We have categorized the things that have happened to each bike in the table below. You will find supporting text below the table if there is more detail for the item.

Over the course of the 2002-2003 winter Jim spent a bit of time working on the bikes adding a few things and repairing others. Verna also spent some time designing and making as well as modifying existing bags to help organize all the items that carry.

She also made new covers for the bikes using lighter fabric that, when packed, is a much smaller size. We have found that keeping the bikes covered keeps prying hands off of things. While this certainly is no guarantee that someone will not attempt to steal something on the bikes is does make any attempt much more obvious. We have also found that the bikes just don’t appear as interesting when they are covered and as a result the do not generate as much curiosity in people.

In the course of our travels in 2003 we put 10,000 miles on the bikes. When this is added to the 56,000 miles we have ridden before this year we have done 66,000 miles in 45 months of traveling.

ITEM Verna Jim Installed PIAA Lights (Spain) March February Installed New Mounting Rack for Radio & Top Boxes (Spain)   March Installed New Works Shock Absorbers (Spain) March February Changed Engine Oil and Filter(Spain) March March Installed New Mounting Bracket For GPS(Spain) March   Made and Installed New Mounting Bracket for New Radio(Spain) March   Installed Odyssey Battery(Spain) March March Installed Stainless Steel Brake Lines(Spain) March March Installed Lower Rider Foot Pegs and Gear Shift Lever (Spain) March March 48,000 Mile Service (Austria) July July Rear Stainless Steel Brake Line Rubbing Swing Arm July July Replaced defective Crown Wheel Bearing and Oil Seal in Real Wheel Drive (Czech Republic) July (W)   Replaced Stripped Speedometer Drive Gears (Germany)   August

(W) = Warranty

January Through March Activities:

• We installed PIAA 510 lights because the few times we have been out at night proved to us that we needed more illumination. This called for the installation of a bar on which the lights could be mounted and required that our Fiamm horns be remounted as well.
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• We installed a new mounting plate for Jim’s Radio & Top Boxes of both bikes.
• New shocks (front and rear) from Works Performance were installed on each bike. The original shock absorbers were replaced after 43,729 miles. We had considered installing Ohlins shocks but were unable to get anyone involved with the production or sale of Ohlins shocks to talk to us about spring rates that would be appropriate for our use, etc., etc.
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  This left us a bit unsatisfied about Ohlins shocks ability to service their customers properly. We found the people at Works Performance to be very open in discussions about building shocks that would meet our specific needs. So, we had them make up two sets for us. They suggested springs that would work well given the loads that we carry as well as considering our individual weight in the equation.
  
  Ultimately we decided to keep the bikes the same - same springs installed on the shocks for each bike as well as the basic shock. The difference between the bikes is in the rebound dampening adjustment settings. Each bike is different - this has worked very well to allow for the differences in our individual weights as well as the difference in weight each bike is carrying.
  
  Based on our use of the shocks we are very happy with the springs that were recommended and installed as well as the overall handling improvements the shocks have made. We are both impressed at how easy it has been to get the shocks “dialed in” so that each bike handles very well even thought the weight loads they are carrying are significantly different.
  
  But, having said all these nice words, we have discovered that the spring on the rear shock of Jim’s bike is just not strong enough to handle the load of his bike when on extremely rough roads, like those we encountered in Romania. Now we will need to get a stiffer spring. It should also be noted that the rebound dampening adjustment on the rear shock of both bikes is turned up as far as it will go. This implies that the spring on Verna’s bike probably should be upgraded as well.
  
  The front shocks appear to be doing well. The front shock on Jim's bike has had the rebound dampening turned up about three quarters of a turn more than the setting it arrived with. The spring rate for the front shocks appears to be OK on both bikes.
• Engine Oil and Filter changed on each bike because the last service was performed in September of 2002 and the bikes have been out of service for all the work that was done to them - they sat for 5 months.
   
• The box that holds Jim’s radio equipment and the recharger for our AA/AAA batteries broke on the ride from Germany to Spain last fall. We were able to get the box repaired but needed to find a better way to mount the box so the same problem does not happen again. We installed a mounting plate sold by Salt Lake BMW that attaches to the rack on the bike where the passenger seat normally sits. The radio box was attached to the plate with the top box attached to the top of the radio box as it was previously.
   
• We have not decided which modification we like best - the new shocks or the stainless steel brake lines. Given the excellent braking characteristics of the GS with the standard flexible brake lines we were not sure that the stainless steel brake lines would be worth the expense. Well, it turns out that it was money well spent. Previously Jim had to use his rear brake a lot to bring the bike down from speed but now he is able to reduce his speed very quickly using only the front brake. A great safety improvement.
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• The lower footpegs and gear shift lever have also proved to be a worthwhile improvement. The pegs for the rider are lower and have also been moved slightly forward which provides a more comfortable position - the knees are not as bent. This also makes riding standing on the foot pegs much easier and works especially well while shifting gears when standing. Tring to shift with the standard pegs and shift lever was never easy to do, no matter how we adjusted the shift lever. The new shift lever is extended just enough from the bike to make the difference.

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48,000 Mile Service:

While we were in Romania we telephoned BMW Wien Donaustadt, Rautenweg 4-6, A-1220 Vienna, Austria, to make an appointment to have the bikes serviced. Jim spoke with Christian Baumgärtner, Leiter Werkstätte Motorrad, at +43 1 259 3546 and set up the appointment. When the day of the appointment came we arrived at the dealer and Christian took very good care of us. Because Jim had completely cleaned the K&N air and fuel filters during the winter months and installed new brake fluid when he installed the stain lees steel brake lines there was not a lot to do other than change the oils and tune up the engine. This means that the gas tanks did not have to be removed from the bikes which saves the mechanics lots of work and it also saves us having to repair or undo many of the things the mechanics do when they reinstall the tanks.

We picked the bikes up the next day and found them to cleaner than they had been for many months - they washed them! This is the first time the bikes have been returned to us after service without Jim having to repair something. Very nice! Thanks to Christian and his associates at BMW Wien for a job well done.

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Rear Stainless Steel Brake Line Rubbing Swing Arm:

When we picked up the bikes after the 48,000 mile service, Christian Baumgärtner, Leiter Werkstätte Motorrad, pointed out a problem where the stainless steel brake line for the rear brake had been rubbing the swing arm. It appears that there is a problem with the stainless steel brake lines that have been manufactured and are being used on BMW motorbikes. The lines are a bit too long and as a result, when the swing arm moves up and down they rub. Jim solved the problem by stopping by a local hardware store near our hotel and purchasing a piece of rubber hose which he then cut to appropriate lengths for use on each of our bikes and wrapped the stainless steel brake line with the hose to protect the hose and the swing arm. Changing this hose as it wears will become a way of life as it will wear out over time - ugh!

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Crown Wheel Bearing Failure:

Equipment failures continue to plague our journey. This time a repeat failure of the Crown Wheel Bearing in the final drive of Verna’s bike. Like the last time this happened in April of 2002 while we were on the island of Corsica, we had no advance warning. The bike had been serviced two weeks prior and there was no indication of a problem at that time.

OUr waranty on our bikes expired in May, 2003. We had to fight with BMW AG in Munich to get them to cover the cost of the repair. It seems that someone in France BMW entered the year of the failure last year as having happened in April of 2001 - and BMW will only guarantee a repair for two years. Even though Jim and the Service manager, Mr. Rastislav Frešo, at AuTec Group, Jeremiášova 5, CZ-155 )) Praha 5, were able to confirm with the service manager in Ajaccio, Corsica, that the repair had been performed in April, 2002, Mr. Walraf, BMW AG, Munich, Germany would not authorized the repair unless he had a copy (fax OK) of the repair work order showing the date as being 2002.

No problem, just have the shop in Ajaccio fax a copy, right? If only life were that simple. While the service manager in Ajaccio told us on the phone that he found the original invoice and that he would fax a copy to Prague a copy never arrived in Prague while we were there.

After much discussion with Mr. Walraf in Munich he finally agreed that BMW AG would authorized the repair and we would not have to pay for it. And, he wanted us to know that he was doing this only because we were such good BMW customers. Why on earth would he not do it because it was the correct thing to do? We will never understand the European mind set when it comes to doing warranty repairs. On many occasions where we have had to have work performed as part of our warranty we have had to argue with people about who should pay. We do not think that BMW AG understands what customer service is all about and they sure do not communicate with their dealers - oh wait, perhaps they do. Perhaps the dealers are just doing what they are told?

Given this most recent failure and the hours we have had to spend getting BMW to do what is right we are giving serious thought to selling these bikes and purchasing something that might be reliable - goodness knows that we have no confidence in these bikes remaining operational given their track record and neither of us is willing to go to Africa with them - how on earth would we have been able to deal with a failure of this nature somewhere in the bush?

Anyone have any suggestions? Contact Jim with your ideas and suggestions. Remember that Verna is inseam challenged - that is, she is short and needs a low seat height in order to get her feet on the ground when stopped. Any and all help appreciated.

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