip. While I did not get the service performed that day, I did collect enough information to feel confident that these were the guys I wanted to use when it came time to have the service done.

Road Trip: The Kancamagus and Sawyer Highways

The morning was cool, water droplets still littered the lawn and the previous night's rain had yet to fully evaporate, leaving the pavement slightly damp to the touch. Nonetheless, I grabbed my gear and mounted up, the K1200S purring along smoothly as I hit the highway, headed towards NH. As I rode, the temperatures began to rise and the roads had dried off, allowing me to open up the big Beemer's motor and really stretch its legs. Settling into a rhythm, music playing through the speakers in my helmet, I cleared my mind as the lane markers flashed by beneath me.

With one slightly extended detour to check out MAX BMW while I was in the area, I arrived in the tiny hamlet of Conway, NH right around noon. The holiday on Thursday meant a lot of people had taken this Friday off and the roads were crowded with all manners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Not having taken that into consideration when I left home that morning, both the bike and I were running on fumes by the time I pulled into town. Luckily, the main stretch in Conway offered both a place to grab some gas for the bike and some refreshments for me. Getting out of the mid-day heat, I camped out at the Sweet Maple Cafe for a bit to have lunch and do some work on the laptop I had been lugging around with me all morning.

The bike fully fueled, my bloodstream coursing with caffeine, I stepped out into the hot afternoon sun and saddled up for an afternoon playing in the mountains of central New Hampshire.

Halloween: Our Favorite Frights of 2013

Another year, another Halloween, the one day a year, when it becomes appropriate to dress all in black and creep out your neighbors. To honor this most frightening of days, we thought we would take a look back at some of the scary moments we have encountered behind the wheel or in the saddle during the course of this year. Some of these were genuinely scary moments where genuine unease washed over us, while others were merely close calls.

In August, East Brother shared with us his trip to several haunted sites in the city of Waltham, MA. Joining him in the saddle of the K1200S, we toured the creepy remnants of several mental institutions as well as the grounds of a school and residential facility that is still actively serving residents, but is the site of one of the most haunted places in the Boston area. Just the thought of trekking back to the Fernald School is a chilling prospect.

Our modern cars are also so filled with computers and electronic nannies that the modern automobile can now be easily hacked and taken over. Everything from opening car doors to forcing the car to drive anywhere but where the driver wants is entirely possible. Can you imagine driving along the road when suddenly your doors lock and the steering wheel seems to take on a mind of its own? It is like a ghost has taken over your car. Scary thought, is it not?

There were innumerable close calls, including run-ins with total lunatics perpetrating road rage like nobody's business, near misses with wildlife while biking (damn those squirrels are crafty), and, of course, the death of common sense behind the wheel. Getting on any form of two-wheeled transportation was sometimes frightening enough on its own, with drivers today seemingly completely oblivious to their surroundings and hell bent on doing anything behind the wheel except drive.

On a final note we just want to remind everyone to be safe, be courteous, and to never drink and drive.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Road Trip: The haunts of Salem, MA

Massachusetts is one of the oldest states in the US and has a tremendous amount of history contained within it. Some of that history dates back to the colonial era, with many Revolutionary War battlefields and monuments to visit, making it a great place to go sightseeing on a motorcycle. But of course, not all of that history is quite so illustrious. Salem, MA is a town that has a dark history associated with the infamous Salem witch trials. These proceedings, which often were done out of fear of the unknown, rather than a desire for justice, brought many lives to premature ends. It is believed that the souls of these individuals who met an early death may still haunt several sites around the city. With such a rich history, I could not resist the urge to hop on the K1200S and tour around this most notorious of Massachusetts towns.

Road Trip: Haunted Waltham, MA

Imagine a sterile hallway, painted a soothing shade of off-white to calm the frayed nerves of the patients locked behind metal doors. The eerie sounds of whimpering, crying, laughing, and talking, dampened by the steel, glass, and concrete, permeate the hallways. Down at the other end of the hall, a pair of double doors swings open and a pair of hulking orderlies escort a young patient, eyes glued to the floor, towards his windowless room. The reflection off the polished floor of the hallway shows the young man's dead eyes, limpid inky pools, like staring into a singularity.

These are the images that came to mind as I read about the Metropolitan State Hospital, one of the many supposedly haunted places within the town of Waltham in Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. As someone who has always been intrigued by the occult, digging through a variety of sites to locate some background on the exact locations of the various haunted places in this small suburban community tickled my sense of adventure. I was stunned to find so many potentially haunted places crowded into a single stretch of one single road, each location with its own rather sordid history. Out of sheer curiosity, and perhaps a bit of thrill seeking, I decided to take a morning ride to visit a few of these sites.

Long Term Test: 2007 BMW K1200S post #1

Update: Click here to read post #2.

I have been riding for a few years now, having gotten my start with an easy to ride and manageable Kawasaki Ninja 650R. That bike served me well, having taken me on numerous trips, daily commutes, and fun rides around the DC area. However, one of the things that it never did all that well is provide pillion accommodations for a long ride. Learning to ride, I had always wanted to have my wife ride with me so that we could share some memories together. Knowing that I would only be able to keep one bike, I began looking at various sport-touring options that would provide more comfortable pillion accommodations but still offer plenty of fun and sport for my solo rides, which would probably still make up the bulk of my riding. Additionally, I wanted something that would be able to mount a fair amount of luggage for longer trips while requiring minimal maintenance between services.

To satisfy these criteria, I began my search looking at mainly larger bikes specifically designed for sport touring and carrying luggage. The bikes were all shaft-driven, longer wheelbase, and weighing anywhere from 450 to 590 lbs. All had lockable luggage options from the factory and could accommodate a top box with minimal modification or additional parts. Ideally, the bikes should also have some cold weather equipment included from the factory, such as heated hand grips or heated seats. Most importantly, the bike should still be fun to ride. The bikes that quickly found their way to the top of my dossier included at least one new bike, the Honda VFR1200 that was being discounted heavily at the time, as well as several used bikes, including the Kawasaki Concours and Yamaha FJR. What did not originally make my original list was the BMW K1200S.

Editorial: Why I Ride

The Ninja 650R, my first motorcycle decked out for touring.

Living life on two-wheels is oft considered a perilous venture. More than a few close friends and relatives have questioned my decision to ride a motorcycle, but from an early age, I knew that this was something that I wanted to do. To have the opportunity to experience the world in such an up close and intimate manner, unadulterated by the filter of glass, steel, and plastic of a car. The freedom and exposure that make a motorcycle so dangerous, are also the very traits that make the experience appeal to me so much.