The New K1600GT-L Is Here! And We've Got The First One!

Hey Everyone and welcome to the most exciting blog post of 2010! Today I'm proud to present to you the arrival of our FIRST K1600GT-L!

Both the K 1600 GT and the K 1600 GTL fulfil their Gran Turismo promise with a fascinating blend of supremacy, dynamic performance and comfort to a virtually perfect degree even in standard trim. In addition, BMW Motorrad offers its usual extensive range of special equipment features and special accessories for further optimisation.

This includes such features as the Electronic Suspension Adjustment II (ESA II), traction control DTC, the tyre pressure control system RDC, the adaptive xenon headlight and (for the K 1600 GT) the audio system.

We did not realize they were going to be available in "tanken gruhn" which I'm told translates to "tank green" but regardless of color it truly is a work of engineering art! Come on by and take a demo ride...

What We Want For You For Christmas

No more layering 2 t-shirts, a thermal, Long John's, a turtle neck sweater and your favorite rain jacket under your riding gear! We want you to do less layering

and get yourself into Gerbings latest Microwire heated gear.

You can go with the traditional vest, a jacket liner, pants liner, gloves, glove liners, in-soles for boots or any combination of the above! Make your riding season truly year round by adding a touch of heat!

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

What We Want For You For Christmas

For fingerless glove rider:
These are for you oh-mutilator of the metacarpals. Your complete lack desire to keep those digits firmly affixed to your hands inspires our desires to sell you these BMW Allround 2 gloves:

- A waterproof touring glove
- Leather/textile outer with climate membrane
- Leather fingers with understated pattern and embossed lines
- Cordura® knuckles with Suprotec® foam underlay
- Doubled leather in vulnerable areas of the palm
- Ball of the thumb reinforced with Keprotec®
- Rubber visor wiper on forefinger
- Light quilting
- Long reflective strips along edge of hand
- Wind and waterproof
- “BMW” lettering on the Velcro fastener
- Colour: black
- Sizes: 6/6½–12/12½

For the novelty egg-shell helmet rider:
This is for you oh-neglector of the noggin. You say "gives me a better field peripheral vision. We say "makes face ragged like Ben Roethlisberger." So throw away that old skull cap you call a D.O.T. lid and we'll get one of these under your christmas tree:

-N103 - a versatile and functional flip front helmet with internal sun visor and various communications options! Will work as rider to pillion intercom via wire or Bluetooth (optional extras).
-A very plush, SAFE and comfortable lid with a host of features that has made it a hit with Ride Magazine. The communications options are sure to make it a great success!

And for you leather vest over long sleeved Bon Jovi t-shirt rider, perhaps self preservation's biggest nose-thumber. Your disinterest in skin wellness has the rest of us dry heaving in our helmets because your forearms look like burned steak!

We suggest you let Santa send you the BMW Airshell Jacket:

•Excellent visibility on account of signal yellow fabric.
•Equipped with the BMW’s NP protectors at elbows and shoulders.
•Width adjustments at the elbows, cuffs and hem.
•Velcro flaps at the front zipper.
•Two zip pockets on the front.
•Waterproof inner pocket.
•BMW Motorrad embroidery on the left front.
•BMW rubber batch at the right sleeve.
•Connecting zipper: 40 cm/15.7 in.
•Good shape, pattern identical to the existing Boulder jacket.
•Good fitting of the body protection.
•Removable climate insert. Insert makes jacket wind and waterproof.
•Most price competitive jacket value within the BMW Riders’ Apparel collection.
•Shell: Cordura 500, airy Polyamide mesh.
•Lining: 100% Polyester.
•Climate insert: Polyester with PU membrane and thermal lining. The insert can be attached to the jacket by zippers.
•Color: Black / signal yellow / grey mesh.

Merry almost Christmas!

Black Friday Sale and FOOD!

Hey Everyone,
Today, Friday Nevember 26th we are having our annual Black Friday super sale. Come on by for great savings on all your favorite toys! We'll also be cooking burgers and hot dogs for all you motorcyclists that are burned out on turkey.

The San Diego GS Riders

We started a GS rider Group to get together and do some off road rides and promote the under-estimated capabilities of the GS. After all having a GS and not riding off road is like having a boat and hanging out tied off to the dock. We are hosting rides, training and clinics. Check us out on our Facebook page: "SD GS Riders" for ride dates, and posts about our great adventures.

Our first ride was to the top of Otay Mountain October 30th, a day that started out very wet. I was on my way to the shop from Oceanside in the morning and it was absolutely pouring rain. I thought the ride was going to be a bust but I was really impressed with the 24 riders that showed up for the ride in the pouring rain. If this was a street bike ride there would have been maybe 5 guys show up. GS riders are REAL MEN, hardcore riders. We did some training for a few hours and then the rain stopped. It ended up being great weather for the ride because it was not hot and there was no dust on the trail.

The ride was not too difficult making it a fun day for all. We traversed up the mountain putting our new found skills to the test. We ended up a the top of the mountain with some spectacular views like far south into Mexico, the Otay reservoir to the west, and far west you could see down town San Diego. I was told on a clear day you can see San Clemete Island. There are three WWII bunkers just off the main trail that we explored as well. After descending down the other side of the mountain we stopped just before Barrett Junction to gather the group and share some stories. I have never see so many helmets filled with bigger smiles. A handful of riders who could not get enough, broke off and took a more difficult trail out to 94. What a great day!

The best part of Adventure riding is, no traffic. How many times have you had your favorite road ruined by cars trying to kill you, slow moving RVs towing trailers, and 18 wheelers. We didn't see any of those on the trail. The few Jeeps we did encounter were pulled off to the side waving us past them. How often does that happen on your street ride! Reason #2 to own an adventure bike is 98 percent of the world is unpaved. Why limit your options.The GS can take you places most people don't ever see. (like the beautiful view we had a the top of the Otay Mountain). I get a sense much like a climber who uses his ropes and other tools to conquer a mountain. I rode a 500-600 lb beast up this mountain, how cool is that. A great experience and it only cost a tank of gas.

Hope to see you on the next adventure ride.
Thanks for reading,
-Scott Coakley

These Moto Weekends

These Moto Weekends

Hello from Las Vegas! I'm sitting in my hotel room at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino updating you all from the 10th floor. I had an interesting thought this morning: I might be the only person in Vegas that didn't come to gamble. Matter of fact I haven't played so much as one slot machine. I stopped here last night to see a favorite comedian (Kevin James) after 2 days spend dirt riding with an old friend. At the same time Gary Orr, Mark Pohlson, Ed Bell and Sergio Rico are at Willow Springs racing an assortment of S1000RR's and one very tuned R1200S. Jason Turner, Jeremy Toye and company are in China of all places for a TT style race! Our good friend and client Sondra Lagnado is somewhere along the Baja Peninsula.
You can follow her here:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0SQl8BRPYJfS1aBGLudWL4oWuYV6WHYPW

And certainly other friends are enjoying weekend rides in various places. Where am I going with all this? Well it occurred to me that San Diego BMW Motorcycles has become something of a hub for a living, breathing wheel that is our moto lifestyle.

On any given Thursday the shop is a bee hive of activity with various employee's, clients and friends gathering gear, bikes and picking up last minute moto-goodies before a weekend of riding. The race team guys fire up the forklift and load the trailer with slicks, generators, tire warmers, etc. The dirt guys (Myself included) are throwing gear bags, tents and gas cans into the pickup trucks. The travelers are stopping in for a new tire plug kit, spare quart of oil or a new visor for a helmet. The Romeo's are taking in a cup of coffee before stepping off in search of fine Southern California cuisine. Then, as if someone tossed a firecracker right in the middle of the madness, vehicles, motorcycles and riders head off in every direction from the hub like so many spokes. Each spoke ending at a favorite or sometimes new riding spot.

This time yesterday I was exploring a friends tiny, home made motocross track in Indian Springs. At that same time Jason Turner was swapping out a set of slicks on Jeremy's race bike on the other side of the globe. Gary, Mark and the guys were exchanging pointers in a garage at Big Willow. And Sondra was negotiating sand washes in Mexico.

Today (Sunday) bikes will be loaded back into trucks and trailers. Proper dual sport riders will strap tents and gear back onto GS's. Baja explorers will turn 180 degree's and head back north toward the US / Mexico border. I'll spend the next 6 hours behind the wheel of an F150 driving southwest on I-15. Jason and Jeremy will sit 13 hours on an international flight. Gary and the race guys will drag the race trailer south from Lancaster. Each traveling along their spoke from the outer reaches of the rim back toward the hub. Some of us nursing wounds (I managed to sprain my right foot), some reliving near crash moments (Mark is always good for one or two of those!), still others smiling all the way home with trophy's nestled safely at their feet.

Tomorrow (Monday) the entire proceedings come to a proper close. Monday mornings at the greatest BMW Motorcycle Dealership in the nation are something not to be missed after moto weekends. Gary will most certainly be giving all those with a willing ear the Cliff's Notes from a successful weekend at Wilow Springs. Clients who have arrived for an early morning service appointment will take turns at the coffee counter while Gary's play by play holds their interest. The Romeo's will be there too filling Scott, Geoff and I in on the local roads (and restaurants). Sondra promised to stop by and tell us all about her first solo Baja dual sport adventure...also mentioned she's probably need a couple new turn signals. Jason Turner will probably have an entire book worth of stories from his international travels but no one ever listens to him. I keep telling him it's all about the delivery!

So if You had a good, great or epic moto weekend travel back toward the center along your spoke and tell us about it. Because after all, it all starts and ends at the hub. You might even get mentioned on the ever prestigious San Diego BMW Motorcycle blog!

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

Product Tested: The Shoei Qwest Helmet

Finally a full face helmet built for sport touring! Most of us are familiar with the typical full face helmet: Lighter, faster, more expensive and cooler graphics. You can expect to spend $600-$700 dollars for a real high end full face helmet. Aria's RX series, Shoei's X12 series, Nolan's X-Lite series...the list goes on. Problem is these high end full face helmets evolved to encompass performance. They are light, look incredible, vent air very well and the liners are often the best (moisture wicking, different sized pads offered, etc...)

Then there are the "middle of the road" full face helmets that each manufacturer offer as a cheaper alternative to their flagship models. These more reasonably priced helmets often look the part of their higher priced brothers and sisters but seldom perform as well. Often times much heavier, noisier and less comfortable.

Enter Greg from Helmet House and his newest offering from Shoei. The Shoei Qwest full face helmet has sport touring written all over it. The main focus of this newest generation Shoei as mentioned earlier: QUIET, well ventilated, uber-comfortable liner and guts and VERY large peripheral visor and cutaway. Shoei scored BIG on every single one of these points. Here is a link to Shoei's sales pump in the Qwest:
http://www.shoei-helmets.com/qwest/
But since all too often the hype doesn't match the performance I'll give you my personal run down.

My riding over the past two years has really gotten away from the mileage side of things. 90% of my rides are 300 miles or less, at a spirited pace on my sportier bikes and almost never at night. 50% of these remaining miles are racked up at track days. This pretty much eliminated my need for a modular helmet which although convenient are always a lot heavier than a full face helmet.
I have been a long time user of the Arai brand of helmets. Problem is the Arai that fits me best and performs the way I like was the Quantum. And every 2 years I could expect to drop $600 on a new one. It was a considerable expense but one I chalked up along side sticky tires...over the top but absolutely imperative. But despite my love of the Quantum helmets there were a few nagging issues that left me unsatisfied. 1 - You need a degree in mechanical engineering, a lamp with a genie in it and no less than 10 Our Fathers to change the damned visors. 2 - The inner liner feels like a 12 cent roll of toilet paper against the skin.
The Qwest uses the typical Shoei visor replacement method: open visor, pull little release tab, remove visor, place new visor over pivots, close visor and relax. The liner also typical Shoei: Soft, smooth, replaceable, adjustable and above all comfortable. The peripheral vision is incredible. The inner shell tapers up and out from the user's face giving a huge view left, right, up and down. The gasket that runs around the visor seat is super soft and thick giving the lockable shield a perfect seal. The price was a VERY reasonable $369. Lastly, my personal favorite point, the helmet is QUIET. Extremely quiet...like, flea's sneeze quiet. Not ONE of my motorcycles has a windshield and this helmet manages to keep the ambient noise levels well within reason.

In keeping with tradition I got the pink one:


So if you're in the market for a full face helmet and a tired of the same old offering from the usual suspects look no further than the Qwest.

Thanks for reading,
-Sean DeAngelis

2010 Day In The Desert Recap - Part 1

Hey Everyone and welcome to another update to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog. Today I'm going to recap the events of October's "Day In The Desert" GS instructional class held in Ocotillo Wells OHV Park.

Friday night Aaron Klein and myself loaded up our gear, the grill, the pop tent and a cooler of delicious brats from Busher's Meats in Ramona. We headed east on 78 all the way out to Ocotillo Wells OHV area to set up camp for the following day's GS Instructional class. Aaron, Andrew Hursch and myself were going to use the dry lake bead just north of Ocotillo Airport to give 30 or so BMW GS riders a few tips and tricks before last weekends GS Dual Sport Ride with Jim Hyde and his crew. On our way out we ran into Tudor Tomas on his new F800GS. Tudor planned on meeting up with us out at Ocotillo but was going to ride dirt trails from Ramona all the way to Scissors Crossing. After a few quick "hello's and goodbye's and see-ya-later's" Aaron and I contunied east toward the desert. Oh. And the Day In The Desert went really well too. Here are some pics:

At about 5:00pm we arrived at the OHV Park and picked a great spot with an overhead, fire pit and a coal grill. We were in view of the highway but far enough in that dust and ambient noise from the passing vehicles would not be an issue. We quickly unloaded and set up camp the hopped on the bikes for a pre ride of the next day's loop. Other than some really slick mud in a few washes the ride was uneventful and I was confident the loop we had in mind would make a great post-class ride to finish the class.

Back at the truck for about 30 minutes I'm about to light the grill and cook dinner when Tudor pulls up. Had had put together Rodrigues Canyon, Grapevine and a few other trails out of Ramona and was all smiles with the performance of his new ride. After a little more small talk Tudor asks if Aaron and I want to go for a quick ride as the sun is setting. Reluctantly, only because we had just been out g, we agree to show him the next day's loop. Again the ride is uneventful until we dive into San Felipe wash. The sides of the wash are pretty reasonable with some rain packed sand and sediment. The centerline through the wash however is full of the aforementioned mud slicks. Aaron and Tudor take off ahead on their skinnier bikes and I put along on the 1200GS working on being smooth and NOT getting mud caked in every crevasse of my shop loaner. The sun had set by now and we were all riding solely on our headlights. Except in Tudors case he was slightly out-riding his headlight. I rounded a curve in the wash only to find Tudor's bike on it's side facing me and Tudor laying next to it. Aaron was working on getting his bike parked to help Tudor:

Me: Tudor, what's up?
Tudor (dead pan): My leg is broken. Both tib and fib, compound fracture. I can't move.
Aaron: Your leg is broken? Are you sure dude...because...you're awfully calm right now.
Tudor: Ooooh yeah. It's broke. It's facing hte wrong way.
(Aaron and I pan our eyes down slightly further only to confirm Tudor's words. His right leg is facing the wrong way)
Me (trying to hold back dry heaving) : Ok bud. We gotta lift you back on your bike. Can you ride back if we get you on your bike?
Aaron: I don't think that's a good idea.
Me: It's a fine idea. Tudor, if we get you on your bike can you ride it back? We're only about a mile from camp.
Tudor: Yeah I think so

So Aaron and I get under each of Tudor's arms, lift him up rocking chair style and get him situated on the seat of his bike. Tudor pretty much screamed in agony through that particular part of the operation.

Aaron: Ok dude. You're on your bike, you need help getting your helmet back on?
Tudor: Um. What am I doing?
Me: You're gonna follow me back to camp
Aaron: He doesn't look so good.
Me: Tudor, are you ok?
Tudor: I'm gonna pass out.

So now Aaron and I run around the bike fire-drill style and get a shoulder under each of Tudor's arms and lift him BACK off the bike and onto the ground.

The decision is made at this point that I'm going to leave Aaron with Tudor and ride the 1200GS back to the van. I unload everything out of the back of the van and drive down Shell Reef expressway to San Felipe wash. I turn into the darkness of the wash and was able to navigate the van to within 20 feet of Aaron and Tudor. Aaron makes a sort of bed / leg stabilizer out of sleeping bags and 2 fold out cushions that he brought. We lift Tudor into the back of the van, Aaron gets back on his bike and we drive back to the campsite. Tudor is using his arms and good leg to brace himself against the van's bumping along the rocky trail. Once back at camp I hop on the back of Aaron's bike and he rides me back pillion to the crash site to retrieve Tudor's F800GS. FINALLY back at camp with all bikes we ask the family in the next camp to keep an eye on our gear while we run Tudor to the hospital. Tudor's girlfriend works as a nurse at Scripps in La Jolla so we had about a four hour drive ahead of us.

At 8:30pm I park the van at the ambulance entrance of the Scripps in La Jolla and Aaron and I jump out. We're covered in dirt, driving a van that has S1000RR race bikes painted all over it and are frantically trying to get help form the two EMT's parked next to us. All the comotion got the attention of the receptionist who came walking out and asked "What IS this? I mean, I know it's a van but what is it doing HERE?!?!" Aaron looks at her plainly as says simply as he slides open the side door "It's an ambulance tonight. We Oh. And the Day In The Desert went really well too. Here are some pics:got a broken guy in here."

Well that gets the two EMT's, the receptionist, a passing doctor and another nurse from inside the ER moving like fire ants over a melting Popsicle. Aaron and I can only stand back and let the pro's get Tudor into the hospital and taken care of. Once he was inside and the nurse assured us we could not go back there because we were not family we left rather unceremoniously. At 11:45pm we pull back into our campsite exhausted, cook a quick dinner and crashed out (no pun intended).

"What happened to Tudor in the wash?" you ask? Well I'll tell ya! Seems Aaron decided to pick up the pace a bit running through San Felipe and Tudor took off in chase. The two of the diced back and forth for a bit before Tudor really dropped the hammer on the 85hp F800GS. All was going pretty well until he rounded the bend in the wash and right there in front of his headlight (which he was out-riding) was A BIG SLIPPERY PATCH OF STUPID! Tudor's front wheel washed out slightly in the stupid but he was able to catch it and right the bike. But just he got things gathered back together the rear tire lost traction in the stupid and pitched bike and rider to the ground. As the bike slid along the desert floor Tudor's leg got caught under it and twisted around the wrong direction.

So all in all it was a pretty rough start to the weekend. I promise part 2 has a much happier ending. Tudor's leg is going to be fine...in 4 month's....and everyone who attended the GS training class had a blast. That ride report to follow!

SD GS Riders

Hey Everyone,
San Diego BMW Motorcycles in conjunction with Rawhyde Adventures has assembled the SD GS Riders. You can follow and join us on facebook.com.
www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/SD-GS-Riders/158334934199977

Here is what we are all about (trying out a new blog feature here):


-Thanks for reading...er....watching
Sean DeAngelis

Some Updates From San Diego BMW Motorcycles

Hey Everyone! Sorry the blog has been a bit stale lately we've all been really busy. So I figure while I got a few free minutes I'll get you caught up on everything that has been going on here at San Diego BMW Motorcycles.

First some new from the supermoto front. Gary Orr hopped aboard our recently completed (though some dialing-in will be needed) G450X Supermoto bike:

Sunday and absolutely destroyed the field in the Street Legal class at Qualcomm stadium. He also managed to finish 8th overall despite low siding and losing 11 seconds.


Gary sucking less:


Our close friend Cesar Gannod took 2nd on his bike which I guess technically gives SDBMWMC the 1-2 results in the street legal class. Cesar swapped places with another friend, Luis for the better part of the race so he was exhausted after the checkered flag came out.


Next up we have a brief overview of Andy Sills' endeavors on our Demo S1000RR. Andy hopped on our S1000RR demonstrator 2 weekends ago and rode to the Bonneville salt flats. After setting up camp he proceeded to break the old 1000cc production bike speed record leaving the new mark at 196.117 miles per hour. This with stock everything! Turn signals, mirrors, license plate holder...BONE STOCK and Andy of course rode the bike there. Official results available here:
http://www.saltflats.com/2010_WOS.htm

On Thursday September 23rd Eddie Frowiss, Greg Dietrick, Bill and Analein Taylor, Sondra Lagnado and a few of us SDBMWMC employee's did a full moon ride to Borrego Springs. We had sandwiches and cookies here at 7PM and headed for the desert at 7:30. The weather was perfect, the sky was clear, the entire ride was amazing. Highland Valley, Old Julian, Wynola, Banner Grade, S2, S1 (down Montezuma Grade), Jaqui Pass, back up Banner Grade and home via 78 and 67. All that under the light of a full moon and not a car on the road! Be sure to check our website and email blasts for next month's ride under the October harvest moon!

A New Land Speed Record Too

In keeping with the theme of the weekend:

We have just confirmed a new
world land speed record on the BMW S1000RR. I just
got off the phone with Andy Sills, who is still at Bonneville. It's official.
The new world record for a 1000cc production motorcycle
is 196.117 mph, and was set on our San Diego BMW Motorcycles S1000RR
... demo bike. This bike is completely stock! Stock exhaust, mirrors, turn
signals, license plate.... Stock! And he rode the bike there from San Diego!

BMW Motorcycles That Need Attention

In the last six months, we have seen a variety of recalls and service campaigns affecting nearly every recent BMW Motorcycle model. While many of these campaigns address minor aspects of the affected vehicle, others should be dealt with a greater sense of urgency.

Sample of BMW Motorcycle Models Affected By Recalls or Service Campaigns:

• F650GS - charcoal cannister vent line extension, chain and sprocket replacement
• F800GS - charcoal cannister vent line extension, chain and sprocket replacement
• K1200GT - brake line conversion
• K1300GT - handle bar switch(es) malfunction
• K1300S - handle bar switch(es) malfunction
• R1200RT - brake line conversion
• R1200GS - brake line conversion
• R1200GS Adventure - brake line conversion
• S1000RR - new owner's manual, replacing crankcase breather, retrofitting drop sensor
• G650X - take-up roller bracket for the drive chain, front brake pipe distributor bracket
  

Grab your VIN (the last 7 digits) and call Mark, Stan, or Tony at 858-633-2481, so that they can run your vehicle history to see if your specific vehicle is affected by any open campaigns. If your bike is not affected, you're in great shape and you can keep on riding. If your bike is affected, they will schedule an appointment for you. Should you prefer email correspondence, just send a short note with your VIN included in the body of the text to service@sdbmwmc.com and we will be more than happy to respond.

Remember, if you have a BMW Motorcycle that won't start and is still within the original factory warranty (36 months/36,000 miles) you can call BMW Roadside Assistance at 877.680.2176 and they will pick up your motorcycle and bring to the nearest BMW Motorcycle dealership for troubleshooting and repair.

10 In 10. Insanity In Distance. Sore Butt Indifference

Hey Everyone welcome to another jaw dropping addition to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog. Today's post is just a quick update on our fearless (and seemingly insane) leader Gary Orr. Gary is currently on day six of a "10 in 10." What is a 10 in 10 you ask? Let me sum it up:
1-Grab your favorite touring bike
2-Meet 20 or so other maniacs in Salt Lake City, UT
3-Obtain list of destinations all over the United States (not the continental US either, there are destinations in the Florida Key's and Alaska). Each destination is worth a number of points and some destinations only award points within certain time windows.
4-Score the most points in 10 days and ride no LESS than 10,000 miles in that time.
5-Remember to wave at Sanity as you blow past it standing on the side of the freeway because sanity is NOT on board your motorcycle.

You read all that correctly, a nation wide scavenger hunt covering at least 10,000 miles in 10 days and Gary is on day 6. You can track him via his SPOT system here:

http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=6662

Gary is the "OG" icon which stands for Original Gangsta in case you we wondering. The points totals are not released until after the rally so we're not sure where he sits in the standings but if I had to guess I'd say he sits comfortably in OUTSIDE HIS EVER LOVING MIND! 10,000 miles in 10 days?!?! Is this some mission to ensure you don't EVER want to sit on your motorcycle again? What kind of person would play this madness driven game of moto-twister? "Left hand red" Mr Orr!

Hell, I'll give you 10 things I'd rather do in the same 10 days:
1-Slam finger in door of a Ralph Nader edition Chevy Corvair
2-Re-grow my wisdom teeth only to have a Navy "surgeon" remove them again aided only by novocaine and a shop towel.
3-Three words: The English Patient
4-Slam remaining nine fingers in car door of Ralph Nader edition Chevy Corvair
5-Listen to Geoff King sing his lounge act version of Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" album in it's horrific entirety.
6-Charles Sutter hangover
7-Toes! Car door! Now!
8-go vegan
9-seek out that patch of stupid someone left on the highway 163 on-ramp and smear my elbow skin across the tarmac like Country Crock over wheat bread
and the number 10 thing I would rather do than a 10 In 10...
10-Dangle bacon strips from my ear lobes and hop in the ring with Mike Tyson

In closing, if anyone had one of those inflatable butt-donut things lying around I'm sure Gary's is gonna need it when he returns.

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

Welcome Aboard Scott Coakley!!!

Hey Everyone and welcome to another addition to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog. Today it is our distinct pleasure to introduce Scott Coakley, our newest parts, apparel and accessories guru! Easiest hire ever? You bet! It's as if he was constructed into a BMW super nerd out of part from lesser nerds. Scott comes fully loaded with every available option:

-Saphire schwartz metallic goatee
-HID contact lenses
-Anti lock Nike's
-Docker brand pleated slacks! No, really, he's not wearing jeans.




We can't really start in with the new guy jokes and hazing because Scott already has almost 10 years experience with BMW motorcycles. So instead we'll just continue making fun of Jason Turner (S1000RR slayer) until we get another actual new guy.

Thanks for reading
Sean DeAngelis

"Hey Jason! Go get me a burrito. Here's $1.50, make it enough."

Wanna Go Racing? Tight Budget? Got a Dual Sport Bike?

Hey Everyone and welcome to another fabulous post to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog! Today I'm going to highlite this past Sunday's events held in the Qualcomm stadium parking lot.


First a little background:

A close friend of San Diego BMW Motorcycles, Cesar Gannod, owns and runs Fastkeys (www.fastkeys.com) a key, locksmith and engraving service right around the corner on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. We use Cesar exclusively for his key cutting services on our exceptionally tricky BMW ignition and luggage keys and locks. Cesar it turns out is an avid Supermoto (or supermotard) enthusiast with friends throughout the motorcycle industry in San Diego and beyond. Cesar rides a Suzuki DRZ400SM that he's tricked out with all the right toys. We mentioned to him that we were building a G450X into a proper supermoto bike for our race team and track days. Needless to say his interest was peaked and he's kept steady tabs on the project's progress. The bike is near completion completion but a few suspension and brake components still needed some tweaking so the G450 was out of the picture for Sunday.

Enter the greatest dual sport bike man has ever created! That's right kids, I still had a Bridgestone Trailwing 21 inch front tire and a Bridgestone BT45 Spitfire 18 inch rear mounted on the mighty G650X Challenge from our Buttonwillow track day last month. Saturday night I loaded the SDBMWMC pop-up, some water and my leathers in the shop truck. Sunday morning 0800 I met Cesar in the "pits" set up at Qualcomm stadium.

The races are organized by the San Diego Karting Association (SDKA). The kart guys have been using the stadium parking lot one Sunday a month for the last five years since El Cajon speedway was closed. The SDKA invited in the supermoto bikes 2 months ago as a trial run to curb some of the massive costs associated with using the Qualcomm parking lot and insuring their racing. These karts I'm talking about are NOT the typical go karts you see at family fun centers across the country. They are purpose built racing karts with zippy little 2 stroke engines rocketing the drivers around the 1.1 mile course in just over a minute! That's about a 60MPH average speed. There are small children that pilot the 50cc machines, medium children that pilot what looked like 80cc machines, and large kids (in their 30's, 40's and 50's) that shred around the track in 100 and 125cc machines. The racing is pretty spec'd meaning the karts are all VERY similarly built which provides for some really tight racing action. Between the races competing drivers scurry about the pits offering tools, parts and a helping hand to their competitors! It's a real sportsman type environment which also keeps the "intimidating" feeling for newcomers like myself to a minimum. After signing up for the street legal class and a quick riders meeting where to explain ho things would run we retreated to the shade of the pop-up. Local photographers, kart drivers, bike riders, spectators, children and passers by all circulated through the pits and stopped to say hello.

At 0930 the street legal bikes got to take our first of three 5 minute practice sessions. We all pushed out bikes to the staging area and once the grid boss waved us onto the track it was legal speeding for everyone! The track is marked by chalk and cones which takes a little getting used to at first. Once I figured out how to leave the cones in my peripheral vision so they'd sort of melt into an orange line at speed I was fine. But on the initial 2 laps it must have looked like I was practicing the slalom out there. Something like this:
Left turn, Right turn, Tight left turn, CONE! Sweeping right tu...CONE! Straightaway, left turn, CONE, oops...hit that one...oops...almost hit that other rider...CONE!
But after 2 laps the course markers began to make sense and I was cruising around very comfortably on the parking lot tarmac.


We got another two practice sessions over the course of the morning followed by a break for lunch. The first heat race was at 12:50. Each rider pulled a number out of a hat and this was your starting position for the qualifier. Your finishing position in the 10 lap qualifier determined your starting position for the 15 lap main event. My number put me exactly middle of the pack on the start. Cesar was lucky enough to draw the absolute last spot on the grid...jokes were made.

The starter held the flag up in the air, waited a second, then dropped his arms and we were off. I got a great launch (ok, most of the field was riding bikes 450cc's or less) and was 3rd going into the first turn. As we shot down the front straightaway Pete, Cesar and I lead the pack in that order. Over the next 6 of 10 laps Pete gapped us a bit while Cesar and I traded positions countless times. The G650 was quicker getting out of the turns and down each of the 2 straightaways but Cesar is BRAVE on the brakes! He was able to grab the binders later in essentially all over the hard braking zones. This, from my vantage point, was awesome to watch. These more skilled supermoto riders go into the turns as fast as possible then at the last second sit up, drop the bike 2 gears, dump the clutch and SLIDE the bike crossed up into the turn. So you can imagine as I'm setting up for a direction change Cesar comes flying past on the inside, handlebars at near full lock the wrong direction, smoke and dust trail coming up off his rear tire. It took some mental doing to not target fixate on his "controlled crash" of sorts every time we rounded a corner. This cat and mouse routine last till about lap 8. I settled in behind Cesar on his DRZ and as we rounded an off camber chicane at the far end of the track I saw a bit of smoke further up the track out of the corner of my eye. A second later Pete was in view laying on the ground having low sided his DRZ. "Hey! I'm in second place!" my brain shouted inside my helmet. Out of another chicane and across the start finish line on the fastest straight on the track. I tucked in behind my locksmith friend as we rocketed south. Again I sit up before Cesar and begin hauling the BMW down from 80MPH. This time though he started his deceleration just a little too late and after sliding, locking up and sliding again he overcooked the left hander and missed the turn threading the needle between 2 cones as he exited the track. I'm in first place now! Cesar meanwhile saw the track was clear over his shoulder and re-entered but with only a lap to go there was not time to pass me again. The might G650 and I had won the 10 lap qualifier!

In the cool down zone there were congratulations and fist bumping going all around and I was phyched. We walked our bikes back to the pits were Pete was checking out a couple new scratches on his DRZ. We took a minutes to make fun of him throwing away what would have been a sure.victory. We took a few more minutes to make fun of the new scratches on his bike. Then a few more minutes still to re-make fun of throwing away the victory.

So at this point it's 2:30pm and our main event (which I and the mighty G650 have pole position for) is not until 5:15pm. It's Sunday and I've been at the stadium since 0800. Hmmmm, there were a few things I wanted to do today. Well, I live 4 miles away in North Park SO:
I traded out my leathers and boots for shorts and flip flops, hopped in the truck and headed home. In the two hours the kart guys were finishing their qualifiers I did a load of laundry, gave my hound dog a bath:

Stopped at the grocery store to pick up steaks for dinner and headed back to Qualcomm. You can't do THAT from Willow Springs!

Once back I put my leathers back on and about 20 minutes later it was time for our main event. I lined up on pole as the others fell in at their respective starting positions. Once again the starting official raised his flag then threw his arms downward sending us drag racing to the first turn. The G650 motor once again pulled me to the first turn in first place but as I exited turn one both Cesar and Pete shot past on the inside. This was shaping up a lot like the qualifier. I settled in behind those two hoping for a repeat of my earlier fortune as it was evident there was no way I was going to be able to play the late breaking game with them. Unfortunately, lady luck was busy elsewhere this race. Pete and Cesar battled back and forth for the first 10 laps or so while steadily pulling away from me. On lap 12 Cesar over cooked a turn which allowed Pete to check out. Then, on the last lap, just as I was putting the final touches on my podium speech from inside my helmet Ross from San Diego House of Motorcycles came out of nowhere and blew past me on the inside of turn 5! I tried frantically for the rest of the lap to get back around but no dice. I think he was sand bagging the earlier moto's!

So, all in all, I had an absolute blast. 75 bucks very well spend. We got a ton of track time, I made new friends and people were pretty impressed with the mighty G650. Huge kudos to the SDKA for bringing us moto guys on board and taking every opportunity to make sure we were happy with the way things were running. SDKA really catered to the supermoto riders and were outstanding hosts the entire day. I'm 100% in for next month. Also huge thanks to Jon Litchfield for taking all these great pictures:
http://www.wix.com/DirtyhuckerPhoto/Litchfield_Shutter_Works
Facebook/dirtyhuckerphoto






and Matt Finley, matt@amusingscribe.com, www.amusingscribe.com:


In keeping with tradition photographer snaps a picture of me making a really dumb face:





-Thanks for reading,
Sean DeAngelis

We Have The Best Customers

Hey Everyone and welcome to another update to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog. Today we're going to give big praise our local Mexico touring/riding expert Dan Toporoski. San Diego BMW Motorcycles is essentially the last service, parts and accessories stop for travelers headed south of the border. That said we see a LOT of international adventure riders headed to Mexico and beyond. During the warm summer months it's not uncommon for 2 or 3 pairs or groups of travelers weekly stop by for a quick service on their BMW motorcycles to grab that last piece of gear needed before continuing south.
In nearly every instance the globe trotters will have questions for the staff here regarding traveling in Mexico and South America. Safety, routes, conduct, customs and lodging are just a few. The staff here is fairly seasoned on the "where and what" regarding travel in Mexico but for the REAL scoop we look only one place...Dan Toporoski:


We've called on Dan dozens of times over the last 5 or 6 years to come in, meet with travelers give his valuable input regarding the next leg of their travels. No matter what he's got going on, if Dan is within 100 miles of San Diego he has made a point of getting here and giving his pre-ride brief. Complete with maps, charts and waypoints. Here is Dan with last Friday's adventurers. These two gentlemen have been on the road for over 6 months and have already ridden Russia, Japan, Korea, Canada and The United States:


Dan does these pre-rider briefs entirely of his own accord and receives no monetary compensation for his efforts. Simply, he likes to make sure each person he gives his guidance to has an epic trip down south! Often staying in phone and email contact with the travelers for the following weeks and months as they continue their travels. Dan is without question THE best resource regarding adventure touring in Mexico available locally. A million thanks to you Dan, keep up the outstanding work!

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

Toye Runs Away With Monterey Challenge Race Win At Laguna Seca News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

An Update From the Shop's Race Team via Roadracingworld.com
Toye Runs Away With Monterey Challenge Race Win At Laguna Seca News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

Alan Is Right, We Have The Best Customers

Hey Everyone and welcome to my short weekend ride report. The powers that be here at San Diego BMW Motorcycles we nice enough to let me put a cool 800 miles on out 2009 K1200LT Demo over the weekend. So given the time of year and ambient temperatures I decided it would be fun to ride an over-nighter to Phoenix. OK the destination might have had more to do with a free hotel stay voucher at the Wyndham hotel downtown Phoenix. So I grabbed my vented riding apparel...ALL of it (see earlier post "Coverleaf-1, DeAngelis-0) filled up my Camelback and hit the road Saturday 3pm.

Immediately upon descending to the desert floor on I-8 I was greeted with 109 degrees Fahrenheit. 109 seemed to be the magic number on the trip as the ambient air temperature gauge stayed there about 3.5 of the 5 hour trip. At times the heat let up and I was treated to a brisk 105 for about 6 minutes. Other times, just east of Yuma to be exact, the LT and I saw 119 degrees. Liter after liter I chugged from my Camelback as staying hydrated is probably the most important safety precaution you can take on these hot rides.

A few notes on the K1200LT: First off the wind protection using all stock components is OUTSTANDING. Like the Herm says "If the air outside is hotter than my body temperature, more of it certainly isn't going to help." Voice 2 system and stereo/CD player were a welcome comfort as I was able to rock out to my favorite Jackson Browne songs (there, I said it, I like Jackson Browne and I'm not ashamed of it!) hour after care free hour. Probably looked quite the sight for passing motorists really...little guy on a huge touring bike in a pink helmet. Given the singing along to "Somebody's Baby" and the ambient temperatures they probably weren't convinced that was water in the Camelback. The fuel range is incredible. But the seat...oooooohhhhh the seat. Sometimes you hop on a bike and for whatever reason the seat just does NOT agree with your hind quarters. I just could NOT find a comfortable position in the seat. I'd stand on the pegs for a bit, sit back on the passengers seat for a few minutes, the old left cheek-right cheek maneuver. But each time I'd return to the saddle it was more discomfort. At about mile 300 I started wondering if perhaps it was the boxers I was wearing or my textile pants were the problem. But I pressed on eventually making it to my hotel and settling in for the night.

Sunday morning I was on the road by 7am and the temperatures were already well over 100. Again the overall ride quality was outstanding but the seat continued it's beat down on my sit muscles. Mile after mile I neared home (and a cold beer) Jackson Browne doing his best to keep my mind off the discomfort below. Finally just after 1300 hours I arrived at my house in North Park and dismounted the steed. Mission accomplished.

Fast forward to work Monday morning. Tony Carpenter is in to have the shock replaced on his K1200LT. We get to talking about the features and toys on the bike etc. Another customer comes in who has been struggling a bit with his iPhone cooperating with the communication system on his K1200LT. I try a few tricks to no avail so Tony steps in. He's toggling through a few settings on the Voice 2 system when he picks his head up and says "Ahhh! There's your problem right there...The microphone sensitivity is so low it's essentially turned off." Tony adjusts the digital setting, gives the phone input lead a jiggle and presto! All is working as it should. My customer says "thank you" about 50 times and hits the road.

Back at the counter Tony and I pick up where we left off (though I'm making notes to 1099 him for the sublet labor!) talking about the trip. He mentions that I could have turned the wind spoiler inward to get a little more airflow. I mention that really my only complaint was the damned seat. He rears back in surprise. "Surely after all the dirtbike riding you've done you can't find the LT seat uncomfortable?" I reiterate to him that I just could NOT seem to find a comfortable riding position. "It just felt like I was sitting on a heated blanket the whole time." I tell him. Tony stares back at me shocked and asks that I follow him outside to the demo K1200LT.

"Mr DeAngelis, is this the LT you were riding over the weekend?" he says pointing to the culprit machine.
"Yes..." I reply somewhat puzzled.
Tony reaches down below the right side of the seat, looks back at me and smiles "Mr DeAngelis, the heated seat is in the 'high' position. You rode to Phoenix and back in July with the heated seat on full tilt."

Like Alan says: We have the best customers. If anyone want to come down and take a nice long demo ride on this Demo K1200LT I'll have Tony show you how to operate it's various accessories. Tony, that 1099 aught to arrive in the mail tomorrow or Friday.

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

Tuesday trade In of the Week

Hey Everyone and welcome to this weeks featured trade in motorcycle. This weeks bike comes in the form of one VERY subtle 2005 Harley Davidson Electra Glide FLHTCSE2. We have yet to decode that last part but in short this is a really big Harley touring bike. Equipped with the finest in middle 1970's technology you can rack up mile after carefree mile in comfort, safety, performance and style! The odometer reads a respectable 2950 miles which means the top end has barely even reached half life!
Apparently the alternator makes some serious power too:


But it's not just the fantastic ride you can look forward to. Pull over to the curb for a quick break and children will actually try and board the motorcycle for rides to school! June gloom got you down? Park this baby in your back yard and get a tan? Nearsighted? Stare at this paint job long enough and your pupils will dilate down to the size of pin points.



OK, ok enough goofing around. The bike if FULLY loaded, nearly new and in perfect condition. From what I know of Harley's it's got the good handlebars, windscreen, floorboards and gauge console. I'm as vertically challenged as they come and I can flat foot this thing with both feet. Best of all the engine is still OEM spec so it's not going to ping and miss on pump gas in the summer heat. The weather is just starting to break so if large cruisers are your thing come on down and take this one for a ride.

Big Bear Run 2010...or...I Must Hate My Well Being

Hey Everyone and welcome to another exciting blog post here at the San Diego BMW Motorcycles e-circus.

Today is Sunday June 27th, 2010. It's 1340 hours and I feel absolutely HORRIBLE. Friday night Rich Amiton, Mike Moore, Gary Kepple, Chris Mohnke (certain I misspelled that), some crazy fast dude named Remus (complete with uber-intimidating Eastern Block accent) and myself headed to Big Bear, CA for the 2010 Big Bear Trail Rider's "Big Bear Run." The Big Bear Run is held every June and is pretty much the hardest dual sport event in Southern California. The BBTR guys take pride in making sure those few brave souls that enter the "A" route of their event leave with that warm and fuzzy "I'm never doing this again, not for a million dollars" feeling. As I sit hunched over on my back patio typing this I wonder to myself: How many trucks did it take to gather every single rock in the country and deposit them along the OHV GOAT trails of the San Bernardino mountains? I wonder if the residents of those other 49 states miss their rocks? Rest assured residents of those other 49 states, your rocks are living comfortably under the tires, motorcycles and helmets of those that entered this years Big Bear Run.

I've attempted this ride 3 times now. The first year I exploded the radiator on a G650XC less than 70 miles into the 180-220 mile event. It was a sad end to the day. Not surprisingly I dropped the bike on a ROCK while knocking the fillings out of my teeth negotiating a ridge near Holcomb Valley. The second year I came back on my G650 and became the first BMW ever to finish the ride. It was an amazing feeling but I was fairly sure I did not want to try EVER again. The BBTR's give you a plaque for completing the entire "A" route in under 13 hours. It's a pretty significant accomplishment given that in any given year they don't give out more than 40 plaques despite over 100 entries. But enough of this horn blowing!

My cell phone rings last Monday:
Kepple: Hey dude, you riding the Trail Run this year?
Me: Um...no. No thank you. Matter of fact HELL no, thank you.
Kepple: Shoot, I'm gonna ride the 250 and was hoping you wanted to ride with.
Me: Nope.
Kepple: Yeah I got this new toy hauler so we won't have to pay for a hotel.
Me: OK sweet count me in.

Skipping forward to Friday night Rich, Kepple and I are sleeping comfortably in our pull out beds in the toy hauler. That is until Rich starts snoring. I mean, REAL snoring. Not that stuffy, intermittent, having a sinus issue snoring. In the aluminum confines of the toy hauler it sounds like god is running a Texas sized Shop-Vac and dangling the sucking hose into Big Bear Lake. Not a lot of sleep Friday night.

0500 we "wake" and get ready for the ride. The 6 of us rendezvous at the starting gate at 0600 and head for the first trail guided by our GPS's. Now it is at this point in the story that I'd usually be writing something along the lines of "Sean incorrectly reads his GPS at gets the entire group headed in the wrong direction thus adding an hour to our finish time." BUT...I let Kepple lead the way this time. I have learned from my last 35 attempts to lead riding buddies into the wilderness that a cactus wearing a helmet is more suited to GPS navigation than I am. The route takes us to the southern side of the mountain range where rocks and hills and rock covered hills await.

The first leg of the ride was 80 miles and other than losing Rich was fairly uneventful. Actually I'd say the first 80 miles were "easy" as compared to the first 80 miles of last years route. There is a reason for this that I'll touch on later. In any case Kepple and I reached the first gas stop without incident but minus one Rich. Turns out Rich's KTM sheared a few bolts off the tail section and his rear rack, light and fender needed strap tied back on. After a quick field repair Rich got back underway and made it to first gas but the bike was not up to the rest of the ride. His day ended there and he headed back to camp. Chris and Mike were still making good progress a little further back while Remus had taken off on his own. Kepple and I got back underway feeling confident and none the worse for wear.

Miles 81-140 were brutal right from the get go. No sooner do we pull off the pavement then we're greeted with a nasty, rocky climb up a ridge. At one point I lost momentum and came to a stop after chugging the engine. I looked up the hill to see Kepple spinning the rear tire and bouncing from rock to rock to rock generally pointed up the trail. Being stopped actually allowed me to take in how steep the terrain really was. My head was cocked so far back that my helmet was actually pressing against my back protector. These BBTR guys can really find some steep climbs. The next 3 hours were essentially lather, rinse, repeat of the previous 6 sentences.

Water.
I think there is a defense mechanism in my brain that is actually keeping me from remembering exactly where the "Devil's Punchbowl" was in the ride but the mileage is unimportant. We exited an exhausting stretch of single track the wound along the mountainside at a creek. The creek had dammed up at the exit of the trail and there in front of us is a collection of 20 riders, their bikes and one very excited photographer. 18 of 20 motorcycles were in some stage of disassembly/reassembly. Some riders had their fuel tanks off and were pouring water out of them. Other riders were walking around pouring out exhaust pipes full of the Devil's "Punch." Still others were going from stranded rider to stranded rider asking to borrow spark plug sockets, towels, bibles, etc.
Kepple attempted crossing the 4 foot deep lagoon first. Engine revving, tire spinning he bounced along the rocky bottom like a gas powered Plinko chip until one fatefull rock in the punch sent him over the left side of the motorcycle. As though it were in slow motion I watched as he attempted to keep the bike from falling over, failed epically, thus completely submerging the machine in the drink. Kepple disappeared beneath the surface and the 250 followed. A second later he burst to the surface wild eyed and frantically trying to get his steed topside. It was too late, the bike's engine had coughed to a stop and there was water gushing out of the tail pipe. The entire cove fell silent for a moment until one particularly witty rider yelled out "You're doing it wrong!" Many laughed including myself...Kepple only dragged the bike step by step from the drink, leaned the swamped Husky against a tree and took a seat on a rock. Now, it was my turn.
Having been fortunate enough to see what line NOT to take I navigated the crossing more slowly even though that meant keeping both soaked feet paddling along the bottom from rock to rock. All went well until I was about 5 feet from the other side and I chugged the motor and the engine quit. Lucky for me the punch was shallow at this point and I was able to hold myself upright until I could get the engine lit off again. Once running I just dropped the hammer and rode to a shady spot to take a breather.
I walk over to Kepple and the amphibious 250.
Kepple: Dude, I don't have a spark plug socket for this bike.
Me: Oh that fails.
Kepple: Yeah, we have an award for this sort of thing.
Me: Dude, we WILL get that bike running. (I point to and incredibly steep, not surprisingly rocky stretch of trail that is the ONLY way out of the punch bowl.) you see that hill? There are no rescue trucks coming down that hill. So unless you have a helicopter pilots license we need to make that motorcycle vroom vroom.
Kepple: Did you see me fall in?
Me: Yes, it was awesome. Did you see me NOT fall in?
Kepple: Bite me.
Long story short we stood the bike up vertical on the rear wheel and watched water run out of the exhaust. Then we removed the air filter and watched water run out of the throttle body and air box. Then Kepple rang out the air filter like a sponge. Then we kicked and kicked and kicked and pressed the starter and kicked and kicked while pressing the starter. Then we said the f-word 5 or 6 times a piece. Then we did the Hokey Pokey and turned it all about. Then FINALLY the bike lit off stayed running.
Me: That sucked, lets not do that again.
Kepple: Yeah I'm kind of tired from that.
Me: Kind of tired? If you shook my hand right now it'd feel like I handed you a dead fish!
Kepple: Your handshakes always feel like that.
Me: Bite me.

OK, in an effort to save time I'm going to summarize miles 140-165. Rocks, climb, rocks, downhill, rocks, the seat on my bike is beginning to feel like a 2X4, rocks, why has Phil Collins "I Can't Dance" been playing in a loop in my brain for the last 2 hours? Rock, WATCH OUT FOR THAT SQUIRREL! Rock, more Phil Collins, rock, I wonder if I remembered to zip my tail bag shut...who cares I can buy more tools, rock, DAMN YOU PHIL COLLINS, rock, haha Kepple fell over again, rock, I just fell over again, rock, Iiiii can't dance. Iiiii can't talk. Oooonly thing about me is the way I walk... Rock, haha Kepple fell over again, rock, I just fell over again trying not to run over Kepple, rock...

Mile 166. Kepple and I stop for a breather next to some official looking guys on Japanese 450's.
Kepple: You guys with the Big Bear Trail Riders?
Official looking guy #1: Yup.
Kepple: I think that asshole at the start lied, there's GOTTA be an easier way to the convention center.
Official looking guy #2: HAHA. You've still got your sense of humor! That's good, you're gonna need it.
Kepple: Why? There should only be about 15 more miles until the finish?
Official looking guy #1: That's right chappy. But there are a LOT of rocks in that 15 miles. If I were you guys I'd get as much rest as I could on the fire roads cause the trail gets really nasty in about 2 miles.
Me: Wow, how very Big Bear Trail Riders of you.
Official looking guy's #1 and 2: Cheers.
Kepple: OK Sean, I know I told you friends till the end. Well...this is the end.

I've run marathons. I was in the Marine Corps for 5 years. I once got hit by a car, not like I was in a car that got hit by a car, I, I once physically got struck by a moving automobile. I've skipped across Lake Erie like a flat stone after falling off my water ski's going 45 MPH. None of the aforementioned brutality made me feel a fraction of how bad I feel right now. And 90% of how bad I feel right not is because of the last 15 miles of the 2010 Big Bear Run. Without question, beyond all doubt, all kidding aside, the HARDEST thing I have ever done on a motorcycle. And you know what? That is EXACTLY why Kepple and I will be entering the 2011 Big Bear Run.

Rich's day ended early on a mechanical failure. Remus finished on his own from what I've gathered. Just after mile 160 Chris got bad info that Mike had crashed and was hurt. After turning back he found Mike very much OK but another hurt rider begged the two of them for help back to camp. Had it not been getting dark I'm fairly certain the two of them would have told the rider to wait for the sweepers and completed all 183 miles. But, being the better men they got the injured participant back to camp safely and you really can't fault them for that. You CAN however rub it in their faces that Kepple and I got finishers plaques and THEY did not.

Thanks for reading.
-Sean DeAngelis

Lap Records Broken At WSMC

WSMC: Toye, BMW Shatter Lap Record At Streets Of Willow News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

More On Lap Records At WSMC

More On Lap Records Falling With WSMC At Streets Of Willow Last Weekend News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

Mark Pohlson's Customized S1000RR

Meet Mark Pohlson:


Mark is our service manager. He smiles a lot. Mark has an S1000RR that looked like this:


While riding a track day at Buttonwillow Raceway a road cone jumped into Mark's path of travel and demolished the lower fairing. Mark was not smiling:


Mark put the bike back together good as new and Mark was smiling again. Then 2 weeks ago Mark was riding a track day at Miller Motorsports Park and ran over a patch of:


This time the right side of the motorcycle suffered scratches to most of the fairings. Mark was not smiling:


So Mark pulled the bike apart and decided to make it a full time track bike. Race bodywork from Catalyst, frame sliders, Akrapovic full exhaust system, case savers, and custom paint job. Mark is smiling again:



Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis

Cloverleaf-1 : DeAngelis - 0

Hey Everyone and welcome to this, my most humble blog post EVER. Last Friday I decided that I'd do a little local dirt riding Saturday morning so I rode the 450 home from work. The tires, while DOT approved, are VERY knobby and don't provide a lot of traction on paved surfaces. Well the unthinkable happened. While rounding the cloverleaf getting on 163 south I hit a big, slippery spot of stupid that was in the road and lowsided. Lucky for me I was wearing all my protective gear...except that...other than my helmet I was wearing NONE of the proper protective gear. Turns out that motocross gear, while it looks cool, does not provide a lot of protection from the abrasive surfaces of the modern roadway. I'm a fairly seasoned dirt and street rider but I had never run over a patch of stupid before and had no idea how slick it could be! Ive seen stupid on the road many times in the past but have always been able to navigate around the stupid thus keeping myself road rash free. Had I been wearing all the correct protective gear I'm certain the stupid would not have been in the road that evening. Probably would have been replaced by a slightly less slippery and relatively safer spot of over-confidence. So given my ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) epic FAIL I left the better part of my elbow skin on the freeway onramp.

A few years ago while riding a track day at Willow Springs I hit a very large spot of over-confidence in turn four and highsided down the hill. I was a bit bruised up but my leather suit spared me a LOT of pain and embarrassment. The incident proves beyond reasonable doubt that running over a patch of over-confidence is not as likely to injure the rider as an equal sized patch of stupid.

This past winter some friends and I were riding our dirtbikes around Superstition Mountain when the engine on my CR125 ingested a piece of shoddy maintenance and blew up. My friend Gary towed me back to the truck and was nice enough to let me ride his Husky TE510 for the rest of the afternoon. A couple hours later I decided to try and climb a steep, rocky hill on the borrowed bike. Well about 1/2 way up the hill I ran over a large pile of carelessness which sent the bike swapping left to right. Just as I was getting things back under control I hit a larger pile of showing off and flipped over backwards. Lucky for me my helmet took the brunt of the impact and other than a mild concussion and repeatedly asking my friends what time it was for the next hour and a half I was none the worse for wear.

So let's review:
Shoddy maintenance can lead to showing off or carelessness. Showing off is not as dangerous as carelessness but should be carefully avoided most of the time. Over-confidence is not as likely to cause injury as stupid because stupid ALWAYS hurts.

Thanks for reading
-Sean DeAngelis