Yesterday was hot in the city with a high of 93 degrees it made the hot air blasting into the winglet windows of the 1968 BMW 2002 seem like a hair drier. Keeping an eye on the road I would glance down to the temperature gauge on the cluster to monitor the the severity of stop and go traffic…  but once on the freeway with the speedometer at a steady 55 MPH the Stuka seemed to float with no care in the world. A calm took over the engine and the little car with 45 years of driving pleasure lived up to its name once again.

Going to Denver is always a production, I25 is notorious for having bad traffic and even worse drivers, accident at every major on and off ramp plague the morning commute during the week… but on the weekend it is a sea of cars with drivers that don’t care if you are in your collector car as they cut in front, wiz by you as they champion their right given lane even if that lane is stopping… they are winners at getting in front of you… just to change back after they feel that the other lane is better suited to their speed.

Once in denver it does calm down, and the little shops and bookstores are a cool little spot on Broadway for an afternoon adventure to unfold. I pull into a street parking space and before I am out of the car I get my first question.. “What Year is THAT!?” A common question I hear almost everywhere I go… I tell them it is a 1968 2002… and an instant confusing look takes over their face and so i have to explain the 2002 is the model.

Good food, good conversation, and a great group of friends to discuss what friends discuss while appreciating the time shared. Music, art and work, a blender of topics that all seem to connect back to the fact that we get each other, we are friends and life right now is easy. An easy feeling that the rest of the week calls out for, but never quite gets due to work schedules and errands.

After our day in Denver I come back to the little car and check to make sure my time on the parking meter is good… it is. I have 8 minutes left, but why do I have a ticket on my window? A closer look describes the reason… my plate does not have a month tag… and I have a 5 year collector plate and it is going to expire in September… I look at the ticket and decide it is not worth my time nor effort to explain that I never received a month tag and being new to the area I thought that this was a standard on all 5 year collector plates… I was wrong.  I will however use this experience to remind myself the next time I want to go to Denver to just  head over to Louisville and save my money for better things like old tube amps and brisket at “LuLu’s”.

The drive home was nice… the sun was setting and I was feeling the blister on my hand from the steering wheel (with no power assist, makes you appreciate power steering) and the soreness in my legs from the “pedal dance” over the stop and go day driving.  But all in all a great Saturday drive with good friend and fun memories.

It is that time of year again when the small towns surrounding Denver close off the streets, gather the local business owners, growers and makers and group them into one big blob of dis-function… insurance, honey and time share get-aways all in small tents that provide no real shade and have people walking by quickly to avoid the sales pitch… and the sample of free honey gets passed up again. (You would think the planners would put the honey next to the jelly and the insurance next to the attorney OR the bounce house…. giggle giggle!)

Every year my wife and I go to Louisville on Saturday morning to enjoy the fresh cool air. We ride our BMW R50 over on the farm roads and park in the center of town. I like to get a cup of coffee and she likes to have a crepe. We walk down the street and see if there is anything that catches our eye or discuss buying fresh fruit or veggies to add to our dinner meal. Most of the time we make it quickly through the booths and move to a more air conditioned, indoor, with a bar…  establishment.  Most of the time the people know our names and we feel quite welcome. We order our food and drink and sit back for the discussions to follow.

I always recommend going to the small town USA markets… a connection to the community, the neighbors that you see everyday, your friends and the the very people who thrive when their goods are sold. Like a way to say to the global economy… “Hey Walmart! You might beat the prices but you can’t beat real people and the goods!”  These are the people that they produce high quality goods for a very small and appreciative group of the community… check a market out one weekend, you won’t be disappointed when you meet a new friend and find a preserve for your toast on sunday.

Vehicle preparation:

Tires, battery, and oil! Oh My!

It sounds like common sense but how many time have you seen a car or van off on the side of the road and the hood is open. Now I try to stop and help if I am just commuting to work or out and about running errands and the person I stop to help says “My radiator coolant is low” or “My oil light came on a while back…” I think the easiest way to have a bit of piece of mind is to check all the fluids, get the air to the right pressure in the tires (accounting for the added weight of luggage and supplies), while filling and checking the tires look for signs of wear, tread depth, etc. Take a  look at the belts for wear or fraying, and check and clean the battery. Change your wiper blades and look for items that may need to be cleaned (Mirrors, rear glass, headlamps). Simple and easy to do, so Vehicle preparation is one of the main topics of preparing for a road trip.

Roads, high traffic and weather check:

Construction, floods and bad drivers…

Road repair is a summertime nightmare… good weather means the best time to repair, resurface or widen the roads that have been beaten up all winter. Go on line and get the latest road reports for the states you plan on traveling. Check the weather for potential bad weather days and forecasts. Spring and summer storms move fast and when they do hit, roads can be a mess cause lengthy delays and unplanned stops. It has been said a million times… when the holiday weekends hit the number of drivers make it feel like the 300 cars in front of you are going to the same destination you are but with a snails pace… be patient, travel on the off peak days, take the more untraveled scenic route.

Supplies and maps:

Bullets, Beans and Band-aids!

Now I know it isn’t a military movement for your road trip, but go prepared. A few tools, some food and water and a first aid kit are not to hard to add to the trunk or back seat in a small backpack. This definitely adds to the prep time by gathering all the basic stuff, but it is a life saver in the unlikely and unlucky event that something does happen on the road. Carry an extra bottle of motor oil, have some spare bulbs for your tail/turn lights and maybe even a belt for the water pump and alternator.  A one hour fix on the side of a deserted road is definitely better than waiting for a tow to the next town that might not even have the parts. Have a few simple maps printed out of your planned route, and actually look at them. the GPS talking to you is good, but you are better at driving safely if you already know where you are going.

Prepare yourself

Music, sleep and road fatigue…

Get lots of sleep before heading out on a long road trip, take breaks often and stretch. Stay hydrated and have fun… it is a road trip after all… the destination is there but the journey can sometimes be half the fun. Good music, good conversation and a feeling of the open road is a magical time. Stay aware of your driving position. Good posture ensures your alert and staying comfortable.
What is some of your items you check or carry when going on a road trip? Having any tips from your experiences? Please share!

My very first few days of riding were not the way I had envisioned myself riding off into the sunset on my ‘new to me’ BMW. The R50 has a very easy clutch to engage but sometimes my hand would let the lever go a bit too fast and the front wheel would rise up and my hands would grip tight as the motorcycle would rapidly accelerate with a POP. Since I had just learned to ride on a very small Kawasaki about two weeks before I had the R50 running, the hand and gas combination had been a bit of a challenge for me.

One day while riding I notice the “slip” of the transmission, I knew I was in gear but it felt as if the clutch was not engaging. I had been riding now for about 5 weeks and had felt comfortable but I knew I would have to figure something out very soon. Coming back from lunch and first gear would not even allow me to roll. I ended up pushing my scooter about 2 blocks off the main road and back to my work. In the hot sun with my helmet and jacket on I was drenched in sweat.

My new Allstate insurance paid for itself as the tow truck back to my house was covered. That night I started immediately and had the transmission off and looking at the clutch plate.

Everything looked fine, but I went ahead (since I was there) and ordered all new clutch plate, clutch plate spring, friction plate and 6 hex bolts to upgrade to the old slot screws. The next weekend, once my parts arrived, I put it all back together, but to my surprise, the scooter still would not go… I removed the transmission and tested in first gear to verify operation of the final drive and check the slinger area.

Bingo! The woodruff key had been sheared off and the castle nut had not been torqued to the correct foot pounds.

This is a tapered fitting and required I also purchase a special castle nut socket. Purchasing a new castle nut and woodruff key I waited.

Reassembly was fast, I could feel the excitement in the air that summer night as I put the R50 all back together. Leaving no bolt, washer, screw and connection checked and rechecked for correct assembly.

That night I did a test ride and perfection, a new clutch and correctly assembled final drive shaft. My experience was sometimes frustrating, but at the end of the day, with the ‘scooter’ back on the road, I felt a good sense of accomplishment.

Many people think that they must have some level of skill before embarking on an adventure (restoration) with an old car or motorcycle.  Having my own adventure with a 1968 BMW 2002 and a 1956 BMW R50 in my life time I don’t think that a high level of mechanical skill is required for the simple tasks. But, I do think there is one thing that is required to go forward into the garage and find peace working on your dream ride…

It is having the correct tools! I have seen the best mechanics turn into crazed tool tossers when the tool they are using just doesn’t “do the trick” like the correct tool would have. (Also using the correct tool can keep the user from hurting oneself. Since the incorrect tool can have disastrous out comes… knuckle mashing, elbow splitting and finger pinching painful reminders that the “I shouldn’t use this tool” thought right before you did, was certainly  a recall from past experiences AND the correct answer).

Knowing what tools you use, how to use them correctly, the correct size, quality, cleanliness of the tool, and the extra adapters that make the job easier are all things to consider when you finally decide to start a restoration project. That being said, when you do use the correct tool you find a peaceful connection to the project. It makes me feel like I am part of the history of a well designed, well maintained, and appreciated motorcycle that I hope to have a chance at riding and pass on in another 45 years. (OK… if you really know me, you know I would never pass the “Scooter” on to anyone).

A well organized, clean, and trash free environment to work in is key and is rarely found in my garage… so I try to clean up before and clean up after. I try to wipe down all my tools and clean with WD40 every now and then… I try to place old parts in the parts bin with a mark in sharpie of the date it was removed (10/23/13), what model (R50), and a basic reason of why it came off (broken) and/or why it was replaced (better functioning used one) on a ribbon of masking tape.  I take plastic baggies with nuts, bolts and washers and do the same thing. All this make me think one day I will go back and have a treasure trove of parts that will bring excitement to my eyes…. but I really know when I am looking for a quick fix I will have a junk bin, which of course will have nothing close to what I need.

But I did say “try” in that last paragraph… it happens about 50% of the time, which I feel is better than nothing.

Opening up the front cover to the R50 allows a tight and uncomfortable access to the regulator/relay for charging the battery, timing components, generator and a small wiring harness. All of these items in this cover are part of the electrical and timing of the motorcycle. Plain and simple I keep my fingers off this stuff… I use a digital multi-meter to measure the voltages and check relay operation with my eyes and ears, I use a few Q-Tips to clean off dirt and grime with isopropyl alcohol and try to keep any and all tools away from the timing cap and rotating advance.

My regulator is the Item of my concern this winter and will revisit this component repair/replace in a later post.  This post is the joy using the correct tool for the job… it really makes sense then, that BMW has provided a tool tray/roll with the required tools to conduct the right level of repair/maintenance for every vehicle produced (that I have owned).

The one thing I always do when looking to buy a used BMW is to ask to see the tool kit… if it is gone, I ask for it, if the owner does not have the tools, I don’t buy the used BMW. Just that simple… it is not because I am a cheapy… and don’t want to buy another replacement set… what I am really doing is asking to see if the tools were ever used in the weekly/monthly/yearly maintenance of the engine.

No tools, then someone didn’t care enough to do the basic care. (Sure someone can say …. “Well I took it in to my favorite shop, and they did the work!” Great! Let’s see the receipts… or “sure… they must be Master BMW technicians?” Jiffy Lube?  I think not…and really… the older the BMW car or motorcycle the less likely someone was REALLY taking care of it by spending money at a repair shop… therefore at least looking at the condition of the tools can provide a small sense if the owner cared. (Perfect and clean = watch out! OR oily with grease and worn surfaces = great, someone looked at the level of the oil in the rear drive!)

So, be bold… open your tool box, look at the owners manual, find a repair book or general maintenance book on your favorite web site, change your oil, replace a bulb, see what it is to work on an old classic and turn a wrench on it. The wrench you turn will just maybe make you feel a connection to history, a history you are continuing to preserve for the future.

So, as you may know if you have followed me this month (thank you by the way) I had my Halloween party on the 25th!   My time spent cleaning, decorating and preparing food was well received and made for a nice evening with my wife and my friends. We always have a certain theme for our Halloween Party and this year was “be your favorite dead person”.

So, the costume ranged from “the skeleton” version of the Marlboro Man, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn to a pimp and his Ho, a taxi driver and a witch … just goes to show you the range of a costume party can not be contained.

I took a few pre-party photos to share with my mom (who follows my blog with great input and her support keeps me adding to my crazy blog!).

unfortunately, the photos don’t do the decorations justice at all… the whole room was full and everywhere you looked it was a Halloween delight!

The games are always the most important to keep your guests entertained and the suggestion of a prize keeps them from gabbing about the latest gossip and truly focused on getting the right answer… even if it is listening to the other couples talk about what their answers are, just so they have some well educated guess…

The questions this year were mostly about famous people, I also made sure that each persons death date was said for added trivia…. below are a few…

     1. In 1931, who played the title role in the original film version of Dracula?

    2. Who played Dr. Sam Loomis, the child psychologist who hunted Michael Myers in four of the first five Halloween movies?

    3. Often overshadowed by Halloween and All Saints’ Day, the two days preceding it, what is the solemn feast day of Roman Catholics commemorating those who have died and are now in Purgatory?

     4. What is the holiday in Mexico celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in which people pray for and remember friends and family who have died and decorate the graves of the deceased with sugar skulls and marigolds?

     5. Vincent Price died 20 years ago today (Death Date: Oct 25, 1993). What was the last movie in which he was filmed? Bonus: What was his last released film?

     6. Who holds the title of the first posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards’ history? Hint: It was the 1956 Academy Awards and the film was released in 1955.

      Bonus: Name the film?

     7. Vince Guaraldi, who composed the music for 17 Peanuts television specials, died on February 6, 1976, earlier that afternoon he had finished recording the soundtrack for what Peanuts television special?

      A.) A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

      B.) It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown

      C.) A Charlie Brown Valentine

       8. Audrey Hepburn (Death Date: January 20, 1993) had been nominated for five Academy Awards for acting but won only once, what was the name of the film for which she won her only acting Oscar?

     A.) Breakfast at Tiffany’s

     B.) Sabrina

    C.) Roman Holiday

9. Tom Everhart is the only artist with rights to create artwork featuring the characters of which famous cartoonist who died on February 12, 2000?

Bonus: What was the cartoonist’s nickname?

10. With earnings of about $160 million, who is this year’s top-earning dead celebrity?

     A.) Elvis Presley   (death date: August 16, 1977)

     B.) Marilyn Monroe (death date: August 5, 1962)

     C.) Michael Jackson (death date: June 25, 2009)

     D.) Elizabeth Taylor (death date: March 23, 2011)

11. Ole Kirk Christiansen (death date: March 11, 1958) was the inventor of the Lego bricks. What do the Danish words “leg godt“ mean in English?

How did you do? Get them all? The average was 6 right… and the couple that got 7 right  won two movie tickets! runner up a $15 gift card to a coffee store…

I was going to hold off giving away the answers until my next post, but thought that would just be a bit mean … so here you go! Answers below:

1. Ans.: Bela Lugosi (Death date August 16, 1956)

2.     Ans.: Donald Pleasence (Death date: February 2, 1995)

3. Ans.: All Souls’ Day

4. Ans.: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

5.  Ans.: Edward Scissorhands

     Bonus: The Princess and the Cobbler (AKA: The Thief and the Cobbler, AKA: Arabian Knight)   

6.  Ans.: James Dean (Death Date: September 30, 1955)

      Bonus: East of Eden

7.  Ans.: B.) It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown

8.   Ans.: C.) Roman Holiday

9. Ans.: Charles Schulz

Bonus Question Ans.: Sparky

10. Ans.: C.) Michael Jackson

11. Ans.: Play well

Please feel free to comment with your right answers!

I will be posting my last Halloween themed post right after Halloween, and I will be sure to post photos of the Out side decorations for the trick-o-treaters!