Tech Tip Of The Month

Pre-Season Check 

Happy Spring everyone! This month I wanted to give you some more hints and tips for your pre- ride checks. A couple of questions regularly come up around the shop regarding  the best way to check your brake pads and tire life.

On most BMW's they have made it pretty easy to check your pad life, it varies from bike to bike, but they were designed in a way to bevisible and checkable. This is the same for tires, tiny wear bars are manufactured into the tiregiving a reference point for gauging how much rubber is left.

If you still have your owners manual kicking around, it will have the model specific procedure to check your brake pad life, or just swing by the shop and we can show you exactly where to look.

Oil level still seems to be a hot subject as well, make sure your motorcycle is at running temperature to get the best level reading.  And if your motorcycle feels a little funny or different on your ride, trust your instinct and get it looked at.

Keep your wits about you and stay safe.

Mark Eddy

Service Manager

What's New In The Parts Department?

New & Noteworthy Products 

New Rev'it!  Men's Everest Suit, Now In Stock - This is Rev'it! at their best!  Introducing the all new Everest - A brand new men's touring suit with the latest in safety features and weather protection.  Fully waterproof from the inside out, this top level riding gear features Armacor fabric, SAS-TEC armor, a GORETEX Membrane (bonded to the outside fabric!) with Kevlar reinforcement.  Its detachable thermal collar and separate thermal liners keep you super warm in the colder months. Brand new GORE Lock-Out ventilation zippers give this suit superior year-round versatility required for our unpredictable climate and warmer days.  If you commute every day in the Northwest, you understand the value of a garment that is constructed this well.  It is simply built to last, protect you from the elements and most importantly save your skin.  The Rev'it! Everest also features two piece versatility, a full circumference zipper, waterproof outside pockets and storm cuffs.  Remember, the women's exclusive Ventura Adventure Suit is also available now!

Scorpio r-Link Alarm System -

Metzeler Z8 - Select sizes now available (standard load ratings) - The next generation Interact is here!  Multi Zone Tension technology, new updated tread profiles and functional tread pattern place the Z8 Roadtec Interact at the top of the sport touring tire class. 8% wider final footprint area than its predecessor due to the variation of steel belt tensions and a strategically placed tread pattern which optimizes pressures in the footprint area. Innovative tread pattern, a widened and more elliptical footprint and a host ofwear-resistant technologies not normally seen in motorcycle tires give the Roadtec Z8 Interact its best-in-segment mileage and optimal wet performance throughout the tires life.  

New patented tread pattern with strategically placed longitudinal central grooves provide ideal drainage for more than 3/4 of all lean angles in the wet. The remaining tread grooves work to add tread flexibility, extending the footprint for stability in the dry. Updated design improves wear regularity which gives riders the benefit of a consistent riding performance across the tires entire life. W-rated for speeds of 168+ mph. Tubeless. Of course, the popular Z6 Interact is still in the lineup and is still one of our go to favorites, especially for heavier motorcycles. 

A Message From the Parts Department:  

A lot of people ask me why they should buy from us - At Ride West, we run an honest, fair, and fun business that is entirely customer focused.  Our mission is to provide exceptional service and knowledge, to exceed our customers' expectations, and to treat everyone who walks in the door as a guest, regardless of who you are, what brand of bike you ride, or if you ride a motorcycle at all. We know our stuff, and if we don't, we will find out. There's always a way we can get you the products and information you need.  We have the collective experience and professionalism you just don't get from any other dealer around.  Not to mention we know bikes and perform scheduled service and accessory installations on all brands.

We know there are a lot of places that sell great stuff for you and your motorcycle.  With so many parts, accessories and apparel items to choose from, no wonder there are so many places that will sell you your next jacket, windscreen or set of tires.

Do we have what you're looking for?  Most people don't know this, but we are an authorized dealer for just about any brand you can imagine.  From Touratech to Fly racing, Bridgestone to Galfer, Yoshimura, Shorai, Spiegler, Cee Bailey, Givi, you name it and we either have it or we can get it.  But still the question lingers, why buy it from Ride West BMW?

Got a problem with something you bought from us?  We have your receipt on file and hope you will always give us the first opportunity to resolve an issue with the manufacturer on your behalf to make things right.  Online resources are usually limited to just taking orders, which means they can sell you something and move on with the hopes of little or no further responsibility or interest, nor do they support the local community. 

We are your neighbors, friends and a family owned business.  It's no secret that when you support Ride West, you create jobs right here in the Great Northwest.  And for that we thank you deeply!  As you know, when you purchase locally, you help your local community thrive, and of course you help pave our roads that we all love to ride on.

We would love the opportunity to earn your business if we haven't already.   Thanks for reading and for supporting your community!  We hope you will always try to buy locally, wherever you decide to shop.

Jeff Conlin - Parts Manager
Bill Niwa - Apparel & Accessories Manager
Contact us  @ (206) 527-5511 or e-mail @
parts@ridewest.com  or apparel@ridewest.com 

A Message From Our Owners

Over the past two years, if you have been reading these brief articles in our monthly e-newsletter, you are well aware of the economic blight that has descended upon the motorcycle industry.  Some manufacturers are off by as much as 80% in new units sold over this period.  BMW has suffered as well, but remains at the top of the list of success (if you can call it that) of all of the major brands on the market today in this country.  The good news for BMW dealers is that, although the recovery may be slow and tedious, we see a definite bright light at the end of our tunnel.  Most of the other brands, and dealers, can not see this light because of the different approach they have taken with their various business models. 

Here is what BMW is doing:  A couple of decades ago BMW made a strategic decision to stay in the motorcycle business.  The auto business was doing well but the two wheel division was languishing.  BMW's roots are entrenched in motorcycle manufacturing, since they began producing motorcycles before they started making cars, and at that point they decided to spend tens of millions of dollars in rebuilding the production lines in Berlin and to get serious about the future of BMW motorcycling.  They also realized that their customer base was aging and they were not producing new models to keep up with a newer, younger riding population.  They began to get serious.  The time line from inception to final production of a new model takes many years and they began to look well ahead. And today we are seeing the wonderful results of that foresight.

Two decades ago if you wanted a BMW you were going to purchase an airhead boxer (so named because the opposed cylinders pump against each other, resembling two boxers in the ring).  Today a person can purchase a water cooled single, water cooled parallel twin, air and oil cooled horizontal twin, a couple of variations of the four cylinder water cooled engine, and available next month, a water cooled six cylinder power plant. These motorcycles are state of the art, with electronic and safety features not found on other brands on the road today.  As a result, being a BMW dealer, we see a very bright future in the years ahead.  Yes, our industry is going to struggle, but we believe our brand is going to lead the pack in terms of market penetration gain.

We are excited about the future of Ride West BMW because of the excellent line of products that BMW is offering, as well as the models that they have under consideration for future production.  Hand in hand with this are our own internal plans for the next few years.  We are in the process of putting in place a number of initiatives that we believe will increase the presence of BMW in this marketplace, and hence will lead to increased sales and market share.  Stay tuned---we will address these exciting initiatives in future issues of this newsletter.

Ann and Keith Thye