JOURNAL - BMW Club Archives

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The BMW Club

JOURNALApril 2006

2 BMW Club Journal • April 2006

3BMW Club Journal • April 2006

The Journal

The Official BMW Clubwithin the UK andRepublic of Ireland

www.bmwclub.org.uk

April 2006

General Enquiries: 0800 0854045FREEPOST THE BMW CLUB

The BMW Club is the Trading name of The B.M.W.Motorcycle Club Ltd Registered in England, Registrationnumber 4261129 whose Registered Office: Charter Court,Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 5GE

This months cover photo :

All Rights Reserved

DISCLAIMERThe BMW Club Journal accepts for publication articles andletters written in good faith; however, the views expressedin articles and letters which are published are notnecessarily those of the editor of the Journal or those ofthe BMW Club or its officers or members.The information, including advice and suggestedmodifications published in the The BMW Club Journal hasnot been approved, tested or otherwise checked by TheBMW Club Journal or the BMW Club. Before acting oninformation, advice or suggested modifications publishedin The BMW Club Journal you should always obtain technicaladvice, and if appropriate have a professional motor-cycleengineer carry out the work for you.The BMW Club Journal and the BMW Club cannot acceptliability for any loss, damage or claims occurring as aresult of any modifications or work or other action carriedout on the advice or based on the suggestions given in anyarticle or letter published in The BMW Club Journal and(save for death or personal injury arising from The BMWClub Journal’s negligence) all such liability is herebyexcluded.The BMW Club Journal is published for and on behalf ofthe B.M.W. Motorcycle Club Ltd.The BMW Motorcycle Club Ltd, the BMW Club Journal, It’sEditor and Officers accept no liability in respect of loss ordamage occasioned directly or indirectly as a result of thepublication of any advertisement in The BMW Club Journal

CONTENTSEditorial Freewheeling.............................. 4

National and Section Officers............... 6

President’s Platform......................... 7

Torque Reaction ............................ 8

Where We Meet........................... 64

Section News............................. 65

Social and Register Secretaries........ 65

Mutual Aid...................................... 75

Featured this month :

Adjusting a Boxer Clutch ............... 23Iceland - off the beaten track ................ 29Travels in Ukraine ............................. 32Cranedale 2005 .................................. 37German Jottings ................................. 47NCM February 2006 Report ................. 48Ultimate Jacket test ........................... 50Spike Speaks : ......................... 52Its A Dog’s Life ( part 2 of 3 ) ............. 55

For problems regarding distribution of the Jour-nal please first contact your Section Secretary.Should there still be a problem then contact themembership secretary. Their details are listed onpage 6.

HONORARY EDITORIAL TEAMPlease send all letters to Paul Nadin,Mutual Aid to Owen Vaughan, features toDave Bertram. All other correspondenceor queries should be sent to the Editor.EDITOR: CHRIS FLEMING, 58 Janes Lane, Bur-gess Hill, West Sussex. RH15 0QR. Tel/Fax:01444 245367. e-mail: [email protected] NEWS & ‘COMPASS’: Please send tothe Editor at present.FEATURES EDITOR : DAVE BERTRAM “Kimber-ley”, 4 Southcrest, West Hunsbury, Northamp-ton, NN4 9UD. Tel/fax 01604 479749. e-mail:[email protected] MANAGER : ROB PEARCE 16Forestfield, Horsham, RH13 6DZ. Tel/fax 01403754912 e-mail [email protected] REACTION: PAUL NADIN, 49, Berk-shire Drive, Congleton, Cheshire. CW12 1SB.e-mail: [email protected] AID & SMALL BUSINESS ADS: OWENVAUGHAN, 16 South Meadows, Pembroke,Pembs. SA71 4EW. Tel 01646 683188. e-mail:[email protected] OF EVENTS: GORDON CATCHPOLE,Avenida de las Especias 58, Pinar deCampoverde, 03190 Pilar de la Horadada,Alicante, Spain. Tel/fax: (0034) 966762893. e-mail: [email protected] ADS: DAVE ENSOR 4 High Silver,Loughton, Essex, IG10 4EL Tel/Fax 020 85083906 [email protected] OFFICER: MIKE FISHWICK, Sirgon,24250 Daglan, France. e-mail:[email protected],000 MILE AWARDS: BOB HARRISON, 251Preston Road, Coppull. PR7 5DS. Tel: 01257793209 e-mail:[email protected]

BMW’s Hafren Jonty demonstrates how toget good tyre life from an HP2. Not sure aboutthe suspension’s lifespan, though ...


EditorialFreewheeling

As this is the April Edition, no doubt our loyalreader – I met him once, nice chap - is lookingfor the spoofs. The following is perfectlyserious, so please try not to snigger too much… The Editor has come over all un-necessaryand has purchased a ’91 K75RT which willbe used for all-round commuting dutiesbetween Burgess Hill and London thissummer. As the phrase has it, its“mechanically sound but cosmeticallychallenged” – i.e. it starts, stops and steersok but needs a fair amount of tidying andupgrading. The reason for the choice ispurely economic and partly down toexperience – have you SEEN the cost of usingpublic transport to get anywhere within theM25 these days ? Economics : I can buy, runand eventually sell the K at the end of theyear/job and end up spending less than halfof the cost it would have been to use the train,bus and tube. Experience : I like the K-seriesand the triple is widely acknowledged to bethe “best in breed” – even allowing for itsABS-1 complexities its still a DIY servicingprospect ( me ? Let loose with dangerousthings like spanners and screwdrivers ?? Areyou SURE this isn’t an April Fool ??? ) so allin all, it’s the bike for me for the job.

That said, it’s in need of refurbishment.As you know my K1200LT is a Pandora’s boxof goodies festooned with just about everygadget known to man, all of which I have cometo love deeply. The K75RT is, comparativelyspeaking, naked – some would say muchthe better for it, too. However, its dawned onme that the K75RT’s refurbishment to near-LT specification could form a regular seriesof “how-to” articles in the Journal this year.Consequently in association with many of ourregular advertisers I have lined up aprogramme of sorts to transform the K andwho’s progress will be featured in the monthsahead : things like fitting auxiliary instrumentsand power outlet sockets, a stereo radio andAutocom system, an HID low beam

headlamp conversion, a higher-outputalternator to cope with all the lovely toys,general servicing and a spline lube. Andmaybe even a respray. And to those who knowme well, no, I won’t be doing anythingcomplicated all by myself – BMW-trained andexpert assistance, both mechanical and veryprobably medical, will be availablethroughout.

The Editor’s project this year ...

Gadgets

Following on here, Nippy Norman hasrecently extended the range of gadgets hecan supply - e.g. a DIN power socket for yourbike so you can plug in a GPS, phone, SatNav, intercom, heated clothing or many otheritems which offer real benefits when riding amotorcycle. Also the socket can be used forcharging/monitoring purposes if an Optimateis used. The kits can be fitted to any bike,come with full instructions and include an in-line fuse. The sockets also have a hingeddoor to keep the weather out when not in use.Prices start at just £8. Another potentiallyuseful gadget that caught my eye was abattery charger for bikes fitted with the(in)famous Can-Bus system, priced at £64www.nippynormans.com or 01628 830458

Membership DDM mandates

If you are not on the club DDM database youshould find a DDM application form includedwith this Journal. So far we haveapproximately 27% of the club membership


on the DDM database and I am wishing toincrease this number. The use of Direct DebitMandates or instructions enables the club toalmost automatically update your renewalevery year, thus making sure that you don’tforget your renewal and miss that Journal.

Keith Wills the DDM Administratorworks all year on updating the Database andadding more members to his l ist. Allmembers on DDM save the membershipprocessors from a lot of work as the DDMdatabase can be run through the system in avery short while. The National Database isthen just merged with the DDM database andthat’s it for another year.

So if you aren’t on the databaseplease consider it now and use the DDMapplication that has been posted to you alongwith this Journal. Help us, the MembershipProcessors, to help you by decreasing ourwork. Please return the DDM application toKeith Wills, whose address is on theapplication.

Dick Boyd.National Membership [email protected]

Helen Tapp

After a long hard struggle Helen Tapp finallylost her battle with cancer. A few weeksbefore Christmas 2005 both Helen andDavid were able to fly out to Australia forwhat turned out to be a farewell reunion

with her children.Helen was the long term partner of Dave

Fox-Spencer, and also a BMW ClubMember for many years. Helen's

commitment to David and her family wastotal. Amongst many of her contributions to

the Southwest section, Helen supportedDave and the team organising the LastNational Rally held at St. Audries Bay,

recorded and prepared the minutes of ourcommittee meetings and made regular

appearances at section events, what everthe weather. Never one to seek the

limelight, Helen was always there to help.We wish David well for his future life in

Australia.As an alternative to flowers, Helen's chosencharity was The Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Anyone wishing to make a contributionshould send them a donation.

If you’re not sure yet whether to make thetrip to the AGM this year please read on!BMW Motorrad have promised to have 2 of thenewest models on site for us to see. BMW DealersBlue Bell are expected to be there with helmets,clothing and other goodies. Motorworks will be onsite with nearly every item from their cataloguediscounted if ordered on the day as well as otherspecial offers just for the day, and if they haven’tgot it with them they will post it out at reducedpostage cost. Les Madge will be there with his topquality travel & camping gear. We also hope tohave the latest gear from both Autocom & Starcomfor you to see & buy.

Still not persuaded?

On Saturday morning there will be a free buffet.There will be two excellent raffles during theday. If you’ve entered you could win one of theprizes (value £150) in the photo competition. SeePage 9 of the March Journal. For only £16.00you will get a full dinner on the Saturday eveningwith entertainment and a talk & slides from SamManicom, and maybe 1 or 2 other surprisesthrown in. Book your dinner with Bill Smithson -details on the inside back cover of this Journal

Fancy coming with your partner, but theydon’t want to sit through the meeting?No problem : We are expecting to run a free busto Southport with it’s excellent shopping andeating facilities.So you want to make a full weekend of it?Why not join the Northern Section at theirexcellent meet in the beautiful Lancashire villageof Chipping on the Sunday, and / or take in theClassic motorcycle sprints at Hoghton Toweronly 8 miles from Chorley.Want to stay?Try for a room at the venue Tel:01257 225225(£25.00 pppn in ensuite rooms including fullEnglish breakfast) - and there is no supplementfor a single room, but if they are full, then whynot book at the Chorley South Premier Travel Innjust 10 minutes walk away - Tel: 0870 990 6604.Their rates are normally £47.00 per room pernight. However if you are staying for Friday &Saturday, mention The BMW Club and you shouldget your Friday night room rate reduced to£30.00.

I look forward to meeting you on the 8thApril! Tony CartmellSee http://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/northern/national_agm.htm for further details.


National Officers & Section Secretaries

DELEGATES to other ORGANISATIONSBMF: TONY CARTMELL, DEREK JOHNSON, JEFFDYMOND, RICHARD POWELL and PETER MAPES

BMW Club Europa: PETER DUNNFBHVC: M McNAIRDVLA: BRIAN PRICE

HONORARY NATIONAL OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: TONY MOORES, 54 Lingmoor DriveManor Park, Burnley, BB12 8UY. Tel/Fax: 01282421628. e-mail: [email protected]

SECRETARY:STEVE SHEPLEY, Tulloch MorTullynessle Aberdeenshire AB33 8DD Tel 01975564199 e-mail: [email protected]

TREASURER: DEREK JOHNSON, 32 Eason Drive,Radley Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3YD Tel:01235 532622. Fax: 01235 539689

ASSISTANT TREASURER: BOB BARKER, 88Browns Bay Road. Islandmagee, Larne BT40 3RXPhone 028 9338 2558Mobile 07770 746627eMail [email protected]

SOCIAL SECRETARY: GARTH FORBES, 9Conyngham Road, Northampton, NN3 9TA. e-mail:[email protected]

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: DICK BOYD, StewartPlace, Garmouth IV32 7LX. Tel: 01343 870389,Fax: 01343 870591. e-mail:[email protected]

POST/5 TOOL HIRE SECRETARY: MIKEDELACOE, 4 Charwelton Road, Preston Capes,Daventry. NN11 3TA. 01327 [email protected]

PRE/5 TOOL HIRE SEC: PETER DUNN, 101Sta-tion Road, Thatcham, Berks.RG19 4QH Tel: 07941075165. e-mail: [email protected]

REGALIA SECRETARY: JEAN COX, 22Combermere, Thornbury, Bristol. BS35 2ET. 01454415358. e-mail: [email protected]

VINTAGE & CLASSIC REGISTER SECRETARY:MALCOLM McNAIR, 27 Syon Gardens, NewportPagnell, Bucks, MK16 0JU Tel: 01908 216623 e-mail: [email protected]

SPORTING REGISTER SECRETARY: ROBERTBENSLEY, Oak Tree Farm, Heath Road, BanhamNR16 2HS. Tel: 01953 888415 (+fax) e-mail:[email protected]

SIDECAR REGISTER SECRETARY: VACANT

ASS. SEC. FOR AMERICA: BRUCE PRESTON

WEBMASTER: GREG SMITH, e-mail:[email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENTS: BRUCE PRESTON, 0208 9791555 e-mail: [email protected].

TONY CARTMELL, 28 Houseman Place, Black-pool. FY4 5AE Tel: 01253 768421. Email:[email protected]

HONORARY SECTION SECRETARIESEast Anglia: CLIFF BATLEY, 46 Nemans Rd., Sudbury,Suffolk, CO10 1UA. Tel: 01787 378064 e-mail:[email protected]: JAMES CONNOLLY, Landenstown, Sallins, Kildare,Ireland. Tel: 0035345868638. e-mail:[email protected]: NICK FRY, 4 Newbury Close, ChancellorsRoad, Stevenage, Herts. SG1 4TE. Tel: 01438 749 913.e-mail: [email protected]: RAY SMITH, 1,Parsons Close, Church Gresley,Derbyshire. DE11 9NQ. Tel: 01283 551915. e-mail:[email protected]: ROB HARVEY, 33 Rochester Court, Bourne,Lincs PE10 9EW Tel: 01778 393187North East: ANN WRAY, Hoge Veluwe, 19 GreenhillsByers Green, Spennymoor, Co. Durham. DL16 7QJ.Tel: 01388 605764 e-mail: [email protected]: BERNARD J. TAGG, 349 Tag Lane, Ingol,Preston. PR2.3XA. Tel: 01772.466205 Email:[email protected]: TIM READ, 15 The Limes, South Cerney,Cirencester, Glos. GL7 5RF. Tel. 01285 869 320. [email protected]: JASON GOODWILL, 3 Upper Burnside Court,Thurso, Caithness. KW14 7XT. Tel: 01847893935.e-mail: [email protected] East: BRIAN SHEARS, 100 Park Avenue,Northfleet DA11 8DL. Tel. & Fax: 01474 566142. e-mail:[email protected]: GREG SMITH, 2 Claudius Gardens, ChandlersFord, Hants. SO53 2NY. 02380 251146. e-mail:[email protected] West: LESLIE MADGE Glenthorne, Yeoford RoadCheriton Bishop Exeter Devon EX6 6JA Tel 0164724523 e-Mail [email protected]: BOB BARKER, 88 Browns Bay Rd., Islandmagee,Larne, Co., Antrim. BT40 3RX. Tel: 02890 777490. e-mail: [email protected]: RON ELMSLIE, 8 Cleeve Lawns, Downend,Bristol. BS16 6HJ. Tel no: 0117 9569209 e-mail:[email protected]: DAVID MILNE 132 Sandgate Drive, Kippax,Leeds LS25 7QR Tel: 0113 2860604HQ Register: TONY PAINTER, 101 Gillards, BishopsHull, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 5HJ. Tel: 01823253897.Fax: 08700514267. e-mail: [email protected]

Please restrict any calls or enquiries to these Club officials to between the hours of10 am and 10 pm, and let the Editor know if any of these details need amendment


President’s PlatformBMWs are Cool! It’s official according to thatbenchmark of opinion in the biker’s worldMotor Cycle News. Motorrad boss HerbertDiess and the team heading developmentand PR in Munich have in a few yearssucceeded in altering the product base andimage of the company dramatically. Theresulting increase in sales has justifiedstrategies and the ongoing launch of theF800s resulted in another banner headline‘Cheap as Chips’ when promoting theunparalleled price of the parallel twins. Sixgrand for a 80bhp lightweight twin that hassurprised the competition and will no doubthave a detrimental effect on the their sales.

The raw HP2 now has theoption of ‘street wheels’ and morenew models are in the pipeline.Don’t be surprised if these includebikes with smaller boxer engines!

The Power Cup raceseries held last year seems notto have produced the PR requiredand photos of a 200bhp three-cylinder chain driven GP style bikehave once again fuelled thoughtsof BMW returning to the racingscene. With the experience andtechnology of F1 behind them I’msure that the know-how is thereshould they commit to the cause.

The club has always tried to cater forall aspects of biking, and for the ‘sporty’ typesby running track days, which have alwaysbeen well supported. Social Sec Garth Forbeshas enjoyed organising these events butenjoyed far more riding his faithful G- - - -around both UK and continental circuits.Sporting Sec Bob Bensley can usually beseen (if you’re quick) impressing all with hisfast and smooth riding style on his not toopolished 1150RS, and with the true sportsbikes now available the need for these eventsis growing. This led to a member phoningme recently who had thoroughly enjoyed hisfirst club track day and volunteered to helporganise more meetings! For those

interested the car club have invited us toCadwell on May 10th and our own event willbe at Mallory on July 25th. (Contact Garth orRob).

We now have a new ads manager;previous London Section Secretary (and trackday enthusiast) Dave Ensor has been ‘re-cycled’ and will handle the business, andRob Pearce has now returned to marketingman. Plans made during a Media Meetinglast year are progressing and business andbike related contacts will increasingly featureon the club web site. A range of newmerchandise, with the opportunity topurchase on-line will also be progressed.

The January NCM became a seven-hour meeting party due to late agenda itemsand lengthy considerations. Although allmatters were addressed some weredeferred and the need to tidy up our workingpractices were highlighted. I intend

addressing and resolvingthese issues during the JuneNCM. Following usualpractice a précis of themeeting is published in thefirst journal that copy datesallow for, and that’s this one.

The AGM is the nextofficial national event andsurprisingly few agendaitems have been forwardedfor discussion. (Experiencetells me that this is unlikelyto result in a short, concisemeeting). For the first time in

my recollection only one nomination has beenreceived for the annual club awards and thisis for the youngest club participant at the ’05FIM Rally. The whippersnapper in line for theaward was born in 1954! If you think you’re inwith a future chance, this year’s FIM Rally willbe held in Berlin.

Looking at the ‘Diary Of Events’ and‘Around The Compass’ in the journal theexcuses (if any were needed) to ride your bikeduring the year seem endless, many seemto include food and from Clay Pigeon shootsto Pioneer runs they’re all there … enjoy them.

Safe riding Tony Moores.


TorqueReaction

May 7th is the deadline forthe June 2006 Journal.Send letters or e-mails toPaul Nadin, his details areon page 3.

Lack of Attendance

There have been a lot of letters regardinglow turn out for club events. I would like togive my view as a new member who has notyet attended any events.

I joined last year when I took deliveryof a new K1200 S. Previously I have ownedzx9r, fireblade, etc. I am an active member ofthe V4RC, which started as a VFR club but isnow a riders club. We run ride outs, weekendrallies and trips abroad. We try to offercamping as an option on events but mostpeople (my Wife included) prefer GuestHouses.

When on a run we operate the Markersystem where the Leader and Tail end guyare constant, the others can overtake if theywish. I would not attend Rallies if we had tocamp, and a run where overtaking isdiscouraged is a procession as far as I amconcerned and I would rather stay at homeand watch the television.

I do intend to renew and I will turn upat a run to see what happens.

Peter Wilson

A Whinge about Mr. Greenwood

In response to Andrew Greenwood’s letter inthe February Journal I can but say he appearsto be either somewhat jealous of people whoactually buy new BMs or perhaps an avidbeliever in the old ‘labour’ idea of gatheringeverybody‘s possessions together and thenshare them out.

In reality, if he paid for any item be itBMW or a box of matches, he should get whathe has paid for and I would expect any newmachine to include more than one key andhave a few tools as well, although I am notsure what you could use them for on a newmachine. Certainly when I have done

something wrong during work I expect to bebrought to task over it and thus when I buyanything I expect to get what I have paid myhard earned cash for and if I don’t then Icomplain If this is whinging then I am one ofthe worst.

Whether or not the cost of a bike couldfeed a number of people in another nation istotally irrelevant. You seem to suffer from themost common complaint there is now, yousend off an E-mail without bothering toengage the lone brain cell. You certainly donot know whether people spend all of theirmoney on their bike, whether or not theycontribute to charities etc.

Your attitude is summed up by yourreference to going onto e-bay to get a life.Personally I have got some rather good thingsthere at a fair cost, however should you putyour own life up for auction you might not getmany bids. I did try to be nice, honest, but Iam afraid your nonsensical ravings wouldbe better suited to the weekly comic.

Yup I am probably one of ones youdislike, however I ain’t rich, don’t ride newbikes, so call me a snob who cares.

Dave Bertram. HQ Section

Re. Run Etiquette and the Drop-OffSystem (Journal February 2006)

I read you recent article regarding RunEtiquette with interest. I will start off with alittle background about myself. I am fairly newto motorcycling (3 years) and have been amember of your club for the past 2 years. Ireally enjoy reading the Journal each monthand find all the articles interesting.

I have only ever been on one clubfunction and that was the National Rally atBeaulieu. Unfortunately due to workcommitments and a young family I don’t getto any other meets. I use my bike 5 days aweek and enjoy every minute riding it. I have


been on the occasional longish run with afriend of mine to Hastings, Dartmoor etc.

I meant to write when it happened butchose not to. Anyway back to the point. I readan article in the Journal and in it someonesaid they were organising a ride over toFrance for the day. I decided that it soundedlike fun was only for a day, so I decided to getin contact with the organiser. I told him it wasmy first time riding abroad (I had only beenriding a year) and what things I needed toknow etc.

We met at the Folkestone terminal andwent over to France on the Shuttle. Our firststop was a caf the other side in Calais. Aftera quick coffee we got ourselves together. Ourorganiser said he would lead the way andalso asked another person to be sweeperwho also knew where our route. I felt fineriding in this formation being a novice andthe day went fine. We visited some places ofgreat interest and also had a fine lunch. Afterour last museum visit it was decided wewould stop off at another location prior toreturning to Calais. Again our organiser tookthe lead and he specifically confirmed withthe sweeper that he also knew the location.

This time a different person. Off wewent. The tempo of the run upped a bit andalthough I felt slightly uncomfortable going atthe speeds we were travelling I originally keptup with the group. This was not a problem onthe small twisty roads. But then we got ontomore open carriageways and the gapbetween me and the person in front startedopening up (I would say about 200 yards).Next thing the ‘Sweeper’ overtook me andcontinued motoring along. I flashed him afew time but he and the group eventuallydisappeared out of sight. I really could notbelieve this had happened.

By this time we were on a motorway. Icontinued on not having a clue where I wasor where I was going. I presumed that thegroup or sweeper would eventually stop. Icontinued on the same Motorway for about35 miles too worried to turn off in case Imissed them. By this time it was getting darkand was raining. I must admit I was a bitworried. I don’t speak French and didn’t knowwhere I was going. Eventually I decided I hadto turn off somewhere near Dunkerque andfound a garage. I asked for directions to

Calais and after a few hand signals I sort ofgot an idea where I should be heading. Iheaded back down the motorway andeventually got back.

Once I got home I emailed theorganiser and said asked what hadhappened and why the sweeper overtook meand took off. He responded and said thatonce they realised I was missing from thegroup they presumed I would find my wayback.

I bear no grudges with the organiseras it wasn’t his fault and I enjoyed thecompany. Just really cheesed off about theaffair. It had been such a good day and endedvery badly. I wouldn’t have minded if it hadhappened in this country but somewhere Ihad never ridden before? Just felt it was prettypoor for the back marker to do that I muststate that even though I found about this ride-out in the Journal, it was not a BMW organisedevent but just organised by of the BMWmembers.

A few months after I saw a four pagearticle in the Journal regarding the rideoutand apparently no-one got lost and all gothome ok. Err.. Don’t think so. Anyway I haveleft the dates and peoples names (exceptme) out of this article as not to offend anyone.Now that’s off my chest happy and safemotorcycling.Regards.

Simon Woods. South East Section

Thanks for the Responses

My thanks to Marjorie Burnett, Paul Devall,Eric Moody and Mike Fishwick for theirbackground and various comments in theFebruary Journal, regarding the BMF. Allpoints taken.

Simply, I was saddened to see LeonMannings who appeared to be a breath offresh air, buried by an apparent political‘Mafia’, to the detriment of us all.

Marjorie, your point on ‘fullsubscription’ members is of course very validbut, if Paul’s figures are correct, the 13% whoare have not managed to do anything aboutthe bunch at the top. Perhaps the remaining


87% ( the affiliated club members) should.—and since we all know that realistically thenumber who do or can attend an AGM is avery small proportion of the membership,maybe it has to be done another way?

If ALL affiliated clubs just left the BMFand set up their own group organisation(without individual memberships, they are theminority and seem to have been the cause ofmuch of the chaos in the past according toPaul) the current BMF would simply grind toa halt. If individuals wished to be ‘in’ let themdo so via a club.

I suggest then it would be impossiblefor the current BMF to retain the ‘nationalbody’ status. The new group organisationwould be in a powerful position to take thatover, with the major clubs, thus the greaternumbers, to the fore - we would of coursehave to be careful not to descent into the samesquabbling mass as now !

Lastly, Eric, regarding BCE. No, I can’tsee BMW disowning us either. I believe thatthe tenacious negotiations done on ourbehalf by Tony Moores and our BCE rep PeterDunn, along with other ‘dissenting’ clubshave produced the best solution in thecircumstances, while stil l retaining our‘official BMW’ status. The ‘nasty’ would be ifwe did break free completely and anotheralternative group set up and got the ‘official’status, we’d never get it back again! - andeven cynical I believe that all in all it’s a goodthing.

While I trust you all take my inputs withthe pinch of salt that they require, on reflectionI probably wouldn’t tell BM totally to - “errr—stuff it “ - They might stop giving Tony bikes totest !!

Ted Devey S.W.Section

BMF Democracy

A number of correspondents raise concernsin the latest issue of the BMW Club Journalabout the BMF and its lack of democracy.

Like Eric Moody, I have written to theBMFs Rider magazine to express concernsabout the lack of democracy. Newly electedChairman Mike Williamson acknowledgedthat the issue should be addressed. Since

then, Mr. Williamson - elected by a very smallminority of the membership - has beensuspended from holding office for three yearsunder a disciplinary process of the BMF.

Complaining to each other through theClub Journal is not enough. As far as I cansee the management team of the BMF ishoping the fuss will die down and be forgottenby the time the next elite gathering meets fora BMF AGM.

If you, like me, are concerned aboutthe lack of democracy and the need forchange in an organisation whose staff workso tirelessly and successfully to defendriders’ rights then make your voice known.

With the BMF chairman suspended, Iwould suggest that anyone who cares shouldsend a note to chief executive SimonWilkinson at Jack Wiley House, 25 WarrenPark Way, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 4SA oremail: [email protected]

I also hope the BMW Club’s delegatesto the BMF are feeding back the concernsthat have been written in our Journal are fedback through the communication channelsthey have at their disposal. Unless theorganisation knows that its membership -individual and club - cares and really wantschange in the democratic process, we willall get what we deserve.

Geoff Dodgson. Cambridgeshire

Club Europa IssuesConcerning the current debacle over the ClubEuropa issues, it seems we are paying out alarge sum of money to relinquish control overour own destiny, reminiscent of the EuropeanCommunity, a great idea but the costs faroutweigh the benefits. If we break completelywith the BCE what damage will we do to ourclub, now or in the future? We as a club arethriving and perfectly capable of standingalone, not in ‘splendid isolation’ butindependently and interacting with otherclubs as we choose to do – or not.

Concerning the ‘short attention span’referred to in Richard DeFazio’s letter (FebJournal) my attention span is approximatelytwice the length of whatever I am hit with!Now ask me how I know.

Dave Shead Bournemouth


How to find your Chat Room

As you may all be aware we have a superbdiscussion area on the club national websitewhere we can air our views and find out muchmore about what’s happening in our sections,among other things. It’s free to club membersbut many people don’t know how to becomepart of this growing e-community, so here’swhat to do.

Start your computer and go onto theinternet. In the address bar which should beat the top of the screen, type the followinginformation http://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=20Please note that it must be typed in exactly,with no spaces, no capitals and no extra fullstops (or ‘dots’ as we call them).When you have done this, hit the ENTER orRETURN key. You will be taken to the clubforum pages and a set of instructions willappear. These should help you get started.

Martin Ellis Midland Section

Mirror Help Wanted

Last week I was taking my R1100S off themotorcycle lift in the garage when itoverbalanced and fell off. Fortunately (!) thebike fell on to my pedal cycle which wasleaning against the wall. The pedal cycle wasdemolished under some 220kg of BMWfalling from the 8 inch elevation of themotorcycle lift but miraculously the R1100Sitself got off quite lightly - a small scratch tothe petrol tank and broken glass in the righthand side mirror.

As the mirror housing and stalk areundamaged, I thought I could buy areplacement mirror glass to insert in thehousing. Not so! Apparently it is necessaryto buy the complete assembly of stalk,housing and mirror glass at a cost of £75following the most recent increase by BMW.I have tried all the usual suspects to find asecond hand unit but without success so far.However, the thought occurs to me that it maybe possible to have a piece of mirror glasscut to the appropriate size by the appropriatespecialist which could then be fitted into theundamaged housing.

Does any member know of such a service orcan anyone suggest a solution other buyinga complete assembly?Many thanks.

Robin Robb Midlands Section

G.S.Flashes

The GS flashes that Martin Stimsonmentioned he had seen on a new system 5helmet can be ordered [email protected] .They are available in most colourcombinations and also reflective material. Healso supplies the other “R1150GS” stickersin reflective material which are most effectivewithout being too obvious.For pictures see humvee.smugmug.com/gallery/764640 . Needless to say noconnection other than a happy customer.More info and pictures can be seen on theUKGSer web site.

Ted Morley

Guardian Angels clad in Gortex?

Please accept my humble apologies forbreathing. To Brian King I say “Yes you arecorrect. I do not know the owner of theR1200RT”. I meant that the way certain peoplewho communicate their views via Torquereaction make the club “LOOK” like a havenfor rich, spoiled overbearing snobs. I didn’tsay that they actually WERE that at all.

I have no desire to go against the BMWparty line nor do I intend to say what you wantto hear. You infer that I am jealous andcrippled with envy, and an ego to match, asyou said about me not researching about yourfriend. You have also not done the same kindof research on me, because if you had youwould not also have wrote that. If anything Isuppose I am a trifle militant, left of centrewith possibly my fantasy of Arthur Scargill asprime minister.

The Club in my opinion is intended tobe a fun place where one can enjoy friendshipand companionship, a place of equality andnon bias attitudes towards members. I am


not biased towards any member good or bad,new or old, working or not working, and if Iupset anyone then I of course apologise, thatwas never my intention. And as a gesture ofmy good intent I extend a warm hand infriendship to you and your friend and partnersto visit My Wife and I in Bacup.

Call me on 01706 601398 to arrangea date and time. And to bikers what ever youride I say be safe.

David Greenwood. Lancashire

The Ultimate Safety Bike

Some club members who ride the new Rseries bike with the tele-lever type frontsuspension may be interested to know thatthe front ends of their bikes are so rigid thatthey do not do the usual stanchion bending,wheel mangling trick when they have animpact.

The Swedes have discovered that inthe most common form of impact, i.e. “T-boning” a Volvo or Saab, the front end of thebike fails to act as a crumple zone and thedeceleration is far more severe than withconventional forks. The trend towards stiffer“upside down” forks and K type blade forksoffers the same prospect of extreme rigidityin pursuit of better handling.

This has stimulated research by theSwedish safety organisations which hadbeen dormant for a few years now becausecars are about as safe as they can be made.The Swedes pioneered the first passiverestraint system for cars – seat belts to youand me, and then crumple zones, and thenABS. The credit for air bags goes to the U.S.A.

The project the Swedes have nowlatched on to promises to eclipse evenJapan’s attempt to put an air bag on a bike ála Honda Pan European and moves thingson to the next level. The new idea is a devicewhich removes the rider and pillion from thebike and then imparts controlled decelerationover 20 metres.

The rationale is very simple: get therider over the obstacle and then slow downto a stop over a longer distance but not solong that they could have a secondary impact.Anything is better than coming to an instant

stop against a hard rigid object (like the cantrail of a Volvo).

Svenska Safety S.I’s device uses triedand tested technology but never before usedin this type of application. It builds on the workthat Honda have done on the Pan’s air bagsystem by placing a second explosive deviceunder a reinforced seat base. The net resultis that the rider is prevented from makingrelative forward progress into impact zonesup to a height of 2 metres, but is projectedupwards to clear most car like obstructionsand then carries forward under his ownmomentum. This simple developmentenables the rider to find the time and distanceto make a deceleration that is moresympathetic to the human frame. Many afighter pilot owes his life to a Martin Bakerejector seat which is the ultimate in collisionavoidance.

There are risks, of course, becausewhilst in “free flight” mode the rider has nocontrol over what may halt his progress, butstatistically he is far better off taking hischance going “over the top” even if the end ofthe flight is into a high sided vehicle becausethey are usually soft skinned aluminium orcurtain sided H.G.Vs. Even a double deckerbus is not the brick wall one would imagine.Early tests were promising, but it emergedthat there was an unforeseen danger topeople standing in bus queues, and otherpavement users when “skittled” by flyingbikers, to say nothing of the dangers posedby items of street furniture.

Subsequent retardation by drogueparachute was ruled out on cost grounds andthe time it took to deploy to full efficiency.However, the problem was almost solved bya stroke of pure genius when an employeeof Svenska Safety S.I. who had just returnedfrom an adventure holiday bungee jumping,came up with the solution. Unfortunately,much damage could be done on the reboundso the idea was abandoned until the inventionof the “intelligent co-polymer”. This is nylonwith a yield point that can be tailored to virtuallyany specification. It meant that a restraintcould be made in the shape of a short woventether which would extend by up to 100 timesits original length by application of tension.This acted like a collapsible steering columnbut in reverse and gave the rider controlled


deceleration over about 10 meters withoutthe rebound effect one would get from abungee.

Again this genius idea failed to live upto expectations in spite of difficulties with theharness and attachments being overcomeby building it into a jacket and some cleverattachment clips. The unforeseen problembecame obvious at higher speed eventswhere the tether extended to its max and theresulting whip crack returned the rider to theinstant deceleration scenario, albeit at a muchreduced speed, but it could still prove fatal.

It was “back to the drawing board” butthe answer was a simple shearing devicewhich cut the tether once it had reachedmaximum extension and done its job. Thisnew “Automatic Passenger RestraintSystem” has got to make a significantdifference. Getting over the obstruction is thesingle most important factor wheresurvivability is concerned, and as the testpilot said “A good landing is one that you canwalk away from”. An unexpected benefit isavailable in that in another scenario wherethe bike is T-boned, or low sides, the devicewill then separate the rider from the bike andprevents entrapment. Obviously, it will taketime for this concept to become understood,accepted and then to filter through to themarket place.

The U.K. Driving Standards Agencyand R.O.S.P.A. are very keen about thisdevelopment becoming a “compulsoryfitment” since the accident statistics showthat it is the secondary impacts that carry therisk to the rider.

An E.E.C. type approval is beingsought. Presently the Road TransportResearch Laboratory at Thatcham is doingtype approval tests and you can see someinteresting/amazing/alarming footage bygoing to their website www.roadtrans.thatch/and then entering the first letter of the wordsin the project title which are – AutomaticPassenger Restraint: Involuntary LaunchFacility: Over Obstruction Landing.

It makes you think!

Phil Oughtred. North East Section

Touring with Rosie

I see nothing wrong with transporting onespet in the tank bag. Consider the alternatives. Pillion seat; I have seen a dog perched onthe rear but its feet were not in contact withthe footrests, definitely illegal. It was wearinga helmet and goggles but the WW1 stylehelmet was probably in non compliance withthe relevant standard. A shoulder mountedrucksack is an option but then the beast willbe facing backwards, most disconcerting forfollowing traffic. A chest pack is an option butthe animal’s tonguing would probably smearthe pilot’s visor so not too good.

Obviously the tank bag is the bestplace. The canine incumbent has excellentforward vision of approaching hazards andthe bike’s instrumentation. She can adjusther position to help her master’s corneringand braking and she can move her weightforwards in those dodgy wheelie situations.The only drawback I can think of is thatRosie’s location does prevent the insertionof a map in the tank bag top. No problemthough, GPS to the rescue so no paper maprequired. Rosie is most likely an intelligentcanine so she should soon master theintricacies of GPS operation.

Most BMW Club members havealmost achieved competent GPS status soRosie should be fine and may even be ableto teach the myopic masses a thing or twoabout satellite navigational techniques. Mostriders have to tear their gaze away from thescreen to observe the wandering car aheadbut Rosie can continuously monitor the GPSscreen and by a few barks, shrug of theshoulders or baring of teeth alert her masterto that impending junction ahead. Much betterthan bitching Betty shouting down your earcanal. So there you have it. Jack Russellswill soon be a touring essential. I expect tosee Kennel Club adverts in The Journal withinthe next few issues.

Robert Harrison. Chorley

What is it with BMW Club members andComfort Seats!!

Maybe a cheaper solution is a rubber ring.


There’s nothing wrong with standard BMWseats as they are comfortable in their ownright; they’re not meant to be a luxury armchair.You wouldn’t perch a Chesterfield on abicycle and yet many people can cycle largedistances without any problems. You’ve noidea how hard it can be to fend off jibes aboutBMW’s reputation of pipe & slippers; I daren’tleave a copy of the “Journal” lying open onmy desk at work with adverts and lettersharping on about the virtues of the latest King& Queen seats. It’s just embarrassing.So come on, stop sitting there like a sack ofspuds and just enjoy your bike.‘Light the blue touch paper and retreat ...

Steve Cook

The Ultimate Turntable - SafetyWarning

Our thanks to Mike Fishwick for anotherinteresting article in the March Journal but Imust offer a safety warning as a result of myown experiences.

I have a small garage with two R typeBMs and very little spare room. I invested in acouple of the trolleys described by Mike andvery good they have proved to be in pushingthe bikes tight up against each other and theside wall to maximise space. I bought myfirst trolley from Wunderlich and the secondas described by Mike from Hein Gerickewhere it is referred to as their “maneuveringace ground plate”! The Wunderlich is themore expensive and readers can makecomparisons on the respective web sites.As my BMs are front wheel heavy when onthe centre stand some back and forwardmotion is necessary to get the trolley and biketo move sideways (unless you physically liftthe front wheel off the ground).

Now to the safety warning. Like mostgarage floors mine is smooth concrete onwhich the trolley wheels roll without too muchdifficulty. The problem occurs when you arepushing the bike into position and one of thesmall trolley wheels comes up against alarge piece of road grit or other smallobstruction. As I know to my cost the trolleystops moving and if the momentum isforward it is relatively easy for the bike to come

off its centre stand. Fortunately when ithappened to me I was in a position to grabthe bars and get the side stand down but if Ihad been pushing from the offside or rearthe results would have been expensive.

Recognising this was likely to happenagain I made up a simple garage lock for thecentre stand. It consists of nothing more thana ratchet strap with the S hook over the barbetween the centre stand feet and a M10 x100 mm bolt loosely fitted through the holeon the front bottom of the engine casing (usedto locate BM’s engine repair cradle) andprotruding about 30 mm as a fixing for theclaw hook on the other end of the strap (Photoattached).

The strap doesn’t have to be overtightened - sufficient only to prevent the centrestand from closing up past the vertical. I amsure other fixing points could be used ondifferent bikes. It wasn’t necessary but havingconfirmed that the prototype worked I turnedup a replacement for the bolt out of aluminium- kept me amused for a bit! Although theclearance gap between the side of the boltand the engine casings on my two bikes isdifferent (small differences in the enginecasing designs) and some cutting down ofthe hardened standard claw hook wasnecessary to prevent the hook pressing onthe casing. Although it may not be strictlynecessary I always remove the fixing boltwhen I take a bike off its trolley.

In my case the initial bits came out ofthe junk box but they would cost less than£10 to buy new and that’s a lot cheaper thanreplacing the “tupperware” if a bike fell over!

Paul Higerty. Southern Section

Music on the Move

Iain Griffin was asking about MP3 players. Ibought a Creative Zen last year and its magic.Downloading stuff from the internet is notdifficult but why not load on your own CDs;after all you bought them because you likedthem. I even recorded my own vinyl LPs on tothe MP3 and now listen to tracks I haven’theard for years. Anyone wanna buy a yard ofLPs? I’ve got 1800 tracks on just under13Gbytes and never listen to the same track


twice in a journey; the battery also lasts a full24 hours.

It works really well playing through myAutocom or through an fm transmitter intothe car stereo; I listen to the music I want tohear and it takes away the boredom of thoselong motorway journeys.

Steve Shepley. Alford

More Answers

Martin Stimson’s asked about speedo 10%error relative to GPS.

When on the road, most of the timeyou are travelling on an incline either uphillor downhill. The distance travelled thereforeis greater than the distance measured by the‘downward’ looking GPS Satellite.

Think of the length of the hypotenuseagainst the normal line on a triangle. As timeis constant the GPS will always record yourspeed as less than actual ‘ground speed’ Ifanyone therefore uses their GPS to measuretheir speed through a SPECS type averagespeed check or a scammer-van approachthen you are probably pushing your luck. Myview is that GPS is a great tool, providing youknow where you are going.

Brian Gardiner. Midland Section

Sat Nav Info Wanted

I would like to ask for some feedback frommembers on motorcycle specific sat navequipment which can also be used in mycar.

I am not averse to embracing digitaltechnology, but I usually wait until I amsatisfied that the stage of development meetsmy requirements. (I did not buy a digitalcamera until February 2005 when I wasencouraged by Amateur Photographer teststhat the Canon 20D would give sufficientimage quality to produce reasonable A3 ink-jet prints, and I was not disappointed. Theonly thing wrong with the camera is thatCanon have just launched the 30D upgradeafter only 18 months, so the 20D is nowobsolete as is the way with the pace ofchange of this digital world).

With regard to sat nav, I am not yet sure that,apart from the newly introduced Tom TomRider, development has advanced farenough.

I want a unit which will be used heavilyon European trips, but lightly in GB. Most ofthe roads I ride at home I know like the backof my hand, but when I am riding abroad Ireally do miss my navigator with a map sittingon the pillion. I have resorted to writing a routecard for the tank bag which, having written itleaves me with a tolerably good memory ofthe map, and it works quite well. But it can bea pain having to do this each evening whenon holiday.

My requirements of a sat nav are that it.......· should be sufficiently water resistantfor motorcycle use,· should be capable of incorporatingsufficient waypoints so that it takes me theway I want to go not the way it wants to go· should be programmable from mylaptop.· should have a detailed European mapsystem· should have a voice command systemwhich is easily relayed to some unobtrusivehelmet speakers· should not require a lead to beplugged/unplugged every time I stop to takea photograph/other predictable reason.· should be equally at home in a car,and transferable from car to car on a plugand play basis.

The most important factor to me impliesBluetooth connectivity with helmet speakers,which also would be convenient for mobileuse.

BMW seem to be heading down thisroad with a Bluetooth enabled helmet, butprogress is abysmally slow, and no one atthe NEC could tell me when the helmet wouldbe available, or more importantly whether thenew BMW Navigator will be Bluetoothenabled. Both items are likely to be priced atthe usual unrealistically high levels of BMWaccessories.


The new Garmin 2720 and Quest 2 units lookthe bee’s knees, but I can find no evidencethat they will speak to my helmet withoutgoing through a supplementary intercom unit,which I am not keen to get involved with.

Then there is the Tom Tom Rider whichis Bluetooth enabled, comes with helmetspeakers ‘in the box’, but is expensive at£599, especially as (if my reading of thewebsite is correct) detailed Europeanmapping is extra at € 250 for a CD or € 150for a download.

So this is an appeal for feedback onsuch units, their ability, and especially on theTom Tom Rider including advice on whetherthey bought it at a significantly better pricethan advertised generally.

Barry Arthur. Blackburn

An Economical Budget? SomeWelcome News

I recently had a lot of work done to my BMWR90S Thing; I used an old small Swindoncompany, now under new management,Swindon Classic Bikes.

I have upgraded to Brembo brakes(from the next generation of airheads), hadnew Boyer-Bransden electronic ignition fittedand the oil seals replaced on the cylinders.The brake work entailed replacing the forkswith newer ones, replacing the wheel anddoing other front-end modifications. Theelectronic ignition work entailed removing theolder ignition and coils (it had old electronicsand four-coils due to having been dual-plugged sometime in its life). The oil sealreplacement involved completely removingthe heads and cylinders.

The new owner of Swindon ClassicBikes turned out to be an able mechanic andcompleted all the work competently,economically and in good time. It was noproblem for me to go and watch him workingand make suggestions or ask questions. Hekept me informed of progress and advisedme of problems and workarounds. My R90SThing no longer leaks oil, starts easily andstops a lot lot better!

I have no connection with SwindonClassic Bikes other than as a satisfied

customer. He has worked on a number ofother BMWs since mine, including airheadsand even a 1200C! If you want to save moneyon BMW motorbike work, I can definitelyrecommend this place.

Swindon Classic Bikes, KingsdownIndustrial Estate, Kingsdown Rd, Swindon.SN25 6PD.Tel: 01793 829560

The brake upgrade parts were obtained fromwww.MotorWorks.co.uk, other parts werefrom www.MotoBins.co.uk and the electronicignition and coils fromwww.boyerbransden.com

We’re looking forward to touring thecontinent this year on our upgradedsuperbike!Nick Pettefar. Oxford Section. (No SwindonSection unfortunately)

A Little Ditty for those who serve us well

When you become a Biker,You can go far and wideMeeting lots of peopleGoing for a ride.

So many things to do,You’ll be busy all year roundGoing here and there,Your feet won’t touch the ground.


The turntable

We get ourselves togetherTo have a lot of fun,Fish and chips and Natter nightsNo one’s ever glum.

We’ve had breakfast down in Cornwall,Back to Budleigh for tea,There were cakes and scones andsandwichesAs far as the eye could see.

There’s a Barbecue and camping,What more can I say??We just can’t wait for EasterAt St.Audries Bay!

So it’s thanks to those who organize,Who toil until late.Your hard work and your effortsWe really appreciate.

Don your Lid, get out those wheels,Don’t just go up to the pub.Come along and join usAt the BMW Club.

Heather Sansom. Gloucestershire

Another View on Sport Screens

I refer to the article in the March Journal (Page13) by Les Carter. I’ve had the same annoyingexperience and decided to fit a ‘Sport Screen’,part no.8110053 from the Wunderlichcatalogue No 16. This I f ind to be animprovement on the original.

I must add that my bike is a 2003R1100 RS (even though it states on theinstructions R1150 RS). I had to modify holes,spacers, and drill two extra holes as my bikehas six holes as opposed to the four on the1100.

There is a Vario screen also in theWunderlich catalogue but which requiresgenuine BMW parts to fit (added expense).

Moto Bins also do have a screen but itdeviates from the sport image.

I dealt with S.P.C. Motorcycles (BMWDealer) of Lower Farringdon, Nr Alton, Hants.GU34 3DJ. Tel 01420 588704. Both Simonand Andy are very helpful, being BMWenthusiasts.Thanks to the Journal staff – ‘A very goodread’.

Matthew Draper. Durham

Stuck in the Fast Lane

Like most R1200GS riders, in January, Ireceived a letter from BMW recalling mymachine for unspecified “enhancement”. Asrequested, I contacted my supplying garageto be told that there was a fault with a fuelfilter that could be rectified at the 24,000 mileservice, due a fortnight later. This was thethird recall in as many months –the previousdealing with battery charging and ABS- on abike that had never missed a beat in eighteenmonths. So I accepted assurances that thiswas not urgent without question. I should nothave been so trusting. For a few days later,my journey, to an inquest, as it happens, couldwell have resulted in my own funeral. Thebike suffered an abrupt, and potentiallycatastrophic, total power failure on the M25.

Only the fact that it was seven thirty inthe morning, in pouring rain, with everythingmoving at walking pace saved me. I wasfiltering between lanes two and three whenthe engine died. There was no warning light;no surge or stuttering; nothing to indicateimpending standstill. It was only good luckthat this had not happened during anovertake, against oncoming traffic, in a tightbend or at normal motorway speed!

I pushed the bike as far off thecarriageway as possible. Although the frontwheel almost touched the central barrier, therear still rested on the tarmac. I buttoned onthe hazards and thumbed the starter. Sameresult every time, firing then dying. Full tank,so it must be fuel starvation. I mobiled MondialAssistance to be told it would take at least anhour to reach me through the rush hourdownpour. Nothing for it but to lean againstthe Armco and wait.


But as the jam cleared and traffic resumedits normal speed I quickly began to feel very,very vulnerable. On Europe’s busiestmotorway, vehicles whooshing through thespray at eighty plus miles an hour don’texpect to encounter a stationary motorbikeon the outside edge of the fast track. I felt likean accident that had already happened butwas about to get much, much worse. For thefirst time in my life, I dialled 999 and reportedmy predicament to Hertfordshire Police.

In short order, two cars blue-lightedtheir way to my rescue, briskly halting the flowbefore one officer hopped out of his NissanPatrol to help push the bike across to thehard shoulder, from where the breakdowntruck recovered me an hour later.

At the dealer’s it was confirmed thestoppage had been caused by the rogue filter.Apparently it was allowing water to seep intothe fuel pump, causing corrosion andsudden failure. I tried to discover why theprospect had not been treated more urgently,only to be told that their computer records didnot show whether or not the rectification hadbeen carried out at a previous service. Theyneeded to see the bike to check whether thework had been done.

BMW headquarters were little better.Beyond offering their apologies, they seemedto pass the buck, saying it was up to thefranchised dealers to alert riders.

The whole lucky escape has left mefeeling quite angry. Bikes costing over ninethousand pounds should not turn theirowners into compulsory pedestrians. BMWbuild quality should live up to its reputation.And dealers and headquarters alike shouldstop ducking the issue and call an urgentsafety recall exactly that. If you have not yethad your R1200GS “enhanced”, get it done.Your life could depend on it.

Geoff Meade. St Albans

Democracy and the BMF

Frank Whittaker’s glowing references to theBMF’s National and One-Make Clubs Forumignore the basic problem of a total lack ofdemocracy within the organisation.

For example, a massive club of our size onlyreceives seven votes – the same amount ofpower as two clubs representing a total of202 members. Even worse, a resolution ofthe Forum – which represents the majority ofthe BMF’s much-vaunted 140,000motorcyclists – can be vetoed by the BMFCouncil should they consider it to be ‘Againstthe interests of the BMF.’ On pastperformance this could include any motionjudged to be against the interests of the rulingclique.

Although the Forum elects one thirdof the BMF Councillors, this can hardly becalled a success for democracy when oneconsiders the relative numbers of Affiliatedand Individual Members.

The NOMC Forum is therefore withoutany real power to influence the future of thefederation, a fact which was not lost on theVintage and BSA Clubs when they pulled outof the BMF some years ago.

The original concept of the BMF wasgood, but the initial promise has not beenfulfilled, and probably never will.

The usual answer to any criticism ison the lines that the BMF fights against threatsto motorcycling. Make no mistake – the realthreat to motorcycling as we know it comesfrom between the ears of too many riders, asis witnessed by the continuously increasingrate of motorcycle casualties, coupled with ahigh level of VED avoidance and often ageneral rejection of motoring law. The onlyanswer will doubtless be harsh legislation,which of course will be ‘fought’ by the BMF,so neatly justifying its existence and avoidingupsetting some of the many splinter groupswithin it, while achieving nothing.

This is the real weakness of the BMF– that it supports freedom, but does notsupport the necessary associated rule,without which we only have anarchy.

Mike Fishwick. Daglan. France.

An Apology

Richard Difazio (Feb 2006) quite correctlycriticized me for a sentence that was bothrude and unnecessary in my letter (Jan 2006).


Mike Fishwick, please accept my apologiesfor an unworthy remark.Ben Hodgson (Scottish Section Exile). Baku.Azerbaijan.

Track Day at Cadwell Park

We have been invited to the BMW Car clubsbetter riding day at Cadwell again this year.It is an excellent opportunity to ride England’smost interesting circuit (in my opinion). Therewill be controlled overtaking, qualif iedinstructors offering help and assistance, alsothe car drivers will take passengers for awhite knuckle ride (apparently).The date is 10th May, cost should be under£100. Contact myself on 01953 888415 [email protected]

Robert Bensley(Ed’s note : there you are, Mr. B. Been lookingeverywhere for you .. )

Questions and Answers

I have been a member of the club for manyyears. I joined when I wanted classic bikeinsurance. One came with the other. I haveenjoyed the articles and the market pagesas well. I run a 1978 100/7. I have had it fromnew. It is all I want from a motorcycle. Simple,beefy and quite fast! I work for an insurancebroker in London and I saw an item in aninternal magazine which fascinated me. It isa three wheeler BMW R type which may bedriven by a person sitting in their wheelchair!I have the photos from the mag but if youwant to have a look, the web address ismartinconquest.com

I have had 2 BMWs - one 60/6 and the100/7. I have a metal key which has snappedoff in the distant past. I do not know whichbike it was for, but I hope it might be for my“hot water bottle” type filler cap which has nothad a key for as long as I can remember. Isthere a central register I can contact toestablish what it might have fitted? Thenumber is H53422.

The bike is original apart from 2 items.It twice broke down in torrential rain when thewater got into the points and as there is no

drain, the points were trying to work underwater! I contacted BMW and they advised meto drill a hole in the front casing under thepoints and run a drain hose out. This seemsto have worked. But I also purchased a BoyerBransden red box which I fitted under the endof the central tube, just in front of the tool tray.There is a hole top and bottom and I bolted athin piece of wood directly under the hole andfitted the red box to that. It runs well andoccasionally runs on when I have removedthe ignition key. But this is remedied byputting on the brake or indicator. Theinstructions say this may happen.

The other replacement was followingan accident when someone pulled out in frontof me and I hit them. The front forks werebent and Carole Nash arranged for it to betaken to (I think it was Coopers) where it wasattended to. Unfortunately they were unableto source a direct replacement and I endedup with new forks, but without the lovelychromed tops. It now has a black plastic topat the top of each tube. Not as good looking,but it still goes well.

I am now a summer rider. Mainly dueto the salt on the engine block, rather thanthe cold. In order to keep the battery toppedup, I have put a normal charger on the battery,but I use a time switch which ensures thebattery has about an hour a day charge.Hopefully in May I will reap the benefit!

I have a beef about the cost of taking abike across the Channel. It can cost morethan the car. My feeling is it would be moresensible for the ferry companies not to wastemoney issuing tickets to us riders, butensuring that we buy a ticket when we arriveat the port in the region of ten pounds eachway. There is no need to book as there isalways a gap for a 2 wheeler. If there is not,we go on the next boat. I bet they would makemore money out of us that way!

Finally, there used to be a page ofdiscounts for the readers. Has this gone, ordo I have to dig a little deeper? ( Patience ...Ed ) Altberg Boots used to give readers a tenper cent discount and there were many othercompanies.

Great mag. Keep up the good work. Itis much appreciated.

Nick Armstrong. Oxford Section


Just a few notes to introduce a new seriesof articles that have been generouslyprovided by Gary L. Smith from the USA.Gary has been submitting articles for the‘Tech Sessions’ published in the BMWOwners Club magazine for quite some timeand has graciously given us permission andhelp in publishing them in our Journal. Theodd Americanism might still slip through butthat will be your Editorial teams error soplease excuse us for any we miss.

ADJUSTING A BOXER CLUTCH

I’VE NEVER FORGOTTEN the cream-filledchocolate candy Babe made when I was akid. In my neighborhood she was a living

legend. Twice a year she concocted herspecialties and doled them out to her faithfulcustomers. Babe had quite a reputation.Many, especially those who learned that herprofits went to charity, put her up on apedestal. Sadly, and the thing I rememberthe most, her recipes went to the grave withher. Thanks to the generous contributors oftech articles to the BMWOwners/News overthe years many of the recipes for servicingour beloved BMW motorcycles have beenpassed along rather than away.

I hope to contribute to this sharing tradition.My approach however,is different. I’m not amechanic. I have no background in fixingmechanical thjngs. Rather, I am an enthusiastwho’s made a hobby out of both learning toservice BMW motorcycles and passinginformation along. Because I’m a novice, Ilearn best when provided step by-stepinstructions. I intend to present this columnin the same way, using lots of step-by-steppictures with explanatory captions.

Over a decade or so I’ve gathered tools, parts,reference materials and a dedicated space,a little old transmission shop converted (withthe help of friends) into a BMW motorcycle

hobby garage, complete with all theamenities. Most valuable are those riders whoshare this hobby with me. At the top of the listis AI Vangura, a retired master machinist wholives in nearby Clairton, Pennsylvania. AI’sprovided many lessons, specialty tools andcut-away teaching models.

AI and I have hosted hundreds of gatheringsof BMW owners where information has beenexchanged and help has been given to thoseinterested in working on their ownmotorcycles. We’ve also held special techsessions for seriously minded groups thathave attracted riders (both students andteachers) from as far away as 400 miles.

SOMETIMES JINGLES can help usremember what we want to recall. “Righty

tighty, lefty loosey,” a good example, is a jingleused by many when using a spanner onstandard nuts and bolts. A useful jingle forboxer clutch adjustment is, “top adjuster forthe bottom spec, and bottom adjuster for thetop spec. in just that order or “top for bottomand bottom for top, in just that order. Toolsneeded are 10 and 13mm spanners, pliers,tape, metric rule, piece of metal coat hangercut to 20lmm length (a little less than 8inches), a can of WD-40 or equivalent andsome rags. The jingle is carried out asfollows:


The Top Adjuster is located at theclutch lever situated on the left side

of the handlebars

Loosen the lock ring, the narrower oftwo knurled rings and the one closest

to the lever: If pliers are required, useprotective tape to avoid scarring the lock ring.

A loose lock ring allows the adjusterring {the wider knurled ring) to turn.

Cleaning the threads of the top adjustercylinder with WD-40 spray helps make iteasier to turn the adjuster ring.

The bottom spec (specification) is thedistance between the back of the

transmission case and the front edge of thebarrel at the end of the clutch cable. Note thefront edge of the barrel to the left of the handheld wire (View and measurements are fromthe right side of the motorcycle.)

1

2

3

4

5 The greater the number of threadsshowing on the top adjuster cylinder....


6 ......the less the distance between theback of the gearbox casting and the

front edge of the barrel at the end of the clutchcable.

7 The fewer the number of threadsshowing on the top adjuster cylinder...

,.. the greater the distance betweenthe back of the gearbox casting and

the front edge of the barrel at the end of theclutch cable.

8

9 Select the appropriate number ofthreads showing at the top adjuster,..

10 ...for the appropriate specification(201 mm or a little under 8 inches).

A length of metal coat hanger cut to theappropriate length is an idea tool formeasuring this distance and can be kept forfuture use.

11 Retighten the lock ring snuggly at thetop adjuster completing the First

Adjustment and the first part of the jingle, ‘Topadjuster for the bottom spec.”


12

15

16

13

14

17

Second Adjustment

The bottom adjuster is located on theclutch-actuating arm located behind

the rear of the gearbox (view and adjustmentsare from the left side of the motorcycle).

Loosen the bottom adjuster lock nut(13mm wrench)...

... to allow turning of the bottom-adjuster bolt (10mm spanner).

Removing the bottom-adjuster boltfor cleaning will allow use of fingers

for adjustment, instead of using a 10mmspanner making everything much easier.

The more threads showing on thebottom adjuster bolt...

... the greater the amount of free play(gap) at the clutch lever. This free

play is the top spec. Free play is the distancecreated between the clutch lever and theclutch lever housing (as shown). When theclutch is gently pulled to the point wheregreater resistance encountered.


19

20

21

22

The fewer threads showing on theadjuster bolt...

Select the appropriate number of onthe bottom adjuster bolt...

... the lesser the amount of free play(gap) at the clutch lever. The factoryrecommended free play (gap) for

boxers is a very small amount, 2mm +/- one-half (1 /2) mm.

... to obtain the appropriate free play(gap)-2.5mm.

Retighten the lock nut using a 13mmwrench at the bottom adjustercompleting the Second Adjustment

and the final part of the jingle, “the bottomadjuster for the top spec. “

18


THE SAME JINGLE is used for K bikesusing clutch cables, only the bottom

spec is 75mm instead of 201mm. The freeplay (gap) is the same.

Oilheads with clutch cables simply require 10mmof threads at the top adjuster cylinder (no bottomspec measurement is required). The bottom adjusteris used to acquire 7mm of gap (free play) at theclutch lever. The jingle does not apply to the newBMW models with hydraulic clutches.

With clutch use, the free play (gap) will diminish.The top adjuster can be used to restore theappropriate free play (gap). However, keep in mindthat using the top adjuster for gaining free play willchange the bottom spec (increasing distancebetween the back of the gearbox casting and thefront edge of the barrel at the end of the clutchcable).

Proper clutch adjustment should be made at leastwhen doing scheduled maintenance. The fact thatthe top adjuster effects both the top spec and thebottom spec at the same time is why the words “injust that order” have been added to the jingle. Usethe jingle and recall the correct procedure whendoing periodic service, “top adjusts the bottom,and bottom adjusts the top, in just that order.”


by Mike Fishwick

WITH THE CURRENT level of interestin taking one’s BMW to the UnitedStates, it can only be a matter of time

before someone decides to break thetransatlantic journey in Iceland; at least oneenterprising travel company has alreadyadvertised one-week motorcycling holidaysfor an affordable fee, and it is only a matter oftime before Iceland becomes a popularstopover.

Should you wish to use your own machinefor such an excursion the only real problemis one of expense; I have been fortunate that,as a professional seafarer, I have visitedIceland several times in the course ofbusiness, and been able to transport thetrusty R45 at no expense, with the obviousadvantages of a well-equipped floatingworkshop thrown in!

Apart from the obvious transportationrequirement, there are no problems involvedwith the import of your motorcycle to thisfascinating country. Your UK Driving Licenceis accepted, and a Green Card will beprovided without the extra fees, which areusually demanded for any foray beyond theold Iron Curtain . . . the only problem that Iencountered was that of complete disbelief

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK– ICELAND

on the part of Norwich Union! Insurance coverwas eventually declared to be null and voidfor the duration of the Atlantic crossing, whichI considered to be a acceptable risk, as thechances of any claim to a partially-dismembered BMW, secured within a largeship, must be pretty low!

After a leisurely fortnight had been spentremoving the layers of Waxoyl, which hadprotected the little twin from the ravages ofwinter, and incorporating various smallmodifications, we approached Iceland. Ourdestination was Seydisfjord, a small fishingvillage on the eastern tip of Iceland, whichover the years had become our regular portfor the embarkation of fuel and water.

One does not exactly say ‘Fill it up’ with regardto a ship, our 250 cubic metres of gas oilrequiring Greta, the local lady tanker driver,to make repeated deliveries. So it was thatthere was time for my well-travelled R45emerged from the hatch, rotating slowly onthe end of the crane wire, much to theamazement of the locals, most of whom hadprobably never seen a motorcycle before!

The local Customs Officers did not causeany problems, as they were too intent on


stopping the passage of assorted beersthrough the galley porthole to some of thelocal girls on the jetty. As is the case withmost Nordic cultures, alcohol is very highlytaxed.

Even at Easter, the noon temperature on thefjord is usually around the ninety-Fahrenheitmark, assisted by the reflection of the sunfrom the snow-covered mountains, whichsurround the narrow valley. I was wearing aRukka suit, and as I packed my VHF radioand survival gear, while answering questionsfrom the local youth, I was beginning to feelpretty hot.

MOTORCYCLES, they told me, while notexactly unknown, are even by the

standards of Iceland, a very expensivecommodity. With a three-month ridingseason, a snowmobile is to be preferred!

After negotiating the snow-covered slopewhich led to the road, with the added hazardsof Greta’s tanker and a dismembered MANmarine engine, I began to thread my waybetween the heaps of snow at the sides ofthe main street, past the brightly-paintedfishing boats, and the odd half-buried Lada,around the fjord to the northern shore, wherea track leads towards the old fish oil refinery.

The road surface, which had been good harddirt, with a few patches of ice, had nowdeteriorated into a mixture of mud and rock,with potholes and ruts, the track being cutthrough the snow to a depth of about five feet.

Given a fair degree of cowardice, the R45coped with this quite well, but it was wise topull over as soon as possible for the locals,most of whom drive as though they wereauditioning for a Mad Max film! At the end ofthe track I paused to photograph the Newtonfrom across the mirror-like waters, beforemaking my way back, through the clouds ofnoxious steam, which issued from


the refinery, to the village. After exploring thesouthern shore, and, I hoped, impressinghordes of young children (and a few olderones!) with the idea of motorcycling, it wastime to head for the open country.

THE ICELAND coastal highway is a recentlyrealised dream, and is kept open at very

high cost throughout the year. It is thereforepossible, for the first time ever, to drive aroundthe island at any time of the year – well,almost any time!

As I followed this road up the mountain out ofSeydisfjord the little BMW still caused a stir,with even the snowmobile riders stopping toexamine it. I had a strange feeling that it wasnot quite sensible to be riding a motorcyclein such company, no matter how passablethe road surface appeared to be!

Most of the other vehicles were large four-wheel drives of American origin, with a fewvery new BMW 3-series saloons. Their soleconcession to the environment appeared tobe a small wire mesh fence on the frontbumper, to protect the lights from flyingstones – obviously the property of wealthyenthusiasts. As I climbed the first mountainone of these went past at a great rate,showering me with pebbles the size of tabletennis balls!

As the road wound its way upward, I stoppedto take a photograph, and as I stepped back,fell through the frozen snow crust up to mywaist. It would be possible to do the samething further away from the road, and fall intoa fast-flowing river; never venture too far fromthe road! For this, and many other reasons, it

is wise to travel with a companion, andpreferably carry a portable radio.

When the engine stops, the silence isabsolute, broken only by the regular passageof large all-wheel drive Scania trucks, whichmake the round-Iceland journey throughoutthe year. All the drivers stopped to enquire if Ineeded help, which was very nearly the casewhen I decided to turn round at the summit ofthe second-highest pass in Iceland. Theroad, which is made up of dirt with a layer oflarge gravel on top, actually extends only towithin a metre or so of the apparent edge.The debris that is thrown off by the trucksbuilds up a border of semi-frozen mud ontop of the snow, which is indistinguishablefrom the road – until one tries to ride on it!

As I turned around, the front wheel brokethrough, sinking up to the discs . . . there wasno way I would be able to get it out, so theonly answer was to get also the rear wheelinto the mud and ride the whole bike out,which was not too much of a problem, butvery messy!

ON MY RETURN to the ship the sun wasbeginning to sink, and the temperature

was plummeting – by the time I had removedthe mud, the water was starting to freeze onthe bike.

As the roads, with the exception of theReykjavic area, are of compacted volcanic dirtwith an overlay of gravel, the general effect isthat of riding on marbles, unless one isequipped with knobbly tyres. Iceland is theonly place I have ever visited in which I wouldvoluntarily ride a GS for road use. For the true


GS rider, however, the country roads offermore than enough challenges as they windacross beds of solidified lava so barren,which were used to train the Apollo astronautsin preparation for the Moon landings!

Although camping is possible, the generalcost of living is such that it is essential to usea package deal which will provide theessentials of life, for even at 1988 prices aloaf of bread cost two pounds, while petrolcost well over five pounds per gallon, and agood road map fifteen. It may of course bepossible to load enough tins of rice puddingto last for a short stay!

Perhaps the best answer is to cultivate amember of the American forces, who couldthen accommodate and feed you at USAprices, within the massive base area ofKeflavic. Prices in the PX hypermarket,incidentally, are extremely low by ourstandards.

THE CAPITAL is quite a civilised place, withmost of the streets heated (really!) by the

island’s abundant supplies of geothermal hotwater, which is piped in from various springsoutside to massive holding tanks above thecity. Most domestic hot water and centralheating is also provided by these means.

Riding in this area is a relatively normal,although a wary eye must be kept open forpotholes and rocks. The locals all drive with

great skill, which is only to be expected; asfor most of the year the country roads arecovered in ice. The skill and daring of thelocals is however tempered by the Police,who enforce the law with typical Nordicruthlessness from the seat of a K100RT.Needless to say, these machines show littlesigns of being used during the winter months!

The locals are very hospitable, and invariablyspeak better English than we do. Due to thehorrendous (even by Icelandic standards!)price of restaurants, you are likely to be invitedinto their homes to eat, particularly if you havebrought your full Duty-Free allowance.

As an addition to a tour of America, Icelandhas a lot to offer – if you can stop over in thisunforgettable land of hot springs and glaciersyou will have the motorcycling experience ofa lifetime – like being in a gigantic trail park!


The trolley

THE JULY MORNING dawned wet andcool in Przemys, Poland. The GS1150with Arthur and Linda Allen aboard,

accompanied by Pam and I on the FJR1300,splashed their way towards the Ukrainianborder. The grey leaden skies merely addedto the feeling of uncertainty. We joined therear of the border traffic queue, only to beinvited forward by a car driver at the front. Mostof the vehicles were Ukrainian registered, withmultiple fridges and washing machinesstrapped to their roofs. The process ofentering the country only took an hour or soof triplicate form filling and we were in. Weneeded bike insurance so Pam was left incharge of the machines while we dealt withthe accommodating insurance lady. Thebucket catching the raindrops from theleaking roof was a hazard but it only took afew minutes to buy third party insurance at£3.50 for two weeks. The document wastotally incomprehensible to us, being in

Cyrillic script. Currency exchange was easybut receipts weren’t offered. Pam was gladto see us return to the bikes, as she wasfending off the young tykes who were intenton lifting a souvenir from the visitors.

We headed slowly east towards L’viv, our firstnight’s stop. The dead straight tarmac roadwas really bad with ruts, potholes and chunkyloose gravel but the cars overtaking us atspeed seemed oblivious. This is a big emptycountry, evident on our first seventy miles tothe UNESCO world heritage city of L’viv. Thecomfortable hotel was superb with guardedparking for the bikes and the ancient traminto town was just a ten-minute walk away. InUkraine, the grannies do not stay at home orreside in rest homes; they all drive trams andargue with truck drivers or collect fares.Resplendent in house slippers, pinnyprotecting the dress, issuing tickets to all whoboard, they are not to be messed with. Wespent two days exploring L’viv and under itsseedy exterior exists a gem of architecturaldelights. The friendliness and hospitality ofthe inhabitants only serves to make it morepleasing. Relaxing in the open-air bar, Arthurand I noted that Ukrainian women wereparticularly attractive, a compliment to thecountry.

Day three and 253-miles east to Zhytomyr.Abominable roads again but better during thelatter half of the day with dual carriageway. Itwas impossible to maintain a straight course,dodging the potholes at speed soon becamethe norm. There was hardly any traffic andthis was the main road to Kiev. Thecountryside comprised undulating farmlandand forest, many villages to pass throughwith horse drawn carts, fowl and beast onthe road. It was a miracle as to how theysurvived the onslaught of the HGVs and theUkrainian car drivers. The roadsides arefestooned with religious monuments to thedead and I don’t mean the animals, asobering thought. This is a very dangerouscountry to ride or drive in. Our first fuel stopintroduced us to the Ukrainian system

Travels in Ukraineby Bob Harrison

Bikes at the Wehrwolf forest site


Electric bars

whereby you deposit cash through aminiscule letterbox in the fortified office door.An invisible attendant turns on the pump. Yougo back for your change. While filling up withfuel at 38p per litre we were invited to a caféacross the road. The café owner had spentsome time in Norfolk and insisted on treatingus to a meal. He had a Union Jack flying fromhis new roof and thought the UK was a greatcountry.

ARRIVING IN THE suburbs of Zhytomyrwe stopped to consult the map and within

seconds a large white Moskvich carscreeched to a halt beside us. “Can we help?”yelled the occupants in English. “HotelZhytomyr” we replied. “Follow us” theycommanded. We did, at speed, whilstconversing with the driver of a polished blackBMW car who kept pace alongside us.Arriving at the hotel we were told, “You do notwant to stay here, come home with me, I havea large house, a Suzuki 900 and hot water”.We declined his generous offer but he gaveus his phone number in case of problems.“You call me, you have no problems, I sort itout”. We believed him. The bikes were safein the guarded car park and we went off toexplore the town. Alcohol consumptionseems to be an intrinsic part of Ukrainian lifeso we just joined in. Draught beer is for salein plastic cups from the beer grannies on thestreets, so we settled in to observe Ukrainianlife at rush hour. Not too stressful by Britishstandards. A well preserved, plinth mounted,World War Two Russian tank was thecentrepiece of the town square. Again, thepeople we met were polite and helpful. Theevening in the hotel was enlivened by a girls’night out and a good amount of live, loud,dance music. The hotel grannies looked afterus, which was just as well considering thatthe menu was in the unintelligible script. Thefood was good though and the beer evenbetter.

The next day we turned south and a shorteighty-mile day to Vinnytsia. Our ultimatedestination lay on route at the village ofStryzhavka. The Wehrwolf, Hitler ’s mosteasterly World War Two command bunkerwas nearby. There were no signs to indicateits location so we stopped in the village, as ithappened at the entrance to the memorial to

the fourteen thousand Ukrainians murderedhere. They had been used as slave labour tobuild the complex and then shot and buriedin the surrounding fields. We rejoined themain road, unsure of where to go next. Almostimmediately a chap clad only in shorts, ridinga bicycle and with a baby under one armappeared. “Wehrwolf” he kept shouting at us.We were also joined by a fuel tanker driverwho conversed in German and wanted toknow if we had any daughters. We followedthe cyclist along a muddy track through fieldsto a wooded area and it was indeed theWehrwolf. Our cycling friend shouted at usagain, repeatedly, then headed for home aswe thanked him for his help. Just a few people

Ukrainian agricultural art-wheat fields abound


Ukrainian or Russian, still not sure which,but with lots of pictures of German officers atthe bunker. We bought the book anyway. TheGermans destroyed the bunker with highexplosive as the Russians advancedwestwards, and as it is mostly undergroundthere really isn’t much to see, it will be aninteresting excavation for the future. Trucksized lumps of concrete lie scattered aboutthe clearing in the forest. Our tanker-driving

friend reappeared, having driven his tankerthrough the woods to find us and we finallyrealised what he wanted. He had a thirteen-year-old granddaughter who was learningEnglish and did we have a daughter shecould correspond with in the UK. Weexchanged addresses and told him wherewe were staying in Vinnytsia. That eveningthe granddaughter and her elegant motherappeared at our hotel with presents of wineand chocolates for us. They were delightedjust to converse with English speakingpeople. Previous to this and having had sucha short riding day we had gone to the hotelpub in the afternoon. Ukraine was at aconstant 36 degrees so it was thirsty work. Ihave to say that Ukraine was, for us, so cheapthat it was embarrassing. We had indulgedin five pints of beer, two cups of tea, twogenerous ice creams and four large bags ofcrisps, all for £1.50, that’s for all of us. A decentsalary in Ukraine is £40 per week. We becameextravagant tippers.

Day five, Saturday. The day was immediatelyspoiled by the unexpected appearance of apoliceman’s lollipop. We had been done.There are almost no speed limit signs here.Sixty kilometres in town and whatever outside,the speed changes being denoted by thetown name with a slash across it, Frenchstyle. We had exceeded the sixty limit bytwenty-two kilometres. Pulled over, weassumed the penitential pose, sorry officer,it surely will not happen again but he was notconvinced so we were to be fined. He drew adiagram of the speed limit sign that we never

Lenin statue, Zhytomyr Dynamic sculpture L’viv to Kiev


saw and indicated that I should get into hisPolice car. I said goodbye to my wife andhopped in. No speedy detention in the nearestclink but a child’s school exercise book tostudy. A monetary list of his victims but nonames indicated. At the roadside, 50UAH(£6) had been written as a suitable fine butinside the car it suddenly became 100 USdollars. “No dollars” I replied. We settled on100UAH (£12) and I think the experience wasworth the money. Apart from Arthur, I don’tknow anyone who has been in a UkrainianPolice car.

WE SPED ON, slowly, to Ivano-Frankivsk.After 242 miles the hotel search began

again and we were helped by a chap whohad lived in London and now owned a barthere, the one we had stopped outside of. Hegave us directions and said how happy hewas to see British people coming to see hiscountry. This was a sentiment that wascontinually repeated to us, makes you proudto be British. The pre-booked hotel, when weeventually found it, was superb.

Concrete remains of Hitler’s bunker, Wehrwolf

That Dynamicsculpture again

Our last full day in Ukraine took us 200 milesto Uzhhorod through tremendous mountainscenery, along a racetrack of a road. Perhapssomething to do with the number of RussianHGVs coming up from Hungary. TheUkrainian drivers went even faster and crazieron the smooth tarmac. Every tea stopattracted a small crowd who intently studiedthe bikes; the Yamaha’s radiator had onechap really enthralled. The hotel in Uzhhorod,we had been assured, had safe parking.


When we arrived we were told to put the bikesin a broom closet, off the foyer. Impossible,we said. When the landlady saw the bikesshe told us to ride them into the hotel buteven the GS couldn’t have ascended thesteps to the door. We left them outside andthe inevitable crowd gathered. We put coversover them that at least dissuaded people fromplaying with the controls. There was anovernight guard at the hotel door, armed with

a pistol; the bikes came to no harm.

We all thought Ukraine was an experiencenot to be missed. It was really hard workthough with the rough roads, heat and maddrivers. The best part was not knowing whatto expect next. We travelled optimistically andhad a great time. For anyone interested inseeing Ukraine I can recommend The BradtTravel Guide by Andrew Evans. I especiallylike his advice on driving in Ukraine, “thereare not enough pages in this book to list thereasons you should not want to drive inUkraine, and yet people do it”.

HOW DID SUCH disparate machinescompare on the 4000-mile trip? Engine

performance-FJR is super-league; GS isfourth division but only to be expected fromsuch radically different engine designs. Fuelconsumption-GS used consistently more fuelthan the FJR. Arthur was reluctant to cruiseon the German autobahn at more than 75mph because of the GS thirst. Fuel range-FJR covered over 300-miles between fill ups,GS was searching for fuel at 150 miles. Oilconsumption-GS needed top ups, FJR didn’tuse a drop, even when travelling at 130 mphin 38 degree heat on the autobahn.Suspension-GS performed much better onthe suspension testing Ukrainian roads andgave a more comfortable ride. The FJRtransmitted all the hammering to thehandlebars. Both machines were totallyreliable and nothing broke or fell off, prettygood considering the battering they weregiven.

The Ukrainian from Norfolk Russian war memorial in Vinnytsya

When


I WONDER HOW many of you have everplanned an event and wondered if it wasall worthwhile, this was my first and it

proved to be great fun and was enjoyed byeveryone.

I called it ‘Bunkhouse weekend’, everyonehad their own rooms and could park theirbikes outside their doors ready for the rideout.

On the Friday everyone arrived from allcorners of Britain ready to experience a fewdays in Yorkshire and The Cranedale Centre’sfood and hospitality.

Everyone unpacked and settled in ready forthe evening meal at 7.00pm. The centre is inthe quiet village of Kirby Gridalythe, justoutside Malton. There was free coffee andtea all weekend with a comfortable place torelax and chat in the dining room or theconverted barn area. Food has always beena favourite of mine at Cranedale and theynever disappoint, everybody tucked in andenjoyed the meal. It was good to see peoplehaving a good time, Helen, Brian, Sally, John,Andy and Jim particularly after such a longjourney. Once the meal was finished I wentover arrangements for the weekend and Carolour host at the centre explained a few things.

By this time the on site bar was open and itbecame the focus for good conversation andan evening quiz with a bottle of whiskey as a

by Pete WrightCranedale 2005Cranedale 2005

Lets look at the bikes


prize. Geoff and Ken were the barmen overthe weekend, interesting to talk to, and a goodsource of information for what to do aroundthe area. Everyone retired for a good nightssleep except for me who was hopingeveryone was happy with the centre and thearrangements. I eventually went to sleep andbefore long morning had arrived and thesmell of coffee and breakfast called.

EVERYONE WAS up and ready for the

days ride-out, breakfast was the usuallively affair with lots to chose from, cooked,cereals, toast, fruit etc, giving a good start tothe day. The ride-out was set to leave aroundl0.30am, I had checked the route and decidedit was a good biking road with excellentYorkshire scenery. After we got together todiscuss the route and the days plan Iexplained that there would be times whenwe could let the bikes ‘breath’ so we wereready for some fun. Thirteen bikes set out on

Time to go home

Bikes ready to go


a Yorkshire adventure, with others meetingus at the lunch stop.

We made our way around many back roadsavoiding the main route. BMW F650’s, RT’s,GS’s, Honda’s and a verycolourful K.T.M followed one afterthe other on twisty and straightroads, ups and downs, valleysand beautiful heather moors.We stopped at the top ofRosedale Chimney forspectacular views after justriding up a 1 in 3 hill and then onto Hutton-Le Hole for lunch. Wehad some good food at a lovelypub; the weather was kind so wesat outside with some Nortonrotary bikers amongst others.The journey back to the centrewas a relaxed affair with a stopoff at Morrison’s for somesupplies before tea at 6.00pm.After tea we had a walk aroundthe village and the rest of thecentre before the bar opened.Another good evening was had

by all with another quiz and goodconversation. Andy and Jim won the whiskeythat was passed on to Helen to be used in araffle prize at a later date. Eventually everyoneretired ready for the journey home on Sunday.I felt happy everyone had had a great timeand the poem written by Sally sums up thewhole weekend.

I WOULD JUST like to thank all the peoplewho were willing to try something different.

I enjoyed your company, conversation andfriendliness. Thanks to the Cranedale centrefor giving us the opportunity to use theirfacilities as a base. Check out their web site[www.cranedale.com] if you want to find out

Above left: Fun timeBelow left: Morning coffee and chatAbove: The evening meal

The top of Rosedale chimney


more.

Would I organize another trip? YES. I haveprovisionally booked Cranedale 2006- dates4th to 7th August. (Friday to Monday) cost £35per night. This includes own room, breakfastand evening meal. Hopefully a few morepeople will be willing to take a chance, trysomething different and have a fantastic time.

SALLY’S ODE TO YORKSHIRE

From distant counties in we rode

A glorious vision to behold (??)

Shining screens and gleaming forks

From north & south into “North Yorks”

A view over the North Yorks moors

The centre welcomed one and all

With comfy beds for short and tall

The chat was lively, laughter strong,

From happy, well fed, biker throng.

The sun died west, in shades of gold

While ale was drawn and stories told

Around the fire in comfy chairs

Night slipped upon us, unawares.

So. Saturday and off we rode

We climbed and twisted, swooped andflowed,

past wooded valleys, tumbling streams,

Then high on moors where heather gleamed

On and on, Pete led the way,

His GS showing how to play

Huge clouds tumbled, white and grey.

Warm sun peeped in and out all day.

So these few words our thanks must send

for such a magical weekend

It really was just great, that’s sure,

And simply left us wanting more,

So Pete, “Well done” The trends begun

Next August??..


Diary of Events - April 2006These activities have been arranged as agent for and on behalf of The BMW Club

2 E.Anglia The Crossways Inn Scole Norfolk 1200

Midland Ride to RAF Cosford, Shropshire – FreeEntry http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/index.cfmJoin us for breakfastthen depart 9.15am Donington servicesJ24M1 Richard Filipczak (07710) 834439

N.East Go Karting! Graham Walker on 07931710991 by 1st March.

Northern Breakfast Run - meet Tesco, J43 M67AM

Northern Ride around Llangollen - meet at Junc-tion A49/A533 Café & Petrol 10AM

S.East Hunt with The Hawk. Depart 10am fromlay-by on A20 at Jct with M26. (JohnHawker 01622 744665).

S.West 1030 hrs. Helen & John’s Rideout. Meetat Moto Services M5 Exeter Contact.Helen Beer. 01395 443246

Southern 10.00 Breakfast run to Wesson’scafé Horam, followed by a soup lunchwith Dave & Lesley Goldsmith

Western Ride-out - Castell Carreg Cennen toAbergavenny. Meet at Brecon MountainCentre - 12noon. Brian Price - 01792862152

Yorkshire 12:00 - Cracoe village hall.

3 Scottish Meldrums Hotel, Ceres, Fife. 19.30

Scottish Gairdeners Arms, Paisley Road, Glas-gow. 19.30

4 Mercia Four Counties Inn

Midland The Fox, Grantham Rd, Ropsley, Lincs.(01476) 585339 Pub meet 7.30pm

Ulster Club Meeting Corr’s Corner 8.00 pm

Western Evening Meeting - New Inn, Claines,Worcs. - 19.30hrs Bob Dunn - 01384390344

5 N.East Belmont Community Centre 7.30 p.m.Members Travel Forum; your stories.

S.East Club Night at ‘Riano’s’, Maidstone. 8pm.

Southern 12.00 Station Cafe, Alton. “Old GitsRun”.

Ulster Wednesday Evening Run – Meet Corr’sCorner 7.00 pm

Western Evening Meeting - Codrington Arms -19.30 hrs. Denis Bradbeer - 01454775786

6 Oxford Natter night, George & Dragon,Erlestoke, Wilts 7.00pm.

Southern 20.00 The Flying Bull, Rake.

7 Northern The Briars Hall Hotel 8PM

8 Midland Ride to national AGM meeting (SATUR-DAY) from J28 M1. Martin Ellis (07970)682972 for more info

8.9 National National AGM weekend (AGM Sat),Chorley Conference Centre, LittleCarr Lane, Chorley, Lancs. (North-ern section hosting)

9 E.Anglia The Chequers Wimbotsham “A ques-tions and answers talk by Nina Plumbeand Clive Sheward on Foreign Motorcy-cle Touring”.

Irish Cork Area 9am Run meet opposite Ibishotel

Irish Limerick Area. Meet Matt the Trashers,Birdhill. 11.00am. for run to Scariff.Peter Deevy 0872570855

Northern Section Meeting At Chipping Village Hall2PM

Oxford Ride out; Dave’s trip to Choky, DaveHawkins 01993 850862

S.East Eagle Heights Run. Depart 10am fromthe old Little Chef site, Charing, on A20Jct with A252. (Ken Hall 01227 792796).

Scottish Log Cabin Hotel, Kirkmichael,Perthshire. 12.30

11 Western Easter Compton Meeting - 13.30 hrs.‘Kilimanjaro’ - Talk and Slides by RuthCroome, Sky High Adventures.

Yorkshire 12:00 - The White Swan Inn at Blythe.

London Coach and Horses, Newgate St village8pm.

Oxford Natter night, Waggon and Horses,Southmoor 7.30 pm

Southern 20.00 Phoenix/Saddlers Arms.

12 Mercia Bull & Swan Inn


13 Mercia Cross & Bowling Green

Midland The Green Dragon, Blind Lane Oxton,Notts (0115) 9652012 Pub meet 7.30pm

14 S.East ‘The Green Man’, Ringmer. 8pm.

14.17 E.Anglia Easter weekend, The Oirschot Rally inHolland , at the Tureluur Camp Site inthe village of Netersel which is west ofEindhoven,off the A21 Antwerp toEindhoven motorway. Bunkhouse ac-commodation is available but must bebooked with Cici le.www.bmwcluboirschot.nl/ 0031-402136775. Social Sec 0845 1560715.for any help you might need.

14.17 S.West Easter at St Audries Bay. Nr.Minehead. See Journal. David Little01404 861285 or Keith Hackett 01803527760

16 E.Anglia The Shoulder of Mutton Fordham EssexA1124 12.00.


Mercia Mike Fishwick RAF Cosford

Midland Ride to Mallory Park racetrack to seeclub member Alan Hurd (07967) 461046racing an R100 outfit. Discounted entrywith access to paddock area. Needsprebooking and prepaying (£12). Join usfor breakfast then depart Doningtonservices M1 J24 at 9.30Martin [email protected] (07970)682972

Yorkshire The Famous Yorkshire Alpine Run. De-tails from Steve Lamb. S.A.E. to 24,Paterdale Drive, Rawcliffe, York YO305TW. or [email protected]/finish at The Highwayman Cafe onA64, 3 miles NE of York. OS Landrangermap sheet 100 or GPS required.

Yorkshire 12:00 - How Stean Gorge Cafe.

16.17 Irish Carlow Bike Show

17 Western Easter Monday Carvery - Meet for lunchat Tom Mogg Inn, Nr. Burtle, Somerset.- 12 noon. Carvery lunch and skittles.Jim Martin - 01242 672360

18 Midland The Park Hall Tavern, Park Hall Rd,Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts (01623)460267 Pub meet 8pm

Midland The Queen’s Arms, Isham Road,Orlingbury, Northants. (01933) 678258Pub meet 7.30pm

Northern The Creek, Peel Isle of Man 7:30PM

19 N.East The Waggon Inn, nr. Ponteland.


Southern 12.00 Jack’s Fish & Chip Shop,Bagshot. “Bikers Meet”.


20 Midland The King’s Head, Kingsway, Tealby,Lincs (01673) 838347 Pub meet 7.30pm

Southern 20.00 The Flying Bull, Rake/ TrueLovers Knot.

21 N.East Curry in St John’s Church Hall; 6.30pm Bowburn Services. Philip Gray 0191217 1690.

Northern The Glory – Loveclough. 8PM

21.23 Yorkshire Camping weekend at Riverside CaravenPark, High Bentham. Phil Rutt 01535216645

22 Mercia Ian’s Breakfast Run

23 E.Anglia Cafe meeting at The Autostop Trans-port cafe on the Cambridge side ofCaxton Gibbet roundabout (On the A428,Cambridge–St Neots, east of A1198 Er-mine Street) west of Cambridge nearJ13 and 14 of M11 with CambridgeshirePolice Motorcycle Road Safety Unit ,10am.

Irish N.W.Area Run to Tuam for Breakfast atThe West Wing at 10.00am. JimO’Connell 086-2805974.

London Run to Southwold. 09.30am layby un-der M25 Junction 26

Midland Cambridgeshire Police M/cycle roadsafety unit display in association withEast Anglia. Depart 9am Donington serv-ices J24M1 with a 10am pick up at Tescocar park. ½ mile East of Melton Mowbray(Leics) on A607. Martin Ellis (07970)682972 [email protected]

N.East The Lakes; meet Scotch Corner 9.30for 10; Brian Stephenson 0191 5220217.

Northern Ride to Seahouses - Carnforth RailwayStation 9AM

S.East ‘The Blue Bell’, Beltring, near PaddockWood, 12 noon.

Scottish Hopeville Social Club, Harlaw Road,Inverurie. 12.30

Ulster Ride and meet for lunch – The WildfowlerInn, Greyabbey 12.30 pm for 1.00 pm

Western Visit to Pewsey Wharf - Kennet and AvonCanal Meet in lay-by on A46 just southof Junct 18 - M4. 10.30 hrs for 11.00hrs. Janet Wilson - 01225 858876.

Western Skittles v. Moto Guzzi Club - 12 noon.Globe Inn, Somerton.

24 Northern The Haraby Inn – Carlisle 7:30PM

London Old Guinea, Ridge 8pm.

Oxford Natter night, Dog & Partridge, Riseley,nr Reading 8.00pm


Yorkshire 20:00 - Gildersome Conservative Club.

26 E.Anglia The Compasses Littley Green Essex1900hrs

Mercia The Chetwynd Arms

Mercia Four Counties Inn (noon)

N.East Lucky Few run; around the Borders. DepSafeway Hexham 10.00 a.m. PeterCullen 01434 674295.

Ulster Wednesday Evening Run – meet atCorr’s Corner 7.00 pm

27 Mercia Whipping Stocks

N.East Jackson’s Wharf at Hartlepool HistoricQuays

Northern The Whipping Stocks - A50 2 miles Southof Knutsford 8PM

28.1 Midland Camping (long) weekend at Dollgellau,N Wales (Bank holiday). Turn up withyour tent, or book on-site B+B (Limitedspaces) George Gibson 07832 458585

28.1 Ulster Ulster Section Scottish Bank HolidayWeekend at Angus Hotel, Blairgowrie.Special Hotel and Ferry rates. LeslieAllen 02828274127 or 07732643280

28.30 N.East Aviemore weekend arranged by DennisMaggs; call him on 0191 371 9610.

29.1 Western Camping and Caravan Weekend SunnyLyn Holiday Park, Lynbridge, Lynton,Devon. Caravans and lodges available.


Food on site & Pub next door. All book-ings ASAP to be made direct with SunnyLyn Holiday Park - 01598 753384

30 E.Anglia National Motorcycle Museum Birming-ham, seewww.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/Meeting Brampton Services McDonald’sat junction of A1/A14 near Huntingdonat 10am followed by Corely Serviceson M6 south of Birmingham 11.30 am.,and on to venue.

Midland Lincolnshire Wolds Run (Formerly LouthLions run) Bill Rodgers (01526) 834480

S.West 1200 hrs. Pub Meet. Good Knight Inn,Cheriton Bishop.

May 20061 Scottish Meldrums Hotel, Ceres, Fife. 19.30

Scottish Gairdeners Arms, Paisley Road, Glas-gow. 19.30

Ulster Joe Stewart’s Breakfast Run – meet atStormont gates 7.30 am for 7.45 am

2 Mercia Four Counties Inn

Midland The Fox, Grantham Rd, Ropsley, Lincs.(01476) 585339 Pub meet 7.30pm

Ulster Club Meeting – Corr’s Corner 8.00 pm

3 N.East Belmont Community Centre 7.30 p.m.;rearranged - details to be notified.

Northern 9AM Mid Week Run South - Meet Tesco,Congleton. Volunteer leader needed.


Southern 12.00 Station Cafe, Alton. “Old GitsRun”.


Western Evening Meeting - Codrington Arms.19.30 hrs. Denis Bradbeer - 01454775786.

4 Oxford Natter night, George & Dragon,Erlestoke, Wilts 7.00pm.

Southern 20.00 The Flying Bull, Rake.

5 Northern 8PM The Briars Hall Hotel Vera Hunt01257 464429

5.7 Northern Camping at Rhayadar Leon Wych 01270767167

5.7 S.West Hampster Rally.Gwythian Farm Camp-site, Cornwall. On B3301 7 miles NE ofSt. Ives. Les Carr 01579 362086

6 Irish Cork Area. Mizen Head To Malin HeadRun. Liam 086-8252774

7 E.Anglia The Crossways Inn Scole Norfolk 1200

Irish N.W.Area Noel’s Run, Meet at Coffey’sCafé at 11.00am

Mercia John’s Breakfast run

Midland Starcom run. Test the all new ‘Starcom1 Advance’ intercom system. Free re-freshments. Depart 9.30am Doningtonservices J24M1. Arrive Bramley Roadindustrial estate, St.Ives, Cambs.around midday. http://

www.starcom1.com Martin Ellis (07970)682972 [email protected]

N.East The da Vinci run – Edinburgh! A LONGrun. Meet 9.00 am at the Waggon,Ponteland. Ian Byron on 0191 5272724.

Oxford Ride out ; Michael Sedwards 01235835481

S.East Rogers Rideout. Depart 10am ThurrockServices (petrol side). Just off M25, Jct30. (Roger Bickerstaffe 01322 554127).

Western Navigation Ride. Meet 10.0 for 10.30hrs at Normans Cafe, Stalling Downcommon. A48, one mile east ofCowbridge. All day breakfast available.Haydn Reece - 01656 659848. Pleasephone for details - O.S. map needed inadvance.

Yorkshire 12:00 - Cracoe village hall.

8 Yorkshire 20:00 - The Triton Inn at Brantingham.

9 London Coach and Horses, Newgate Street, 8pm

Oxford Natter night, Waggon and Horses,Southmoor 7.30 pm


10 E.Anglia The Wheatsheaf Exning Suffolk 1900hrs

Mercia Bull & Swan Inn

N.East A jaunt with Jack. Depart 10.30 a.m.Bowburn Jack Lawrie, 0191 4105369.

S.West Fish & Chip Night. Captain Jaspers, TheBarbican, Plymouth. Meet 1900 hrs.Nobby Donno. 01726 681471


11 Mercia Tony Kingston rideout

Mercia Cross & Bowling Green

Midland Thursday Brunch Run. CANCELLED

Midland The Green Dragon, Blind Lane Oxton,Notts (0115) 9652012 Pub meet 7.30pm

Southern 19.30 Fish and Chip run to MotherKelly’s at Portchester.Dave & MyfanwyWilliamson Tel 01428 751756

11.14 Midland Edinburgh hotel weekend. (Fully booked)Bill Rodgers (01526) 834480

12 S.East ‘The Green Man’, Ringmer. 8pm.

12.14 Scottish Bunkhouse Weekend at Lochearnhead.Book in advance. Steve 01975 564060

12.14 Ulster Ulster Section NW200 camping plus BBQweekend – see journal for details

13 Irish Joint - BMW Club/Cork Garda CharityMizen-Malen Head run in aid of MS Ire-land. Liam Quinlan 086 8252774 or JohnFreeley 086 6072228 for details.

14 E.Anglia The Chequers Wimbotsham Norfolk1200

Irish Limerick Area. Hills & Dales Run. MeetRacket Hall, Roscrea 11.00am coffee.Depart 12.00noon. Peter Deevy0872570855

London Run to Mallory park, New era races,9.30 am from Services S Mimms

Northern 2PM Section Gathering. Hale BarnsGeoff Thompson 01706 629206


S.East High Tea Run. Meet at ‘The Blue Bell’,Beltring, 12noon for lunch. Run leaves2pm. (Kevin Goldfinch 01304 840223)

S.West Marshall for Charity ‘Cycle Ride. 25 and50 mile bicycle ride Meet in Honiton.Contact D. Little for start time. 01404861285

Scottish Log Cabin Hotel, Kirkmichael,Perthshire. 12.30

Southern 09.30 Run to Corfe Castle. Meet LilyLangtry’s café Stockbridge, Nick &Sarah Tucker. Tel 01420 83161.

Western Easter Compton Meeting - 13.30 hrs.Talk by John Holland of Rapid ResponseUK Disaster Search and Rescue.

Western Worcester Group Museum Visit Meet08.00 for 08.30 hrs at New Inn, Claines.John Daniels - 01299 828141

Yorkshire 12:00 - The White Swan Inn at Blythe.

16 Midland The Park Hall Tavern, Park Hall Rd,Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts (01623)460267 Pub meet 8pm

Midland The Queen’s Arms, Isham Road,Orlingbury, Northants. (01933) 678258Pub meet 7.30pm

Northern 7:30PM The Creek, Peel Isle of Man

17 N.East The Waggon Inn, nr. Ponteland

Northern 10AM Mid Week Run - Devil’s Bridge,Kirby Lonsdale. Mike Gibson 01229582787

Oxford Open evening and BBQ at North OxfordBMW


Southern 12.00 Jack’s Fish & Chip Shop,Bagshot. “Bikers Meet”.

Ulster Wednesday Evening Run – meet atCorr’s Corner 7.00

Western Evening Ride - Cotswolds Meet atCodrington Arms 19.00hrs. Tim Lilley -0117 956 2592.

18 Midland The King’s Head, Kingsway, Tealby,Lincs (01673) 838347 Pub meet 7.30pm

Southern 20.00 The Flying Bull, Rake/TrueLovers Knot.

19 N.East Fish’n’Chip Run. Bowburn Services @7.00 p.m. Mike and Ann Wray on 01388605764.

19 Northern 8PM The Glory – Loveclough. AlanStretton 01706 656606

19.21 Yorkshire Camping weekend at Eden Tree House,Bradwell, Hope, Derbyshire. Keith orKath 01226 763883

20 Northern Sammy Miller Museum Weekend 19 -21May Bill Smithson 01539 736454

20.21 Midland The BMF rally PeterboroughShowground. Be advised there will be noclub stand at this Year’s BMF rally.

20.21 Midland Be part of the BMW presence at theBelvoir Steam and Classic Vehicle Show,Belvoir Castle, Leics. http://www.steamfestival.co.uk/ Entry formsfrom Bill Rodgers (01526) 834480

20.22 Irish Ulster Section N.W. 200 Camping Week-end. Jim O’Connell 086-2805974.

21 E.Anglia The Shoulder Of Mutton Fordham Es-sex 1200

Mercia Keiths rideout

N.East A day out with Bill. Bowburn DurhamServices, at 10.00 a.m; Bill Cresswellon 0191 4161078.

S.West Pub Meet. Anchor Inn, Exbridge,Dulverton. Chris Crocker. 01884 252759

Southern 09.30 Run to Hurn Aircraft Museum,meet SPC; Pat & Mick Lowe Tel 01256354833.

Western Walking Tour of Old Central Bristol. Meet11.15 for 11.30 hrs at Chipping Sodburyclock tower. Ride into Bristol with MartinEaves for 12 noon . Tel: 01454 313458

Yorkshire 12:00 - How Stean Gorge Cafe.

23 London Old Guinea, Ridge, 8pm

Oxford Natter night, Dog & Partridge, Riseley,nr Reading 8.00pm.


24 Mercia The Chetwynd Arms


25 Mercia Whipping Stocks

N.East Jackson’s Wharf at Hartlepool HistoricQuays

Northern 8PM The Whipping Stocks - A50 2 milesSouth of Knutsford Mal Wagstaff 0161747 4443

26.28 E.Anglia Camping The Hadleigh Rally organisedby Sue Bullimore. www.hadleigh-suffolk.co.uk/ Tel. 01638 578461 Watchthe rideout this year!! Breakfastscooked on site!! Lots of local pubs andrestaurants.

26.29 London French Hotel weekend. Book early withMick Miles

26.29 Midland Beamish (long) weekend incl Bank holi-day Monday, nr. Hexham (Hadrian’s Wallcountry). Turn up with your own tent/caravan (no need to book) or bunkhouse/B+Bs available (need booking). Organ-ised rideout with N.E section (Sat) anddiscounted visit to Beamish open airvillage/museum (Sun). More details onhttp://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/midland Mar-t in Ell is (07970) [email protected]

26.29 Oxford Club Continental long weekend

26.29 S.West Camping Weekend. Innis Inn Penwithick,St. Austell. Site 2 miles from EdenProject. £4.50 per person per night. .Robin Wale. 01726 824108

26.29 Scottish Joint event with Midland section nr.Hexham. See Midland entry for details.

26.29 Southern French Camping Weekend with Daveand Norma Harrison at Chateaubriant.Dave and Myfanwy Williamson Tel 01428751756.

26.29 Yorkshire Joint camping weekend with MidlandSection. Martin Ellis 01623 401405


27 N.East Midland Section run lead by NeilLangsley and Jack Lawrie; Midland Sec-tion Camp Site 10.00am

28 Irish N.W. Area Mystery Run from Carrick-on-Shannon at 12.00pm

Northern Ride See Journal

S.East ‘The Blue Bell’, Beltring, near PaddockWood, 12 noon.

Scottish Hopeville Social Club, Harlaw Road,Inverurie. 12.30

Scottish Crook Inn, North of Moffat on A701.12.30

Ulster Ride and meet for lunch – HalfwayHouse Hotel, Ballygally, Co Antrim 12.30pm for 1.00 pm

Western Simon’s Ride. Meet Severn View Serv-ices (J.1 - M48) 10.30 for 10.45 hrs.Simon Gough - 0117 973 4120

29 Northern 7:30PM The Haraby Inn – Carlisle JohnBell 01228 535173

30 Yorkshire 20:00 - Gildersome Conservative Club.

31 E.Anglia The Compasses Littley Green Essex1900hrs

Mercia Four Counties Inn (noon)

31.2 Oxford FIM Motocamp, Vorden in Netherlands

MOA French Connection Rally – 25/28 May2006 at Chéniers in Limousin, France. Details fromArthur Brown – tel. & fax 01270 873172;[email protected]

The Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show 20063-5 March 2006, RDS Dublin.(Bikes park free at front entrance)

www.irishmotorbikeshow.com

22-25 June 2006 Horizons UnlimitedTravellers Meeting held near Ripley,Derbyshire. Of interest to everyone who hasor wants to do a big trip by motorcycle. Slideshows, talks, green lane ride outs, specialiststallholders and a large bonfire make this aunique event. £15.00 in advance.Detailswww.horizonsunlimited.com

The Pyrenees and Hidden France 8 - 17September 2006. A Motorcycle Sport &Leisure Tour exclusively for BMW ClubMembers and friends. Price includesovernight ferry Portsmouth/Caen, 2 berthcabin & daytime return to Portsmouth. 8 nightsdinner, bed & breakfast in quality hotels, (2 ina Paradore). 2 persons 1 bike shared room£725 per person. 1 person 1 bike sharedroom, £799. 1 person 1 bike single room,£999. £95 deposit. Bookings and furtherdetails, Contact: Alan Steed Tel. 01243862261 or email, [email protected]

Events notorganised by the

BMW ClubThe BMW club provides the following eventsfor your information and has no responsibility

for these events or the accuracy of thisinformation


June11thto 14th Hotel

Week-End inC u m b r i a

Ride outs

These activities have been arranged as agent for and on behalf of The BMW ClubAROUND THE COMPASS

2nd-5th June Borren East Weekend In Memoryof Brian Langton- Yorkshire Section. 3 to 4 nightshotel and all the East Yorkshire back roads youcan ride starting Friday 2nd B&B in Hull thenSaturday morning riding boreen roads of EastYorkshire, dinner then up to Scarborough B&B ande/meal. On Sunday more boreen roads stunningviews and countryside running up to Whitby areaB&B and e/meal and a good crac in the evening.Cost will be approx £135pp. More details RossCameron on 01482 879943

12th – 14th May 2006 Ulster Section’s North West200 road races camping weekend. The campsiteis only yards away from the racing and there is aBBQ planned for the Saturday night. Cost£10.00 per night. For further details callTommy Atkinson on 02893382312

26-29 May (Fri-Mon) Long weekendin Northumberland (Midland section),Winshields campsite is 14 miles east ofHexham (Hadrian’s Wall country) on theB6318 Near the 'Once Brewed Tourist infocentre'). Bunkhouse needs pre-booking on(01434) 344243 (mention the club) or turn up andcamp/caravan with no booking required. Organisedrideout with N.E section on Saturday anddiscounted visit to Beamish (Sun). This event isbeing publicised by multiple sections so book yourB+B or bunkhouse early. Contact Martin Ellis(01623) 401405 [email protected] forB+B numbers, or get all the info you need at http://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/midland/calendar.htm

27th- 30thJuly Herefordshire Hotel Weekend(Northern Section) How Caple Grange Hotel, nearFownhope, in the beautiful Wye valley. Saturdayride out and/or visit. Cost for the weekend is£109.00 (2 nights) or £149.00 (3 nights) per person,half board accommodation in en-suite rooms. Useof the sauna & outdoor swimming pool is ofcourse included. Please book soon to avoiddisappointment. For further info or to bookplease contact Tony Cartmell on 01253768421 or [email protected]

Scotland Hotel week July 9 - 13 courtesy ofthe Midland section. Five nights half board at the 3star Nethybridge Hotel in the Cairngorms -Monarch of The Glen country. http://www.strathmorehotels.com/neth_site/ Fantasticvalue. Places are limited so please book now. RobHarvey (01788) 393187

Northern Section’s Holiday in Eire based atGalway, 11-17th June, John Bell 01228 535173

12 – 18 August “Run to the Ring”. A scenic runto the Eiffel Mountains and back, coinciding withthe annual BMW International Driver’s TrainingCourse at the Nürburgring. For more details take alook at www.bmwmcc.co.uk/london/ring2006.htmor contact Dave Ensor on 020 8508 5223 or [email protected]

Normandy Week 2nd to 9th June 2006 D-Dayanniversary, with camping at St. Aubin-sur-mer’sholiday village Camping de la Cote de Nacre,probably the best in Normandy. It has every facility.

Book direct on 0033 231 971 445. The site islocated within a small town, easy walking

distance to the beach with a variety ofsea front restaurants. Visit Bayeux andsee the tapestry, the American Cemeteryat Omaha Beach or simply relax with abottle of wine. Please call the East Anglia

Section Social Secretary on 0845 1560715for more information .


THERE HAS BEEN some action in theMotorrad test fleet as the MV Agusta F41000S threw a conrod through the side

of the crankcase whilst travelling at 155 mphon the autobahn after12,000 km of its 50,000km long term test. When machine wasreturned to the factory for examination, MVfound signs of swarf remaining from themachining process. According to MV, thereshould have been a dramatic increase innoise prior to the untimely exit, but accordingto the tester everything appeared OK.Information from readers indicates that thisis not an isolated incident.

Touratech have added a number ofaccessories for the R1200RT, particularly acouple of tank-bags that use the BMW railsystem.

BMW have asked GP-superstar LucaCadalora to test a super-sports typemotorcycle. According to BMW, there is noexpectation of entering Moto-GP, but themachine is to be used as a test bed forengines with very high power outputs and totest lightweight chassis technology underextremely high loadings. Head of BMWMotorrad, Herbert Diess, explained that newtechnology, such as the slipper clutch, will

find its way into production bikes over the nextfew years. The picture released by BMWshows a chain drive from the right hand sideof the machine - rather which illogical if itwere based on the K1200 engine – and thereare rumours of a development 3-cylinderengine.

Motorrad staff have frequently experienced theannoyed flashes of oncoming motoristswhen encountering a R1200RT on dippedbeam. The 1200RT now has only a two-position lever instead of the variable hand-wheel adjustment of its predecessor. Whenloaded with a passenger the main beam isbetter at illuminating tree branches ratherthan the road ahead. A static examination bythe TUV station at Stuttgart proved that themachine was not transgressing any statutoryregulations, so it would appear that theproblems are related to dynamic loadingunder acceleration and high speed. In themeanwhile BMW announced that early-series models left the factory with settingson the “high” side. The adjustment is bymeans of a (rather inaccessible) screwunderneath the two-position lever. All BMWdealers have been asked to include thisaspect in their PDI check and should carryout a check on existing machines on a free-of-charge basis.

German JottingsJohn Bentall


Taking Care of (Club)Business : NCM February

Chairman’s Welcome/Report Tonywelcomed everyone, reminded us of ourresponsibilities as directors and that we arethe largest one-make club outside of USA allrun by volunteers, we must remember that.He thanked Rob Pearce for taking on theDisplay Ads job following Alison Daniels’sresignation.

Matters arising from November Minutes1. Sidecar Secretary Advert appeared,two expressed an interest and progressing.2. Insurance Steve Shepley to sourcequotes other than BMF.3. Section bankings S e c t i o nTreasurers to reduce transactions to one permonth. Derek Johnson to re-issueTreasurers’ Job Description.

Reports of National Officers

Secretary. BMF payment explained. M&As onwebsite agreed.Treasurer. Derek explained the year endaccount summary and answered quetions.Liz Sandland queried rule 70 which wasexplained but rewording needs to beconsidered. Accounts approved.Editor. Most advertisers agreed to change tocolour and pay more. A print schedule hasbeen produced. Omission of the standardAGM notification in the January Journal wasdiscussed, although regrettable it cannot berectified but the feeling was that the AGMwould not be invalid.Social Secretary. Attendance at NEC BikeShow agreed. BMW Car Club invited us tojoin them at Cadwell Park in May.Membership Secretary. Non renewingmembers will not get their February Journal,previously the cut off was the March Journal..New web based system will be introducednow that the rush for renewals is over. Rollingmembership year would be too much work.

Webmaster’s Post Proposal from SouthernSection for the Webmaster to be an electedNational Officer. Following discussion GarthForbes proposed changing Article 34 toinclude webmaster but this failed. PeterMapes proposed amending Article 35 toinclude webmaster; this was agreed and willgo before AGM.

AGM Agenda agreed

Club Europa Tony Moores reiterated theposition. Bill Smithson thanked Peter Dunnfor the clarity of his report. He and Peter Dunnanswered questions about the detail.Proposal to accept the agreement wasunanimous.

Allowable Officers’ Expenses Tony Mooresclarified the current situation about NCMattendees allowances. No alcoholic drinkswill be billed to the club account.

Forthcoming Events Agreed not to attend2006 and 2007 BMF Rally at Peterborough

Any other urgent businessAgreed that any overnight accommodationprovided for officers including those attendingNCM, working party groups, presidentsmeetings or any other such meetings are fullyindemnified against the costs ofaccommodation.

Agreed that the Section capitation fee for thesubscription year commencing 1st February2007 is set at £3.00 for full members and£1.70 for associates for a period of one year.

Agreed that the maximum subscription ratefor 2007/2008 is set at £27; £4 forassociates; 37.50€ for overseas EUmembers; £5 for all overseas members tocover additional postage and 7€ for overseasmembers, excluding Irish Section; to bepresented before the AGM.

D.O.N.M 17 June 2006, 28 October 2006


Ultimate Jacket test

hot summers are the Darien’s underarm andback vents. The TF2 armor helps providecrash performance, and the abrasionresistance of waxed cotton (when comparedto the Darien’s 500 denier Cordura) is betterthan you’d think. Each Falstaff jacket acceptsthe zip-in Darien fleece liner jacket, Velcro-inback pad, and the zip-in Kanetsu ElectricLiner. These options are available separately.One-year warranty. (100-weight, 200-weightand electric liners sold separately.) Black orbrown. S, M, L, XL, XXL.”

MY FIRST RIDE with this jacket was toPortugal in January 2004. Combined

with an Aerostitch heated fleece thejacket proved it’s worth through

out this one-month wintertrip.

Three days of heavyrain in France and

I was dry everyday, all day.Even theblinking of theBlack Icew a r n i n glight on mydash failedto impressthe Kanetsuh e a t e dfleece as Irode on inc o m f o r tthrough thePicos de

E u r o p aMountains.

The second ride was our one-month Alpine adventure this autumn, whichproved to be more demanding as we rodefrom +25c to -5c over the different alpinepasses, between Innsbruck and Nice.Onceagain the jacket passed with flying coloursas did the trees covered in their Autumncolours.

I HAVE TRIED, over the years, most of thedifferent combinations and brands ofmotorcycle clothing and found them all to

be lacking.

So I started another search for the ultimatejacket with a short list of required options.

1-Waterproof, 2-Lots of big pockets, 3-Ventilation, 4-Armour.

Oh and did I say “Year Round Touring Use”.

Now that’s not much to ask, is it?

My loathing of anything with the word“TEX” soon reduced this to a very, veryshort list.

In the end I ordered a BrownFalstaff Wax cotton jacketfrom Aerostitch. Yes that’sright Wax Cotton. The stuffthey used 30 years ago.It is waterproof, has lotsof pockets, ventilationzips and armour.

Here is whatAerostitch have tosay:

“If you fancyTHE classict r a d i t i o n a lbiker stuff butd e m a n dmodern venting, TF2 technicalarmor and Scotchlite reflectiveareas, then the Falstaff oughtto do it. The Falstaff’s authenticfabric is exactly the same Englishwaxed cotton as the original gear uses.It is highly durable and exceptionallycomfortable. We’ve added a full sewn-incotton lining with two huge inside pockets, asoft ultrasuede faced collar, and an oversizedcargo pocket behind the back reflective.Helping it to be more comfortable to wear in


Airflow through wax cotton is much more thenany of the “breathable membranes” on offer,while still keeping out the rain. The ventilationzips work very well and still keeps out thosesummer showers when open.

THE EIGHT outer pockets are well madeand failing to close a pocket will, in most

cases, find your things still inside at the nextstop. Combined with the two inside pocketsyou can load this jacket with everything barthe kitchen sink.

Nothing is perfect and the downside of thisjacket is the weight. This is no lightweightpiece of kit, weighing in at just over 6 lb’s.While on the bike you would never know, buthop off for a quick sprint to the “look out” andyou will soon feel the extra mass of thisjacket. The extra weight does give a feelingof security and the Velcro waste belt allowsyou to take the weight off your shoulders whilewalking around town.

Another slight problem is the two large frontbreast pockets, while allowing easy access,

they do get damp inside but not enough tokill my digital camera or enter my wallet. Inow add a plastic bag or transfer the camerato the inside during heavy rain.

I have grown to love my wax cotton jacket injust two months of use which is more then Ican say for any other jacket in the past 30+years of motorcycling.

My wife now has a black one on her Christmaswish list, which is impressive and hasnothing, I assure you, to do with my ravings.

So for those of you who are looking for analternative to the “Plastic Tex membrane, cookyou in your own juices, jacket” wander over towww.aerostitch.com.

I have no connection with Aerostitch beyondusing and enjoying their products. Ray Smith.

(A note from the Features Ed. I can but agreeon the quality of Aerostitch as I have a two-piece Roadcrafter suit I got a couple of yearsback and find it great.)


Spike Speaks -

Wheres the Point?

HAVING SPOKEN LAST time aboutputting together a bike I finally feltcomfortable with, the logical next step

was to put “Tough-Torquer” to work repayingin miles what it had cost in pounds. BetweenJune 2003 and June 2005 Wendy and Icovered over 20,000 trouble- free milesthrough France, Spain, Italy, and England. Therebuild confirmed the modifications hadmade T.T more responsive, reliable and lessthirsty. For me, one of the tests of a goodtouring motorcycle is its ability to cover greatdistances over relatively short periods of timewithout leaving it or the rider feeling orsounding wrecked. So last summer it wastime to test whether a 50 something couldstill survive a whole day in the saddle. 25years ago I had gone from London to Valenciain 25 hours avoiding all motorways, and in1981 from Lands End to John O’Groats in anunhurried 17 hours. So this time to test bothmy physical and mental faculties I opted todo the “four points of the compass” in under48 hours, a distance of 2050 miles, (Wendydeclined the invitation to accompany me). Forthe uninitiated, this involves travelling to themost easterly, northerly, westerly andsoutherly points of mainland Britain,respectively, Lowestoft, Ardnamurchan Point,Dunnet Head and The Lizard Point. Being awell tried exercise, I found various articleson previous attempts which confirmed themost troublesome point to reach would be

Ardnamurchan , involving a short ferry rideacross Loch Linnhe followed by 50 miles ofmainly single track of dubious quality. Theadded bonus –if you can call it that- twoconsecutive ‘thousand mile days’ – two “IronButts” on one ageing bum.

Yes I know dear reader what’s the point, howcan you enjoy the pleasures of a place whilstrushing through without stopping? As Kevinand Julia Saunders showed in their lastrecord breaking run through the America’s,there’s still plenty of time to enjoy and absorbeven when continuously on the move. Therewas also the added bonus of winning amileage competition set by the “boy racersweekly” (Motorcycle News).

I chose June 21st, the longest day, to extractthe maximum amount of daylight. In startingfrom London rather than Lowestoft I made amajor blunder, for although the Norfolk townis the most accessible of the four points ittook 2 ½ hours to reach from the capital evenleaving at 4am.

Departing Lowestoft at 6.45am I madereasonable progress across to the A1, thennorth to Scotch Corner, taking the A66 beforejoining the M6 at Penrith, then onward toGlasgow via the A74/M74 before skirting thecity around 3pm, reaching the Coran ferry at4.45pm. Total miles so far, 630. The ten-minute crossing was followed by the leastanticipated part, the road to ArdamurchanPoint. Starting innocently enough as two wayreasonably surfaced, it gradually declinedinto a single track covered with loose gravel,isolated groups of sheep and several blindhill brows, and the chance of meetingoncoming traffic around the numerous blindbends.

Ignoring the clock I settled for a relaxed pace,even if my brain was anything but. Arriving at6.20pm I took pictures of the lighthouse andsurrounding cliffs, 10 minutes to regain some


composure before retracing my tortuousroute back to the ferry and across the loch toCoran.

THE ORIGINAL PLAN would have had mehere at 6pm in order to Dunnet Head and

back to Inverness by midnight. Day 2 wouldhave taken me to the Lizard and back toLondon by midnight. As things stood it wouldtake at least 4 hours to reach “point north”with the associated difficulties of findingaccommodation after midnight (no, I don’t docamping).

Given that the aim was to reach each point indaylight a major rethink was required withthe result that “four points” became “three”. Iwould end the day in Inverness and finishthe trip the following day at Dunnet Head.

The A82 from Fort William to Inverness is oneof the classic biking roads; leaving FortWilliam at 9pm I covered the 65 miles in asmany minutes, meeting little traffic and nospeed cameras - an exhilarating way to end

a long day. Finding a Travelodge on theoutskirts of Inverness, I fell into bed at10.30pm having covered 815 miles in 16½hours.

Setting off at 6am the next morning I reachedDunnet Head lighthouse, again someobligatory photographs and the long journeyback down south, reaching home around11pm. Total miles over the two days, 1665.So one iron butt on my posterior, no “iron butt”for posterity. The weather had been perfectboth on days; the bike ran without a fault,averaged 60 mpg and used little oil, truly a“tough-torquer”.

There still remained the 4th point to conquer,a thousand mile day unfulfi l led, and amileage competition. As I alluded to earlier,riding for me is infectious, the longer I sit onthe thing the more I want to stay sat,especially when everything about the bikeseems just right, its like, you never want thejourney to end. So it was that six weeks laterI was rushing past Stonehenge on the A303with an appointment with a Lizard.


No photo of a lighthouse, just a few woodencrosses marking the jumping off point fortravellers to another world. This time I wasdetermined to hit that 1000 mile day barrier,so the route took me from The Lizard via afast run up the M5/6 to Penrith, and thenanother legendary biking road, the A686across the northern Pennines to Alstonincluding the highest café in England (it wasclosed) then the A689 to Bishops Auckland.Some light drizzle and a stretch of greasy roadslightly diluted the pleasure of this amazingroute across the top of England. Once backon the A1 it was straight back home with twobutts most definitely ironed, 1050 miles in17½ hours averaging 54mph. Again TT ranfaultlessly and averaged 57mpg and usedno oil. Would I have attempted another 1000miles the next day? You bet. The next fivedays? Probably. 19 days through a dozencountries? well……………. Did I win the MCNcompetition?

The objective was the highest daily averagebetween May 1st and August 31st, the prizebeing £3500 towards a new bike. During thisperiod I covered 7813 miles, seems a lot butits only 74 miles a day, which some bikersprobably cover to and from work (courierswere excluded). As mine were all leisure andmost definitely pleasurable miles, mychances of winning were less than slight. Infact the winner covered 17,000 miles visitingNorway and Russia as well as competing inthe Round Britain Rally on a 1200GS. So MrBruce Whetton if you are reading this howabout an account of your competition winningjourneys.

2005 saw TT cover some 12000 miles with

only a 20-watt pilot bulb a casualty, TheMacadam 50’s were near the limit afterstarting the year brand new. The battered andscarred Craven topbox, which covered over100,000 miles on three separate bikes, finallygave way to a bigger and more stylish 1100GSitem. As for 2006, our bikes 20th birthday,Wendy and I are having a leisurely jauntthrough Portugal, and perhaps a fullyauthenticated “Iron Butt” to feed my habitbefore setting our sights set oncircumnavigating the Black Sea in 2007.

Another year, another round of bikingpleasure. Have an enjoyable and safe one.

P.S. John Broad in the November issuesuggested I got my sums wrong regardingthe costs of rebuilding my bike. Thepurchase price of the original R80RT was£1,000, which for its condition (fairly good)and mileage (40,000) was about average fora 1986 model. Deducting £300 for the saleof redundant parts brought the initial outlaydown to £700, leaving just over £1300 spenton parts and labour. Yes, my mechanic waspaid for the work done. I would add that thedifference between a “tuner/technician” anda mechanic may not necessarily be down toone being more knowledgeable than theother but their rate for the job. As I wrote in theJuly 2005 journal I have finally foundsomebody who can satisfactorily carry outwork required without charging silly money.

Regarding the LED rear light panel, thisavailable for all “airhead” models from:Motorrad Elektrik in the U.S, their website isat www.motoelekt.com/lighting. The cost is$50 plus shipping.


ONCE I JOIN THE COASTAL route, theroad surface and views improvedramatically. Still following Route 2, I

ride around the Gulf of Kotor, where localholiday making, as well as limitedinternational tourism, is in evidence. This isreally very beautiful. This so called gulf – it isreally an inland sea with a narrow inlet to theAdriatic – is ringed with numerous fishingvillages, all filled with quaint old houses builtin a unique style, and in the centre of the ‘sea’is an island monastery (figure 12).Everywhere you look, the scenery is typical ofthe region: mountainous inland, rocky coastalareas with sheltered bays and inlets, andcypress trees in abundance. There is littledoubt that this is going to the Europeanholiday resort of the future, once it achievesEU membership (and crossing the borderbecomes a more pleasant experience).Worth considering a property purchase?

Pressing on, I hug the coast as long aspossible, then turn inland to skirt lake Scutariand, with trepidation, approach the Albanianborder at Han i Hotit. I experience no troubleexiting Montenegro after having presented mygreen card, and I approach the Albanianborder police post to find, as usual, a queueof around a half dozen cars. I notice that theyare all driving through a shallow dip filled withan evil green chemical soup and, naturally,assume that this is a requirement to prevent

cattle and pig disease transmission. Whenit comes to my turn to enter the soup, I do soat a constant low speed and in a dead straightline, fearing that the bottom will be veryslippery. As it turns out, my worst fears arerealised when both front and rear tyressimultaneously lose all grip and I and Helgaare deposited ungraciously in the chemicalbroth (which, I can now relate, not only lookedevil, it smelled evil too!). Unhurt, I wasimmediately surrounded by well-wishinghelpers, who quickly picked up Helga andpulled her out of the s**t. This breaks the icewith the border police, who are nowsympathetic instead of brusque. I am askedwhere I am going and where I have comefrom – not as a formality, but out of genuineinterest. My only regret is that, in the melee, Ineglected to have a photo taken of Helga andI in the sheep dip! Notwithstanding the factthat I was now the centre of attention, I amstill required to purchase another green card(only €10), and to officially ‘import’ Helga byfilling in numerous forms and parting withanother €2 (actually €10 because they willnot accept coinage, and have no change).This whole episode occupies around an hourand, when I am ready to depart, I am given acordial send off.

I thought that Montenegro was a poor country,but it was, by comparison, wealthy andextremely beautiful. Albania is, literally, theanus of the planet. There is garbageeverywhere! The population clearly have nonational pride and just dump their rubbish –all imaginable sorts of rubbish – whereverthey happen to be at the point that it becomesrubbish. The stink is, in places, enough tomake one gag. The roads, in the rural areas,are poor but passable, and a reasonableaverage speed could be maintained – wereit not for the innumerable state police in theirgreen cars with radar speed measuringdevices. I have never seen so many speedtraps; and this in a country where the ‘normal’

ITS A DOGS LIFE ( Part 2 - Of 3 ! )Learning to live with Marjory and Helga

John Thompson gets going in Albania ....


modes of transport for the masses are, indiminishing order, foot, donkey, donkey andcart, bus (of the severely clapped out variety)and, only for the wealthy few, cars. Two out ofevery three cars are Mercedes, BMW and Audi.Many, if not most, ofthese have probablybeen stolen to orderby the Albanian Mafia.

Once one enters atown or city, allpretence at roadmaintenance isabsent. Streets areheavily rutted and poth o l e d , w i t hcompacted rubblethe predominantsurface dressing.Most buildingsappear totally un-maintained and in aserious state ofdilapidation.

I resolve to get out of Albania as quickly asthe roads will allow, and I make for the mostdirect route to Macedonia, which I imaginewill be more civilised. The highlight of theride through Albania (some 140 miles) is a12 mile long mountain ridge road, whichaffords quite spectacular views over the vastdusty plains below. It is quite cool up here,and the air, briefly, is free from the stink of thetowns and villages. I descend once again tothe plains and onwards towards Tirana.

Progress through Tirana, the capital, is veryslow. Signage is almost completely absent.Thank heaven for Marjory! Passing throughTirana makes me feel very uneasy. The road(if you can call it that) surface is at it’s worsthere and, once moving, one does not wish tostop for fear of getting cross-rutted or placinga front wheel into a deep pot hole. All vehicles- cars, buses and trucks - veer without warningfrom left to right in order to avoid theenormously deep pot holes. I see only oneother bike during my traverse of Albania, andthis is a BMW R1150GS, which is clearlyhaving as much, if not more, difficulty as I amin making progress through the traffic. Weexchange nods as we pass, both of usstanding on the foot pegs for stability. I wouldnot like to have to pick that up if I dropped it –and I probably would have dropped it! It occurs

The roads in the rural areas are poor ...


to me that I am on the optimum BMW forAlbanian roads (although a 650 GS might beas good, except that it would suffer moredamage if dropped than would Helga). I amhappy to leave Tirana behind me, regrettingonly that I had not stopped to photographsome of the destitution that I had witnessed,and I find myself, for the first time sinceentering the country, on a relatively wellmaintained single carriageway road that wasalso free of the dreaded state police speedtraps. Here I managed to average around 50mph for an hour to the border with Macedonia.

STOPPING FOR A BREAK in the villageof Prrenjas, some 20 miles short of theMacedonian border, I am approached

by a guy who has identified me as Britishfrom my GB plate, and who clearly wants tochat. His English is good, and he explainsthat he is Macedonian Albanian. He gives mea lot of inside information about his country,which confirms all of the impressions that Ihave formed, and says that Albania,particularly its economy, is in a very parlousstate. I refrain from stating the obvious, and

just listen to his outpourings for a few minutesbefore asking what I might expect at theborder with Macedonia. His response givesme little confidence that I will be pleasantlysurprised!

I press on, climbing to the border post at thetop of a 500 metre high promontoryoverlooking Lake Ohrid. It has taken longerthat I had allowed to traverse Albania, and Iam in doubt about achieving my objective ofgetting to Thessalonica in time to find adecent camp site. I still have the borderroutine to surmount, but I am already formingan opinion that I will spend this night in anhotel. This is especially attractive since myjeans, boots, socks and helmet (which wasstrapped to my roll bag whilst waiting in thequeue to gain entry to Albania) were allsoaked in the vile smelling green chemicalbroth when Helga deposited me in the sheepdip this morning. These needed to bewashed and dried before the next day’sriding.


The border crossing is worse than feared. Inow had to export Helga from Albania andthis time it cost €20 because that was thesmallest note I had. It was only supposed tobe €2, but again they had no change (andwould not accept coinage). This is of coursea well used scam. Whilst waiting for thebureaucrats to deal with my paperwork, I chatto an Australian UN worker and his wife, whoare stationed in Kosovo and are passingthrough Albania on official UN passes – whichdidn’t seem to speed things up for them. Weexchanged information on the routes we hadtaken, and it transpired that they had alsotraversed Tirana. Without thinking, I say aloud,“And Tirana was an eye opener, wasn’t it?”He looks carefully around to make sure thatthere are no police or other officials withinearshot and replies, “Be careful what you sayhere!”. It would seem that my impression ofstate control and Stasi-like police are correctand, having completed the necessaryformalities over a period of around 30minutes, I proceed to the Macedonian borderentry point, hoping that this will be easier.Faint hope! The cost of a green card is, this

time, €50! However, the time taken to clearcustoms and immigration is only 30 minutes,which is good by comparison with recentexperience.

The time is now around 17:00, and I am bynow quite fanatical in my desire to re-enterthe European Union. The Greek border atMetzitlija is a mere 70 miles distant and theMacedonian roads are quite good bycomparison with those of Albania, so an hourof fairly high speed cruising through quitepleasant scenery in the cool of the earlyevening sees me arrive at the border. Noproblems here, and I’m soon on my way toThessalonica. However, it soon becomesevident that I am not going to be able tocomplete the 100 mile ride, due mainly tofatigue. The light is fading fast, and I realisethat there is now an urgent need to findsomewhere to pitch my tent whilst there isstill sufficient light to do so. A track leading offto the left takes me through some very softalluvial soil and into a cherry orchard where Idecide that I can make camp in safety, unseen


from the road. This I do and thankfullycollapse on my bedroll, leaving my stinkingclothes outside. I am instantly asleep at 21:00after 15 hours more or less continuous ridingover some very demanding terrain.410 Miles in 13 hours.

Day 8 - 28th June 2005 - Edessa toThessalonica (this is the plan, anyway).

Awoke at 05:30, refreshed but anxious to getsome food, having not eaten since breakfastyesterday! I emerged from my tent to find thatI had pitched camp in a recently harvestedcherry orchard. There are cherries on theground all around, including under my tent,and I try one for taste. Yuck! These are not foreating!

I break camp as quickly as possible, buryingmy stinking jeans, boots, underwear andsocks, and donning my stinking helmet withconsiderable distaste before retracing myroute along the soft soil track to the road. I’m


very surprised that I made it down that trackin the dark last night without coming acropper, especially since I was so fatigued.Once back on the road, Route 2 again, Iretrace my route of last night back to a fillingstation which I had noted also had a caféattached. Here I breakfast on hot strongcoffee and a goat’s cheese filled pastry.Delicious!

Thus fortified, I rejoin the road and seta goodly pace towards Thessalonica, whichis some 80 miles away, where I shall seek toreplace my helmet and gloves. I stop aftersome 40 more miles for a second breakfast,making up for yesterday’s abstinence, beforearriving in the centre of Thessalonica ataround 09:00. I find a Honda dealership thathas a reasonable range of clothing andaccessories, and purchase a new lid (openface) and leather gloves (fingerless). I decidenot to replace my boots, jeans etc, since Ialready have spares of these, and could usethe extra space anyway.

After some 5 miles, I enter a small village

and find the inevitable dusty square which,unfortunately, seems deserted. It’s around15:00 hours at this time, the sun is high andhot, and everyone has retired indoors. I noticeone place that looks vaguely like a bar, andthe door is ajar, so I ride across the squareand park up directly outside. I see that thereis a group of lads inside and, when one ofthem emerges to look at this strangeapparition, I indicate, by tapping on the sideof my nearly empty tank, that I need fuel. Heclearly understands and spurts out a streamof unintelligible (to me) Greek, which Iassume to be directions to the nearest fillingstation. We soon establish that I have noGreek, and none of the lads has any English,so we begin to evaluate whether any of ushas a common language (other than signlanguage) in which we can converse.Eventually, I try German, and one of the lads’eyes light up, and he sprints off across thesquare, disappearing up a side street. Someminutes later, he returns with a very sleepyeyed friend in tow, who explains that he hassome German.


Between us, we establish that the nearestopen filling station is only three miles away,but the directions are very vague/complicatedand I am not confident of finding it. There isan offer made, which I decline, to sit one oftheir number on top of my roll bag so that hemight direct me, turn by turn, to the fuel station.There being no other solution, I set off tofollow the vague directions given. When hesaid “maken sie der dritte links”, did he meantake three consecutive left turns, or take thethird turning left? I plumbed for the latter and,after six miles, saw the filling station in thedistance. I was not yet on my second reserve,so I knew then that all would be well. I put 17litres in the tank!

Onward to Alex, arriving at 15:00, and findwithout trouble an excellent camp site on theAegean beach, having every facility one couldwish for. I pitch camp and, without further ado,walk the 50 yards to the golden sandy beach,complete with lifeguards, and lunge into thepleasantly warm salty sea. I had quiteforgotten how salty the Mediterranean /

Part 3 continues next month : a littleR&R in Greece, then back throughBulgaria, Austria and Germany ....

Aegean is, and how buoyant it makes one; Iam floating, without any arm or legmovements, with my knees, toes, chest andhead all well out of the water. Even a non-swimmer couldn’t drown here unless theypanicked!

After my swim, I return to my tent, dress andvisit the extremely well stocked shop to buyloads of delicious comestibles (cheese,tomatoes, bread, fruit, etc.) and, of course, abottle of Greek red wine. I spend a verysatisfying evening, basking in the dying sunand writing up my journal before retiring tomy bed at 21:00. 293 Miles in 10 hours.


The Caption Competition willbe back as soon as we canreplenish our stock of usablephotos. In the meantime,purely in the interest of keepingour membership informed,you understand, perhaps thislittle gem / cautionary tale maybe of more than passinginterest. Any resemblance tothe behaviour of your electedrepresentatives at NCMs or thequantity and quality of theirwebsite postings should notbe inferred, either.

Where’s the Caption Competition ?


Where we meetEAST ANGLIA: The Cossways, Scole Norfolk. 12:00,1st Sunday ; The Chequers, Wimbotsham,Norfolk,12.00 2nd Sunday; The Shoulder of Mutton,Fordham, Essex. A1124. 12:00, 3rd Sunday; TheCompasses, Littley Green, Essex. 19:00. LastWednesday.

IRISH: Dublin Meetings, 2nd Weds, Strawberry Hall,Chapelizod, Dublin 15. 8.00pm. Jim Sweeney (01)6270613 (H) 6280969 (W). Limerick Meeting, 2ndTues 21.00, Woodfield House Hotel, Ennis Rd,Limerick. Peter Deevy 087 2570855. North Westmeeting , 2nd Sunday 11.00am Coffey’s Cafe,Carrick-on-Shannon. Jim O’Connell 071-9182464.

LONDON: The Old Guinea, Ridge (about 1 mileWest of M25 / A1 interchange at South Mimms)20:00 second Tuesday. The Ace Café, North CircularRoad, Stonebridge, London, at 20:00 4th Monday.

MERCIA: Four Counties Inn, No Mans Heath. 19.301st Tues and 12 noon last Wed.; Cross & BowlingGreen, Branson Cross, on A435 at junction B4101.Adj Q8 petrol station. 19.30 2nd. Thurs.; The Bull &Butcher, Corley Moor, B4102 from Meriden towardsFillongley, right before Motorway bridge, 3 miles onleft, 19.30 3rd Thurs; The Chetwynd Arms, A34 BroctonNr. Stafford, 19.30 4th Wed; Bull & Swan, Diseworth,Off A453 Nr East Midlands Airport 2nd Wed. 19.30.;Whipping Stocks, A50 Peover, Nr. Knutsford – 19.304th. Thurs. (with Northern Section)

MIDLAND: All year round meetings - The Fox,Grantham Road, Ropsley Lincs. NG33 4BX (01476)585339 1st Tuesday 7.30pm ~ The Green Dragon,Blind Lane, Oxton, Notts. NG25 0SS (0115) 96520122nd Thursday 7.30pm ~ The Park Hall Tavern, ParkHall Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts NG19 8PX.(01623) 460267 3rd Tuesday 8pm ~ The Queen’sArms, Isham Road, Orlingbury, Northants. NN14 1JD(01933) 678258 3rd Tuesday 7.30pm ~ The King’sHead, Kingsway, Tealby, Lincs. LN8 3YA (01673)838347 3rd Thursday 7.30pm ~ Winter gatherings –The Community Centre, Great lane, Greetham,Rutland and The Rangers cycle clubhouse, offIslington Road, Towcester, Northants – bothoccasional Sundays, October to March – see Midlandwebsite.

NORTH EAST: Belmont Community Centre,Sunderland Road, Gilesgate, nr Durham.19.30. 1stWed: The Waggon Inn, on A696, 3m NW ofPonteland, 19.30. 3rd Wed: Jackson’s Wharf Pub,Jackson’s Landing, Hartlepool Historic Quays, 19.30.Thursday following 4th Wed.

NORTHERN: The Briars Hall Hotel on A5209 nearBurscough, Lancs, 20.00 1st Fri.; All Saints ChurchHall, Hale Barns, A538, 14:00, 2nd Sun; The Glory,Loveclough, nr Rawtenstall, A682, 19:30, 3rd Fri;Harraby Inn, Carlisle, A6, 2 miles west of M6 J42,19.30, last Monday; The Whipping Stocks, southKnutsford, A50, 20.00, 4th Thurs.

OXFORD: George & Dragon, Erlestoke, Wilts7.00pm, 1st Thursday; Waggon and Horses atSouthmoor off the A420, 19:30, 2nd Tues; Dog &Partridge, Riseley (off end of Swallowfield by-pass[A33]) 19:30, 4th Tues; Village Hall, Uffington,Oxfordshire, 14:00 occ. Suns

SCOTTISH: Meldrums Hotel, Ceres, Fife, 19:30, 1stMon; Gairdeners’ Arms, 232 Paisley Road, Glasgow,19:00, 1st Mon; The Log Cabin Hotel, Kirkmichael,Perthshire, 12:30, 2nd Sun; Crook Inn, A701 northof Moffat, 12:30, last Sunday; Hopeville Social Club,Harlaw Road, Inverurie. 12.30, 4th Sun.

SOUTHERN: The Phoenix Inn, Twyford, Hants, onthe B3335 1 mile south of M3, J11, 20:00 alt Tues;The Saddlers Arms, Send Marsh, Nr. Ripley. 20.00alt. Tues; The Flying Bull, Rake, on the B2070between Liphook and Petersfield, alt Thurs;The TrueLovers Knot at Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, 3 mileseast of Blandford on the B3082 Wimborne Road,20.00. 3rd Thursday

SOUTH EAST: Riano’s, A26, Maidstone, 20:00, 1st/3rd Wed; The Green Man, Lewes Road (B2192),Ringmer, East Sussex, 20:00 2nd Fri; The Blue Bell',on the A228 opposite the Paddock Wood Hop Farm,4th Sunday, 12 noon; ‘The Wagon & Horses’,Charing, 20:00, last thursday.

SOUTH WEST: Jamaica Inn: At Bolventor, off A30east of Bodmin. (Signed from A30); The Globe: ExitM5 J27 to A361 for Barnstaple and first lef t toSamford Peverell. All meets 1200 as per calendarof events. Good Knight Inn, Cheriton Bishop: offA30 between Exeter and Okehampton as per diaryof events.

ULSTER: Corr’s Corner, Glengormley, Co Antrim,20:00 1st Tues; Wed. Evening Runs, Corr’s Corner,19:00 April, May, Sept, 19:30 June - Aug; SundayMorning Runs. Sandyknowes Roundabout (unlessspecified), 10:30, most Suns, (July - Oct).

WESTERN: Easter Compton Village Hall - on theB4055 (south of Junction 1 - M48)13.30hrs - 2ndSunday.New Inn, Claines, Worcester - 19.30 hrs - 1stTuesday. Codrington Arms, Codrington, Westerleigh- 19.30 hrs - 1st Wednesday

YORKSHIRE: Cracoe Village Hall on B6265 betweenSkipton and Kilnsey Crag, 12:00, 1st Sun; The TritonInn, Brantingham, N Humberside, 20:00, 2nd Mon;White Swan Blyth, 12:00, 2nd Sun; The Coservativeclub, Town Street Gildersome, 20:00, last Tues ofthe month. How Steam Gorge Cafe, Lofthouse, nearPately Bridge 12.00 3rd Sunday

Please send all changes toWhere we Meet to the Editor


Section & Register News

Club Europa eV: Peter Dunn,101 Station Road, Thatcham, Berks. RG19 4QH.Tel: 07941 075165. e-mail: [email protected] Anglia: Paul Brown,33a March Road, Wimblington, March, Cambs,PE15 0RW. Tel: 0845 1560715 [email protected]: Claire Mullen,11 Knocknarea Villas, Sligo. Tel: 00353719170887,e-mail: [email protected]: Mick Miles,Shepherd’s Ley, Lamb Lane, Redbourn, StAlbans. AL3 7BS. Tel: 015 8279 3188.Mercia: Keith Hamilton,12 Meridith Close, Horninglow, Burton on Trent,Staffs DE14 2SL Tel: 01283 516793e-mail: [email protected]: Martin Ellis,11 Mapplewells Road, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts.NG17 1HZ Tel: 01623 401405e-mail: [email protected]: Geoff Thompson,44 Bamford Road, Heywood, Lancashire. OL104TA. Tel: 01706 629206. e-mail:[email protected]

North East: Tony Seed,3 Friarswood Close, Yarm, Stockton on Tees.TS15 9JG. Tel: 01642 785880. e-mail:[email protected]

Social and Register Secretaries

Oxford: John Hillier, 27 Stephens Close, Mortimer, Reading. RG7 3TX.Tel: 01189 332152.Scottish: Liz Sandland,Tel: 01482 875158email: [email protected]: Nigel Page,6 Eversleigh Court, High Path, Easebourne,Midhurst, W. Sussex. GU29 9BP. Tel: 01730 817782.e-mail: [email protected]

South East: John Smith,12 Castleton Avenue, Barnehurst, Kent. DA7 6QU.Tel: 01322 342320.

South West: Keith Hackett,41 Primley Park, Paignton, Devon. Tel: 01803527760. e-mail: [email protected]

Ulster: Michael Sweeney,34 Edward Street, Downpatrick, Co Down, Nr.Ireland. BT306JD. Tel: 028 44 615692.Western: Brian Harrison,Poolfield Court Cottage, Hewelsfield, Lydney,Glos. GL15 6UJ/ . Tel: 01594 530264

Yorkshire: Dave Milne, 132 Sandgate Drive,Kippax, Leeds LS25 7QR tel: 0113 2860604.

Club EuropaPeter Dunn

Even though The BMW Club is no longer amember of BMW Club Europa e.V there arestill events organised by the remainingmembers clubs that may be of interest.1. The International Easter GS Meetingfrom the 14th to the 17th April. The Rally locationthis year is Zonnedauw, Geel in Belgium. It isorganised by BMW Club Vlaanderen ( http://www.bmw-mc-vl.be ) & the contact is WillyVolekindt at Molenbergstraat 8A bus3, B 9340Lede, Belgium. Telephone & Fax 0032 53808158 This is a long established &successful event that is normally well

supported by BMW Club members. It is atraditional rally with games, BBQ, campfires& a variety of GS rides.2. For fans of classic & vintage bikes,BMW Moto Club France ( http://www.bmwmcf.com ) are again holding a rallyat the Coupe Moto-Legende at the DijonPresnois circuit from the 3rd to the 4th June.This event has demonstrations of classicbikes, races, a very large autojumble & lotsof other things to do. It is located near Dijon100km North from Lyon. The contact isChristophe Herberichs, 68 Route de Moret77140 Moncourt-Fromonville, France tel & fax0033 1 64 28 53 34.3. BMW Moto Club France are also


hosting the 44th BCE Treffen at Saulxures-sur-Moselotte in the Vosges between the 8th

to the 11th June. This treffen is for both cars &bikes & will feature ride outs, party nights,skills competitions & associated events. Thelocation this year in a very picturesque areaof North Eastern France should result in agood attendance level. Again the contact isChristophe Herberichs & there will be aspecific website for the event.

Other Treffen & Rally information isavailable from the BCE Website at http://www.bmw-club-europa.org

East Anglian Section

Paul Brown

Hello again the months are just flying by, butat last the better biking weather is with us.There is a lot to bring to your attention for thismonth.

On the 9th April at Wimbotsham, wehave two members, Nina Plumbe and CliveSheward who have kindly volunteered tocome along to provide us with a “questionand answers” talk on foreign touring, thisshould be of great interest and will take placein the meeting room at the back of TheChequers from 12.00.

Easter is not far away and on the 14th

April a number of us are leaving for theOirschot Rally in Holland if you have notalready booked your ferry be quick, call meon 08451560715 Full details are on ourCalendar which is listed on the East AnglianSection Chat Forum of the Club Websitewww.bmwmcc.co.uk/forum.html The locationis the village of Netersel which is to the westof Eindhoven about 170 miles from Calaisand 5 miles from the Belgian border.Bunkhouse accommodation is available ifbooked with Cicile on 0031 402136775Camping is at the Tureluur Campsite in thevillage.

Looking ahead to June, you may alsolike to book for the Normandy Holiday, bothferry and campsite. This is very flexible interms of when and how you travel, the periodis 2nd to 9th of June to take in the D-Dayanniversary, with camping, ready erectedtents, chalets, or mobile homes at St. Aubin-

sur-mer. Again all the details and pictures ofthe site are on the Forum, or call me on 08451560715. The campsite, Camping de la Cotede Nacre, is probably the best in Normandy ithas every facility and is very modern, cleanand tidy. They speak English on 0033 231971 445.You could travel Dover-Calais or takea ferry to Ouistreham (Caen) which is justten minutes from the site.

On Sunday 23rd April The AutostopTransport Café located the Cambridge sideof Caxton Gibbet on the A428 is our meetingwith Cambridgeshire Police Motorcycle RoadSafety Unit. A display caravan with videofacilities and Police BMW motorcycles will beavailable for all to see. A lot of effort has beenput into this event, to which all Club Membersare invited. This is also in the Midland SectionCalendar, so let us try for a good turnout.

Sunday the 30th April is our rideout toThe National Motorcycle Museum inBirmingham, a small discount has beenarranged so do let me know if you intend tocome along as only those on the list receivethe discount! We will meet at 10.30 am atMcdonalds Brampton Services where the A14crosses the A1 near Huntingdon. Arriving atCorley Services on the M6 around 11.30 amthen on to the Museum. Other sectionsmembers are invited to join at either meetingplace en route.

The Hadleigh Rally is taking placebetween the 26th and 29th May, which is SpringBank Holiday. This is becoming somewhatof a section tradition now and there is ampleroom for camping in the sports field adjacentto the Club Pavillion, which is equipped witha bar and toilet facilities. The site is withineasy walking distance of the town centre forshopping or restaurants. Previous years haveseen very good entertainment and on-sitecooked breakfasts. For more informationcontact Sue Bullimore on 01638 578461.

This years Rhino Rally at Beddgelertin North Wales was enjoyed in mainly brightsunshine. The village Hotels were full andmany members were camped just up theroad at the Forestry Commission campsite.The rideout to the Ty Coch Inn was mostenjoyable with a pub lunch outside in the sunwhile children paddled in the sea and playedon the beach, all this in February with beautiful


mountain scenery all around. The trip to theadjacent Lifeboat Station gave members achance to go on board a working rescue boatfor a guided tour. Roll on next year!

Coming up soon will be anotherchance to visit Porlock in Somerset withsomething for everyone, sea, scenery,moorlands and a great big hill! The PorlockRally this year is the 6th to the 9th of July withcamping at Sparkhayes campsite,immediately to the rear of The Lorna DooneHotel, in the centre of the village. Cookedbreakfasts of varying dimensions! will beavailable next to the campsite at an early toopen restaurant with affordable prices. I havea comprehensive list of B and B as well ashotels all of which are in easy walkingdistance of the many pubs and restaurantswithin this pleasant location near Exmoor.Make sure you book your own rooms if youare not camping in plenty of time. We willhave hopefully a long alley skittles match onthe Friday evening in the Royal Oak which isnext to the campsite. On Saturday morningwe will have a rideout to Lynmouth to theshops and a pub lunch at Hunters Inn with atour of The Valley of the Rocks. Set your triprecorder before you start as we will have aprize for the furthest travelled to the Rally.

I have been reassured by Greg Smith,the Club Webmaster, that access to the ClubWebsite from most Public Libraries ispossible. So, as there is so much more up todate information about our Section activitieswhich is regularly updated in the East AngliaSection Chat forum, go to http://www.bmwclub.org.uk and have a look, alsoyou will be able to post your own commentsand suggestions. Happy motorcycling, roll onthe warm weather!

Irish SectionJan Browne

The Mini Thatch which was held on 24th

February – 27th, was a cold weekend to saythe least, 35 hardy souls turned out for itincluding a few from across the water, I hopethe welcome was warmer than the weather.The meal in Marinas Restaurant Ballinrobewas excellent, with a slide show after dinnerby local man Ray Hughes, giving advice onthe local places of interest in the area. The

Andy Baines award went to a very deservingPhil Hawkesley, this year Tony Simpsonmissed out on the Ryan air award, he broughthis bike!. T.J. McHale led a run out with sixbikes and three pillions. They travelledtowards Maam and then on to Maam Crosspassing a Recess and stopping for lunch inLeanom. Were on entering a very crowdedpub, found it to be full of people who had justreturned from the funeral of two brothers, aftera discussion on whether they should pretendto have known the deceased, and thereforeget FREE soup and sandwiches, theirconsciences got the better of them and theymoved on to the Delphi Hotel, shame on you,you know who you are for even thinking of it!It was great to see Gerry Bevin again. Andthanks must go to Francis Maye for steepingin at the last minute to book people in, asClaire Mullen was quite ill and could not makeit, she was sorely missed. Its not untilsomeone can’t make it you realise just howmuch work they do.Tommy Atkinson has asked me to let you allknow that he has booked a grand spot for theNorthwest 200 Hundred this year, it is rightbeside the race track, the address is: - BlaireCaravan Park. Port Stewart. Camping will be10 pounds sterling per night if you areinterested please phone Tommy on 02893382312 place’s are going fast, so makethat call QUICK. His email [email protected]

After the phenomenal success of last yearsMizen Head to Malin Head Motorcycle CharityRun, it will be run again on Saturday 13th May,for more information call Liam Quinlan (086)8252774 or John Freely (086) 6072228 if youlive in the Dublin area and want asponsorship card call Jan Browne (087)2790899.

Five men, all from Northern Ireland are gettingtogether with a group of English riders toride their bikes “over Africa” deliveringmedicines etc, they were at the “Photo Rally”prize giving, and gave an outline of what theyhope to achieve. All the information is on theirwebsite, www.bikeafrica.org, they have invitedall to take part in the run in August.


London SectionDave Ensor

Our apologies to those of you who have beendisappointed not to have read the LondonSection News recently but the Section NewsFactory has suffered a combination ofmisunderstandings and computer failures.However the fact that you are reading thismeans that we are back in business and forthe fair weather brigade the 2006 season isupon us with British Summer Time kicking inon the 26th March.

For the all weather brigade the seasonstarted long ago and five hardy memberswho up at South Mimms on 19 February tofollow Mick Miles to a hearty lunch at the Roseand Crown, Ridgmont. Mick took a typicallydevious route using some of our favouriteroads from Essenden to Hertford, and on toWalkern, Baldock and Shefford. A great rideenjoyed by all who took part.

It was only a little warmer for the runon 19 March to the heritage Motor Museum atGaydon but twice as many people turned upto enjoy riding to Gaydon on more greatmotorcycling roads in fine conditions. Theregular monthly meetings are also gatheringa following with the Coach and Horses,Newgate Street on the Tuesday 11 April andthe Old Guinea, Ridge on the Tuesday 29April. Come along and meet some (if not all)of the Committee and let us know what YOUwant out of the Section.

There will be more Sunday morningopen-road riding on the run to Southwoldleaving M25 J26 at a potentially challenging9:30 am on Sunday 23 April. I have not beentold who is leading this run, but if my name isin the frame then I guarantee the absoluteminimum number of both built-up areas anddual carriageways (assuming that nice MrPrescott take slightly longer than two monthsto complete his master plan of developingthe whole of East Anglia as a 21st centuryMilton Keynes).

Lastly Mick Miles has once again founda great hotel for our annual French weekendand may be able to accommodate one or twolate bookers. Call him if you want to ride well,then eat well, then ride well, then eat well, …

Mercia SectionKeith Hamilton

The Pie&Peas on the 29th Jan was anexcellent meet : a slow start but 67 membersturned out in the end, 17 bikers braved thecold. Thanks to Doris for doing the cookingand Colin&Suzett for their part - a great timehad by all.April 16th I will be leading a Run to RAFCosford 9 30 start at junction 11 M42McDonalds if you wish to go straight toCosford we will arrive about 11 45 for lunch.Don t forget Mike Fishwick will be giving us aguided tour about 1-o- clockSaturday 22nd April Ian McNaughtonsBreakfast run to Lincolnshire start atMcDonalds junction A38-A52 Markeatonisland Derby for 9 30 startSunday 7th May John Greenes Breakfast runwill commence with breakfast at the BridgeInn Hotel Penkridge {situated on the A449 onthe right going north ,just after the villagecentre} Breakfast is at 9 30 but you must letJohn know if you want Breakfast [phone01785 714474 before the 1st May] ,the cost ofbreakfast is £5.50each payable on the day .After breakfast (about 11.00) John will lead arun, probably into Derbyshire so if you wantto come on the ride but don t want breakfastthen be at the Bridge by 11 00.Feel free to doanyBring&Buy 26thFfeb a very good turn out andgood to see some of our friends from theMidland section. Thanks once again to Keithand Doris (I won t mention soft hands) andeveryone else that helped out Our thanksalso to the chaps from Blue Bell who put on agood display of clothing and bits & bobs hopeto see you next yearChris Reedman (aka Reg) and Jackie haveput a lot of work in to the Regalia getting goodquality clothing at a good price they are nowtaking orders for T shirts Sweat shirts FleecesBaseball caps Polo shirts for any info contactChris or myself for details.(Thanks Jackie &Chris for all your hard workBy now you should all have received yoursection diary if not contact Ray Smith ormyself and we will post one out to you. Thediary was produced this year for around £100which was for the postage as a good friend


and her son printed them for free [500 of them]and all hands on deck to fold and put in toenvelopes so a big thanks to Michelle andThanos [yes he’s Greek ]I am planning a run 21st May to Llandudnothe Great Orme about 240 mile round trip.Meeting place and time in next months sectionnewsPlease remember that profit made at Reptongoes to the County Air Ambulance so givegenerouslyDon t forget all last minute news, changes toruns are all on the Mercia Section web pagekindly run by Ray Smith. If you need anythingputting on the site call Ray or e-mail him I amsure he will be glad to help phone numbersin journal.Since I started this job in October I ve hadnothing but help from ex committee membersand other members of the Section. I can’tthank them enough and could not have doneit without them. I’ve not done this much writingsince I left school as you can probably tell! Iwill try better “miss”April 8th national AGM be there or be squareyour vote does countThat’s it for now - safe riding.

Midland SectionMartin Ellis

Turnout for Greetham and Towcester hasbeen record breaking so far, so we must begetting something right, let’s keep it up forthe rest of the year on the runs and otherevents. Thanks to all who have helped at bothvenues.The 17th Rhino rally at Beddgellert in N.Waleswas once again a great success, with threedays of sunshine enabling the 100 plus whostayed in B+Bs and tents to have a good timesightseeing, and an even better excuse fortrying to drink the village pubs dry. Long mayit continue.Richard’s run to RAF Cosford on the 2nd looksinteresting (all the more so because entry isfree), and there are only a very few days leftnow to prepay (see centre pages, around thecompass and Midland website) for theMallory park visit to support club-memberAlan Hurd. Alan will be racing an R100 outfit

against other classic/vintage machines onwhat should be a fascinating day, includingpractice and all manner of machines.Prepayment (£12) is required to receivediscounted entry, reserved parking and freeaccess to the paddock area. Anyone turningup for the run without having prepaid will haveto pay full price.We’ve the invitation from East Anglia to theCambrigdeshire Police’s motorcycle safetyunit display on the 23rd which I personally amreally looking forward to, and then there’sGeorge Gibson’s camping/B+B weekend atDollgellau in Wales at the end of the month.Last year’s rally was excellent so don’t missit this time around. B+B (if needed) has to bepre-booked, and information can be had fromGeorge on (07832) 458585.Finally in April there’s the Lincolnshire Woldsrun (formerly the Louth Lions run). This too isa long standing well-attended run, and BillRodgers (01526) 834480 has moreinformation if needed.I hope you’ve all booked your B+Bs orbunkhouse beds for the Beamish/Northumberland long weekend at the end ofMay and secured your hotel room via RobHarvey [email protected] (01778)393187) for the Cairngorms hotel week inJuly.Check the Journal diary section for pick uppoints and start times for all runs, and if youcan, visit the Midland website where you candownload a printed copy of our year’scalendar and find out much more about someof the above events. You can also downloada booking form for the Long Eaton steam rally,and extra booking forms for this year’snational rally at Moreton Morrell.The national AGM at Chorley in Lancs on the8th (Saturday) will be full of action (probablynot the right word, I know) and anyone withany interest in what’s happening to the clubshould go up at least for the meeting if theycan. Some bits can be boring but thediscussions and proposals sometimesproduce real fireworks. It’s a day out on thebike and you will get chance to comment andvote on some of the most important issuesfacing the club for some time. It’s your chanceto be involved in the club’s future. I’ll be ridingup on the Saturday morning and if anyone


wishes to join me at my house (near J28 M1)and ride up with Peter Dunn (BCE rep) andme, I’ll make sure the kettle’s on.Other sources of information anddownloads can be found at http://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/phpBB2/ and theMidland website http://www.bmwmcc.co.uk/midland As always, if I can be of assistanceI can be contacted on (01623) 401405 [email protected]

Northern SectionGeoff Thompson

The Northern Section was well representedat the Rhino Rally which took place in midFebruary. Although this is a Midland Sectionevent it is very popular nationally and attendedby Club members from far and wide. Thehardy ones camp in sub zero temperatureswhilst others enjoy the comforts of the localhotels and B&BS. The following week I ledour first ride of the year and despite thefreezing weather was delighted that therewere 10 bikes, 2 with pillions, on the ride.Bill Smithson and Andrew Pratt deservespecial mention as they rode from Cumbriaand Yorkshire respectively covering manymiles before we had even started. At ourdestination of Rivington Barn we were joinedby several other members and we all enjoyedhot drinks and a chat before setting off forhome.April sees the riding season getting into fullswing! The first of John Bell’s Breakfast Runsis on the 2nd as is Neil Plunket’s Ride AroundLlangollen. Details of times and meetingplaces is in the Diary of Events as usual. Thefollowing Saturday, the 8th, sees the ClubsAGM at the Chorley Conference Centre andas it’s on the doorstep so to speak I hope tosee a lot of the Northern Section there. Thefollowing day is our first meeting of the yearat Chipping Village Hall near Longridge.Charles Morrish has planned a long run on23rd April with a trip to Seahouses on the NorthEast coast. I’m sure the scenery will easethe saddle sores.We are still struggling to find a volunteer tolead the first midweek run planned forWednesday the 3rd of May; if you can help

please let me know. If no one comes forwardit will, regretfully, have to be cancelled. MikeGibson’s Northern midweek runs commenceon17th May with a meeting at Devil’s Bridge.

For those who prefer to make aweekend of their biking, we have LeonWhynche’s camping weekend at Rhayader5-7th May and Bill Smithson’s Hotel andSammy Miller Museum weekend 19-21st Mayto look forward to. Tony Cartmell still hasplaces available for his Herefordshire

North EastTony Seed

We started the month with another veryinteresting talk by Mike Hall dealing this timewith his several walks on the AppalachianTrail in the East of the US. Interesting here isa euphemism for being totally blown away bythe immense feats Mike achieved tocomplete this 2157 mile long “walk” takingmore than five months on one occasion andto do over 400 miles when seriously ill, of the1000 miles he did last year. He does thesewalks for a cancer charity to which we gave acontribution on the night. There were novolunteers to take over from him even for thisworthy cause.

In the meeting section of the eveningbefore the talk, Ann put it to the floor whetherthere was any general wish to change thevenue for these evenings; Ann and Mike hadrecce’d several alternatives, but did not findany suitable competition for the facilitiesoffered by Belmont. There was no generalsupport for looking at an alternative so wewill be staying where we are for the timebeing.

The annual dinner at Bowburn was amost enjoyable evening attended by 46people – somewhat less than 60/70 whoattended last year. The meal was excellent,and contrary to all logical conclusions, thephoto competition was not fixed even thoughall the prizes went to one entrant… However,the raffle of prizes which were generouslycontributed by club members raised a lot ofcash, and this was then greatly increased byproceeds from the auction of items donatedby the traders who advertise in our Diary thisyear – so please patronise these generous


donors wherever you can, they deserve ourappreciation. Anyhow the upshot of thefundraising was more than £350 which goesto our nominated charity the Great North AirAmbulance; many thanks to our members atthe dinner who dug deep and had a lot of funto give this huge amount for our charity.The disco was much enjoyed; and for all thisevening out we have Ann to thank for puttinga great deal of time and effort to make it aworthwhile and fairly uproarious event.

I didn’t make the Waggon; and nor didanyone else get to Hartlepool; blame it onthe raw weather we had throughout the month– awful, and certainly no good for any realriding out.

Coming up we have quite a list ofevents in April, so let’s be seeing you afterthe enforced hibernation. Graham’s kartingevent is first, then we have the Travel Forumwhere we need YOU to tell us about it; it wouldbe good to have a lot of short and informativepresentations to give variety to the night; Annhas arranged a bus to go to the AGM inChorley, and on the 21st, 23rd and 26th thereare rides out for curry and to see the Lakes/Borders resp’y; so a good selection of thingsto come along to or get involved in. At the endof the month it’s off to Aviemore with Dennis;we’ll need a rest after that lot, but no chanceas May is rather full of events also.

Well that’s it for February, but Marchwill hopefully have been a bit better thoughit’s perishing at the time of scribbling, andApril’s diary is so full we have to get outwhatever the weather. I hope you are alllooking forward to it as I am.

Oxford SectionJohn Hillier

At the February meeting at Uffington we hada talk by Richard Lamprell, one of members,about the work of the BMF in protecting ourright to ride our motorcycles.

We have many enemies in societywho only see the bad side of motorcycling,so if you care about your motorcycling youshould stand up and be counted.

The annual Sunday lunch at theSudbury House Hotel was well attended asusual, thank you to Graham and Diane

Chapple for doing the Booking.On the 1st and 2nd of April it will be bikesafeat Cheltenham racecourse, this is a chanceto ride the latest bikes from all the makeswhile in the company of an motorcyclepoliceman who will study your riding style andsay if it needs attention. There will also bestands selling accessories, clothing etc.

There is also an Easter Egg run in aidof charity on the 2nd April, it is in the Readingarea, call me for details on 0118 9332152.

The BMW club’s National AGM will beon the 8th April at The Chorley ConferenceCentre in Lancashire. On the next day will beour first ride out of the year, Dave Hawkinswill be leading us to the Clearwell Cavesdown in the Forest of Dean, we will meet atthe Little Chef at Burford, it is on theroundabout where the A40 and A361 cross,we will depart for Clearwell at 09.30. Davecan be contacted on 01993 850862 for moreinformation.

The ride out in May will be led byMichael Sedwards, who will be taking us tothe Aviation hall down near Southampton, the

South East SectionBrian Shears

I had been informed and therefore includedthe information with your renewal letters thatthe Whitehouse Group would be taking overthe business of Prestige Motorcycles. Assome of you already know that is not now thecase. Instead and for the foreseeable future,Prestige Motorcycles will continue tradingat their existing premises until negotiationswith new owners have been completed.

February set off at a brisk pace withIan Campbell’s ride out. All went well andthe lads had a good day out, although they allthought that calling it ‘The Frozen Tackle Run’was more than apt! A nice pub lunch andcoffee soon re-girded their loins and set themall up for a steady run home. Our thanks goto Ian for volunteering to take the first officialSection run of the year, which was somethingthat Alan Hoddle used to cherish doing a fewyears ago. Some of us will well rememberbeing homeward bound riding thirty miles indeep snow and ice thanks to young Hoddle!


The ‘Who is That Baby’ fun night, on the 15th

at ‘Riano’s’, produced an extremely enjoyableevening of chat and entertainment. Theformat for the evening was centred on acollection of thirty of our membersphotographs which Margaret and I hadcollected over a period of several months.The photographs were of members whenthey were between two and ten years of age.These were displayed for all to see and theobject of the evening was to guess whichface belonged to who … It was hilarious andwent on for a couple of hours! Some peopleare particularly good at this and they areusually the sort of person who looks at a newborn baby and immediately finds a likenessto dear old aunt Alice. In spite of the fact thatit’s a boy! The first prize went to CherylHumphrey with sixteen correct answers andthe second prize to Jean Vaughan withthirteen. Well done to the girls but some ofthe men were not far behind them. Ourthanks go to you all for entering.

Plenty of cold weather and snow waspromised for the weekend of the second runof the month, which I had opted to take. Forpartly that reason but mainly because I hadcontracted a monster ear infection and lostmy balance I had to cancel the run.Unfortunately, most of the members whowould have probably filled the breach werehaving a high time enjoying B&B or campingat Bedgellert. Sorry about that, it was the firsttime that I have ever cancelled a run but wethink that we managed to let everyone knowin time.

On the 26th we used ‘The Blue Bell’,for our fourth Sunday in the month middaylunch meeting. It was the first time that wehave used this venue for several years andthe new owners have made us very welcome.The food is very good and the menu isextensive. We were given the use of therestaurant (no smoking) area and twenty-fiveof us dined there. The landlady is happy forus to continue with this arrangement. It wouldbe a good idea if you could let us know if youwill be dining by ‘phoning 01474 566142 onthe Wednesday, prior to the Sundaylunchtime meeting, so that we can reservethe tables.

Finally and for your information. Ian Campbellhas been co-opted onto the SectionCommittee until the 2006 Section AGM wherehe will be put forward as a candidate forelection.

South West Section Les Madge

Helen Tapp’s obituary is on page 5.

This is the last call for Helen Beer & JohnTaylor’s Rideout on 2nd. April. Meet at ExeterMoto 1030 hrs. The effort will be worth it,your in for a good day out.Now that the publicity machine has finallykicked in Easter at St. Audries Bay is lookingto be well supported. There are plenty ofthings to do in the N. Somerset Area, or justchill out in the bar area and soak up thestunning views along the coast.The Good Knight Inn on 30th April may havean additional element to this meeting. I’llsay nothing at the moment as I still needconfirmation from the people concerned, sojust turn up and you may be pleasantlysurprised.Our camping season kicks off in grand stylewith an early May visit to the western end ofCornwall. Far enough to make it worth theeffort of packing up the ‘bike, but within asensible distance for a weekend away. LesCarr is your host for the Hampster Rally andhe can be contacted on 01579 362086We’re well into lighter evenings now so theseasonal Wednesday Fish & Chip SupperNights kick off with a visit to Captain Jasperson the Barbican, Plymouth. If you needreminding 10th May 1900 hrs. is the night.Chris & Sylv Crocker have found us a verypleasant location for a pub meet, The AnchorInn, Exbridge, Dulverton. Come along andtry it on Sunday 21st. May.May finally goes out with another CornishCamping Weekend, this time with RobinWale at the helm. See diary or contact Robinon 01726 824108. Funny flags are desirablebut not essential.Information in your Diary of Events regardingsection regalia is correct. As no one hasvolunteered to take this post, Deva Donno


has very kindly agreed to continue with thiswork. A big thank you also goes to DaveTurner for the time and commitment he hasmade preparing our Diary.

Southern SectionDavid Williamson

First of all can I thank Richard Tavener forstanding in while Myfanwy and I were takingsome R&R in New Zealand. It was hellswimming in the Pacific every day andbasking in the mid 70’s, but somebody hasto do it. Anyway, great job Richard.

I hear that 6 souls braved a foul day togo to Popham airfield for breakfast on the 12February, is there nothing you will not do forfood. Dave Wright should have been therebut his bike let him down, Nigel, Eddie andNick where basking and camping in subtropical Anglesey and Myfanwy and I wererecovering form jet lag, so many of the usualsuspects were absent.

On 26 February over 40 membersenjoyed a fascinating illustrated talk formSam Manican about his journey throughAfrica. This was an excellent afternoon andSam’s engaging style and gripping story hadeverybody enthralled. His guardian angelwas certainly kept busy saving him from awide variety of scrapes and I am now lookingforward to reading his book “Into Africa”. Samwas kind enough to say how impressed hewas by the welcome he had enjoyed fromthose present and also commented on thefun and spirit that he observed within thesection. It was nice to have such positivefeedback, well done to all, keep taking thetablets!

The last in our series of talks takesplace at Rake village hall on the 26 March.Bob Denman et al will talk about their recenttrip to America for an off road experience andChris Stone will talk about some of his manytravels. We are also holding a bring and buyso get up in the loft and see what is spare.This event will now start at 11.00 hrs and theclub will provide a buffet lunch. Please notethe change of time!AprilDon’t forget the 3rd of our breakfast runs onthe 2 April to Wesson’s café at Horam (S of

Heathfield E Sussex). Meet at the café at10.00 hrs. Breakfast will be swiftly followedby a soup lunch with Dave and LesleyGoldsmith at East Dean (W of Eastbourne).For Easter the Southern Section is combiningwith the SW Section at St Audries Bay, seethe journal for details.

MayThe run to Corfe Castle has been movedfrom the 7 May to the 14 May so that Nick andothers can attend the Welsh Rally.On the 11 May Myfanwy and I are leading arun to Mother Kelly’s at Porchester for fishand chips.Then on the 21 May Pat and Mick are takingus to the Hurn Aircraft Museum nearBournemouth. Please bring maps and satnav as without rails Mick will need everyassistance.

For those who wish to come to Daveand Norma Harrison’s weekend in France(about 70 miles south of St Malo) for the lateMay BH please let me know 01428 751756.You will also need to book your ferry ASAP.

And finally as many of you are awareyour social team never sleeps and we havejust booked the Chateau Mont Epinquet atCherbourg for the late May BH 2007, how’sthat for forward planning.

Western Section

Brian Harrison

February meetings started with the BristolClassic Bike Show at Shepton Mallet. Quitea few members reported to have enjoyed thisvisit. I guess we were all too engrossed withall the glitz and polish to have seen each otherat the show. There were some really nicemachines to be studied and they did grabones attention, especially those refurbishedmakes and models that you owned orhankered after years ago. As nice as they arethough, the thought of so much cleaning andpolishing to keep up the standard ( assumingyou would ride the bike aswell) is daunting tosay the least. My compliments to those whodo , or there would be no show.


Our section Annual Auction went verywell, so I am told. (I had to leave early). Ourthanks must go once again to Ian for keepingcontrol as auctioneer. I hope all memberswho came with items for sale, returned homewith plenty of cash to save towards the nextbike!!

Seventeen people turned up forSunday lunch at The Anchor, Tintern, in coldbut sunny weatherconditions. We all had agood meal and it was nice to catch up withfriends again.

Now for some not so good news, butto wish a speedy recovery to two of our longtime section members, Roger Stockwell andArthur Withey, both of whom have recently hadhospital visits to keep them fighting fit.

For the month of April, check out yourprogrammes - there are a variety of events totake part in. Hopefully the weather will bewarmer than it is at the time of writing thisreport. An extra item to your programme is aSkittles match v. the Moto Guzzi Club on Sun23rd April at the Globe Inn, Somerton - 12noon.

Looking ahead to May there is anamendment to the Worcester Group visit. itis now a ride-out to the Anderton Boat Lift,Cheshire. Meet 08.30 for 09.00 at the NewInn, Claines. There is also another start pointnear Bridgnorth. Contact John Daniels 01299828141.

As a result of pressure of work andcommitments at home, I am standing downas Social Secretary. I thought it would be bestif someone could consider taking over assoon as possible, to enable some ideas fornext year to be collected over the comingmonths and not at the last minute at the AGM,So, if you would like to have a go, please ringand have a chat.

In the meantime, Chris Bates hasoffered to prepare the Section News details,so if you have information that he can use,please give him a call (Tel. No. is on thesection programme).

I am still going to be around and outon the bike, I hope, but pretty busy aswell.Thanks to all of you who have helped mewith runs, visits etc. and the evening meetings,all of which has been much appreciated.

.

Yorkshire Section

Elaine West

If you attended our committee meeting of the19th March 2006 the report on this will be inthe May edition of the journal, this, of courseis due to printing deadlines. Our section waswell represented at Beddgelert I’m afraid itstoo early in the year for me to camp, but to the10 brave souls including Keith O’Mahoney,well done. I gather they had a fine old timeand will there again next year.

Thanks go to Phil Carr for his annual St Ledgerdinner. Over 80 members enjoyed anexcellent meal, with a free raffle for the ladies.For those who were too late to get a place, doget in touch with Phil (01709 549708), as Iunderstand he is already taking bookings for2007!

With over 150 attending the Bring & Buy atCracoe on Sunday we kitchen slaves werekept busy dishing out the pie’n’peas etc.There were plenty of bargains on offer somepeople made a tidy sum, mentioning nonames, but he used to be a postman!! Ourraffle was so successful it enabled us to givethree free memberships for 2007, as well asvarious other prizes. Special thanks for theraffle prize donations we were given, it is greatwhen we get such a good turnout fromvarious sections as well as our own regularfaces.

The Alpine rally will be the next venue on the16th of April contact Steve Lamb 01904626655. Our first camping weekend followson the 21st at High Bentham contact Phil Rutt01535 216645.

If your going on the Bunkhouse weekend inAugust, Peter, the organiser asked me toconfirm his E-mail add: [email protected]. Tele:01724 783770.

Wrap up warm , safe riding. Biker Chick.


Vintage & Classic RegisterMalcolm Mc Nair

It has come as a bit of a shock to hear of thesudden death of Register Member PatsyMcGuire from Eire. Patsy always came to theStafford Show seeking items for his bike, oneof the rarer /5’s, an R50, and to support theRegister. He will be remembered for histhoughtfulness and generosity: a phone callwith a query from Patsy would end up with athank you parcel containing a box of Irishchocolates or some token of appreciation.Small gestures but they meant a lot. We offerour sincerest sympathies to Patsy’s wife anddaughter.

It’s that time of the year when vintageand classic events are about to start, first offbeing the Classic Motorcycle Show at theStafford Showground on the 22nd/23rd April. Iwon’t be present this year but please go alongand have a chat and support Mike Fishwickand the other Register helpers.

The 3rd Classic Bike Clubs’ Showfollows on the 28th May at Stanford Hall, Leics.We will have an area as usual so book theday now.

A word of caution now if you areseduced into buying spares from a countryoutside of the E.U. I mention this in particularas those elusive items do appear on Ebayfrom time to time and it’s very easy to be lulledinto paying more than an item is worth. Don’tget me wrong I’ve had great success withEbay, and generally buying on-line, so don’tbe put off. The thing to consider is what youwill be charged by H.M. Customs when aparcel arrives in the U.K. Buying within theE.U means you will pay VAT at the rate of thatcountry; at the last count in Germany it was16%. In addition you’ll be paying a tax on thepostage, and in the case of some dealers, atax for just packaging it, but no import duty. Itis, if you buy from the States for example, thatthings can get pricey. Our Customs will addon import duty plus VAT at 17.50%, and thenthere’s the clearance fee from Parcel Force.The rub is that Customs charge VAT on whatyou’ve paid for postage as well as the cost ofthe item you’ve purchased. Postage is quiteexpensive on heavy items to the UK so overallthe excess to pay may be high and that

bargain not quite such a bargain after all!Beware.

Don’t tell me you have never done it.You know, just an eighth of a turn and thetank badge screw slots will line up! Yes theywill, but now you have a chunk of enamel outof the segment! The enamel is very easilydamaged by undue pressure so be carefulwith those new badges. If you are unfortunateand you need a repair Fred Salter has founda company who will professionally repair withcold enamel. The company is RegentSilversmiths, 52 Frederick Street,Birmingham B1 3HS. (Tel. 0121 236 1614)The repair of two badges cost £22.91 andthat included vat and postage. Now that can’tbe bad can it?

The 19th Classic Spanish Moto PistonOct.11 to 15, 2006

This year the rally is from the 11th to 15th of October,you arrive on Tuesday the 11th and next day there’sa great ride in the mountains with an evening gettogether. Friday is the second running of the 5000curve/500km challenge. Last year that day wasone of my best days riding ever, only about tencompleted it, fancy a try this year? The descriptionsays curves but means hairpins. For the lessadventurous there’s a scenic mountain run.Saturday is an opportunity to relax and watch thehill climb and enjoy the giant Paella. Sunday there’sa morning run with a proper lunch to finish. Thenhome on Monday the 16th.

This fabulous event is ONLY for bikes olderthan 25 years, the older the better. This eventis for any make of Bike but you will alwaysmeet quite a few BMW owners from our ownVintage register.Hospitality and atmosphere are old fashioned anddelightful, accommodation is hotels that are eithercheap and cheerful or 3 star and nice. You canride all the way or take the P&O from Portsmouthto Bilbao or the faster Brittany ferry fromPortsmouth to Santander, we usually get a gooddiscount on Brittany and there is the MCN discounton Brittany. Interested, then please send me adecent size sae and in June or July I will send youthe final program and the booking form with thehotel options. If in the meantime you book yourholidays or a ferry, let me know and I will reservea space.

AJ TRIM PO BOX 167 EAST WINCH KINGSLYNN NORFOLK PE32 1NF


Mutual Aid

6. Mutual Aid Adverts are accepted for a one-month insertion only.Any subsequent submissions are the responsibility of theadvertiser.

7. Please note the copy deadline in the Journal and understandwhich edition it applies to before querying why your advert hasn’tappeared two weeks after you sent it! Please do not leave it to thecopy date until you send your advert as we are very busy then: It’sFirst Come, First Served at closing time!

8. The BMW Club cannot be held responsible for the quality oravailability of items or goods or for any arrangements for deliveryor payment.

9. Adverts from non - club members may be accepted in specialcircumstances. For information, please contact the Mutual AidOfficer.

Business Advertisement (Disclosure) Order 1977

Any advertiser who places an advertisement concerning the sale ofgoods being sold in the course of business shall clearly indicate thisfact. This applies whether the advertiser is acting on their own behalfor for another party. If you have reason to believe that you have beenmisled as to the status of any advertiser, please inform your local TradingStandards Department and the Editor immediately. The fine forbreaches of this order is up to £1,000.

1. Note adverts are NOT accepted over the phone send them by postto the Mutual Aid Officer: Owen Vaughan, 16 South Meadows,Pembroke, Pembs. SA71 4E, or by e-mail:[email protected] (Please remember to includeyour full postal address). Phone queries only between 10:00 – 20:00please, to 01646 683188. .

2. All adverts should be readable and punctuated. Please TYPE,PRINT or e-mail clearly using a standard font. Fancy script mightlook pretty but is hard for us to read!

3. The maximum length is 50 words, excluding your phone numberand name. If you wish to use more than 50 words your option is topay for the advert at 20p a word for the WHOLE advert. Paymentwith advert before submission. Note one advert/month per section.At the editor’s discretion adverts can be edited where deemednecessary due to space.

4. In your advert, include your forename and one phone number.Extra phone numbers, times to call, e-mail addresses, web sites etcwill be excluded.

5. You must include your name, full address, Section andmembership number; these will not be published but we will checkmembership.

Mutual Aid Adverts are to enable BMW Club Members to buy or sell motorcycles or related items that theyown. The service is free but subject to the rules below and excludes trade advertisers.

MOTORCYCLES FOR SALE NOTE MAY’S JOURNAL COPYDEADLINE IS 1ST APRIL

K1 1990 43,000 miles, Blue/Yellow. 2 owners, su-perb cond, MOT, Tax 07/06, FSH, ABS, new tyres,tool kit, luggage conversion to include panniers,high screen. All original parts kept £3000 ono MalcTel 01302 885183 (Yorks) Corrected advert – MASec’s error

K75 Standard 1990 ‘G’ reg, 5,000 miles from new,immac cond, elderly owner retiring £2750. RichardTel 01454 774086 (Glos)

K75RT Ultima 1996, Artic Silver. Panniers, rack,Datatag, electric screen, BT020’s, low rear shock,comfort seat over 60 mpg, gd cond, T&T 07/06,£1795 ono Chris Tel 01538 754170 (Staffs)

K75S 1990 ‘H’ reg, 44,700 miles, Metallic Blue. Lowseat, RT bars, taller screen. New tyres, battery,rear disc & pads. Original parts available, Tax 09/06 MOT 06/06 £1750 Allan Tel 01356 626830 (Scot-land)

K100RS 1986. ‘C’ reg, 28,519 miles, PearlescentWhite Panniers, top box, all original, garaged,optimate wired, SORN, Mot expired 12/05, yearsMOT on sale, owned 9yrs, as 2nd bike, VGC £1800Steve Tel 0121 353 4563 (West Mids)

K100RS 16V 1990, 22,000 miles, Silver Pearl. Immaccond, £2500, full spec & jpegs from Steve Tel 01978290449 (N. Wales)

K1100 Special Edition 1996, 3,700 miles. All lug-

gage, T&T, good runner Dave Tel 0208 4624461(Kent)

K1100 LT Highline 1998 ‘R’ reg, 38,000 miles,Burgundy/Grey. Spyball Alarm, FSH, MOT, ABS,radio/cassette, full luggage, electric screen, Pic-tures available, VGC. £3750 ono Mike Tel 01404815739 (Devon)

K1100LT ‘N’ reg, 40,000 miles, Maroon. Matchingpanniers & top box, excellent tyres, runs & rideswell £2995 John Tel 01253 826487 (Lancs)

K1100RS 1993, 29,000 miles, Blue. SH, ex cond, 2owners first for 12 years, blue, T&T, panniers &top box, recent tyres & battery, all keys tools &documents, £2700 John Tel 01280 823111 (Bucks)

K1100RS 1994 ‘M’ reg, 49,000 miles, Classic Black.ABS, tank bag, pannier rails, top box, new fronttyre & disc bobbins. Some history, all MOT’s, excond, T&T,. Just prefer the twins £2200 Paul Tel07901 977793 (Kent)

K1100RS 1996, ‘N’ reg, 48,000 miles T&T 05/06,panniers, h/grips, spyball, ABS, ex cond £2750Ted Tel 0208 660 5504 (Surrey)

K1100RS 1996 ‘N’ reg, 23,000 miles, Metallic Red.Colour coded panniers & top box, Baglux tank bag,h/grips, power socket, Alphadot, FSH, s/s fittings,Tax 05/06, MOT 06/06, tools & h/book £3100 JohnTel 07752 128527 (Sussex)


K1200GT 2004 ‘54’ reg, Blue, One Owner, FSH, h/grips & seat. Panniers, ABS, electric screen. Rea-son for sale, too heavy for old fella. £7250. ElvinTel 0121 5012687 (West Mids)

K1200GT 2005 ‘55’ reg, 61 miles (sixty one), Gla-cier Green. H/grips, H/comfort seat, ABS, colourmatched panniers. Good reason for sale. Bargainat £9000 Peter Tel 01261 861572 (Scotland)

K1200LT LUX 2001, blue. Usual extras CD/radio,trip computer, h/grips & seat, FSH, ring for details.Bargain at £6995 Dave Tel 01743 235495 (Salop)

K1200RS 1997 ‘P’ reg, 7,850 miles, Yellow/cheq-uered. 2 owners, h/grips, ABS s/s fasteners, re-cent typres & battery, T&T 10/06. Also availablepanniers, tank bag, tail rack & bag, high screen.No need to sell but under used. Sensible offersinvited Rob Tel 01751 473478 (Yorks)

K1200RS SE May 2003. 21,000 miles, Orient Blue/Alpine White. FBMWSH. Tax 10/06, ex cond. ABS,wide rear wheel, h/grips, high bars & screen,Fairing hd/guards, Thatcham alarm/immobiliser, tankbag, Colour coded panniers & liners. £6550 Dave.Tel 0117 9771453 (Bristol).

K1200RS 2004 ‘04’ reg, 2,742 miles, Blue. Immaccond, panniers tank bag, Givi ‘monokey’ rack,Autocom, servo assisted linked ABS system – eleccruise ctl, h/grips, Datatool alarm/immobiliser. Illhealth forces sale. £6990 Peter Tel 01202 772553(Dorset)

R65 1979, 20,000 miles, Red. 2 owners, MOT 07/06, recent battery & Michelin rear tyre, panniers,crash bars, screen, fork gaiters, SH, almost origi-nal, summer use only. £1800 Brian Tel 01792 850809(S. Wales)

R69 1957, Concours cond, couple of minor imper-fections. Pagusa rubber saddle & pillion exten-sion. Rare BMW front-brake air scoop. Fully re-stored ten years ago by James Tennant-Eyles.Probably one of the best in europe, MOT £7000.James Tel 0207 733 4671 (London)

R75/5 1972. Ex cond, chrome side panels. S/sexhaust system, everything works, all locks,electrics. BMW chrome luggage rack with Krauserpanniers. Used regularly since 1992. Recent clutch& top end overhaul. Wheels rebuilt s/s spokes.£3500 ono. James Tel 0207 733 4671 (London)

R80/7 1977 ‘S’ reg,. S/s exhausts, ne rack, MOT08/06 £400 Petet Tel 01328 878596 (Norfolk)

R80/7 1978, 46,000 miles, ex-police bike, still havefairing/lights separate from bike. used regularly,T&T 09/06. New tyres fitted 3,000 miles ago. £1000ono. Peter Tel 01727 861102 (London)

R80/7 1979, 59,000 miles. One owner, ex cond.No MOT/battery, hence £1300 Mike Tel 01189616455 (Portsmouth) (Non Mbr)

R80/7 1980, Dark Blue with RS full fairing. Ownedfrom new, pristine orig cond. £1450 Nick Tel 07904

505496 (West Mids)

R90/6, 1975, 27000km, unleaded, panniers, goodcondition, £2500. Patrick 01225 858876 Avon

R100 1981 totally reliable, used daily, s/s exhaust,good tyres, beautiful gearbox, cast iron discs, T&T£1350 ono Tim 01202 251585 (Dorset)

R100, 1982, 23,000 miles, unleaded, panniers, gdcond, £2000. Patrick Tel 01225 858876 (Avon)

R100CS 1984, 19,500 miles, Dark Red Metallic. H/bar fairing, panniers, crash bars, h/grips, originaltool kit, T&T 08/06, always garaged, ex cond,present owner 16 years. £2350 ono Trevor Tel01235 521595 (Oxon) (non mbr)

R100R Mystic 1994, 64,200 miles, 2nd owner fromnew, FSH, SORN, MOT 09/06 £1695 ovno. Daf Tel01865 890158(Oxon)

R100R Mystic, 30,000 miles. Gd cond, light & man-ageable BMW, chrome rack, crash bars, extendedfront m/guard, screen, leg shields, clock, voltme-ter, tools, BMW luggage Chris Tel 0117 9657757(Bristol)

R100R Mystic & Watsonian Monza . Twinplugged, Remus exhaust, leading link forks, uprated suspension. T&T 02/07 Well sorted outfit,ring for full details, £4,000 ovno Phil Tel 07814104986 (Derbys)

R100RS 1977. Solid, tidy, pretty, early RS. Pan-niers, gd tyres, seat & exhausts. MOT, SORN. Coulduse a new battery & owner. £1100 ono. Tony Miles07768 856287 (Hamps)

R100RS 1980, 50,000 miles, Blue/Silver. Surefootside stand, Baglux tank cover & bag, s/s hoses,classic panniers, Odyssey battery. Reg Nbr BMW235V, T&T 10/06, VGC, £2200 ono Graham Tel01234 270030 (Beds)

R100S 1979 ‘V’ reg, 34,000 miles. Blue/Silver. Excond, crash bars, krauser panniers, new battery,T&T, can deliver £1750 ono Willie Tel 07778 132142(Scotland)

R100S1977, 37,000 miles, Metallic Burgundy. AllMOT’s. £600 receipt for wheel rebuild includes s/sspokes, polished rims, & hubs re-enamelled. Newtyres & tubes, s/s exhaust. Immac cond, summeruse, garaged, many extras, health forces sale£1875 ovno Peter Tel 01273 492979 (Sussex)

R850R 1996P 32,000m Mystic Red. MoT 09/06,owned since 12/97, new tyres, panniers, tank bag,rear rack. Now ready for some tlc, and refurbish-ment James Tel 01723 859283 (Yorks)

R850R 1997, 21,300 miles. Blue. Givi Top Box &panniers. Acryber screen, Baglux harness & tankbag. MOT 11/06 plus all previous certificates. Oneowner, garaged, VGC. £3100 George Tel 01206762426 (Essex)

R850R 1999 ‘T’ reg, 18,000 miles, Mystic Red.BMWSH, BMW screen, h/grips, cyl/guards, Givi


top box, beautiful orig cond £3250. Frank Tel 01293889126 (Crawley)

R850R 2002 ’52’ reg, 32,000 miles, Titan Silver,Tax 08/06, MOT 10/06, ex cond, h/grips, ABS,FBMWSH, Evo brakes, rack, screen, 12v socket,jpegs available. £3595 ono Rob Tel 0208 948 8818(London).

R850R May 2004, 04 reg 8,000 miles Silver.FBMWSH, ex cond, h/grips, hd/guards, self can-celling Indicators, hugger, panniers £5250 Mike Tel01270 213802 ( Cheshire )

R1100GS 1995 long T&T, hard luggage, wunderlichscreen, touratech side panels, standard & aftermarket exhausts, good tyres, lots of history, £3600ono Tim Tel 01202 251585 (Dorset)

R1100GS 75th Anniversary Edition, 1998, ‘S’ reg,15,000 miles, Red ABS, h/grips, panniers, Remusexhaust. £3950 Peter Tel 0121 6024477 (WestMids)

R1100R ‘W’ reg, 28,800 miles, BMW screen, pan-niers, w/wheels, cyl & h/guards, MOT 06/06 £3950Tel 02380 600522 (Hants)

R1100RS SE 1994 ‘M’ reg, 46,000 miles. New clutch,full BMW luggage, tank & inner bags. MOT 01/07Tax 04/06. £3000 ono Gail Tel 01329 834827 (S’ton)

R1100 RS SE, 1998 ‘S’ reg, 29,000 miles. FBMWSH,luggage & tank bag.

£3,100. Clive Tel 01942 224333 (Lancs)

R1100RT 1997 45,000 miles, Blue. FSH, ABS, cyl/guards, h/grips, hazards, Fenda extender, Spyball,Ultraseal, pannier inners, tank bag, Corbin seats &back rest, 50 ltr top box c/w brake light & backrest, lockable oil cap, 2 x extra power sockets, s/s fasterners, garaged £4400 Graham Tel 01623467852 (Notts)

R1100RT 2000 ‘W’ reg, 20,000 miles, Sage Green.Panniers, after market top box, Mot 02/07, gd tyres,battery, gd cond. Just run in £4850 ono Doug Tel01903 533808 (Sussex)

R1100S 2003, 6000 miles, Pacific blue. High bars,screen, carbon hugger, ABS, 5.5 rear wheel, h/grips, black engine, ex cond. Glyn Tel 01270258101 (Ches)

R1100S ‘S’ reg, 4,500 miles. Remus exhaust, Ohlinsfront & rear, Mounting for Kappa Top Box, CarbonHugger, black tinted screen.

Beautiful runner in ex cond. £4500, poss part/exfor big tourer in similar cond. Trevor Tel 01608666068 (Warks)

R1100SS Nov ‘02’ reg, 4,500 miles, Blue/ White.Randy Mamola Boxer cup replica, FBMWSH, Remus& unused original exhaust, panniers, h/grips, highbars, immac cond, health forces sale £6000 onoSam Tel 07831 886583 (Staffs)

R1150GS ‘W’ reg, 30,500 miles, Yellow. Standard& Remus exhausts, leather tank bag, h/grips, pan-

niers ex cond £5500 ono John Tel 01253 826487(Lancs)

R1150GS 2000, Average miles, Mandarin Yellow.Too many good mods to mention, 1 owner, ex cond,nearly new tyres, ABS, h/grips, panniers, oilchanged at 3,000 miles £5750 ono Andrew Tel01205 723440 (Lincs)

R1150GS 2001 ‘Y’ reg, 26,000 miles, Titan Silver.ABS, BMW panniers, h/grips, new battery,FBMWSH, MOT, Datatag, caring owner & ex cond£5750 Steve Tel 01663 734452 (Derbys)

R1150GS 2001, 14,600 miles, Mandarin Yellow. 2owners from new, panniers, tank bag, new tyres,recent battery, Datatool alarmed & disc lock, MOT11/06, ex cond, SH & garaged. Move abroad forcessale. £5995 ono Gerd Tel 07717 484380 (London)

R1150GS 2002, 18,000 miles, Silver Grey.FBMWSH, ABS, h/grips, BMW topbox, datatool,alarm, MOT, £6250. Balance of warranty/emer-gency transfer available. Andrew Tel 01233 851112(Kent)

R1150RS 2004 ’54’ reg, 900 miles, Titan Silver.Under warranty, overdrive, h/grips, cyl/guards.Showroom cond, mature owner £6250. Frank Tel01293 889126 (Crawley)

R1150RS SE 2002, 8,000 miles, Two tone blue. Excond BMW top box, ABS, h/grips, garaged £5500.Reg. nbr RS 02 BMW by neg if wanted. David Tel07774 580998 (Hants)

R1150RT May 2001, 7,000 miles, Blue. FBMWSH,radio, top box with b/rest, panniers & inners,monokeyed, Datatag alarim h/grips, cyl/guards, Givi& orig screen, cover, T&T £5500 Mark Tel 07890817969 (London)

R1150RT June 2001, 10,500 miles, Silver. FSH, h/grips, radio, top box, panniers with inners, tankbag, Autocom. £6500. Ian Tel 01628 822356 (Berks)

R1150RT 2002, 9,000 miles. Silver, h/grips, twinhorns, radio/cass, autocom, top box, tank bag,garaged. Fair weather use only. £7250 ono. RoyTel 0191 2461100 (Newcastle)

R1150RT 2002, ‘52’ reg, 17,400 miles, Titan silver.Ex cond, FSH, Tax 02/07, MOT 08/06, BMW pan-niers & top box mono keyed, cyl/guards, h/grips,Meta alarm/immobiliser, Datatagged, Dual horns,Comfort seat, garaged, £5800 Andy Tel 01772455512 (Lancs)

R1150RT ‘04’ reg, Red. H/grips,top box with backrest, tank bag, pannier inner bags, cyl/guards, excond. £6975 ovno Brian Tel 07771 885844. (Lincs)

R1200C Independant 2004, 6,500 miles, Silver/Red. ABS, h/grips, cyl/guards, speedster screen,both comfort seats, BMW panniers, garaged £6500Wilf Tel 01756 760800 (Yorks)

R1200CL ‘52’ reg, 9.500 miles, Metallic Bronze.MOT 10/06 FBMWSH, ex cond, ABS, h/seats &grips, cruise control, servo brakes, engine bars.


£5195. Poss p/x R1200GS. Chris Tel 01977 620572(Yorks).

BSA C15 1966, all complete, goes & runs. Tidymachine but needs good home & TLC. £595 FredTel 01794 501158 (Hants)

Honda Deauville 2003, 8,000 miles, Dk Blue. Tallscreen, ex cond £3800 George Tel 01647 24624(Devon)

Honda Revear 600. 1991 ‘H’ reg, 37,000 miles,Metallic Blue. MOT 03/07, fairing, alarm, shaft drive,soft luggage. Very reliable bike in nice cond. Mustsell need space for K100LT. jpeg available. £1050ono. Willie Tel 01259 760934 (Scotland)

Honda VFR 750 FL, Pro Arm model import. One UKowner. 21,000 miles. Metallic Black MIG exhaust &orig. Single Seat conversion cowl. Meta remotealarm/immobiliser. Garaged, dry use only, ex cond,MX5 forces sales. £1800ono. Alan Tel 01772865981 (Lancs)

Honda VFR 800 1999 model, 26.000miles, Red.Immac, full MOT, new tyres, hugger, scott oiler,two screens, seat cowel, grab handles, data tag& alarm £3000 ovno. Stan Tel 01772 431928 (Lancs)

Suzuki Burgman AN400 scooter Aug 2000, ‘W’reg, 19,500 miles, Maroon. Tax 07/06, MOT 08/06.New s/s exhaust, SH, £1500 Bob Tel 01752 481874(Devon)

Triumph Bonneville Nov 2001, 17,000 miles,Forest Green. 1 owner Tax 08/06, MOT11/06,screen, rack, centre stand, pannier rails, immaccond, £3000 ovno George Tel 01647 24624(Devon)

TRIUMPH Dayton 955i, 1999 ‘T’ reg, 15,000 miles,Red. T&T 07/06. SH, never seen rain, garaged excond. £3650 ono Ian Tel 07944 351531 (Scotland)

Yamaha Fazer FZS 600 2002, 8,000 miles, Black& Yellow. Belly Pan., T&T, £2750 Norman Tel 0208857 8733 (London)

Baglux tank cover in light blue for R1150R. Goodmatch Atlanta Betalic Blue. £25 plus p&p or buyercollects Leslie Tel 01579 362086 (Cornwall)

Corbin dual seat for R80 Mono. Off 1991, fits onstandard seat/tailpiece moulding. Black, yellow pip-ing, as new, used once £100 plus p&p or collect.David Tel 07803 260405 (Lancs)

Fairing Spider clean & rust free £20. Rear brakepedal to suit 1983 R45/R65 £10. Rear brake pedalto suit (disc brake)1983 R80/100 £10. Buyer toarrange own carrier. Ken Tel 0151 9490807 (L’pool)

For K1100LT, pair of footrest plates & front foot-rests £35. K series rear indicators gd cond £12.

Acumen KT12 intercom/radio, hardly used. £45Brian Tel 01792 850809 (S. Wales)

For R1000GS silencer/collector box, brand new£60 plus p&p or collect Norman Tel 0118 9833507(Berks)

For R850/1100R, Remus exhaust system £100.Stan Tel 01772 431928. (Lancs)

For R850/1150R, Black low rider & pillion seat withjell insert £70. Wunderlich Engine protection Barsin Satin £45 Mike Tel 02476 675117 (Coventry)

For R1100GS, h/bars £20. Front & rear suspen-sion 10,000 miles only £200. Autocom easi 7 maincontrol unit £25 Gary Tel 0115 9655287 (Notts)

For R1100GS s/s spoke & nipple set, new & un-used £95 Gary Tel 0115 9655287 (Notts)

For R1150GS, not Adv, Wunderlich touring screen,gd cond £60, Tobinators, £30. Plus p&p or buyercollect Jason Tel 01847 893935 (Scotland)

For R1150RT Givi 52Ltr top box & fittings in VGC,£110 ono Norman Tel 01371 810373 (Essex)

For R1150RT top box & tank bag. Both ex cond.Bargain at £100 for the pair, plus p&p or buyercollect. Geoff Tel 01572 822296 (Rutland)

F650 1994 to 2003 spares. New screen, fitsFunduro to 96 still in wrapper, after market tintedflip up. 80 mm above standard. Cost new £54,accept £39 plus p&p of £7. Various F650 spareparts, full details Mal Tel 0161 747 4443 (Manches-ter)

Front brake master cylinder, brand new. Fits allR850/R1100R, £50 plus p&p. Mike Tel 01273 890366(Sussex)

Gearsack, black, water resistant soft luggage,triple combination, twin sports panniers & zip at-tached seat bag, little use, ex cond £80 Ken Tel0131 3128711 (Scotland)

Garmin Quest Navigator, Brand new in box, lat-est version 7 with maps for UK & Europe, includesbike bracket £275 David Tel 01371 811883 (Essex)

Gents black leather m/c bottoms, top quality Akito,40” waist, as new, cost £139 sell for £50 David Tel01785 615855 (Staffs)

Gents riding suit Black/Red MJK Goretex size44 XXL used once £110, plus p&p or buyer col-lects. Alan Tel 07929 500702 (Lancs)

Haynes Manual for K100 83-96 & K75 85-96. £11postage inc. David Tel 01480 393262 (Cambs)

High screen for K75/100/1100. BMW tank bag£30 each. For ’97 ZZR 1100 Baglux tank coverpurple & tinted flip screen £25 each. Workshopmanual Clymer for 4v twins £20 Bryan Tel 07712785760 (Lancs)

Hydraulic work bench,lower 220 mm, max raised810 mm. safty strut, removeable rear section, onoff ramp. Trolly jack, checker plate, 350 kgz lifting

BITS & BOBS


capacity, delivery possible £180 Alan Tel 01200425150 (Lancs)

Kawasaki genuine rear paddock stand with Ysections & mushrooms new, cost £85 sell £45. Tailpiece for 1994-97 VFR750 black £20. Haynesmanuals for VFR750 £10 & Kawasaki GT750 £10Bryan Tel 07712 785760 (Lancs)

K1200GT std seat as new £100. R1100RT stdscreen £20. R1100RS Smoked screen £15. Tel02380 600522 (Hants)

K1200RS mu parts, performance chip 3150. Ad-justable paralever strut £100, reference p20 MarchJournal, includes p&p David Tel 07890 403190(Scotland)

Ladies two piece Black/Red MJK Goretex ridingsuit,sallopet trousers fully lined with extra pad-ding, new, size 20 UK 28" inside leg, £110 p&p orbuyer collects. Alan Tel 07929 500702 (Lancs)

Mainstand for GS or ST, 1981 – 87, cond unim-portant. Front mudguard 19”, any cond. Optimateor similar charger. GS or travel books or articles.Nick Tel 07904 505496 (West Mids)

Off 1975 R90S, due to brake upgrade, ATE calipers.Forks with recent springs £180, Wheel £120, Disc£80. Sell complete for £320 plus p&p or collectionpossible Nick Tel 01793 528551 (Wilts)

Pair BMW panniers £120. Remus Genesis alu-minium after market exhaust can £100. Tobinatorkit for standard screen & instuctions £25. BMWtank bag, fittings & w/p cover £50. All VGC, plusp&p or collect. Richard Tel 01476 419120 (Lincs)

Pair of city cases off K100RS gd cond. £40. Swapfor ‘K’ series topbox & base fitting plate Les Tel07921 245252 (West Mids).

R80 barrels, pistons, heads, rocker gear, all good£100. Can be posted in two parcels for additional£15 each. Callers can have bottom end, free, ifyou buy the barrels etc. Bill Tel 01375 407305 (Es-sex)

R1100S five spoke, 5.5 inch, rear wheel, new &unused £120 plus p&p or collect. Norman Tel 01189833507 (Berks)

Signalminder self cancelling indicator flasherrelay. For R1100R models, simple plug-in replace-ment, hardly used. £30 plus p&p. Mike Tel 01273890366 (Sussex)

1000cc re-con heads, run unleaded, bead blastedwith barrels and pistons - £250. 1000cc bottomend including rods & flywheel £50. 33/11 beveldrive (disc brake type) £50. Cast rear wheel (discbrake type) £45. Buyer to arrange own carrier.Ken Tel 0151 9490807 (L’pool)

Both battery side panels for 1979 twinshock R45Geoff Tel 01444 455438 (Sussex)

Comfort seat for 1995 K75RT, black preferred,must be gd cond, Alan, Tel 01389 753208

Crash Bars for R50/5. Any cond. Lawrence Tel01803 663554 (Devon)

Expanding panniers & inner bags for R1200GSFraser Tel 0141 644 3604 (Scotland)

For F650GS Dakar, panniers, fittings & tank bag.Roger Tel 01784 457343 (Middx)

For F650ST 1993 – 2000 model, 32 & 35 ltr pan-niers and frames Daivd Tel 01790 752425 (Lincs)

For K75S, front footrest lowering kit. Ron Tel 01793782363 (Oxon)

For R100RS 1977, original seat cowl tail rack, in-tegral extension of the small grab rail, & direct re-placement for the original rail. No aftermarket itemsrequired Andy Tel 01522 704441

For R1100S, mirror RH side. Complete assemblyor mirror glass only. Robin. Tel 01780 480639(Lincs)

F650 Classics, Funduro, ST & CS. Any after mar-ket parts. Centre & side stand fitting kit (bushesand springs) Other parts considered to buy orswap. Mal 0161 747 4443 (Manchester)

K75S with less than 20,000 miles & gd cond WilliamTel 01386 700753 (Oxon) (Non Mbr)

Low Seat in black & seat lowering monoshockfor 1996 K75RT Ultima

Clive Tel: 01267 267455 (W. Wales)

K series rear brake disc & Front fork stainchonsfor my 1987 K100RS. Must be new & original BMW.Mike Tel 0191 3842058 (Durham)

Rear Hugger for 2004 R1150R, plus Other ac-cessories considered.

Mike Tel 065 6838246 (Eire)

R1200GS Panniers. Gd cond, will collect. BrianTel 01509 620211 (Leics)

Top box, 35 Ltr for 1995 K1100LT, with mountingkit, any condition. Liam Tel 0118 9765578 (Berks)

WANTED


SMALL BUSINESS ADVERTSSmall Business adverts are available to any individual or business. For rates and terms please

contact: Owen Vaughan - 16 South Meadows, Pembroke, Pembs. SA71 4EW.Phone: 01646 683188. Email: [email protected]

4 STAR B&B in MACHYNLLETH.Luxuriousbungalow,stunning Mid-Wales scenery. Heartybreakfasts,traffic-free roads.Lock-up garage.01654 702562 www.dyfiguest.co.uk

4 STAR B&B IN WONDERFUL PERTHSHIRE.Luxury en-suite accommodation in tranquilBalnaguard 5 miles south of Pitlochry. Sensationalbreakfasts, spectacular views, £25 pppn. Lock-able garage for m/cycles. Ann Croft Tel: 01796482627. e-mail: [email protected]. Website:www.balbeagan.com

ALMERIA VELEZ RUBIO. Farmhouse B&B 15 EuroPPPN. Also self contained apartment sleeps 4, ownprivate courtyard, pool, BBQ 200 Euros per week.A92N 3km, Granada 1 ½ hours, beach 40 mins.Secure parking. Phone Pat or Chris Payne 00 34690152979

AN CALA GUEST HOUSE, Grantown-on-Spey. AA5 Diamonds. Ideal base for Highlands. Kingsizedoubles, magnificient 4 poster. All rooms en-suite.On site parking, also garage. £25-£30pp b&b.01479 873293 www.ancala.info

AUSTRIA (Southern) – Summer/ Winter Sports.Self Catering fully equipped flats (Sleep 2-6). Su-perb touring roads & mountain passes. Close Italy/Slovenia. Excellent amenities. Secure Parking. Cyril/Liz Cannard (Bikers). Tel/Fax: 0043 4769 26415.e-mail: [email protected]

B&B CALVADOS / NORMANDY. Destination Nor-mandy or en-route stop? Great meals, secure ga-rage/drying, ideal UK ferries. Details http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bandbjanville/ or phone / fax +33(0)231391037

B&B Edinburgh, secure garage parking, colourtv, tea & coffee, 15 minutes from city centre £30pppn Tel 0131 669 3570 or 07931 718584

BARCELONA, 2 bedroom/2 baths city centre apart-ments. Very close Las Ramblas and all transportlinks. Easy walking distance to seafront. Shortbreaks available. Tel 01752 663589.www.barcelonaflats.net

BED AND BREAKFAST, MOFFAT, SOUTHERNSCOTLAND, B & B, garage parking, wonderfulbiking area. One mile from M74 J15 on Edinburghscenic route. Why not break your long journeyhere or spend a few days riding the local roads,enjoying the hills and bends. Club member. Chris01683 220378 seewww.buchanguesthouse.co.uk

BED & BREAKFAST, PERTHSHIRE, CENTRALSCOTLAND. Situated in Auchterarder in the beau-tiful Strathearn Valley, close to A9. Comfortableen-suite rooms with colour TV, tea & coffee facili-ties, off-road parking. Pubs and restaurants withinwalking distance. Enjoy the stunning scenery andfantastic biking roads. Club member. Andy & Paula01764 662928

BED & BREAKFAST, YORKSHIRE DALES,Greenhills in Leyburn. Comfortable en-suite roomswith colour TV, tea & coffee. B&B from £25.00pppn.Lock-up garage available. Tel: 01969 623859, E-mail: [email protected], web-site:www.greenhillsleyburn.co.uk

BRITTANY - TOP QUALITY MOBILE HOMES oncoastal 4 star site in this tranquil region. ideal forfamily holidays or Section rallies (as Westenr Sec-tion June 04). great biking are with masses to doand see. Big savings on ferry costs.www.benodetbreaks.com or call Steve Jacksonon 01543 473089

DORDOGNE. Self-catering cottages sleeping up to8. Garage parking. Pool. Club members.www.lesflamands.com/bikes or telephone 0033553 50 12 39

DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY, South West Scot-land - 2 cosy wee s/c cottages each sleeps 2 intwin beds. Quiet location adjacent our home. 4miles from Wigtown, 22 miles from Stranraer ferryterminal. Beautiful scenery and great biking roads.Shopping service on request. Short Breaks avail-able. Sorry No smoking/pets. Tel: 01671 830422mail: [email protected]

FRANCE - HONFLEUR, NORMANDY. Delightful 17thCentury Cottage in quiet area. 4mins walk from thepicturesque ancient port. Popular with bikers. 2-3hrs from Calais, 20mins from LeHavre. 2 doublebedrooms, lounge/diner, new fitted kitchen,shower room. Central heating. TV/DVD/Radio/CD,fridge, microwave, washing machine. Tastefullydecorated. Beautiful views. Sleeps 6/7 people.Available all year.

Telephone Brian Ashley 0033 231 643526. Email:boudincottage @hotmail.com

FRANCE – LOIRE ATLANTIQUE REGION Farm-house, tranquil location, close to Chateaubriant,Le Mans an hour away, surrounded by miles ofquiet motorbiking roads. B & B plus 2 gites, sleep-ing 8 and 4. Evening meals available, swimming


pool. Mature owner active motorcyclist. Phone (0033) 2 40 97 08 44, e-mail [email protected] www.la-janais.com

FRANCE CHARENTE / DORDOGNE border.Villebois-Lavellette. 3 bedroomed, self-containedgite. Sleeps 6. private pool, English bike ownerson site. secure garage parking. With neighbouringgite can increase to 12. Mona Warburton. For bro-chure Tel:- 0844 837 6836 or 0033 (0)545 60 3651. Email [email protected]. Sitewww.jomowarby.com

FRENCH ALPS - ST. GERVAIS. Beautiful 4th floorsouth facing apartment in luxury residence withlift. Superb mountain views. 2mins walk fromtelecabin. Gorgeous environment, paradise forskiers/walkers. 2 double bedrooms, lounge/diner,shower room, fully equipped kitchen area. Fridge,washing machine, dish washer, cooker, TV. Bal-cony, garage, ski locker. Sleeps 6 people. Tel-ephone: Brian Ashley 0033 231 643526. Email:[email protected]

GERMANY, BRITISH B&B,17th centuryhouse,rooms ensuite. Ideal for Rhein, Mossel val-ley Nurburgring, Mohn Dam, Cologne. Drying andLaundry facilities, well stocked bar,Bar [email protected] www.vinecottage.de Tel00492742911728

ITALIAN RIVEIRA 12th century house nearMonacco,14 kms coast , great mountain rides.www.vine cottage.de bob@vine cottage.de 00 4927429 11728

LAKE DISTRICT holiday bungalow – comfort forfour plus garage. Ideal touring location & availableApril to November. Member owned. TEL: 01695422210

LAKE DISTRICT B&B IN BOWNESS-ON-WINDER-MERE. Panoramic views of Bowness and lake.En-suite. Covered/lock-up parking. Leisure facili-t ies. 015394 88658 Web: http://www.abovethebay.co.uk

LAKE DISTRICT. Peaceful 17th century barn inlake shore hamlet - just for two! Log fire. C.H. Gar-den. Secure indoor bike space. Non-smoking.Breaks available. Tel 01229 885643 orwww.townyeatbarn.co.uk

NORTH PORTUGAL- MINHO VALLEY.PenedesNation Park and Galicia.Interested?. We offer farm-house self catering and luxury B&B both with pools.Come and sample the real Portugal see our Website.www.portugal-holidayvilla.co.uk. Tel Maggie on00351-251648107 or Mobile 00351-912860707

PLYMOUTH, En-suite accommodation very closeto continental ferryport. Secure parking for bikes.Early breakfast for ferry passengers.CaranealHotel. 12 - 14 Pier St. West Hoe. tel 01752 663589.email; caranealhotel@ hotmail.com

SCOTLAND - TAIN- SELF-CATERING 18th cen-tury cottage, sleeps 4, off street parking, situatedin the old part of Tain, 2 mins Pub/ Hotels, Railwayand Bus station, Good base for touring the High-lands, details & price contact 01862 832797 e.mailinfo@ arabella travel.co.uk

SOUTH OF FRANCE, NARBONNE. Choice of B&Bor self catering apartments. Awesome roads, &stunning scenery, Close to Mediterannean, An-dorra, Pyrenees, Corbieres, Minervois & Spain.Guided Motorcycle Tours available. All with se-cure garaging. Call Martin on 0033 468333671.email: [email protected], or visitwww.st-georges-fr.com. 5% discount for BMWClub Members

SW FRANCE - HEART OF COGNAC COUNTRY.B&B (dinner optional), secure parking, swimmingpool. Easy days run from all west coast ports. 5mins from Angouleme by-pass. Call Maggie on(0033) 545 691003 or e-mail [email protected]

SWITZERLAND GRINDELWALD, in the heart ofthe alps. Small hotel with new rooms en-suite.Extraordinary view to the mountains. Restaurantand Bar. Save bike parking. Hotel Alpenblick, CH-3818 Grindelwald; www. Alpenblick .info Tel 0041 (0)33 853 11 05

LYNBROOK INSURANCE for Special Member’sSchemes including Classic and Modern motorcy-cle insurance (all makes) - plus Travel and Over-seas Breakdown arrangements. TEL 0845 1304662

BUYING PROPERTY IN SPAIN?. Let us help youwith every aspect of purchase. Support servicesin Spain and UK. From independent lawyers, tofurniture pack. Contact, Homelife International Prop-erties. 01242 [email protected]

GOING OUT FOR A RIDE THIS WEEKEND? Needan accurate weather forecast ? Then check outthe free 5 day forecast from Weather CommerceLtd. For National, European and Regional 14 dayforecasts log on to www.weathercommerce.netDirector Chris Blowes is a member of the BMWClub and is happy to take consultation calls fromfellow members

SHEEPSKIN m/cycle seat covers, custom made.01604 714103 or www.easirider.com/motorbike_sheepskin.htm

Pannier Inners R80/100/1100/1150RT/RS/GS/850GS. Standard £60 Extended lid width £66 pair.K75/100/1100/1200RS Standard £60 pair. 35 litretop case £26, K1200LT three piece set £95. Threepiece to fit Adventurer Aluminium £89. R1200GS


expandable £75 pair and £99.50 three pieceBlack/Royal Blue piping all incl P&P. Send cheque to ManeEvent, 8 Cornhill Road, Davyhulme, ManchesterM41 5TJ, Telephone 0161 747 3939www.maneevent.org.uk

STRONG STEEL BIKE SHEDS, with maintenancefree PVC coated steel cladding, tile effect roof,anti condensation roof lining, extra wide accessdoor, optional wooden floor, optional double glazedwindows. For more details Tel. 01291 673950/07968 202708 or E.mail Fortknoxb @aol.com

Try Motorworks for Ohlins, Hagon, Remus,Hawker batteries, Keihan, Goodridge, PFM brakes,Metzeler/Continental tyres, Seats, Screens, Lug-gage, Service items, Clymer, Haynes, Huggers,Mudguard extenders, Heated jackets, Tuffmaps,genuine parts, performance chips..much more.Used guaranteed spares for all models. BMWs1970-2006 wanted for breaking. Free catalogue.www.motorworks.co.uk Tel 0845 458 0077

ADVANCED MOTORCYCLE TRAINING Qualifiedtrainer; full commentary, demonstrating, pointingout, adjusting and explaining how, why and theadvantages of doing it the correct way. Terry 07850518372 www.swiftlysorted.info

B.E.M.W. For competitive prices on: Restorations,repairs & spares. Spares for vintage/classic BMW’sfrom 1935. CJ750, copies of 1938 BMW R71, FROM£2,650. Some new 1957 models in stock, LH/RHsidecars plus OHV machines available. Machinetools for the small/home workshop, including Ches-ter MultiFunction lathe/mill/drill. Parts made to pat-tern or drawing. S.A.E. for specification and serv-ices or visit our website. 2 Forman Street, DerbyDE1 1JQ. Phone/fax 01332 298523. Eves & w/ends 01332 824334, www.bemw.co.uk

CENTRAL LONDON BMW SPECIALISTS - Allmodels to date 2v, 4v, BMW Diagnostic equipment,ex dealer Tech, 30 years exp. Servicing, repairs,insurance work.Tyres, spares from stock. 5 starworkshop - full facil it ies.BMW authorisedsupplier.Bikes bought/sold - see Biketrader webpage.Jap & German 102 Druid St, London SE1 2HQTel:0207 237 2299, www.japandgerman.co.uk

EURO CLASSICS. A small family firm dedicated toservicing, repairs and renovation of BMW’s. Webuild bikes to order (GS a speciality). Insurancework carried out. Supply and fitting of tyres. New& second hand parts. Exchange drive shafts, Vartabatteries. BMW’s for sale. or sell your BMW at nocost to you. Please phone Phil or Dinah on 01604591222 or www.euroclassics.co.uk.

MICK BARR INDEPENDENT BMW SPECIALIST.Trained BMW Technician, GEARBOX SPECIALIST.Twin spark head machining, mail order parts forclassic twins from 1953. Service and repairs at

my home workshop, Scraptoft, Leicester LE7 9UL.Call Mick or Glenyse 0116 2419316, Monday toThursday to 6.30 pm.

NORTH OXFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE,GLOUCESTERSHIRE BORDER. BMW Quality serv-ice, repairs, restoration and special tuning work,on all models. Collection and delivery arranged.ANDREW SEXTON MOTORCYCLES Tel 01608730111

SERVICING, REPAIRS, SPARES: Boxer & K serv-icing; Breakdown & crash repairs; Pickup and de-livery service, weekend work, loan bike available;BMW’s always being broken; Only BM’s workedon. Tel: Neil on 0208 546 2600 (S.W. London)

THE BOXER MAN – THE INDEPENDENT BMWSPECIALIST. Full Service, Repair & Restorationfacilities for R and K Series machines. Mobile serv-ice available within an 80 mile radius of LEICES-TER. Call Phil on 0116 2668913 or 07860 588076,www.boxerman.co.uk

to keep your articles, photos, reviews andletters flowing in. While we’re at it, the Editorwould also be grateful if anyone wanting toget rid of any unwanted K75 items that theyhave cluttering up their home could get intouch so he can get the “project bikeprogramme” up and running a.s.a.p. - moredetails of this new venture are on page 4.

JOURNAL - BMW Club Archives

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