May 2013 Newsletter

The May 2013 edition of Beemer Ramblings is finally here. I apologize for the late publication this month. Because of work, I have not had much time for anything (including riding). Without further ado, here is the latest news.

Club Meeting 

Our next club meeting will be held on Monday, May 13th, 6:30 p.m., at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in the Mayfaire Shopping Center, Wilmington. As usual, come early and chat about your Spring and Summer riding plans.

The 2013 BMW MOA Mileage Contest has started, so be sure to bring your starting mileage form to the meeting so get it signed by me (or two other BMW MOA members). The mileage forms must be mailed (postmarked) no later than midnight on May 13th (the evening of the meeting).

View Larger Map

May 11 Club Get-Together 

Omar and Nora Kharbat are inviting everyone to their house for "Mediterranean hors d'oeuvres" on Saturday, May 11, at 12 Noon. Omar and Nora live at 6911 Finian Drive in Wilmington [GPS coordinates N34.177124 W-77.854969]. All club members are invited, but RSVPs are requested. If you are planning to attend, please send an email reply to ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com. If you are planning to come and want to contribute some of your favorite beverage, please bring it with you. As far as I know, this will be a rain or shine event. We'll see you there!

If it is not raining, anyone who is interested in a short back road ride before the get-together is invited to join me. We will leave from the Buy & Go Exxon located at 808 North College Road in Wilmington [GPS coordinates N34.260317 W-77.869839], probably around 10 or 10:30 a.m. An email announcement with further details will be sent out a few days beforehand.

New Water-Cooled BMW R1200RT 

All the recent media attention has been focused on the new water-cooled 2013 BMW R1200GS. Meanwhile, BMW continues to prepare the R1200RT for the water-cooled boxer motor. A new online  article features some recent "in the wild" photos of the prototype 2014 BMW R1200RT. You can see the photos here.

Bob's BMW on April Fool's Day 

Speaking of the new water-cooled boxer, the Bob's BMW dealership in Jessup, Maryland, provided a funny April Fool's Day announcement based on BMW's new water-cooled boxer engine. The announcement featured the all new 2013 BMW H2O, nicknamed the THE STEAMER BEEMER. Bob's BMW said that with this model, "BMW again shows it's technological prowess by offering the only motorcycle on the planet that is fueled by water. Efficient, environmentally friendly, and Steam Punk cool." A well done April Fool's Day item!

2012 BMW MOA Mileage Contest Results 

Each year, the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America sponsors a mileage contest which is open to all members of the organization. The contest usually runs for a six-month period, from a date in April until sometime in October.

The results of the 2012 contest have been published in the April issue of the BMW MOA's magazine, BMW Owners News. The top national men's finisher of the 2012 contest was Ken "Mac" McHugh (MOA #6735) with 44,013 miles on two different R1150Rs. The top women's finisher was Heidi Still (#39115) with 33,246 miles on her F650GSA and F800ST.

Here are the tallies for our club members who participated:

Eddie Lynch 13,217 NC
Bill Murray 10,525 NC
Jeff Mense 8,832 SC
Ron Manley 8,361 SC
Benton Blalock 6,376 NC
Bill Gasque 5,913 SC
Tony Barcia 3,513 NC
Roy Dougherty 2,076 NC

Interestingly, North Carolina finished as the 8th place state by mileage with 481,162 miles and ninth place by the number of finishers (51).

Congratulations to the club members who completed the 2012 contest. Hopefully you enjoyed some great rides while participating.

2013 BMW MOA Mileage Contest 

In a prior post, we celebrated the results of the 2012 BMW MOA Mileage Contest results, for our club members who participated in last year's event. Now it is time to get ready for the 2013 BMW MOA Mileage Contest.

Some of you are already probably saying to yourself "I just don't ride enough miles to be worthwhile participating." It does not matter whether you only have the opportunity to ride 100 miles for the season or 10,000 miles – what is important is that you participate. Aside from recognition of your individual mileage for the 2013 riding season, the club's cumulative mileage can also be recognized, so if you are a BMW MOA member, I encourage you to join us and participate in the contest. As a reminder, finishers of each year's contest receive a pin, like the one shown below, from the BMW MOA as recognition of their accomplishment.

This year's contest starts at midnight on Saturday, April 13th and runs until Sunday, October 13th, 2013. The contest is open to all members of the BMW MOA, and participation is easy. The Starting Mileage Contest Form was provided in your April issue of the BMW Owners News, or it can be downloaded from the BMW MOA web site at http://www.bmwmoa.org/Portals/0/Documents/2013_Mileage_Contest_start.pdf. I have also posted a PDF copy of the form on the club's Google Drive, at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6x0OObD8JEES1I3YzhadmpuQjg/edit?usp=sharing.

Complete the form with your information and have it signed by a club officer (contact me at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com) or have it signed by two BMW MOA members in good standing. All forms must be mailed (postmarked) no later than May 13, 2013.

Thanks for participating, good luck, and safe travels in 2013!

2013 Georgia Mountain Rally 

The BMW Motorcycle Club of Georgia (BMW MCOGA) is sponsoring the 2013 Georgia Mountain Rally this weekend, May 3-5, 2013. The rally is being held at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, 1311 Music Hall Road, in Hiawassee, GA [GPS coordinates N34 57.919 W83 46.346]. This annual event is one of the premier Spring motorcycling events - it's not too late to join them for a great weekend in the Smokey Mountains.

Gerbings Recall 

Gerbings has announced a recall for their 12-volt heated jacket liner, model number JKLN.

The announcement on the Gerbings web site indicates an improperly crimped connector in the heating element in the back portion of some of the jacket liners is prone to overheating, causing damage to the jacket and minor burns.

Links to the recall notice on the Gerbings site, as well as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The ADVRider.com web forum already includes some accounts of people recently receiving burns from their Gerbings jackets.

If you own a Gerbings jacket liner, please check it against the recall information.

http://gerbing.com/Recall/warningsandrecalls.php

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2013/Gerbings-Recalls-Heated-Jacket-Liners/#Remedy

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=879766

Unique Gear 

Club member +Omar Kharbat shared an interesting post on Google+ about a very unique piece of motorcycling gear --  a custom helmet motorcycle helmet that comes straight from the Predator movies. Several customization are available, including carbon fiber tips for the Predator's dreadlocks and an LED-based "laser-controlled aimer." Now you can terrorize that driver on the cell phone with a startling stare.

Video-of-the-Month - Riding in the Rain 

This month's video is a YouTube video from the Roadcraft School of Motorcycling in Great Britain. The video provides some great tips about riding in the rain or on wet roads. Whether you are new to riding a motorcycle in the rain, or you are an experienced rider, this video provides an excellent summary about wet weather riding technique.

That's the news for this month. Until the June newsletter, ride safely and ride far!

April Fool's Day Ride

This is not an April Fool's joke! Really!

Weather permitting, we will hold an April Fool's Day Ride to Southern Exposure Restaurant in Faison, NC on -- you guessed it --- April 1st.  April Fool's Day falls on a Sunday this year, so this will be a great opportunity to enjoy a morning ride and a delicious brunch at Southern Exposure.


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The ride will depart from the Buy & Go Exxon, 808 North College Road in Wilmington, at 10:15 a.m. This should allow us to arrive between 11:30 and 11:45 a.m., just before the after-church crowd.



View Group Ride Rendezvous Locations in a larger map


The route for the ride, which is one some of you have enjoyed before, can be viewed on this Google Map.

A GPS file for the routes to-and-from and the waypoints for Buy & Go Exxon and Southern Exposure will be loaded on the club's Dropbox account a few days prior to the ride.  (Availability of the club's Dropbox account was announced in the February newsletter -- contact us at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com if you would like access.)

If you are planning to join us (either riding with us, or riding separately and meeting us at Southern Exposure), please let us know by sending an email to ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com, so we know to expect you.

We'll see you on April 1st for our first-ever April Fool's Day Ride.

February 2012 Newsletter

With the mild winter weather, thus far, I hope everyone has been able to enjoy some riding.  I have encountered a number of interesting items to share with everyone this month, so I apologize in advance for the longer than usual newsletter this month.  Here we go!

February Meeting

Our next club meeting is scheduled for February 4, 2012, 12 Noon, at the Boundary House Restaurant in Calabash, NC.  Many of you will remember that we have enjoyed some great seafood at The Boundary House.  If you plan to join us, please send an RSVP by February 2nd to help us ensure we have sufficient seating for everyone.


View Ride-to-Eat Locations in a larger map

Be sure to check weather reports and monitor your email for a rescheduling notice if rain is forecast for our meeting date.  The "rain date" is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, February 5th, 12 Noon.

January Club Meeting Photos

A few photos from our January club meeting at the Front Porch Restaurant in Elizabethtown, NC are available in our Picasa web albums.

Club Charter Renewals

For those of you who are BMW MOA and/or BMW RA members, I need your help.

This is the time of the year when our club charters with the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America (BMW MOA) and BMW Riders Association (BMW RA) must be renewed.  By being a chartered club, our club is listed on the BMW MOA's and BMW RA's web sites, thus helping new potential members find us.  This really works – several of you have contacted us after finding our club listed on one of these two web sites.  I am taking care of the fees for renewing these club charters.

For our BMW MOA renewal application, we are required to list at least five individuals who are current BMW MOA members (i.e., names and MOA membership numbers).  For our BMW RA renewal application, we are only required to list one individual who is a current BMW RA member.

I have already sent an email to those of you that have previously indicated you are BMW MOA and/or BMW RA members and asking you to confirm your membership number(s) and membership status.  If you have not yet responded to the email, please take the time to do so.  If you did not receive the email and are a member of either the BMW MOA and/or the BMW RA, please send me an email at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com and provide your name and membership number(s).

Thanks for your help!

2012 International Motorcycle Show

Here is another reminder that the International Motorcycle Show, sponsored by Progressive Insurance, is being held at the Charlotte Convention Center on February 24-26, 2012.  These shows are a great way to see all sorts of motorcycle from all the major manufacturers, and all in one place.  The shows also host a number of major accessory exhibitors.  Need a new helmet?  Their will be helmet vendors (like for example my favorite Arai dealer, The Service Pavilion).  Need a new jacket?  There will be vendors selling those too.    Be sure to attend this show and get equipped for the next riding season.

Club-Related Maps

Last year, for our club members who use Google Earth, I provided a link for displaying the locations and information about many of the year's BMW-related rallies and events.  This was done by creating a network link in your computer's Google Earth program.

For 2012, I am trying something that will be easier for everyone to use.  (I still plan to update the Google Earth link soon.)

I have created several Google Maps that anyone can access.

One map shows you the locations of the Wilmington-area restaurants where we usually meet.  If you know someone who wants to attend one of our meetings, but is new to the area and does not know some of the restaurant locations, this map will be one you can refer them to.

A second map shows you the locations of some of the restaurants that we have visited as part of our ride-to-eat events.  This map will help you find these restaurants, if you want to try them during one of your own rides.  Our usual rendezvous locations for these rides are also available on a different map.

The third map shows you the locations of a number of events and rallies of interest to BMW motorcyclists.  Many of these events are also listed in our club Google calendar.  If anyone has information about an upcoming rally or event that is not shown on our map, please send a short summary and location information to ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.

If you find these maps useful, or have ideas for additional maps, please let me know (at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com).

The Water Cooled Boxer

There has been much recent discussion on BMW motorcycling forums and mail lists about the water-cooled BMW boxer engine rumored to be slated for release in 2013.  Some good "spy photos" have also been posted online.  If you have not seen the development bike (which BMW will neither confirm nor deny exists), this Motorcycle.com article may be of interest.

Motion Induced Blindness (Safety Tip)

The title of a  forum post on the BMWSportTouring.com web site recently caught my attention.  It was called "Motion Induced Blindness."  The discussion was very interesting and included a link to a demonstration of motion-induced blindness on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation web site.

Most motorcycling safety books and classes teach you  to scan the road ahead and to keep your eyes constantly looking for new hazards.  This MSF demonstration shows what happens when you fix your attention on something and do not keep your eyes scanning,  This is an amazing effect to see.  Once you try the test as directed, try it again while keeping your eyes and/or head in motion.  You will immediately understand motion-induced blindness.

I urge you to take the time to view this demonstration.  It will clearly show you the value of keeping your eyes constantly in motion, scanning the road in front of you, while you are riding.  Practicing this technique  may help you avoid a future accident!

Racing News

Former Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager Andrea Dosoli has been named the head of race operations for BMW Motorrad Motorsport.

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/wsbk-dosoli-moves-to-bmw/

Leon Haslam will be back with the BMW Motorrad racing team for the 2012 WSBK season, while Marco Melandri has replaced Troy Corser, who retired after the 2011 season.

2012 BMW MOA International Rally

It's not too early to begin making your plans to attend this year's BMW MOA International Rally in Sedalia, Missouri.  The rally will be held July 19-22, 2012.  The BMW MOA Rally web page (http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally12) has some initial information about the rally.  Be sure to also monitor the BMW MOA Forums (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/) as additional information about the rally is announced.

Another Bites the Dust

Eurotech Motorsports (http://www.eurotechmotorsports.com) has closed as of December 28, 2011.  They are still selling closeouts of their inventory.  If you are in need of any of their specialty parts and accessories, act quickly.

GPS Tip-of-the-Month

This month, we have a really handy utility program for anyone who uses maps.  How many times have you been given GPS coordinates and they are not in the right format for what you are trying to do?  Here is an example.  If you look at Capitol BMW's home page, their masthead includes their GPS coordinates in the format N35 50.437 W078 36.116.  Those coordinates will work in Google Maps or Bing Maps (and Bing Maps will even show you the coordinates converted to a pure decimal values), but what if you need them in HH MM SS (Hours-Minutes-Seconds) format?

This is where GPS Sway comes in handy.  GPS Sway is a free utility for Windows PCs that can be downloaded from GPSFileDepot.com.  You can place the executable file wherever you like (no installation program to run!).  This program keeps it simple -- it only does GPS coordinate conversions.

Check out GPS Sway -- I think you will find this to be a handy utility.

Club Dropbox Account

If you are not familiar with Dropbox, it is a really good way to share files on your computer with others.  Any files you save to Dropbox are also instantly save to your other computers, mobile phone, and the Dropbox website.  Accounts for up to 2 Gb of storage are free.  Dropbox works with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPad, iPhone, and Blackberry.

A club account has now been set up with Dropbox.  This will provide a way to publicly post and share files like GPS routes, etc.  The idea of setting up a club Dropbox account came to me after seeing this being used by some folks on the ADVRider.com website.

The club can obtain more free storage for the club's Dropbox, if anyone wants to setup a Dropbox through a referral from the club.  The club will receive an additional 250 Mb of storage for each peroson who signs up through the referral!  If anyone is interested in setting up a free Dropbox account, send an email to  ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com and put "Dropbox Request" in the subject line of your email.  Be sure to specify your email address that you want to use for your Dropbox account.

I think that you will find Dropbox to be a great way to share photos, files, and such with your family and friends.  Give it a try.

Myrtle Beach Marathon

Club member Jeff Mense has reminded me that the Myrtle Beach Marathon will be held the weekend of February 17, 18, and 19, and we have been asked to again provide escort and support on our motorcycles.  As usual, the Fun Run and 5K will be Friday evening with the full and half marathon on Saturday. The bicycle ride will be Sunday morning in Conway.

The marathon route and the bicycle routes have changed. The marathon route is posted on line at www.mbmarathon.com; Jeff Mense is working on getting us the bicycle route.

Please respond to Jeff Mense by email if you are interested in participating this year.

Road Rage - The Rest of the Story

Back in the August 2011 newsletter, you may remember an article about Road Rage which included this YouTube video link showing how pickup truck tried to run a motorcyclist off the road in rural Kentucky.  The truck driver was arrested and has now been convicted of  two counts of wanton endangerment, one count of menacing, and reckless driving, according to a story published in The Ledger Independent of Maysville, KY.

Video of the Month

You REALLY need to watch this month's Video-of-the-Month.  This video features a demonstration of a very helpful, hidden K1600GT feature for dealing with problematic drivers. And you were wondering why you you should upgrade from your K1200LT to the K1600.



The next time you are the recipient of another driver's road rage, you will wish your motorcycle was equipped with this K1600GT accessory.  Thanks to club member Ron Manley for passing along this video.


That's the news for February.  Ride safe and ride far!

August 2011 Newsletter

August Club Meeting

Our next monthly club meeting will be held on Monday, August 8th, 6:30 p.m., at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, in the Mayfaire Shopping Center in Wilmington.


View Larger Map

Five Guys is located at 6801 Parker Farm Dr # 125, in Wilmington.  As usual, we will have dinner around 6:30 p.m., but you are invited to come early to chat in the parking lot while we wait for everyone to arrive.

Be sure to mark your calendar now for our September 12th meeting.  And remember, the currently planned dates and locations for upcoming club meetings are posted on our Google-hosted club calendar. You will also find an announcement for each month's meeting on our club web site.

July Meeting Photos

Many club members persevered through a hot summer evening's ride to join us at our July club meeting. We enjoyed some great barbecue at Jackson's Big Oak Barbecue in Wilmington. Here are a few photos from the meeting, which are also posted on our Google Picasa web page.

Ride-to-Eat Event

On July 2nd, we held a "beat the summer heat" breakfast ride to The Purple Onion in Shallotte. We had a very good turn-out (about 16 by my count) for this ride-to-eat.  It was great to see everyone who was able to join us.  Here is a slideshow of photos taken during the get-together (also available on our Picasa web albums).

If the current heat wave continues, we will be scheduling another breakfast ride later in the month of August.  Details will be announced later, both as an update to this newsletter and via email to our club members.  Stay tuned!


BMW MOA 2011 - Bloomsburg, PA
by Jill and Tony Barcia

We left for the MOA on Wednesday taking two days to arrive. Wednesday we did some interstates to get to Skyline Drive and went to mile 55 to Big Meadows Campground. At the campground there is a visitors center, campstore, amphitheatre and big camp sites with picnic tables, fire rings and cool nights. Thursday we decided we had enough 35 mile driving so we got off skyline drive at Luray and continued on Interstate 81. Our cool day and night on Skyline Drive were over as temperatures soared to 97 and maybe above for the rest of the weekend. We camped inside the "gates" of the fairgrounds where chartered clubs had reserved spaces (we were honorary members of Riders Of Knoxville). Chartered clubs can reserve spots in premiere places (i.e. near the fairground bathrooms, the vendors and food concessions). To make it even better we were right next to the big Motorrad truck and all the 1600GT and GTL's. Very convenient for getting in line for the demos.

To repeat, it was a hot weekend but there were cooling tents and water sprinklers all over and a wonderful stream down the road to swim in. The food vendors were exceptional and plentiful (no lines for food) and we found lots of clothing to buy at the merchandise vendors (in air-conditioned buildings). We did three demo rides (two up) two on the GTL and one on the GT. Motorrad brought 7 GT's and 21 GTL's so there were plenty of chances to get a ride. The ride started out on the interstate to get a feel for the bike, then proceeded to some state roads and ended up on some very curvy back farm style roads which allowed us to really explore all the handling and acceleration capabilities of the new BMW. It is by no means a luxury touring machine like a Goldwing or our LT. The GTL's no longer have an adjustable seat and all of the ones at the rally had the lowest position seat which made the ride uncomfortable for someone Tony's height. The GT seat was adjustable and much better. The passenger seat was exceptional as it put the passenger (me) in a position where I could see the road and not the helmet of my husband. These two new machines definitely have all the acceleration and handling capabilities for any road conditions. Unfortunately, they are not in the same category as the classic LT. While I enjoyed riding both of these machines I don't think I will be owning one in the near future.

The vintage bike display was outstanding with many pre WWII totally restored bikes. Interestingly enough, there was only one "toaster" and it was modified with a new exhaust and suspension. Lots of R69 and R69S models for viewing. There were even a couple of WWII German military bikes on display.

Downtown Bloomsburg was charming with its old buildings and beautiful fountain in the middle of town. Unfortunately, they weren't prepared for all the bikers to eat dinner (although I think that is because there was plentiful food at the fairgrounds and the organizers and town people counted on that). MOA organizers provided shuttle buses into town (and to the offsite camping and lodging) for those who didn't want to take their motorcycles.

The closing ceremonies were a bit long and dragged out but the execution was exceptional. There were two wide screen monitors projecting videos and what was going on at the stage (we were in the grandstand of the fairgrounds) and a "show" with flame throwing cars. Something which was new to us. After about the 4th go round of the cars the stands probably heated up 10 degrees (remember it was 97 to begin with). We had a wonderful time at the rally saw three other Coastal Carolina BMW members - Gerry Dockery, Lance Bedwell and Benton Blalock.

[Editor:  You can also enjoy some photos taken by Tony and Jill Barcia, which have been posted to our Picasa web albums.]

GPS Tip of the Month

This month's Tip-of-the-Month is a suggestion for those of you who are Garmin GPS users.

For both Windows-based computer users, Garmin offers two desktop computer programs for planning your routes, managing your waypoints, and downloading your GPS tracks. One – Mapsource – is the program that is probably most familiar to the majority of Garmin GPS users. The other program is called BaseCamp, and has been the program that Mac computer users have had to use.  For Windows PC users, Basecamp has usually been viewed more as a program suited for use by hikers and bicyclists because of its support for offroad tracks, etc.  And historically, Garmin has not done the best job updating Basecamp with the enhancements and bug fixes provided to their Mapsource users.  

Well it looks like things are about to change. If you read the AdvRider.com and Garmin GPS forums, you may have recently noticed many discussions about a new, beta version of BaseCamp that has been available for end-users to download and test.  Garmin has been actively developing this new version of BaseCamp and has publicly stated that, going forward, BaseCamp will become Garmin's most-modern desktop mapping program and that Mapsource probably not be actively enhanced/updated. 

Well the big news is that Garmin has just released the official new BaseCamp software, for both Windows and Mac users.  While the changes, versus Mapsource, are too numerous to discuss here, one of the most significant changes that Mapsource users will notice is you will use and manage all of your mapping data (waypoints, routes, and tracks) in a single "library" instead of numerous, separate data files.  This will not be a change for our Mac users of Basecamp.

If you are currently a Mapsource software user, you may find that it will take you a bit of time to learn your way around the new Basecamp software.  Nevertheless, the new Basecamp software is very interesting.  I encourage you to download a copy and try it, especially since Garmin indicates Basecamp, not Mapsource,  will be the software package they will be developing, going forward.

You can download a copy of Basecamp from the Garmin.com, under the Support | Software page.

Video-of-the Month

Encountering Road Rage seems to be a increasing frequent problem, and is especially a hazard for us as motorcyclists.  This video illustrates just how much of a problem it can become, particularly when we do not think about how our riding actions may be perceived by other drivers.  The situation shown could have had a very unhappy ending.

VIDEO LINK

Google Plus

Google has finally unveiled their social networking system, called Google Plus or Google+.  Like its competitor, Facebook, Google+ is a system for sharing information with the people you know.  Unlike Facebook, Google+ offers much more control over how you can share with your family, friends, and others.

I managed to acquire an early invitation to Google+ and looks like it could be a great tool for communication between our club members.  Google+ provides another way for me to share club-related information with participating club members.  Google+ can also be a great way for our members to organize rides with each other, or to seek help from other club members with your motorcycling questions.

Since Google+ is currently in what is being called "field testing," you can only join by receiving an invitation from another participant.  If anyone in the club is interested in trying Google+, send me an email and I will send you a Google+ invite.  To participate in Google+, you must open a Google account and have a Google email account (both are free!).

I encourage you to try out Google+, and hope you enjoy and find it as useful as I already have.

VIR AMA Race Cancellation

The AMA Superbike race scheduled for August 12-14, 2011, at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) has been cancelled by the track.  Unfortunately, AMA will not be able to replace the race with another event.  For those interested, a SpeedTV article discusses the fallout following VIRs cancellation of the event.  This is very sad news for  motorcycle racing fans in our area.  Hopefully VIR will be able to get their house in order and host another AMA event next year.


August SBK and MotoGP Events

The World Superbike and MotoGP racing seasons continue, and more events are scheduled for broadcast on SpeedTV during the month of August. Here are the broadcast dates and times for the events that have been announced, thus far, for SpeedTV:

MotoGP

Czech Grand Prix - August 14th, 8 a.m. (rebroadcast August 14th, 5 p.m.;
  August 16th, 1 p.m.; and August 17th, 3 a.m.)
Indianapolis Grand Prix - August 28th, 2 p.m.
FIM Superbike

Silverstones - July 31st, 2 and 3 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)
  rebroadcast August 3rd at 3 and 4 a.m.

FIM Supersport

Silverstone - August 2nd, 2 p.m.
  rebroadcast August 4th at 3 a.m.

Be sure to watch the World Superbike events and cheer for the BMW racing teams.

Greenville, SC International Motorcycle Show

The International Motorcycle Show (IMS) is coming to the Carolina First Center in Greenville, South Carolina next weekend (February 25-27, 2011).  Several club members have been asking about who from the club is planning to attend.  To assist, I have set up this post to list any club members who have plans to attend.  Her is who is currently planning to attend:

• Jim Bain (Attending on Saturday only)
• Tony and Jill Barcia (Attending on Saturday and heading home on Sunday)
• Jerry Dockery (Spending Friday night in Columbia, SC and heading to the show early Saturday. Staying at the Days Inn Greenville,60 Roper Mountain Road, I-385 Exit 37, Greenville, SC.  Cell: 910-262-2843.)
• Jeff Mense (Jeff and a couple others may head up to Clinton, SC Friday evening, then into the show Saturday morning and back to the beach by Saturday evening.)
• Bill Pennington and wife (driving to Greenville Saturday and staying until Sunday)
• Lee Shreve (Attending with a group from VA and NC)

If you need a little encouragement, check out these Picasa web album photos from this year's New York City IMS.