On a happier note....

[Phil Tarman]

Maybe you've read my rants about my buddy's ongoing troubles with his BMW -- an R1150R (not the R1200R I thought it was). Final drive failure last July, 3 weeks after his extended warranty ran out (naturally), kept him off the bike until late October. He finally found an R1150R w/ ABS-specific final drive on EBay for $200. He got that put on, we had a nice 200 mile ride, and about a week later, the bike died.

This time a non-factory BMW service place only 90 miles away diagnosed it as a failure of his O2 sensor. Another $800. The bike ran fine for... 3 days.

David has a fairly analytical mind and after thinking about he ordered a battery. It came Friday, he replaced it yesterday, and it looks like his bike is fixed.

We were going to ride this afternoon, but 60+mph gusts and a brownout from blowing dirt put the kibosh on that.

Keep your fingers crossed that the Wunderbike (you wunder if it'll make it home) will allow him to be back on two wheels.

The downside to that will be that I'll be morally obligated to get my car back from him and park it in my garage, reducing my parking area by 2/3.

 

[DirtFlier]

Mostly I "wunder" why he stays loyal to the brand!

 

[Bear]

That is so sad because that marque was known for precision, reliability, and superior engineering. Pretty much all the German bikes were that way. I have to chuckle when I think of my old NSU Special Max--It had bearings in the brake pedal pivot! I owned that bike from 1958 to 1984 and always started on the second kick. There was a whole ritual there. You retard the spark, depress the compression release, press in the key, and kick.

 

[1TRAK]

I have a friend with a lower mileage GS 1200 and he loves it. We rode a couple weeks ago and it seems to be a great bike.

He's excited about riding it out to Colorado in June, last year he toughed out a ride from Michigan to Montana on a GS 800.

 

[Nicole]

I did Martin County to Jacksonville, FL on a Ninja 250 .....

 

[Madmax]

I've owned 4 BMW's to date. Two of them gave me some trouble. If your looking for a Beemer that will hold up, I recomend 1995 and older...

 

[Phil Tarman]

I did Martin County to Jacksonville, FL on a Ninja 250 .....

In 2003, Leon Begeman rode a 250cc Ninja in the Iron Butt Rally and finished in 12th postition. He had done Saddle Sores, BunBurners, BunBurner Golds and other IBA "extreme" rides on the little Ninja. His had been painted in John Deere yellow and green before the IBR. For that he painted it with black pick-up truck bed liner, bolted an Rubbermaid storage box to the pillion position after buying a custom rider-only Russell DayLong saddle, added one driving light and a hookup for his heated jacket. He rode 11,186 miles. If he had finished 1:59 minutes earlier, he would have been in 11th place. If he had finished one minute later, he would have been a DNF. Leon is one of my long-distance riding heroes.

 

[tawilke46]

My wife's brother rode from Owasso, Michigan to Los Angeles in 1959 on a 175cc Zundapp with a two cycle engine. He worked at a Zundapp shop in Owasso when he was in high school.
He later went to work for what was then a brand new airline called Continental Airlines in Los Angeles. He made captain at the ripe old age of 26. In fact he told me he could have been the pilot on the Continental Boeing 707 that flew me to Thailand in 1969. He was flying that route at that time.

 

[1TRAK]

In 2003, Leon Begeman rode a 250cc Ninja in the Iron Butt Rally and finished in 12th postition. He had done Saddle Sores, BunBurners, BunBurner Golds and other IBA "extreme" rides on the little Ninja. His had been painted in John Deere yellow and green before the IBR. For that he painted it with black pick-up truck bed liner, bolted an Rubbermaid storage box to the pillion position after buying a custom rider-only Russell DayLong saddle, added one driving light and a hookup for his heated jacket. He rode 11,186 miles. If he had finished 1:59 minutes earlier, he would have been in 11th place. If he had finished one minute later, he would have been a DNF. Leon is one of my long-distance riding heroes.

That's amazing Phil, what bike and body can do with the proper "spirit".

A friend and fellow West Mich ADV rider runs a Ninja 250. He's cut the fairing down, put dirt oriented tires on it, added ammo can side luggage, a rear rack and a few other neat items on it. Frank has gone on long rides with us, chased us down in the tight stuff, and run through a water crossing the rider on the Super T wouldn't do. He has that adventure "spirit" and is a blast to ride with. The little Ninja does every thing he asks of it and more, it reminds me of how we rode many years ago.

 

[Bear]

The 250 Ninja is an incredible bike that will do anything you ask it to do. It is not the size of the bike that counts, it's the size of the comittment.

 

[tawilke46]

I know there have been previous posts referring to "back in the old days in the '60's and 70's" when if you had a 350cc bike, THAT was a big motorcycle. A 650cc was a really big bike (BSA, Triumphs), and when Honda introduced the 750cc, well that was huge!!! Heck, I rode a 250cc Suzuki!

 

[Warren]

My wife's brother rode from Owasso, Michigan to Los Angeles in 1959 on a 175cc Zundapp with a two cycle engine. He worked at a Zundapp shop in Owasso when he was in high school.
He later went to work for what was then a brand new airline called Continental Airlines in Los Angeles. He made captain at the ripe old age of 26. In fact he told me he could have been the pilot on the Continental Boeing 707 that flew me to Thailand in 1969. He was flying that route at that time.

Before the days when everyone had liter plus bikes a lot of riders rode their small displacement bikes everwhere without much thought. It only seems like today's bikers think you need a big bike to ride cross country. Compared to what I rode on the 60's and 70's the NT is a custom touring machine.

By the way its spelled Owosso. I lived there from 1980-1993. Its a really nice all American city. Its claim to fame is that it is the home town of the American writer James Oliver Curwood. He built a writing studio that they call Curwood Castle. He wrote adventure books in the 1920's and was well known at the time.

http://www.shiawasseehistory.com/curwood.html

 

[tawilke46]

It is a small world. Never thought I would meet another person from Owosso (my typo mistake above). My wife lived in Owosso and graduated from High School there in 1963. She still has a lot of family living up there. The last time we were up there was in 1988 at my wife's 25th high school reunion.

 

[Warren]

It is a small world. Never thought I would meet another person from Owosso (my typo mistake above). My wife lived in Owosso and graduated from High School there in 1963. She still has a lot of family living up there. The last time we were up there was in 1988 at my wife's 25th high school reunion.

I would still live there if I my job had not relocated me to St.Louis then Dayton and now Nashville. My chrildren were very young at the time but still remember it fondly. I had hoped to grow old there. If it were not for the Michigan winters I would probably consider retiring there.

 

[elizilla]

It is a small world. Never thought I would meet another person from Owosso (my typo mistake above).

My mom lived there when she was a little girl. I remember her talking about it.

 

[suvcw04]

I would still live there if I my job had not relocated me to St.Louis then Dayton and now Nashville. My chrildren were very young at the time but still remember it fondly. I had hoped to grow old there. If it were not for the Michigan winters I would probably consider retiring there.

You can do it, Warren. I moved to Florida in 1984 and lived there until October of 2005. Hated every minute of it. I moved back to northeast Iowa, to my hometown, and never regretted it. Yes, there is snow and cold. But if you don't have to go out, who cares? The snow can be blown off the drive, the furnace negates the cold and we still walk the dog twice a day.......rain, shine, snow, ice or frigid air.

 

[JohnC]

My wife's brother rode from Owasso, Michigan to Los Angeles in 1959 on a 175cc Zundapp ...

He's a better man than I am, Charlie Brown. In my younger (and poorer) days, I did a round trip between Tallahassee, FL and Columbus, MS on a CB175.

 

[WVRider]

All the more I love my NT !