Motorcycle Picture of the Week - Rob

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Rob's 2009 BMW F800GS under Men on Motorcycles. There are no Bikes Only, Trikes Only or Women on Motorcycles this week. We need more pictures of women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

Motorcycles and ABS - Will ABS Be a Requirement Soon?

BMW pioneered the use of ABS on motorcycles. 24 years has gone by. How good is ABS on motorcycles now? Ron Lieback of UltimateMotorcycling.com published an article that has some answers. Here's an excerpt:

"When testing new motorcycles, judging the worthiness of a bike's Antilock Braking can become quite enjoyable. The ultimate ABS system will act almost undetectable, and the ultimate test of such a system involves the fun factor of trying to lock up the wheels at high speeds, both on dry and wet pavement. BMW was the first to master the art of undetectable ABS; take a ride on a S1000RR and you'll quickly understand. And there's a good reason why BMW is a leader in undetectable ABS - the Bavarian company has much experience honing its antilock braking system, considering it was the first manufacturer to offer ABS back in 1988 on its K models. And today, it's the only company to offer ABS as standard equipment across its entire motorcycle lineup." -- Ron Lieback, UltimateMotorcycling.com

Read more.

BMW Recalls 2012 S1000RR Motorcycles for Loose Connecting Rods

BMW is recalling certain model year 2012 S1000RR motorcycles, manufactured from September 1, 2011, through April 10, 2012.

Due to a manufacturing process error, the connecting rod bolts may become loose during high engine temperatures and/or high engine operating speeds which could result in catastrophic engine damage.

1414 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Motorcycle Picture of the Week - Tom L.

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Tom L.'s 2006 BMW R1200RT under Men on Motorcycles. There are no Bikes Only, Trikes Only, or Women on Motorcycles this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

Jalopy or style ?

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While we were all on the roads last summer, I met Fred from Blitz Motorcycles on the southwest coast. He was riding a strange sophisticated jalopy.... a bitza who can make you love BMW motorcycles...
Of course, i shot the bike... Today on Internet, you can discover a new short movie explaining everthing about the Blitz style.

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BMW May Introduce Scooters in 2013

BMW figures to introduce a couple of scooters to its lineup in 2013. An article in latimes.com by Susan Carpenter gives the details. Here's an excerpt:

"At this weekend's International Motorcycle Shows event in Long Beach, BMW is likely to confuse its image even further when its first scooters make their North American debut. Designed to capitalize on a trend in the world's largest scooter market -- Italy -- the C 600 Sport and C 650 GT are agile enough to cut through city traffic but large enough to also take a weekend trip." - Susan Carpenter

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Motorcycle Picture of the Week - William

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See William's 1970 BMW R75/5 SWB under Bikes Only. There are no Women on Motorcycles, Trikes Only, or Men on Motorcycles this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

Swapmeet at Monclar 2011

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Motorcycle Picture of the Week - Bruce Mills

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Bruce Mills's 1981 BMW R100RT under Bikes Only. There are no Women on Motorcycles, Men on Motorcycles, or Trikes Only this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

Two Women Riders Receive BMW Mileage Award

According to an article published in Clutch and Chrome, two female motorcyclists have received the million mile award from BMW. Here's an excerpt:

"Travelling epic distances is nothing new to BMW Motorrad adventurers, but while many ride tens, or even hundreds of thousands of miles, two American women have racked up a record few could even contemplate. Enter Ardys Kellerman and Voni Glaves, who are officially recognized as the first female BMW riders in North America to cover one million miles (1.6 million kilometers). The distance, which is more than 40 times the circumference of the globe, took decades to accumulate and between them, the women have used 31 different motorcycles." -- Digits

Read the complete article.

Good for Retro and Classic Motorcycles

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Text by Chris Hunter
During the austere and oppressive reign of General Franco—a remarkable 36 years from 1939 to 1975—foreign motorcycles were a rarity in Spain. So this BMW R75/5 must be a novelty on Iberian roads. It’s owned by Juan Ramón Ortega, a Madrileño with a longstanding passion for BMWs. He bought this 1972 model six years ago: “It’s one of three R75/5s that I found in Belgium and brought back in a small truck with some friends. Then we left the bikes gathering dust … the crisis came.” Two years ago, Ortega wheeled out his bike and started work. He cut down the rear subframe, fitted a Harley-Davidson rear fender and a Ford stoplight, and got out the paint gun. He also fitted a new hand made seat, Renthal bars and Firestone vintage-style tires. Racing-style number plates from England provided the finishing touch. But this custom is no bar-hopper: Ortega has just finished a huge motorcycle tour of Spain and Portugal, and it’s his daily driver too. For such a practical bike, it’s remarkably beautiful.

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Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Men on Motorcycles - Jim

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. This feature has been expanded to include Bikes Only and Trikes Only. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Jim with his 1983 BMW R 65 under Men on Motorcycles. There are no Women on Motorcycles, Trikes Only, or Bikes Only this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

Microcars

Microcars have something.... funny, like an almost childish, nevertheless clever and useful design.
By chance I met a few owners, among them Nick Poll, an englishman living in our region, specialist among other things od those microcars, Jap engine powered Morgan cyclecars and Brough-Superior. I met Alain Gardinier as well, journalist and microcars fan.

They were created just after WW2 mostly in Germany and England, essentially for saving raw material, rare at those times.

Exemples of Messerschmitt being restored by Nick Poll

Among the most attractive models, the Messerschmitt KR175/200 imagined and engineered by Fritz Fend specialist of cars for disabled or wounded people powered by muscle power. 40000 have been built between 1953 up to 1964.




KR stands for "Kabinenroller": Scooter with a cabin. Its aerodynamic shape and its cockpit reminds those of a plane and allowed it to break numerous records (22) one of which was the 24 hours on Hockenheim race track at an average speed of 103km/h.


The passenger is seated behind the pilote, the steering system is of direct transmission with a handle bar like a motorbike.




It's powered by a 2 strokes, 13hp Fichtel and Sachs one cylinder engine. On KR200 reverse was obtained by simply inverting rotational motion of the engine with the contactor.

Isetta or Bubblecar from Iso Rivolta (italian fridge maker) was built under licence in many countries, Germany (BMW), France (Velam) from 1952 and in Brasil under the name of Iso Romi.



Three wheeled, one doored as well the front is opening including steering column. 2 adults and a child may get onboard. It's an economic vehicle for short distances able to take place in an urban traffic.



BMW produced 17000 of them, Velam 7000, Iso 4000 between 1953 and 1962



The first period 2 strokes engine has been later on replaced by a one cylinder 300cc motorbike engine cooled by a turbine.




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in the '50s, manufacturers of microcars were numerous, they all disappeared in the splendor of the 60s

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