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The FAQ
Page
Nonetheless,
most of what is here is true at least some of the time. Some is true darn
near always. And the rest you really don't want to know about. In
fact, you might be better off just clicking the link above and
getting out of here early. WARNING: WARNING:
There might be a serious question somewhere among the following.
If Hampton Raods is not a place, why is it in
your name? Yeegads man,
Virginia is a place, Hampton Roads is a virtual journey, a zen like place that
exists and yet it does not. How better
to capture the essence of motorcycle zen than to have it in a name for a people
who seek adventure riding the pavement going to a from a place that isn’t
. Here puff on this a minute and you
will understand. Yes,
except for the women, punks, squids, campers, dual-sport riders, high-mileage
tourers, commuters, rally trash, cops, racers, thirty-somethings, collectors,
trials riders, wrenches, gen-Xers, canyon carvers and dudes. (Did we leave
anybody out?) Yes, but
any vehicle with two or three wheels and an engine over 90ccs is considered an
honorary BMW for purposes of fulfilling this requirement. Is it true that club officers put Harleys down all the
time? No, club
officers have nothing against Harleys. Some of them have even owned Harleys.
Many members in good standing own, or have owned, Harleys. Some have even
ridden them. Some cool folks ride Harleys,
but owning a Harley won't make you cool, nor will it necessarily make you a
rider. Is there a difference between being a motorcycle Owner
and being a motorcycle Rider? All the
difference in the world. Is BMWMCHR affiliated with any other BMW clubs? Yes, we're not picky; if they will admit to sharing the same interest, we're cool with them. Beyond that we are a chartered Chapter Club of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America (BMW MOA) and RA Are any BMWMCHR members also members of other clubs? Yes; in
no particular order, Airheads, RA, MOA,
AMA, AARP, Mickey Mouse Club, Price Club, Kiwanis Are there any requirements for attendance at club
events before joining? No, you must
have mistaken us for a Yahmaha riding group. Are there any requirements for attendance at club
events after joining? The only
requirement for attendance at club events is that members should attend events
if they hope to have a good time and not otherwise. [we'll
get back to you on that when we stop laughing] Yes,
sorta: We invite all our friends that we know and some we don’t to meet in the
Virginia woods one weekend in October.
Highlights are the donuts, crabcakes, door prizes and riding. OK, I'll
have the Hickory Skillet, eggs over easy, coffee. Try to arrive somewhere
between 7 and 8 am any Saturday at the monthly breakfast at Golden Corral (see directions
on home page). What are the benefits of
membership in BMWMCHR? Health
Plan, Dental, Vision, 12 paid holidays, three weeks annual vacation, oodles of
sick leave, free parking and day care; some restrictions apply. (Restriction
#1: none of the above are offered to club members or officers.) Members are
entitled to discounts - very cool - at certain local businesses but we don’t
know who they are. What is the club's position
on helmet laws? The
club's position is we're a riding club, not an advocacy group; check out AMA if you are looking for representation in
the corridors of power. My position is your choice of helmet is a pretty good
indicator of how highly you value your mental acuity; under current Virginia
law, every rider has the right to proclaim to the world by deed, "My brain
is worth all the protection a yarmulke with a strap can offer." (Technical
note: this word processor, unlike me, actually knew how to spell yarmulke.) What are
the rules for group riding? How fast do groups
typically ride? Posted
speed limits are observed at all times (as in, "By golly, there's another
speed limit signpost; I'd better be sure not to run into it - some of those
suckers are anchored pretty well in the ground"). There is no pressure to
ride like anybody else. So it is possible some people might be wicking it up a
little more than others, particularly in the twisty parts. As a group we
all respect the rider who knows his/her skill level and rides
accordingly. "Riding your own ride" is
mandatory. What kind of BMWs do members
ride? We have
the whole variety pack: from /5s to K1200RSs, and everything in between:
airheads, oilheads, flying bricks, Funduros - tourers, sport tourers,
dual-sports, bare-ass boxers, and even (gasp) cruisers. Actually, there might
be some /2s hidden away somewhere, but we don't see them often anymore. (If the
reader is not sure what all these terms mean, come to breakfast some Sunday,
ask some questions and maybe, just maybe, you'll be lucky enough for somebody
to bore you to tears with techno-babble. But you'll have to bring it on
yourself by asking for it.) We also see members on KTMs, Hondas,
Harleys, BSAs, Triumphs, Buells, Kawasakis, Yamahas and Suzukis (I just
don't remember seeing any of these lately). It is always interesting to see
what people show up riding to get to a Sunday breakfast. So what is the deal with the
monthly Sunday morning breakast? Being God
fearing folks, we gather together to give thanks for the blessings that BMW
provides to our lives and have no reason to have Sunday any different than any
other day…you do ride your BMW before breakfast every day don’t you? What kinds of occupations
are represented among the members? Well, when
not riding our Beemers, quite a few of us moonlight as business owners, nurses,
programmer/developers, bureaucrats, technicians, active-duty military,
architects, middle-management scum, doctors, salesmen, peace officers or even
lawyers. We proudly count many hard-core unemployed among our members, but some
of them masquerade as "retirees" or "consultants." Nobody
has admitted to being a politician in my hearing lately, but we'd take 'em if
they wanted to ride with us (right, gang?). Is the club prejudiced
against people who prefer motels to tent camping? No, most
of us are old enough or busted up enough to understand the appeal of sleeping
in beds. On the other hand, some of us can't resist jerking the chains of those
who think sleeping in a state park or KOA is an extreme sport. (Actually, now
that I think of it, there are vague recollections of some pretty extreme
in-tent sports when I was much younger, a-loaf-of-bread-a-jug-of-wine-and-thou
kind of things. We'll just quietly leave it at that.) How do
you decide what is the right
kind of jacket or riding suit to wear? Are leathers really better? Better
than what? Better for what? Lots of club members own leather riding gear; most
of them also have jackets and/or pants made of various trademarks (Cordura,
Nylon, GoreTex, Kevlar -- you get the idea). I would bet that 9 out of 10 of
our active members, forced to select only one set of riding togs, would select
the synthetic outfits over leather. Why? 'Cause most of us are more or less
four-season, more or less touring riders. That means we ride when it's cold,
when it's hot, when it's wet (or when all of these happen in succession on the
same trip). Leather tends to lose on at least two of those fronts. Leather is
wonderful stuff; it's perfect for track racing (when comfort doesn't mean
anything) and for rides on dry days in the spring and fall, to say nothing of
impressing [insert slang term for whatever you want to impress]. So how do
you decide what is the right kind of stuff to wear? Your best bet is to talk to
riders who do the kind of riding you want to do mostly. Come to the monthly breakfast some time or a club ride and see what
people are wearing. If anybody is going to try to sell you on a type of
clothing, I guarantee he/she will be pushing something in the synthetic family.
I thought
I was ready to buy a BMW and then one guy said I really should get an airhead,
then another said I was crazy to buy an antique design and should go for the
modern K bike 4 cylinder. Just about when I was ready to plop my money down,
another friend piped up that if I didn't go for an R1100 I was missing out.
What should I do? How do you decide? I can only
afford one bike. Ride them
all; visualize what you are really going to do with the machine; follow your
heart; don't be swayed by people who feel some kind of need to make you do what
they did, and thus to justify themselves. If you are a good wrench, you might
get a lot of satisfaction from doing all your own work on an Airhead. If you
like the power, feel and road-handling engineering of an Oilhead (=R1100 etc.),
go for that. If you like the K-bike performance and feel over the twins,
particularly if you are leaning toward luxo-touring, there you go. If anybody
says you are crazy to buy a particular type of machine, he/she is an ass, and
your most intelligent course of action is simply to walk away. (There is one
exception to this world-class rule of thumb: if somebody says you'd be crazy to
buy what he/she has, find out exactly why; the advice might be useful.) In the
G/S crowd, I see some guys getting off on R1100 GS's and then there is the
R100GS crowd that apparently could well afford an upgrade, but don't seem to do
that. Why? If you
like what you have, why jack around? Alternately, you might genuinely prefer the
simpler technology of the R100GS. You might feel that the R11 GS is too
goddamned heavy to be taken seriously offroad. Maybe half your innumerable
accessories wouldn't be compatible with the newer machine. You might be able to
afford an upgrade mainly by knowing better than to covet all the latest
gadgets. Some people actually believe in using it up before throwing it away
(or even before trading it in). Why don't
you guys sponsor more than one Rally a year or have
more group events? You have to be the only club in the universe with a
single event a year. Are your members "Event-challenged"? Why don't
***you*** sponsor an Event? It's a lot of work. The mission, charter and
purpose of BMWMCHR is to enjoy riding, not to prove organizational skills or
flog its members' time and energy. And if we are the only club in the universe
with just one event, as you suggest, that is sufficient reason by itself: it
would be a pathetic little universe with so little variety as to be limited to
cookie-cutter club calendars. I am
really interested in international travel,
adventures by motorcycle...long trips etc. Are there any others in the club
that have that interest? Any trips planned? There are
folks in the club who've ridden in Mexico, Central America, New Zealand, and
Europe; but there is no upcoming gig actively in discussion at the moment. Some
members have gobs of experience riding abroad, thanks to military duty.
Occasionally we've had members who have left the country rather abruptly and
haven't returned as of yet -- we've never known exactly why. No trips
planned but everyone dreams. Is the
club affiliated with any national
organizations (MOA, RA, etc?) The club
is affiliated with the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America and the RA. Makes us special. How do I
know when it is time to replace a tire? OK, kids,
it's time for a quiz. Which do you think is the best time to replace a tire? A-When I
get home from this trip The
correct answer is: F. When I am preparing for the inspection at Track
Day. BEEP!
No, really, what are the visible signs a tire has had it? Oh, you
really want to know when you should replace the tire? There is a range of
opinion as to the critical signs a tire needs to be replaced. Let's look at
some popular trigger events: A-Little
whiskers are getting stumpy - Considering that some wannabe hotshots actually
use a nail clipper to remove the little whiskers - hoping to be mistaken for
hard riders - it is safe to say the whispers are not an important tire safety
feature. Keep riding. B-Flat
center tread - If the middle section of your rear tire is clearly worn flat,
you may not need a new tire right away, but you probably need to change the way
you ride or the type of roads you ride on. Take a look at the tires on a new
bike sometime. Notice, both tires have a rounded profile, more like Captain
Piccard's head than Fred Munster's? That's what yours should look like. The way
to keep them looking like that is that leaning thing you've read about. C-Worn
down to wear bars - Strangely enough, the wear bars really are intended to
inform you when your tire's life is about used up. This is not a greedy plot by
the manufacturer to conn you into buying new rubber prematurely. D-What
the hey are wear bars? See C above. Have you ever considered taking the MSF
basic safety course? E-No
visible tread pattern over half of the tread profile - Listen, a street tire
worn down slick does not magically become a racing tire. And no, just because
it isn't raining, you can't assume the tire is just as good as ever. F-Cords
showing - Has anybody ever told you you're one cheap SOB? Q. Are
cell phone talkers trying to get
you? Or, why do so many drivers (and absolutely every female
driver under 30) find it necessary to talk on the mobile phone while pulling
away from the curb? Why can't they finish the bleeping call before getting in
motion? Q. How far over the posted speed
limit can I “safely” go? Q. Do radar detectors really work? Q. Is
it OK to use the “motorcycle passing lane”? Q. How far over the suggested speed (shown on
yellow signs) can I go through turns? Q. What
should I be doing about the terrorist threat?
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