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GCBMWC e-NewsletterSeptember 1, 2009

September RidingNewsletter motto, “All the News We Can Find to Print”

Backup motto, “Carpe Viam” Seize the RoadMission Statement: We strive for 100% Accuracey.

Editor in Chief NeilJones@aol.com

We’re on the Web at GCBMWC.org

In this Issue:September 6 Breakfast & Ride..………....…………….…..……...page 2

BMW Rally listings………………………...………………….....……...page 3

September 12 Club Meeting ……………..…………………..……...page 4

Minutes of the last meeting…………….………….....………….....page 5-6

Merrill Glos writes…………….………...……………………..…….....page 10

Motolight Taillights…………….………...………………...……….....page 11

Twentieth Issue by New Editor!

This edition of the GCBMWC newsletter is packed full of interesting stuff. As usual it has been

carefully edited to eliminate all errors. Except one. Or two. Complaints may be registered using

the “I want to be an Editor” form, available from the Home Office in Kettering.

It’s September. Are we gonna ride? Neil Jones

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Club Breakfast and Ride9 am on Sunday Sept. 6th

Perkins in Harrison

Club VP Tom Raybuck sez: Meet at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery,(formerly Perkins Pancake House) in Harrison, Ohio at 9 am. The ridewill start at 10 and will include curvy roads in southeastern Indiana.Weather should be good. Bring a GPS to help find your way home.

You have questions? Call Tom Raybuck at (513) 759-0889

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September 1-4 Curve Cowboy Reunion Rapid City, SD (1200 mi. from Cin’ti) www.curvecowboyreunion.com/

September 4-7 Finger Lakes Rally Watkins Glen, NY (530 mi. from Cin’ti) www.fingerlakesBMW.org

Sept 11-13 Beemers in the Bluegrass Rally Near Frankfort, KY (100 mi. from Cin’ti)

October 2-4 Blue Ridge Rendezvous Stecoah, (near Robbinsville) NC Our Club’s annual Get-Away

10th Annual Curve CowboyReunionRamkota Hotel, Rapid City, is HQ forthe ultimate BMW Luxury Touringevent.. Great rides to Devil’s Tower inWY, Badlands NP in SD, Mt. Rush-more, Crazy Horse Memorial, Sturgiswithout Harleys This is a resort-basedweek of activity, complete with techsessions, seminars, vendors. Pre-registration required to stay in this ho-tel, see website.

Finger Lakes Rally35th annual, held at Hidden Val-ley Campground, Watkins GlenState Park. 3 nights camping,flea mkt, door prizes, vendors,terrific facilities.

Blue Ridge RendezvousOur own GCBMWC rally at theIron Horse M/C Lodge. Weliked this place so well last yearthat it was chosen again for thisOctober event.

September BMW Motorcycle Rallies

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September 12 Club Meeting to beheld at John Fischer’s

Hosts for the September 12 meeting are Barbara and John Fischer.

5109 Pebblevalley Dr.Cincinnati, OH 45252

(513) 385-1497

Not far from exit 33 (Colerain) on I-275. If you have never been to a clubmeeting, this is a good one to attend. If you are planning to join GCBMWC,you have to attend 2 club events and pay a $15 fee ($18 for a couple.). Afterthat its just one big party!

Bring a veggie or a dessert to share, or just show up. All are welcome. Johnusually has an interesting beer or two.

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Minutes of the GCBMWC Meeting

August 15, 2009

Held at the Loveland home of

George Nyktas and Mary Tholking

The meeting was called to order by Bob Ulrich at 8:35 PM. The following members werepresent: Mary & Henry Pierce, Larry Lovejoy, Gail Deatherage, Barbara & John Fischer, Bob& Gail Ulrich, George Nyktas, Mary Tholking, Bill Berry, Tom Raybuck, Joe & Chris Berry,Tom and Cheryl Ritter, Jeff Lemkuhl, Allan and Debbie Smith, Bill & Shelia Wright, JimmySmith, Marsha O’Connor and Neil Jones.

Guests present were Linda and Joe DeLuca.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read by the Club Secretary and approved by voice vote.

Debbie Smith reported that the Club treasury contains $1,830.59, reflecting an $18 increasesince the prior meeting. The report was approved as presented.

Special recognition was given to Henry Pierce on his 80th birthday. He makes 80 look easy.

Old Business There was a discussion of the sites for upcoming club meetings. The Septem-ber 12 meeting will be at the home of John & Barbara Fischer. In October our club gathers atthe Iron Horse M/C campground on Oct. 2-4, plus the regular meeting at the Smith’s nearRoss, Ohio. In November we meet at Raybuck’s and by straw poll we chose December 12 forthe Holiday Party at the Germania Society. Bill Wright and Tom Ritter suggested phoning toinvite past members and friends to help defray the fixed cost for renting the facility.

A brief discussion of the national rallies, with 9,000 attending the MOA and 1,500 at the RA.

Revisions to the wording of Club By-Laws are being studied by Tom Raybuck and Tom Ritter.Suggestions should be directed to them. Other clubs have used regular and associate member-ships to distinguish between BMW owners and others. Also to be decided is our club’s posi-tion on bringing firearms to club events. Bill Wright said that according to State law, con-cealed carry permit holders are forbidden to bring firearms to a place where alcohol is beingserved.

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Neil Jones reported on a recent visit to Henry’s Restaurant in West Jefferson, and a possi-ble destination for a club ride. Hours are 6:30 am to 8 PM. Pies are $2.25 per slice.

Tom Raybuck reported on the visit from the Battle Creek BMW club and thanked theseveral club members who participated. Plans for the 2010 event will include a bigwheel demolition derby.

Neil Jones presented an award to Bob Ulrich for correctly identifying an unusual licenseplate in a Newsletter contest. Bob received a personally autographed photo from theGovernor of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

New Members After heated debate, a majority of members present voted to accept Joeand Linda DeLuca as new members, in spite of his past behavior and associations.

New Business Upcoming BMW events include Beemers in the Bluegrass and the Hoo-sier Beemer rallies. Youngstown BMW club will host their Unrally in Salem, Ohio.

George Nyktas reported that he has renewed our club memberships with MOA and RA,plus our charter with the State of Ohio. Members voted to reimburse George for the $50outlay.

Announcements Henry Pierce brought a supply of GCBMWC pins, which were turnedover to Debbie Smith for safekeeping and distribution.

At national rallies in July, our club logo was shown to those familiar with BMW NAspecifications, and ours was found to be compliant. Tom Raybuck will check on havingclub t-shirts made.

Adjournment A motion for adjournment met with widespread approval at 9:20 PM.

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Members brought a fine selection of pies, crisps and cobblers in honor of Henry Pierce.One pie had a BMW roundel on the crust, another had Henry’s initials in chocolate.George Nyktas grilled pork tenderloin, Mary made a diced watermelon & onion saladwhich surprised many. Newest member Joe DeLuca won the drawing and acted sur-prised about it.

Minutes recorded by Neil Jones

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Anatomy of a High-Side captured by a photographer at Deal’s Gap.

1. The BMW K bike has left the pavement.

2. Bike goes deeper into the rough.

3. Passenger is bounced off the seat.4. Bike seems to be coming out of the rough.

5. Front tire is back on the pavement. Things are looking up.

6. Bad news. The rear tire is sliding in the gravel.

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7. The classic high side caught in mid-airaction. Driver is holding the grips,passenger is getting thrown off. Aftertaking this picture, the photographerran to help. The passenger suffered aslight concussion, but the bike wasrideable.

8. After picking things up, they got backon the K 1200, showing right side damagehere.

9. With a final wave of thanks to the pho-tographer these two were able to resumetheir travels.

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Who changes your oil?

Neil Jones sez, “I do my own oil changes, every 5000 miles, using Valvoline motorcycle-specific20w50. Sometimes I add a quart of Valvoline synthetic to create my own synthetic blend.”

Jeff Lemkuhl sez, “You can get Bosch oil filters at Autozone that work on the RT.”

Steve Thoerner sez, “Oil? Are we supposed to change it?”

In the interest of Science, the Newsletter has undertaken a survey of a sample of members re-garding their procedures for changing oil of their bikes.

**Miami Cycle Works

Who does it?Fre-

quency Type of oil Filter source

Bill Wright Self 3-4K Castrol reg Dealer or MCW**Bob Ulrich Self 3K BMW brand Dealer or MCWJim Smith Triumph Self 6K Synthetic Auto Zone or dealerBill Berry Self 2.5K* Castrol reg Re-psyche or MCW *Filter every 5K

Larry Lovejoy MCW 3.5-6K Reg. MCWGeorge Nyktas Self 6K Castrol 4T Bob's BMWNeil Jones Self 5K Valvoline MCW

Synthetic Vs. Mineral Oil—one person’s opinion

The only basic difference between synthetic oil and mineral oil, apart from its manufacture and ori-gin, is the molecular and particulate structure of both the lubricants. Synthetic oil being a perfectedproduct, has a very even and uniform structuring of molecules and particulates. Mineral oil containsuneven and less uniform molecules as compared to synthetic oil. When the piston block is new it isadvisable to use mineral oil. The uneven molecular structure of mineral oil mates the uneven sur-faces of the components with each other, making the surfaces even and smooth . This is useful, asthe young components of the engine get into shape and adapt to the mechanism. As the enginegrows older, the components, get into shape and start running swiftly without any friction. This iswhere one should start using synthetic oil. This oil basically keeps the engine in shape and helps in-crease the durability of the engine.

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Merrill Glos Writes about the Horizons Unlimited MeetingAt IronHorse Motorcycle Lodge, August 20th to August 23, 2009

This was my fifth HU meeting at the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge, sixth if you include the one thatNeil and I attended in Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico in 2006. The NC meeting is evolving from what oncemight have appeared as a GS rally, into a V-Strom rally. Nine V-Stroms this year, (seven 650’s) with alike number GS’s. (Should’ve been there Bill)

Two presentations on doing the “haul road” to Deadhorse, Friday’s trip by Josef (with an ‘f’) who rodeALL* the roads in Alaska, paved and gravel, on his 650 V-Strom. (*with the exception of a few on is-lands and those not accessible from the mainland.) Josef from Florida, is a retired Mercedes Benz me-chanic (post warrantee work) and had a very laid back presentation. I enjoyed it. Josef’s Saturdaynight show was doing “49 states”…. too laid back. Josef had rigged an Aprilla choke lever and cablenear his left grip so that he could work his throttle with his left hand. Cool.

Dave, the other Alaska presenter bought a new R1200 GS Adventure, (to add to his stable of 7 otherbikes), just for this trip to Deadhorse. (Dave had owned MotoAdventures in Costa Rica and started anadventure touring operation in Lima Peru, so he was a seasoned off roader).

There was a real contrast in the personalities of the two…. Dave planned to the extreme and was on aseemingly unlimited budget; Josef just showed up and rode. Both riders made the trip without incident.Other presentations were Denis and Lynda’s F650 BMW rental tour of South Africa and my returnfrom Ushuaia. Saturday, I was asked to sit on a panel with Grant (founder of HU) and field questionson border crossings. www.horizonsunlimited.com

I received a big compliment from Tom, from Florida, who told me that my presentation and tech ses-sion on border crossings, last year, gave him the confidence to ride his KLR to Costa Rica and back.Moi?

I left home noon on Thursday and dodged thunderstorms all the way to Sweetwater, TN, getting cooledby truck spray when I-75 was wet. When I reached the Cherohala Skyway, it dumped. It was a coolwet and dark ride into the clouds on the way to Robbinsville. I spotted a pair of wild boar at the upperelevations on the Skyway. I surprised them grazing on the berm; they hustled back into the brush.I’d guess that 70% of the attendees were repeaters. Even as a loner, I enjoy the company of like mindedtravelers, especially when I can contribute by easing the apprehensions of beginner world travelers.

Other news: my friend Hubert, (U-Bear) is in Kyrgyzstan. His photos and one line descriptions bringthe world to life in a much needed friendly way. I urge you to visit his web site atwww.thetimelessride.com His photos will amaze you.

Diane and I are heading west on a road trip to Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the “Z”. This was to

be the inaugural trip for our ‘new’ sports car in the spring of ’06. It’s now possible.

merrill

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Motolights to IntroduceBrighter Taillight System

Motolights is a woman-owned Cincinnati businesswhich has been making high-quality riding lightsfor several years. The firm is poised to introducea new line of bright rear lights.

I asked them for info for the newsletter but receivednone. I’m guessing either they were too busy or this is a super-secret project. Or they don’tlike me. In any case these pics above were lifted from their website. We will hear morelater.

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MonthSeptember…………………….October………………………..November……………………..December……………………..

HostsJohn & Barbara FischerAllan & Debbie SmithTom & Joni RaybuckGermania Society

GCBMWC Meeting Schedule

Thank you to all who have opened their homes to host a meeting!

GCBMWC Officers

President - Bob Ulrich RUlrich551@Ameritech.netVP—Tom Raybuck BucksinOhio@aol.comTreasurer—Debbie Smith DASBMW@zoomtown.netSecretary—Neil Jones NeilJones@aol.com

* * * * * * * * *Web Master— Mike LaBar LaBrew@gmail.com