Ride The West Vol. 3 Issue 3

Vol. 3 - Issue 3

March 2012

Team Ride West Journal

Greetings!

I. The R-Ides of March

Saturday, March 10th brings us the R-IDES of MARCH for the 10th year in a row, placed as close to the 15th of March (the "ides") as possible. All proceeds are sent to Riders for Health.

For information on why donating to Riders for Health is a good idea, please visit www.riders.org. Riders for Health is supported by motorcyclists all over the world, and, due to the backgrounds and friendships of its founders, by most Moto GP, WSBK, and Formula 1 teams.

Entry fee is a recommended donation of $10 (more welcome) to Riders for Health, and your donation is tax deductible. If your company has a corporate matching program for charities, that would be terrific as well!

Following registration, you'll be given a set of route directions that are more specific than what is usually provided for our rides, and be off on an adventure of a few hours that will send you down a great riding road or two you never knew existed.

Along the way you'll be asked to pause here and there to answer questions. At the end, you'll hand in your answer sheet, order some fine food at Café Veloce, (yum!), and await the prize giving- assuming you have enough correct answers to qualify! Café Veloce is not usually open on Saturday, but will open on the 10th at 2pm just for our group! Ride West BMW and Riders for Health, as well as ROK Straps, have once again graciously provided a plethora of pulchritudinous prizes!

Concepts this ride features that are a bit unusual:

A separate class (Class 2) for people who want to have fun and donate to a good cause but not ride in inclement weather - cars are permissible in Class 2. Motorcyclists are Class A and thus get first pick of the prizes! :)
Some of the best door prizes have been those donated by club members. If you want to promote your business or just donate prizes out of the goodness of your heart, please contact me! :)

II. Exhibitions At A Picture...

Lunch at the Elger Bay Cafe

III. You, Me, You-Tube, We..Etc.

We have our own Team Ride West web site page on the Ride West site. Go to our Team Ride West page. There you'll find lots of information, links to ride videos and slide shows from past adventures.

IV. Product Reviews

2012 BMW F 800 R. We now have our new 2012 BMW 800R demo bike. The 800R, as you may know, is a "naked" bike. Most manufacturers these days have one or more versions of this design theme. BMW's take features light weight (390 pounds dry) and tremendous agility. It is so light and handles so well that there is a potential and ironic downside in that it seems so light that you can turn it like a small bicycle - which is not quite true.

Our demo is white, with gloss black wheels and flat black trim. It looks rather elegant in an understated way. You can also opt for silver or red and silver livery.

The fly screen is standard this year, whereas last year (for me), it would have been a must-have option. It has very little function, but looks very cool! The F 800R has virtually no storage capacity, but you could add a tank bag, or the excellent BMW expanding bags, or just strap a small tail bag onto the rear seat like I did in the video.

I made a sample video of what it's like if you want to look at it - posted Here.

As you can probably tell from the video, an 800R makes a terrific commuter bike. It is light and has excellent handling, plus enough power and gearing such that you can upshift pretty much constantly from 0 to 60mph as fast as you can. It is impossible to ride this bike without a big grin breaking out.

If you are interested, contact Sales Manager John Heale to arrange a test ride.

V. Pithy Words to Ride By...

Want to get a lot of bang for your buck? Donate to Riders for Health. Every dollar purchases a LOT of health care in Africa.

Content Editor: Dave Preston

Production Editor: Nicole Turner

In This Issue

I. The R-Ides of March

II. Exhibitions At A Picture

III. You, Me, You-Tube, We..Etc....

IV. Product Reviews

V. Pithy Words to Ride By

VI. Team Ride West Events

VII. February Rides

X. Team Ride West Concept Ride Procedures

VI. Team Ride West Events

Please check the web site frequently for changes.

March

3/1 Thursday - Touring South Africa @ 6:30pm

3/3-4 Sat/Sun - EuroMoto show - Lynnwood

3/8 Thursday - Sasquatch Show @ 7pm

3/10 Saturday - R-Ides of March X @ 10am

3/11 Sunday - Daylight Savings Time

3/15 Thursday - 2Fast Seminar @ 7pm

3/20 Tuesday - TRW dinner - Café Veloce @ 6:15pm

3/22 Thursday - Bret and RJ's seminar @ 7pm

3/23-24 Fri/Sat - Bike Swap

3/31 Saturday - David Hough - Bossing Your Bike @ 10am

3/31 Saturday - Desert 100 - Odessa

Long term planning note: For those who like to plan their summer events around Ride West BMW activities, Ride West will not be a sponsor of or be present at Sound Rider's Rally In the Gorge this year. It's a great event, and we recommend it. South Sound will be our representative this year, while we try a couple of new ideas instead - details later!

VII. February Rides

Camano Island

If we ignore January, which snowed and froze out all of our plans - what a great way to start the year! We had 28 bikes (actually 29, one dropped out before we got to lunch for reasons not explained) and 30 people, including the side car two up.

With a group this large keeping track of everyone from the front becomes impossible, so we go to "YOYOMF" mode, which stands for "You're On Your Own My Friend." There's another acronym made from those letters I do not use in a publication, but which is much funnier.

We meandered toward and around Camano Island in various small groups, and then almost totally filled the Elger Bay Café. I had called ahead, twice, so they were happy to see us and as usual and did a great job of handling 29 individual orders.

I was so pleased to see people initiating conversations at various tables and making sure everyone felt welcome. A nice sense of rider community.

On the way back we had a minor oopsie in one of the gravel-filled corners, as Likhi Ondov came acropper in the same gravel that almost tossed my K 1300S into the ditch when I rode through it. His F 800 GS adventure bike looks a little more adventurous now. I was nice to see that everyone riding behind him stopped, and one person raced ahead to catch up to my group and let me know. I turned around (I'm carrying the first aid kit and a tire compressor and flat kit) and on the way back the entire group, including Likhi, rode by in the opposite direction. No real injuries to him, and a couple of scuffs and a bent lever or two for the 800GS.

Several people took the time to comment to Likhi - "Been there done that - we have all done the same." This was not a crash caused by excess speed or carelessness; it was just one of those things that happen.

In the end, we never like to see anyone have a problem, but on this day the sense of community was to me even more welcome than the bright sun and warm temps!

Here's who helped inaugurate our riding season.

Anderson, Bill - BMW K 1200 GT

Balkovetz, Shane - BMW F650GSP

Black, Dave - Yamaha FJR 1300

Biros, Peter - Ducati MTS 1100S

Carr, Dan - Honda St 1300

Clymer, Jim - BMW K 75

Evans, Mike and Matt - BMW sidecar

Flowers, Dave - KTM 990 Supermoto R

Fullerton, Bob - BMW K 1200GT

Halberstadt, Rich - Yamaha 650 Cruiser

Jorgenson, Rick - BMW R 1150RT

Judkins, Mike - BMW R1200RT

Khan, Mac - BMW K1200GT

Klein, Tom - Kawasaki ZX 14

Lazo, Jim - BMW K 1200S

MacDonald, Bill - BMW K 1300S

McKeown, James - BMW F 650GS

Moore, Brian - Kawasaki Vulcan 900

Ondov, Likhi - BMW F 800 GS

Phillips, Ron - BMW R1200GS

Pickerill, Mark - Triumph Tiger 955

Pollard, Erik - BMW F 800 GS

Preston, Dave - BMW K 1300 S

Sarkies, Michael - Suzuki TL1000R

Schilling, Van - BMW R 1200 GS

Wheeler, Scott - BMW R1100S

Willox, John - BMW K 1200GT

Williams, Claude - BMW R 1150 GS

The folks at the Elger Bay Café even sent a thank you card a week later!

VIII. Dinner at Cafe Veloce

We enjoy a fine time and great food at Café Veloce for our club monthly dinners. "Our" night is the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Most people arrive between 6:00 and 6:15pm, and by 6:30pm we have looked at each others bikes sufficiently to sit down to order food. We're in the "club" room in inclement weather and out on the deck when the sun shines.

This month's TEAM RIDE WEST CLUB DINNER will be on Tuesday, March 20th. Cafe Veloce is located in the Totem Lake mall area north of Kirkland and south of the Bothell/Woodinville I-405 exits.

Directions to Cafe Veloce:

Heading north on I-405 take exit 20B (NE 124th St) and then the ramp to Totem Lake Blvd. You will go through the traffic light to 120th Ave and Café Veloce is to the right just past the auto parts store.

Heading south on I-405 take exit 20 (NE 124th St) and turn left on NE 124th Street. You will go through two traffic lights and then take a left on Totem Lake Blvd. Into the right lane, and right at 120th Ave to the restaurant.

IX. The Ride West Difference

Say you're chatting with friends about the varied events and rides you're enjoying with Team Ride West. Say further that these friends ask you, "What makes Ride West different?" Here are concepts we would thank you for putting across - the "Magnificent Seven."

With Team Ride West, more rides, dinners, and events than anyone else.
More in-store sales, swap meets, seminars, classes, etc. than anyone else.
Ability to purchase insurance for your bike, home, and auto - all in-house.
More demo bikes than anyone else.
Encouragement to take longer demo rides than any one else.
Service Department capable and happy to work on any brand.
Wide assortment of used bikes of all brands.

X. Team Ride West Concept Ride Procedures

Team Ride West rides are referred to as "concept rides" because route and destination changes may evolve during the day depending on the wishes of those on the ride, the weather, and events of interest we may find along the way. The initial route directions will be sent out by e-mail a few days prior to the ride, but it is not required that everyone on the ride follow the same route or reach the same destination!

Here are the guidelines that we follow:

Arrive at the start of the ride (usually Ride West BMW) with a full tank of fuel and funds for fuel, food, and other expenses during the day.
Sign in and receive the printed instructions if needed. (Pause - if you do not have both a motorcycle endorsement on your license and insurance on your motorcycle, we ask that you wait until you do to ride with us.)
Be VERY careful as we turn out of the Ride West parking lot onto 16th. Cars can and sometimes do turn left from Lake City Way onto 16th - potentially at lethal speed.
Once on the ride, find a group to ride with of 3 to 5 bikes - based on friends, model, experience, style of riding, and/or desired pace.
Allow LOTS of space around you - front, side, and rear. Do not "tailgate."
At major intersections that involve a turn, make sure the person behind you (in your group) has seen the turn before you accelerate away.
RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE - always.
Pass on the left - well over the centerline. Do not pass on the right - EVER, under any circumstances barring dire emergency.
Use hand/foot signals as needed. There's no required guide to these.
On the way home, once past the final group fuel stop, it's every person for him/her self. You may drop off at your exit or street without the need to let the entire group know - but mentioning your intent at the final stop is a nice gesture.
Other groups of motorcycles? - pass them very carefully with lots of room.

For groups larger than 15 bikes or so, we will expect people to take some responsibility for following the route directions and/or others in the group, or for finding their own route. This rule is called "YOYOMF" for "You're On Your Own My Friend." Kudos to Bill Hucks for coming up with the phrase, although his version is just a bit more colorful.