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.


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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.

July 2011 Newsletter

July Club Meeting

Our next monthly club meeting will be held on Monday, July 11th, 6:30 p.m., at Jackson's Big Oak Barbecue. Jackson's Big Oak BBQ is located at 920 South Kerr Avenue in Wilmington.



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As reminder to everyone, the currently planned dates and locations for our club meetings through September are posted on our club calendar. You will also find an announcement for each month's meeting on our club web site.


June Meeting Photos

We had another great turn-out for our June monthly meeting at Fishy Fishy Café in Southport. The location allowed everyone to enjoy some good seafood and a wonderful view of the Southport boat harbor. Here are a few photos from the meeting, which are also posted on our Google Picasa web page.

Ride-to-Eat Events

On June 12th, we held another of our ride-to-eat events. This time we visited Southern Exposure Restaurant in Faison to enjoy Sunday brunch.

Five of us from the Wilmington area (Becky Hucks, Bill Murray, Eileen Sahlin, Bill Traina, and Paul Winter) made the ride together, and Jody Hudson rode from New Bern to also join us.

For July, since a number of our members may be planning on attending the BMW MOA International Rally July 21‑24, 2011, we will hold a club ride-to-eat event on July 2, 2011, to avoid conflicting with everyone's MOA Rally travel plans. To help avoid the worst of the daytime heat, this will be an early morning ride for breakfast. This time, we are heading for The Purple Onion in Shallotte.



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We will meet at the Purple Onion at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast.  Anyone from Wilmington who would like to like ride together can meet me at the Magnolia Greens C‑Store/BP Station located at the corner of Highway 17 and Grandiflora Drive (i.e., at the entrance of Magnolia Greens in Leland). We'll pull out at 7:30 a.m.


K1600GTL
by Dick Williams

Editor -- Many BMW enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting the release of the new K1600GT and K1600GTL, which is replacing the much-loved K1200LT. Last week, club member Dick Williams was visiting Capitol BMW in Raleigh for service work and learned that Capitol BMW has made the decision to purchase a K1600GTL as a demonstration bike. Dick was given the opportunity to take the demo bike for a ride and has provided a summary of his test ride impressions.

Dick Williams' Review

I was in Raleigh at Capitol BMW (attending to a recall matter for my K12GT) and discovered that they have a K16 demo bike. I ran it over to Fuqua and back on a totally unsupervised basis. Greg Murphy, the sales manager, explained that Capitol made a commercial decision to purchase the demo bike (even though the model is in such great demand) because Capitol management believes that only a demo ride will convince all of the "fence sitters" out there.

LIKES

• Engine...turbine-like smoothness...free reving...good torque but power still builds with revs...pulls to redline but redline is lower than on K12GT.

• Exhaust note...sporty, Formula 1 car sound...sounds especially good at high rpms.

• Transmission...smoother shifting than on K12GT but not as smooth as K12LT...still some occasional "clunking"

• Driveability...less driveline lash and bucking with on-off-throttle response than K12GT but more than on K12LT...acceleration from low rpm in high gear exceptionally smooth/linear (better than both K12GT and K12LT)

DISLIKES

• Engine Heat...admittedly, it was in the nineties when I did my demo run, but I could feel a bit of heat coming off of the GTL's motor, even at moderate cruising speeds...on my K12GT, I do not get this at all...perhaps the larger opening in the GTL's plastic body panels accounts for the difference...in any event, my tolerance for any kind of engine heat in the summwer is quite low.

• Wind Protection...although adequate with the stock windshield in the fully raised position, wind protection is not as good as on an RT equipped with a Z-Technik after market windshield and is a far cry from the K12LT...this will likely be an after market item.

• Seating...the rider's half of the GTL seat has almost no padding...it is almost laughably indequate in comparison with K12LT...even the K12GT seat has more padding and comfort...the seat is scooped out in the shape of a banana and produces a "sit in the bike feel"...however, my rear end began to fatigue even on the short ride to Fuqua and back from Capitol BMW...Capitol BMW's sales manager acknowledged this as a "miss" and predicted that the after-market seat makers will likely step in to fill the void...as far as the passenger seating is concerned, this proved a pleasant surprise...while the broad, well-padded seat is not quite on par with the K12LT's, it is better than both the GT's and RT's passenger seats...but, having said that, the backrest portion of the top case may be a little intrusive for some passengers...BMW seems to have tried to design in both lumbar support and support at the back of the upper arm area, but because the padding is very firm (in typical Teutonic fashion), it is unclear what the effect would be on a long trip...I predict frequent K12LT passengers, who are used to arm chair comfort for their backs, will not like it.

• Handle Bar Grips...these are hard and quite thin in circumference...very un-BMW like...with my summer riding gloves on, they felt strangely unfinished and tacky...I was amazed by how much more comfortable my stock K12GT grips felt on the way back to Wilmington...if the after market produces replacements, I bet they will sell like hotcakes.

• Throttle...this is a new electronic affair without traditional cables...the combination of the freakishly smooth engine and this new throttle produces a strange disconnected feel a little bit like that in a car...the motor revs when you twist your wrist, but there is no resistance or vibration...I suppose some will consider this a new pinnacle in refinement...however, for me it subtracted a bit from the overall motorcycling experience...although the GTL made my already pretty smooth K12LT feel like a Harley, I am not sure that I am ready to be quite so isolated from what I have come to expect in the way of motorcycling sensations.

• Instrumentation...here I have to say that I was flatly disappointed...the much bally hooed in-dash GPS is just too far away for me to comfortably read and is subject to sun glare...on my 40-minute ride, I could only really see it about 25% of the time...the situation would likely be different at night or on a cloudy day, but to me this is a small consolation...in another department, the speedometer and tachometer, though "space age" in design seem to me to be a step backwards in readibility...they are really small, allowing for little gradation, and therefore only give a general idea of MPH and RPM's...since, as mentioned above, the GPS is difficult to read, at times I only had a general idea of how fast I was going...give me the old white and black color scheme on large analogue dials any day.

• Multi-Controller...this all-in-one system will appeal to computer wonks and gadgeteers, but did not quite win me over...I found myself worried about "modes", control wheel angles, etc. when I should have been paying attention to the traffic and road conditions..this system requires a steeper learning curve than I am prepared to deal with.

• Other controls...again, I have to register my general disappointment...BMW is in downsizing (read cost-cutting mode) again and has produced a set of miniaturized controls for this new GTL that would look more at home on a machine costing thousands less...while I was able to work the tiny new turn signal switch (with some difficulty) in my summer riding gloves, I have no doubt that I would have greater difficulty while wearing my winter gloves...this also goes for cruise control, high beam/low beam, windshield, etc., all of which are now positively Lilliputian...to me the control set up on most BMW's (large, tactile and easily manipulated with all manner of gloves and hand sizes) is something to be proud of, both ergonomically and safety-wise...it seems to me that BMW has lost its way in this area.

• Finally, just a word about the GTL's exhaust note...although I have placed this in the "likes" column, there is one small caveat...unlike any BMW with stock silencer I have ever ridden, you can hear the GTL's exhaust note even when cruising at highway speeds...some folks may not be put off by this, but one of the things that I love about my K12LT and K12GT is that the exhaust note becomes inaudible at highway speeds, giving a feeling of effortless gliding...in contrast, the Moto GP sound of the GTL is always there, either louder or less loud, kind of like the Mustang GT automobile...you do not so much feel that you are "gliding along" as "motoring along".

FINAL THOUGHTS

• It seems to me that BMW has created a fine new motorcycle, but with many characteristics that will not appeal to traditional BMW riders. Perhaps BMW is produced this one, not so much for its hard core riders, as for a larger audience (in the same way it did for its S1000RR superbike).

• As should already be abundantly clear, I do not believe that the K1600GTL will cause much of a stir with hardcore K12LT riders and their passengers...although billed as a "luxury touring" bike, it does not really fit that niche very well...it cannot go head-to-head against the Honda Goldwing and the K12LT in amenities (since it lacks things like, in the K12LT's case, a first class audio system, CD playing capability, 4-speaker surround sound, a reverse gear, hydraulic center stand, map reading lights, automatic foot lights, etc.)...rather, it is in a new segment that should be called "luxury sport touring".

• I believe that folks who are currently riding RT's (especially those who ride two-up) who want more power and more refinement will likely be more attracted to the GTL than, say, a K12GT or K12LT rider will be. In this sense, BMW may be "cannibalizing" its own sales...a precursor, perhaps, to eventually discontinuing the RT all together?

• I likewise believe that current K12GT riders may be attracted to the new K1600GT, since the demise of the K13GT, but may be put off by some of the design changes that I mentioned...I will have a better idea about that after riding the new GT, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

Video-of-the Month

This month, I am sharing two related videos. Each May, the Isle of Mann TT is held. During the event, several hundred thousand spectators, mostly motorcyclists, come to the island to watch the racing. If you have never seen any of the racing action for the Isle of Mann TT, I recommend you watch a few minutes the next time it is shown on television (it is usually shown on the HDTHR cable channel sometime during the summer). The winners are now averaging 130 mph as they race through the streets and country roadways of the island.

This month's video contribution shows a few minutes of community policing on the Isle of Mann during the event week. This YouTube video is about 8 minutes long and is a lot of fun.

VIDEO LINK #1

During week of the Isle of Mann TT, spectators are given one day (known as Mad Sunday) when they can ride the race circuit on their bikes. The second video shows a BMW R1200GS rider on a portion of the 37-mile circuit. While riding through the villages, riders are expected to follow the speed limits, but once on the countryside roads, anything goes!

VIDEO LINK #2


GPS Tip of the Month

This month's Tip-of-the-Month includes an update and a tip.

The update: If you are a lifetime Garmin nuMaps subscriber, a new map update is available for you to download for your GPS unit. The latest map set is Verison 2012.1.

This month's tip is called "Save Your Tracks!" Most GPS receivers make a recording of the path you have just traveled. This recorded path is sometimes referred to as a "track." As you explore area roads on your weekend rides, when you return home, be sure to connect your GPS unit to your desktop computer and download the recorded track information. This is a great way to keep and accumulate a collection of roads you have ridden, and is an especially good way to archive those really special back roads that you just discovered during your ride.

Your GPS unit's track recording is also a great way to have a record of your ride during an extended journey. Some units, such as Garmin's Zumo series GPS units, can record several week's worth of travel information. When you return home, you can use the recorded track information to view your journey in Google Earth, or even "geo-tag" (embed location information into) your digital photos from the trip. (This might be the subject of a future how-to article).

There are several web sites where motorcycling enthusiasts post their ride tracks so others can benefit from and enjoy some good roads. I recommend you visit SundayMorning Rides.com, BestBikingRoads.com, and MotorcycleRoads.com and check out their collections of roads/rides.


BMW MOA International Rally

This year's BWM MOA International Rally is being held July 21-24, 2011, in Bloomsburg, PA [Google Map Link]. If you have plans to attend, I encourage you to share your plans with your fellow club members using our 2011 BMW MOA Rally Information Document (a shared Google Document). If you are looking for someone to share the ride with for the trip to and/or from Bloomsburg, a camping or hotel room-sharing partner, etc, this is a good way to connect with folks.


July 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 July. Here are the broadcast dates and times for the events that have been announced, thus far, for SpeedTV:

MotoGP
Dutch Grand Prix - July 3rd, 4 a.m. (rebroadcast)
Italian Grand Prix - July 3rd, 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (rebroadcast July 5th, 1 p.m.)
German Grand Prix - July 17th, 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (rebroadcast July 19th, 1 p.m. and July 20th, 3 a.m.)
Laguna Seca (USA) Qualifying  - July 23th, 11 p.m.
Laguna Seca (USA) Grand Prix  - July 24th, 5 p.m.

FIM Superbike

Czech Republic - July 10th, 2 and 3 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)
  rebroadcast July 13th at 3 and 4 a.m.

FIM Supersport

Czech Republic - July 12th, 2 p.m.
  rebroadcast July 13th at 3 a.m.

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

June 2011 Newsletter

June Club Meeting

Our regular monthly club meeting for June will be held on Monday, June 13th, 6:30 p.m., Fishy Fishy Café in Southport.  Here is your chance to sit on the Intercoastal Waterway, watch the boats go by, and enjoy some good seafood.  Fishy Fishy is located on the boat harbor in Southport (GPS Coordinates: N33.91737 W78.02323).



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The planned dates and tentative locations for our club meetings from June through September are posted on our club calendar on Google. Each month's meeting date and location will continue to be posted on the club web site and be confirmed here in the monthly newsletter.

We had a good turn-out for our May meeting at Panera Bread at the Mayfaire Shoppng Complex in Wilmington. We were able to sit outside for dinner and enjoy wonderful Spring evening. For those of you who were unable to join us, you can view a few photos from the meeting on our Google Picasa web page.


June Ride-to-Eat

Our series of ride-to-eat events continues. Our next club ride-to-eat event is currently scheduled for Sunday, June 12, 2011 (weather permitting). This time, we will take a back road ride to Faison, NC for brunch at Southern Exposure Restaurant.



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UPDATE:  We will depart from the Buy & Go Exxon on North College Road at 10:00 a.m. sharp.  We have an 80 mile or so back road ride planned to Faison, where we will enjoy brunch at the Southern Exposure Restaurant.  The ride routes are available in GPX format on our web site, under the File Downloads section.


Video-of-the Month

Here is a link to our video of the month. This month's contribution comes to us courtesy of CCBMW member Randy Rosebro and shows a spectacular save by racer Randy Mamola in a 1985 500GP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQGI8GSVJM&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6uEdhcTWzg&feature=related


Garmin GPS Maps Update

Breaking News!  If you are a Garmin GPS user with a nuMaps subscription, Garmin has just released a new City Navigator North America map update (version 2012.10). This update is even larger than the previous updates, so if you are a Zumo 550 user, you will need to remove ALL non-essential file from your GPS receiver if you plan to load the maps for the entire lower 48 states.  Doing so will leave almost no space on your Zumo (of course you can still load music, POIs, etc. on a SD flash-memory card).  Allow about two hours for the download and installation process.


GPS Tip of the Month

Sometimes, while on a ride or an extended trip, you discover that you cannot remember how to use some infrequently used function on your GPS unit, and your GPS manual is at home. Or perhaps in different circumstances, you have stopped to fix a punctured tire and cannot remember how to actually use that fancy Stop-n-Go tire plugging kit you have in your emergency kit. Fortunately, if you are a GPS user, there may be an easy solution for these memory lapses!

Many GPS units now have the ability to store and display pictures. If you have access to a simple graphics editing program (for example, Paint.NET, which is a free download for Windows-based PC users) you can create "pictures" containing text instructions for the kind of infrequently performed on-the-road tasks that I just described.

To make one of the "reference pictures," simply create a blank (white background) picture corresponding to the resolution of your GPS unit (320 by 240 pixels for the Garmin Zumo 550, for example). Then use the text tool of the graphics program to add any text information you want include. I find the text fairly easy to read if I use a 20 to 24 point sized font. An example is shown below.

I have uploaded several examples, suitable for use by Garmin Zumo 550 users, on the CCBMW web site under the Download Files section. These examples include how to search without an address or intersection, duplicating a route, and how to look up the latitude and longitude coordinates for a waypoint you have loaded on your GPS unit. An example of one that I created and keep on my GPS is how to use the Stop-n-Go Tire Plugger (something I hope never to need to do).

I am certain you can think of some other clever uses for this type of information file for storing in your GPS unit. If you have a good idea, share it with your fellow club members, as a comment below in this newsletter.  Better yet, send me files for loading on our web site under the Download Files section. Thanks!


BMW MOA International Rally

It is less than two months until this year's BWM MOA National Rally being held July 21-24, 2011, in Bloomsburg, PA [Google Map Link]. We have set up a Google Document where club members can indicate whether they are planning to attend, list their plans/schedule, post whether they are looking for a riding partner for the trip to Bloomsburg, etc. Access to the 2011 BMW MOA Rally Information Document  is open to all club members, using your web browser [free Google account required to access]. I encourage all club members who are planning to attend to add their plans to this document, so your fellow club members can either ride with you or look you up at the rally.


Club Ride Event

Virginia International Raceway is hosting the 11th Annual Virginia Festival of Speed motorcycle racing on the weekend of June 18th and 19th. This Championship Cup Series (CCS) event is very affordable to attend -- ticket prices are approximately $10-$15 for only one-day (Saturday) and the two-day ticket is $15. This is a potential ride event, if there is interest by our club members (preferably a minimum of three or more participants). If any club members would be interested in participating, as a one-day, up-and-back ride, please contact Bill Murray at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.


Ride to Work Day 2011

Here is another reminder that the annual Ride to Work Day event is scheduled for June 20th. The purpose of these Ride to Work Day events is to advocate and support the use of motorcycles for transportation, and to provide information about transportation riding to motorcyclists and to the public. If you are interested in knowing more about the Ride to Work Day event, or want to obtain promotional materials for the event, head to http://www.ridetowork.org/.


Georgia Mountain Rally Trip Report
by Tony and Jill Barcia

Georgia Mountain Rally 2011 - our first rally of the year in Hiawassee, GA.  We had a beautiful ride to the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on Friday and had time to check out the vendors.  Patagonia Motorcycle Shop of Knoxville, BA brought the new 1600 GLT and got to sit on it.  Doesn't really feel any more comfortable than mine.  The passenger seat was definitely not as comfortable as the old LT.  No rides so couldn't tell much more. Ladies, there were rally t-shirts for women this year ... pink and purple, really nice!   Friday night we took a 25 mile ride to Helen for dinner.  Helen is a town in the mountains recreated as a Bavarian village, well worth the trip including good German food.  Saturday was the poker run with lots of twisty mountain roads and beautiful scenery.  Saturday night after a great steak dinner (cook your own) we were told this year was the best weather in 15 years (apparently this rally is known for lots of rain).  Everyday sunny and high 70's, perfect riding weather.

Editor:  Be sure to check out Tony and Jill's Georgia Mountain Rally photos in our Picasa Web Album.

BRR Trip Report 
by Bill Murray

Fellow club members Paul Winter, Becky Hucks, Dick Williams, and I recently attended the Blue Ridge Rendezvous (BRR) event in Pikeville, Kentucky. BRR is an event organized by several members of the BMWSportTouring.com community. I have written and posted a trip report on my personal blog, along with some photos and maps.  

Unfortunately, this was the last BRR event being organized by the individuals who have been do this, but another BMWSportTouring.com community member is promising to start a new event beginning Spring 2012.

June SBK and MotoGP Events

More exciting World Superbike and MotoGP racing events are scheduled for broadcast on SpeedTV during the month of June. While subject to change, here are the broadcast dates and times for the events that SpeedTV currently has listed on their web site:

MotoGP
Catalunyan Grand Prix - June 5th, 8 a.m. (Live) and 5 p.m. (rebroadcast June 7th, 1 p.m.)
British Grand Prix - June 12th, 2 p.m. (rebroadcast June 15th, 4 a.m.)

FIM Superbike

USA (Miller Motorsports in Salt Lake City) - May 30th, 5 and 6 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)
  rebroadcast June 4th at 3 and 4 a.m.

San Marino - June 12th, 3 and 4 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)
  rebroadcast June 14th, 3 and 4 a.m.

Spain - June 19th, 3 and 4 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)

May 2011 Newsletter

May Club Meeting

Please come join us at our next club meeting, scheduled for Monday, May 9th, 6:30 p.m., at Panera Bread, 1156 Military Cutoff Road, in Wilmington. Panera Bread is located near the Mayfaire Town Center Shopping Center.

We had a great turn-out for our April meeting at the PT's Grille in Leland.  A few photos from the meeting are posted on our Google Picasa web page.  Thanks to everyone who joined us, including our latest club member – Kerry Polk.

The planned dates and tentative locations for our club meetings from May through October are now posted on our club calendar hosted on Google.  The dates and locations are always subject to change, so please recheck the calendar web site before each meeting.  Each month's meeting date and location will continue to be posted on the club web site and be confirmed here in the monthly newsletter.

May Ride-to-Eat

Turnout for our April ride-to-eat was light, due to the scheduling change to Sunday, April 17th due to the severe weather experienced the previous day.  Hopefully everyone enjoyed the great food at the Front Porch Restaurant in Elizabethtown, as well as the back road riding.  However, it was disconcerting to see some of the tornado damage in the area near Elizabethtown.

Our next club ride-to-eat event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 7, 2011 (the rain date will be May 21st).  This time, we will take a back road ride to the Duplin Winery Bistro in Rose Hill [Google Map Link].  Watch for an updated announcement soon in this newsletter post, which will provide more details on the departure location, time, and route.

BMW MOA International Rally

It is less than three months until this year's BWM MOA International Rally, which is being held July 21-24, 2011, in Bloomsburg, PA [Google Map Link].  If you have not made your plans to attend, you should do so soon.  Many local hotels are reportedly already filling up.  Information about the BMW MOA National Rally is available through the BWM MOA Rally Web Page [http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally11].  Online resgistration for the rally is now open.

I have set up a Google Document where club members can indicate whether they are planning to attend, list their plans/schedule, post whether they are looking for a riding partner for the trip to Bloomsburg, etc.  Access to the 2011 BMW MOA Rally Information Document is open to all club members, using your web browser [free Google account required to access].

2011 BMW MOA Mileage Contest

Speaking of the BMW MOA, their 2011 mileage contest began on Saturday, April 9th.  Starting mileage forms are available in the April issue of the BMW Owners News magazine.  You can also print the front side and back side of the contest form using these links.  If you are participating, you need your form to be signed by two active BMW MOA members, or by a club officer (yours truly).  If you need your form signed, contact me via ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com to arrange for a mailing-and-signing.  Your starting 2011 contest forms must be postmarked by May 9th!

Club Ride Event

Virginia International Raceway is hosting the 11th Annual Virginia Festival of Speed motorcycle racing on the weekend of June 18th and 19th.  This is Championship Cup Series (CCS) event is very affordable to attend -- ticket prices are approximately $10-$15 for one-day only (Saturday) and a two-day ticket is $15.  This is currently a potential ride event that is being considered if there is sufficient interest (preferably a minimum of three or more participants).  If any club members would be interested in participating, as a one-day, up-and-back ride, please contact Bill Murray at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.

GPS Tip-of-the-Month

If you are a Garmin GPS user, you already know that Garmin's documentation on using their desktop computer mapping software (Mapsource for Windows PCs, Basecamp for Macs) is not very helpful.  Fortunately, there are some hardworking GPS enthusiasts who have already written some tutorials that will help you better understand how to use Mapsource/Basecamp.

The first tutorial is a PDF file that can be downloaded from the Bike Web web site (http://www.bestbikingroads.com/useful_docs/MapSource_Tutorial1.pdf).  Although this tutorial is a couple of years old, it still provides instructions that will help you start out using Mapsource.  The ADVRider.com web site also has a good Basic Mapsource Familiarization tutorial.  Another useful tutorial on the ADVRider.com site discusses how to create routes in Mapsource.  Reviewing these three tutorials will help you get started with using Mapsource and getting more from your GPS receiver.

May SBK and MotoGP Events

More exciting World Superbike and MotoGP racing events are scheduled in May and will be shown on SpeedTV.  While subject to change, here are the broadcast dates and times for the events that SpeedTV currently has listed on their web site:

MotoGP

Portugal Grand Prix - May 1st, 8 a.m. (Live) and 5 p.m.

Portugal 125 - May 3rd, 12 Noon and May 5th, 3 a.m.

French Grand Prix - May 15th, 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

World Superbike

Italy (Monza) - May 8th, 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)

Rebroadcast May 10th, 12 Noon and 1 p.m. and May 11th, 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

World Supersport

Italy (Monza) - May 10th, 2 p.m. and May 12th, 3 a.m.

AMA Pro Racing
Infineon - May 14th, 11 p.m.; May 15th at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.; May 16th, 12 a.m. and 1 a.m.

The schedule for the second half of May is not yet available from SpeedTV.  An update to this schedule will be posted later.

Ride safe and ride far.

Bill Murray

May 1, 2011

April 2011 Newsletter

April Club Meeting

Spring is finally here! Now that we have Daylight Savings Time once again, along with the warming weather, we can return to our normal schedule of meeting on the second Monday evening of each month.  Our next club meeting will be held on Monday, April 11th, 6:30 p.m., at PTs Olde Fashioned Grille, 1035 Grandiflora Drive in Leland.  This PT's is the location at the entrance into Magnolia Greens.


View Larger Map


April Eat-to-Ride

Even though the Monday evening meetings are resuming, I have heard from a few members that they have enjoyed our monthly ride-to-lunch during the Winter and would like to see these continue. Mark your calendars – our next ride-to-eat, weather and my work schedule permitting, will be held on Saturday, April 16th Sunday, April 17th (rescheduled due to the weather forecast for Saturday). We will be heading to the Front Porch Restaurant in Elizabethtown for lunch.


View Larger Map

 If you are planning to join us for lunch, please let me know a few days in advance, so I can ensure the restaurant has enough seating to accommodate us. For the ride to The Front Porch, we will meet at at the Scotchman Shell Station that is located on the corner of Highway 421 and Highway 133 (Isabelle Holmes Bridge), just north of the U.S.S. North Carolina site.  We will depart around 10:30 a.m.

The planned route for the back road ride to The Front Porch Restaurant will be posted soon to the club's Google Earth Network Link file.  Instructions on how to set up the club's Google Earth Network Link can be found here on our Beemer Ramblings blog.

For last minutes changes due to weather, check your email. As long as there is interest, we will try to continue scheduling a ride-to-eat event every month or so.


Coastal Carolina BMW Riders Club on Twitter

Twitter seems to offer a good way to disseminate fast-breaking news to our club members, so I have recently opened a Twitter account for our club. If you are a Twitter user (I am only recently a Twitter adopter), you can follow the club's updates via our Twitter user name -- @ccbmwridersclub. Currently, I envision using this as another way to remind everyone about upcoming club meetings; announce last minute changes to club ride plans or postponements of club meetings; and forward very limited time offers from vendors (for example, a one-day sale on Garmin nuMaps subscriptions). I am not planning to bombard everyone with daily tweets. If you decide to follow us on Twitter, let me know if you find this to be a useful method of communication with you. And if you are not a Twitter user, don't worry – I plan to continue using our normal method of notifications using emails and our online club newsletter.


New Event Links

The club's Google Earth Network Link now includes the following new events/locations:

• 4th Annual Motorcycle Mountain Retreat
• 10th KY Shinefest Rally
• Cass Rally
• Square Route Rally
• 19th Gathering of the Clans
• 4th Klassic K Lampout
• 9th Annual BMW Riders Campout
• STAR 2011 Ntional Rally
• 11th and Last R90S Rally
• 34th Dan'l Boone Rally & Vintage/Classic Ride-in

Instructions on how to load the network link as a permanent feature of your Google Earth program can be found here on our Beemer Ramblings blog.  Enjoy!

5th Annual International Female Ride Day

International Female Ride Day occurs every year on the first Friday of May. This year's event will be May 6th. It is a synchronized day for women motorcyclists, worldwide, to join together on their motorcycles, no matter the type, size or style and ride. For more information about International Female Ride Day, and to see this year's image icon, head to http://www.motoress.com/readarticle.asp?articleid=551&c=femalerideday.


Ride to Work Day 2011

The annual Ride to Work Day event is now being held on the third Monday in June, with the 2011 event being scheduled for June 20th. The purpose of these Ride to Work Day events is to advocate and support the use of motorcycles for transportation, and to provide information about transportation riding to motorcyclists and to the public. If you are interested in knowing more about the Ride to Work Day event, or want to obtain promotional materials for the event, head to http://www.ridetowork.org/.


BMW MOA Mileage Contest

It's April -- and that means the start of the 2011 BMW MOA Mileage Contest.  The 2011 contest starts on April 9th (be sure to bring your contest starting from to the club meeting on April 12th for signing by me (your club officer) or by two fellow BWM MOA members.  You can print the front side and back side of the contest form using these links, or use the form in your issue of the BMW Owners News magazine.  Watch for the 2010 contest result sin the April issue of the BMW Owners News.

 

Mobile Apps Released For AMA Superbike and Flat Track

The AMA Pro Racing organization has released new mobile smartphone Pro Road Racing and Pro Flat Track apps for the Android and iPhone platforms. Two versions of these apps are available for both series -- Lite and Pro.

Lite apps are free and provide basic live timing and scoring data that updates every eight seconds. The apps display the track name, session name, session time remaining, current flag status, current running order, gaps between riders, each rider's best lap time, each rider's last lap time, color highlighting of a rider's best lap time, and more.

The Pro apps cost .99 cents and include all the features of the Lite versions, with the addition of detailed event schedules, session results, series schedules, points standings, and links to recent news. Facebook and Twitter account integration are slated to be added later.

Direct links to AMA Pro Racing's iPhone Apps are as follows:

AMA Pro Road Racing Pro App: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ama-pro-road-racing/id421280266?mt=8
AMA Pro Road Racing Lite App: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ama-pro-road-racing/id410442585?mt=8
AMA Pro Flat Track Pro App: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ama-pro-flat-track/id421401351?=8
AMA Pro Flat Track Lite App: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ama-pro-flat-track-lite/id421407123?mt=8

Direct links to AMA Pro Racing's Droid Apps are as follows:

AMA Pro Road Racing Pro: 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amaproracing.livetiming&feature=search_result
AMA Pro Road Racing Lite: 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amaproracing.livetiminglite&feature=search_result
AMA Pro Flat Track Pro: 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amaproracing.ftlivetiming&feature=search_result
AMA Pro Flat Track Lite: 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amaproracing.ftlivetiminglite&feature=search_result

GPS Tip-of-the-Month

Are you looking for a good compilation of mapping and GPS –related resources on the web?  If so, here is one that is worth adding to your favorite web browser's bookmarks.

The folks at AdvRider.com have a permanent web forum post that provides a very good list of web sites and web resources relating to GPS units and mapping.  The list, which can be found at http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13981993&postcount=1, includes resources like:

• Conversion tools
• Address-to-coordinate converters
• Points of Interest converters
• Tutorials
• Google Map Mashups
• and much more.

If you are interesting getting more out of your GPS unit, visiting this link will be worth your time -- I am confident that you will find something new and useful to you!


Britt Motorsports Change

Britt Motorsports has announced they are now an independent pre-owner dealership.  It appears that Britt Motorsports has given up their franchises for Kawasaki and Suzuki.  You can read Scott Britt's personal message about the change on their web site.  I am sure many of you will find this development  disappointing for all motorcycling enthusiasts in our area.  Thank you to club member Jim Villa for passing along this information.


Interesting Product

After his trip to this year's Daytona Bike Week in Daytona, club member Jim Villa sent me information about a very interesting product that he saw.  e-Tint Products is now offering liquid crystal visor insert for motorcyclists.  The e-Tint visor insert provides electronic tinting of your helmet's faceshield.  The visor insert is available both as a manual and an automatic units.  You can obtain more information about the e-Tint visor insert at their web site.  If a club member decides to purchase and try the product, please send us a product review so we can share your experience with your fellow club members.  Thanks, Jim Villa, for send this item to us.


Newsletter Comments

These newsletters are intended to be a two-way communication tool. If you have news or information you would like to share with your fellow club members, you have two different ways to do so -- you can end your information to the editor by email, care of ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com, or you can leave comments using the link found at the bottom of each newsletter posting.  It's simple, easy, and it's fun too!

Ride safe and ride far.  And HaPPy ApRiL FooLs DaY everyone!

Bill Murray
April 1, 2011

Google Earth Network Link Tutorial

This is a quick tutorial to show you how to add our club's CCBMW Google Earth file link as a "permanent" place in your collection of Google Earth Places.  This is actually very easy.  The article below provides you step-by-step instructions (including pictures) on how to do this.

Prequisites

If you do not already have the Google Earth browser, you can download it for free from http://www.google.com.  The Google Earth browser is similar to a web browser, but it displays geographical information (locations) rather than web pages.  If you have never tried the Google Earth browser, I high recommend it – it's a lot of fun!

Background

Our club now has a file available that will add a network link to your Places collections in the Google Earth browser.  When you open the Google Earth browser and select the club's network link (by clicking the check box next to that Place entry), Google Earth will access another file stored on our club web site and provide you with the club's latest location information on motorcycling-related rallies and events.

The network link file is a Google KML, or Keyhole Markup Language, file.  KML files are simple text files that tell the Google Earth browser how to find and display geographical information.  The file being accessed by the network link file is also a KML file (it is actually a compressed or Zip file version of a KML file) stored on our club web site's collection of downloadable files.

Once you add the network link to your Places collection, you never need to do so again (unless we make available a "new-and-improved" version of the network link file).

The "Motorcycling Events and Rallies" file provides you location and background information on various motorcycling events and rallies scheduled during 2011.  This includes the International Motorcycle Shows, the BMW MOA and BMW RA national rallies, various local and regional rallies being sponsored by BMW MOA-affiliated and BMW‑RA-affiliated clubs, local motorcycle racing events at Virginia International Raceway and Carolina Motorsports Park, as well the 2011 World Superbike racing events.  I hope to soon add the 2011 AMA and MotoGP motorcycle racing event locations.  When events start being announced for 2012, we will be able to simply add these to the collection – you will not need to do anything different to have the latest information!

Network Link File Download

Using your preferred web browser, you can use the link below to download the network link file.

https://sites.google.com/site/ccbmwridersclub/download-files/EventsandRalliesNetworkLink.kml

In Internet Explorer, right-click on this link and select the Save Target As… option to save the network link file to your computer's hard drive.

In the Firefox web browser, clicking on the link opens a dialog window which will allow you to save file to your computer's hard drive.

In the Google Chrome browser, clicking the link will download the file to your computer's default location for downloaded files.

Adding the Network Link to Google Earth

Locate the network link file that you downloaded to your computer's hard drive.  If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, double-clicking the downloaded network link file should cause this file to open in the Google Earth browser.  The "Motorcycling Events and Rallies" entry should appear in your Places panel on the left, under the Temporary Places folder.

To permanently add the new Motorcycling Events and Rallies entry to your "My Places" folder (which is shown immediately above the Temporary Places folder), all you need to do is answer a question when you close the Google Earth browser.  After you select the File, Close menu option, a dialog will appear on the screen to tell you that you have unsaved places in your "Temporary Places" folder.

If you answer Save (by clicking the Save button), the Motorcycling Events and Rallies entry will automatically be added to your "My Places" folder, and will appear there the next time you start the Google Earth browser.

Notice it will display a special "network" symbol next to the Motorcycling Events and Rallies entry.  To see the latest information, click the check box beside the "+" box located to the left side of the item in the list.  This will expand the list for that entry.  Checking the boxes beside items will make those locations appear in the main window.  Likewise, unchecking items (or folders) will make those items disappear from the main window.

Congratulations!  Your Google Earth browser now includes a network link to access our club's events and rallies information.

The current Motorcycling Events and Rallies list includes "Rallies," "Events," "Race Events," and the "2011 World Superbike Races."  On occasion, additional entries will be shown for things like a planned club ride event (for example, to show the proposed club ride route).

After you click the "+" box, you can scroll through the list and click on any item your want to display.

Double clicking the individual item will cause the Google Earth browser to zoom to that item.  For example, double clicking the Rallies folder will display all the rally locations in the main window.

Double clicking on any item in the Places panel will zoom to that location in the main window and display a "bubble" which provides further information about the location/event.

GPS coordinates for the location can be obtained by looking at the status bar at the bottom of your Google Earth browser's window (as shown above) or by right-clicking on the individual item in the Places panel and looking at it's properties (also shown below).

Future Information

Please help keep this information up-to-date for your fellow club members!  If you know about an upcoming rally or event of interest to our club members, please forward any information you have (especially the location and date) to ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.  These can be events you have read about online or in a magazine, or events that you have learned of by word-of-mouth.

Let me know whether this is a useful tool for you.  You can leave comments at the bottom of this post, or provide them via email to ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.

A future addition being considered is adding the locations for all BMW dealers in the U.S.  This could be done as part of the club's rallies and event places collection, or it could be done as a separate collection of places (which would you prefer?).  Since this is a lot of work to assemble, I would first appreciate feedback on the usefulness of this tool, before I invest the time.

Thanks for contributing!

Bill Murray
March 9, 2011

March 2011 Newsletter

Welcome to the March 2011 edition of Beemer Ramblings.

March 2011 Club Meeting

Our next club meeting is another lunch gathering and is scheduled for Saturday, March 12th (weather permitting), at the Dale's Seafood in Tabor City, NC. This Google Maps link will show you the location, if you are not familiar with Dale's Seafood (GPS Coordinates: N34.75692 W77.94810]. We will meet there at approximately 12 Noon.

If you are planning to attend, please send me an RSVP, via email at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com, so I can call ahead and "warn" the restaurant. I would appreciate receiving every one's RSVP by Thursday, March 10th.

Per our normal pracice for winter meetings, if the weather forecast for the meeting date looks questionable, watch your email for a last-minute postponement notification. You are also welcome to contact me to confirm whether the meeting is going forward as planned, or is being postponed.

If you missed our February meeting at The Mad Boar, we enjoyed some great weather and an excellent turn-out. A few pictures from our meeting are available on our club's Google Picasa web album.

Although my annual plant outage period will have started at work by the time we hold our club meeting, I am still planning for a back road ride to and from Dale's Seafood. If you are interested in joining me, send me an email at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com and I will ensure you are kept up-to-date on the plans.  The departure location will be the Maco Depot Mart (Mobil Station) located at the intersection of Highways 87 and 74/76.  We will be leaving the Maco Mobil Mart around 10 A.M.   If you use the Google Earth network link discussed in the "2011 Rallies and Events" article below, you will see several options for ride routes that I have planned from the Maco Mobil to Dale's Seafood, and from Dale's back to Wilmington.

If you are already planning ahead for our April meeting, it is posted on the CCBMW Riders Club calendar on our web site.

K1600GT/GTL Pricing Announcement

BMW Motorrad USA has announced pricing for the 2012 model year K1600GT and K1600GTL tourers. The K1600GT will have a base Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $20,900, while the K1600GTL will have a base MSRP of $23,200.  There is an additional destination charge of $495. Both new models will be available this Spring.

Both Base models come equipped with:

• Xenon headlight with dynamic leveling
• Heated seat
• Heated grips
• Cruise control
• Multifunction display, on-board computer and multi-controller
• Integral ABS
• Luggage rack
• E-Gas throttle with three power modes
• White LED turn signals
• Power adjustable windshield

The Base Model K 1600 GTL also includes:

• Bluetooth
• Audio system with tuner, Sirius satellite radio with one-year complimentary subscription, iPod/USB integration, 3.5mm Aux input, GPS preparation
• Top case in body color
• Comfort backrest for top case
• Third stop light for top case
• Comfort windshield
• Comfort footrests
• Chrome body kit

SpeedTV Television Coverage for Daytona Bike Week

Daytona Bike Week is here and SpeedTV is going to be providing great coverage for those of us who cannot make the trip there. Here are the broadcast dates and times for some of the events being covered by SpeedTV:

AMA Supercross (March 5, 8 p.m. ET, LIVE)
The Daytona 200 (March 12, 1 p.m. ET, LIVE)
AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike (March 12, 11 p.m. ET, SDD)
AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship (March 13, 3 p.m. ET)

SPEED2, the network’s broadband channel, will be offering live coverage of AMA Supersport from Daytona on March 11 at 2:15 p.m. ET and March 12 at 10 a.m. ET.

SpeedTV World Superbike Television Coverage

In addition to the Daytona Bike Week Coverage, the SpeedTV channel will begin their broadcast coverage of the 2011 World Superbike season.  The first event of the season in this weekend, with the Phillip Island, Australia.  Here are the broadcast dates and times:

Phillip Island Race 1 (February 27, 5 p.m. ET)
Phillip Island Race 2 (February 27, 6 p.m. ET)

Phillip Island Race 1 (February 28, 3 a.m. ET)

Phillip Island Race 2 (February 28, 4 a.m. ET)

Phillip Island Race 1 (March 1, 3 a.m. ET)

Phillip Island Race 2 (March 1, 4 a.m. ET)

Phillip Island Supersport Race (March 1, 2:30 p.m. ET)

Phillip Island Supersport Race (March 3, 4 a.m. ET)

You can get up to speed on 2011 WSBK (I could not resist the pun) at the SpeedTV's World Superbike web page.  Troy Corser will be back as a member of the BMW Motorrad Motorsports factory team, and he will be joined this year my a new team member, Leon Haslam.  The full 2011 WSBK season schedule is  available on the SpeedTV web site.

Garmin nüMaps Update

Garmin has issued a new quarterly update to their map sets (the latest is version 2011.40). If you are a nüMaps Lifetime subscriber, you can download them from Garmin.com. Visit the Garmin Map Updates web page for more information on the nüMaps product.

2011 Rallies and Events

If you are interested in knowing when and where some of this year's motorcycling events, rallies, and races are being held, and are a Google Earth user, then I have developed a great tool for you.  This link is a file that you can add to your current list of places in Google Earth.  The file contains a link to a file on our web site that I will be periodically revising with more up-to-date information.  Currently, I have the IMS events (most of which have unfortunately now been held), a few racing events (more will be coming), and many of the east coast BMW-related rallies (and a few more around other areas of the country).  It takes  some time to maintain this information, so I welcome your feedback on the usefulness of this tool.

Wrap-Up

Thanks for staying in touch.  I will see on the roadways.  Until then, ride safe and ride far!