BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas held an open house yesterday with free food and drink, free dyno runs,  a raffle, plenty of cool old bikes, great vendors, and lots of great people   I wasn’t about to miss out on a fun time like this

28 April 2012 - 1969 BMW with a sidecar

28 April 2012 - 1969 BMW with a sidecar

28 April 2012 - 1950 BMW R5 1/2

28 April 2012 - Unknown vintage BMW motorcycle

28 April 2012 - Unknown vintage BMW motorcycle

28 April 2012 - Unknown vintage BMW motorcycle

 If you like vintage BMW motorcycles, this was the place for you to be yesterday   I really don’t know all that much about these specific bikes, but if you’re interested there’s a great documentary here

28 April 2012 - My V-Star 650 Classic on the Dynojet mobile dynomometer

28 April 2012 - Horsepower and torque curves for my V-Star 650 courtesy of Dynojet

28 April 2012 - Horsepower and torque figures for my V-Star 650 courtesy of Dynojet

 I’ve wondered for quite some time just how much horsepower my V-Star has.  There are no factory figures published anywhere that I can find and everyone else has just been guessing.  Some thought it might be mid 40′s.  Turns out it was quite a bit less than that.

The averages for the three runs were 33.62 HP and 34.1 lb-ft of torque.  I’ve only had 33 HP hauling my 550+ pound motorcycle and my substantial posterior everywhere 

I actually had a pretty good laugh at myself over this because I’d been worried before I got a motorcycle that the 423 pound (with fuel etc.) G650GS only has 50 HP and I thought that might not be enough

28 April 2012 - BMW R1200C

 An “R” designation on a BMW motorcycle means that it has a horizontally opposed, two cylinder engine with a shaft drive to the rear wheel.  They’ve been making this type of engine since the very beginning just after WWI.  Over the years, there have been several different styles of bikes with this powertrain and some have lasted longer than others.  The most popular is the R1200GS which is a dual sport on and off road bike.  They also currently make a sport tourer called the R1200RT and a roadster which is the R1200R.

The R1200C was dropped from the lineup a few years ago with BMW citing the unsuitability of the engine for the cruiser tastes in the U.S.  They’re not too expensive (relatively) on the used market and I’d really like to have one someday

28 April 2012 - Advertisement on the Dynojet mobile dyno truck

28 April 2012 - Dynojet mobile dyno truck

 I did remember to get a couple of pics of the Dynojet setup!  Really, these guys are great

28 April 2012 - Akrapovic Morsus custom motorcycle

28 April 2012 - Akrapovic Morsus custom motorcycle

28 April 2012 - Yours Truly on the Akrapovic Morsus

 Last, but certainly not least was a surprise to me.  Akrapovic is a European exhaust manufacturer.  They mainly make systems for sport bikes, but have branched out recently to make systems for bikes like Harley Davidson and the BMW K1600GT and GTL.  They showed up to show off the new products and they brought a treat for everyone in attendance.

The Morsus is a custom motorcycle that Akrapovic commissioned a while back which won quite a few awards.  I’d seen pictures of it online and even the video above, but I never thought I’d see it in person so I was very happy to have this opportunity

That’s all for now, but I’ll try to post more soon.  Have a great day everyone

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19 October 2011 - Looking down into the Las Vegas valley from Red Rock Canyon

19 October 2011 - Panorama - Red Rock Canyon at sunset

Looking back at these two pictures, it’s funny to see just how much earlier the daylight dies these days.  These pictures were taken at about 1735 hours.  If you went up to Red Rock Canyon this time of year at the same time, it would be night.  I know because I managed to get out to the same place at only about 1715 hours last week and I had to turn on my bike’s high beam to see better.

I’m looking forward to 11 March 2012 when we get to go back on daylight saving time and I once again have plenty of time to go for a nice daylight ride after work.

11 May 2011 - 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic - Low miles!

 I’ve been told that some people thought I’d buy a bunch of gear, get a bike, and then proceed to let it go to rot in a parking space.  They said I’d lose interest or not want to go riding because it would be too hot or because of rain, wind, traffic, etc.  Well, I think we’ve seen that all those supposed reasons not to ride are merely a matter of Perception

23 August 2011 - 11111.1 miles on the odometer

23 August 2011 - 11111.1 miles on the odometer

Yeah, you could say I tend to ride just a bit   For those of you keeping score at home, the two pics above represent 2675 miles in the 2.5 months since my bike got out of the shop   Its’ gotten to the point that I take the car out once or twice a week for a few miles just to keep the thing working in case I actually need it for something.  Other than that, I’m on the bike!  Rain?  Please   Wind?  Yeah, that’s fun   Heat?  Sure, why not   It’s kind of funny that we have an excessive heat warning going from Tuesday morning at 1100 hrs until Saturday evening.  I didn’t think it was really all that bad out this afternoon – it was only about 108°   Maybe my brain’s only half cooked and I was just trying to finish it

All I know for sure is that I never want to stop riding.  It’s the closest thing I’ve found to flying that’s affordable enough to do every day.  You are a part of the world you travel through, not just a spectator who watches it like a movie on a screen outside the windows of a climate controlled theater.  You see more.  You feel more.  You smell more.  Sometimes you can almost taste the world around you.  People seem to see you as an actual person rather than a piece of painted steel that’s going down the road.  It’s like you’re more alive on the bike.  I’ll try to describe it better sometime in the future – I’m just at a bit of a loss for words right now

Folks, I have a recommendation to make.  Go look up the local organization that’s affiliated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.  See if they have something like the Introductory Motorcycle Experience that cycleschool.com offers.  Find the time and money to get on a motorcycle for the first time and see what you think of it.  It may not be something that trips your trigger, but you may never look at a road the same way again and you could end up hopelessly hooked like me

That’s all for now, but I hope you have a great Wednesday!  Have fun and ride safe

I still get all the same questions as I’ve gotten since I announced I was going to get a motorcycle.  I answer that when it rains I get wet, yes I am a bit hot but the jacket’s mesh and I’d rather sweat than bleed, and I know it’s dangerous but living on a motorcycle’s much more enjoyable and satisfying than living on a couch

Riding a motorcycle is such a completely different experience that I struggle to put into words what it’s like, how it feels, and why I don’t think I’ll ever stop.  Yes, it gets cold sometimes (Mt. Charleston for example), and baking hot (like it usually is during summer in Las Vegas).  I’ve ridden in severe thunderstorms, nasty gusting crosswinds, and I’ve navigated the insanity of the Las Vegas Strip.  There hasn’t been much I haven’t enjoyed immensely

A YouTube vlogger (video blogger) who goes by ROKKIT44 put together a video that expresses how I feel better than just about anything I’ve found yet.  Click on it above, kick back, and enjoy the show   For the best experience, set it to HD (720p or 1040p) and select full screen

There’s always a challenge to riding.  Sometimes that challenge is in how you view the day or the conditions.   I was out on the streets in another thunderstorm after work today.  The rain wasn’t too bad, but the roads were slicker than a politician at a fundraiser   Others might balk at the conditions.  I just ratcheted my level of alertness to 200% of my normal semi-paranoia around cars, kept the control inputs smooth, and enjoyed being cooled off as I rode through the falling water

I could go on and on about this, but I’ll save the rest for future posts.  Until then I wish you a wonderful and safe weekend

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious

diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with

walking twenty-five miles to school every morning… Uphill… Barefoot…

BOTH ways. yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in

hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard

I had it and how easy they’ve got it!

But now that I’m over the ripe old age of forty, I can’t help but look

around and notice the youth of today. You’ve got it so easy! I mean,

compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve

got it!

1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have the Internet. If we wanted to

know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves,

in the card catalog!!

2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter – with

a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the

mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

3) Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us. As a

matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick

our ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) There were no MP3′s or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal

music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ

would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD

players! We had tape decks in our car. We’d play our favorite tape and

“eject” it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it

useless. Cause, hey, that’s how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

8-tracks ! Who recoginzes that one? ( I remember when cassettes were the new thing!)

6) We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone

and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that’s it!

7) There weren’t any freakin’ cell phones either. If you left the house,

you just didn’t make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out

of touch with your “friends.” OH, MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror… not

being in touch with someone 24/7!!!

And then there’s TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how

annoying you are.

And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had

no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your

bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent… you just didn’t know!!!

You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

9) We didn’t have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with

high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like

‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Asteroids’. Your screen guy was a little square!

You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple

levels or screens, it was just one screen… Forever! And you could never

win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster

until you died! Just like LIFE!

10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your

ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no,

what’s the world coming to?!?!

11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on

Saturday morning. Do you hear what I’m saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for

cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

12) And we didn’t have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we

had to use the stove! Imagine that!

13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play… all day long. Oh

no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside…

you were doing chores!

And car seats – oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you

hung on. If you were lucky, you got the “safety arm” across the chest at

the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the

dashboard, well that was your fault for calling “shot gun” in the first

place!

See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got

it too easy. You’re spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn’t have lasted five

minutes back in 1970 or any time before!

Regards,

The Over 40 Crowd