mkiesel
Nov 12th, 2007, 7:38 am
Last Wednesday (Nov. 7) a friend and I were going to go down to Deals Gap to ride the Dragon . I came from the Cleveland OH area and he came from Indianapolis. We planned to meet in Covington Kentucky. I arrived at our meeting place first and was waiting for him when I noticed what I thought was something stuck to the tread of my front tire. Upon closer inspection I discovered that I had a tread separation. My friend showed up and we put our heads together to figure out what to do. We knew there used to be a dealer in Cincinnati called Tri - State BMW but they went out of business. My friend thought that they had changed names and still worked on BMW s. After some cell phone calls we found out that he was correct and they (Miami Cycle Works) could get me a new tire.
Then came the nerve wracking 30 mile ride to Miami Cycle Works. At certain speeds there was a pulsating vibration. I figured that it was caused by the bad tire and slowed down from my usual interstate speeds. We arrived at Miami cycle and they proceeded to get a new Metzler 880 tire from a local distributor. The mechanic took my bike on a test ride after replacing the tire. After the test ride the mechanic said that he still felt the pulsating vibration and that he thought my final drive was going. We tried to feel any side slop with the bike up on its center stand and could feel none although the wheel seemed a little stiff to turn. I was not going to be convinced until I felt it for myself with the new front tire – after all I’d replaced the final drive crown bearing re-emptively with a 17 ball unit only 22K earlier. Well I started down the street and didn’t even get 2 blocks when I was convinced by the vibration that the mechanic was right. Just then, at about 35 mph, the rear end locked up – slid sideways about 1 foot and then mercifully freed up again. If it hadn’t freed up I think I might have went down. It was not a good experience. A few minutes after returning to Miami Cycle the final drive started dripping oil.
I’d like to publicly thank Miami Cycle Works for their help in this matter. Although Cincinnati has lost its BMW dealer (Tri – State) it does have a decent alternative in Miami Cycle Works. They bent over backwards to help me. They even stored my LT for 2 days (for free) while I arranged to trailer it back to my home. They have a staff that is definitely knowledgeable in BMW maintenance and repair, and even selling used BMWs along with other brands.
Although My friend (Rob Boyce) and I didn't get to ride the dragon, we did have an interesting adventure. We were quite a sight riding 2 up on his K 100 RT (1986) for the 220 mile trip back to my home. BTW Rob's a pretty heafty guy. we figure we were about 200lbs over the max suggested load for his K 100. It ran flawlessly. If I'd had to ride him on my LT I'd have worried about the final drive the whole way!
Then came the nerve wracking 30 mile ride to Miami Cycle Works. At certain speeds there was a pulsating vibration. I figured that it was caused by the bad tire and slowed down from my usual interstate speeds. We arrived at Miami cycle and they proceeded to get a new Metzler 880 tire from a local distributor. The mechanic took my bike on a test ride after replacing the tire. After the test ride the mechanic said that he still felt the pulsating vibration and that he thought my final drive was going. We tried to feel any side slop with the bike up on its center stand and could feel none although the wheel seemed a little stiff to turn. I was not going to be convinced until I felt it for myself with the new front tire – after all I’d replaced the final drive crown bearing re-emptively with a 17 ball unit only 22K earlier. Well I started down the street and didn’t even get 2 blocks when I was convinced by the vibration that the mechanic was right. Just then, at about 35 mph, the rear end locked up – slid sideways about 1 foot and then mercifully freed up again. If it hadn’t freed up I think I might have went down. It was not a good experience. A few minutes after returning to Miami Cycle the final drive started dripping oil.
I’d like to publicly thank Miami Cycle Works for their help in this matter. Although Cincinnati has lost its BMW dealer (Tri – State) it does have a decent alternative in Miami Cycle Works. They bent over backwards to help me. They even stored my LT for 2 days (for free) while I arranged to trailer it back to my home. They have a staff that is definitely knowledgeable in BMW maintenance and repair, and even selling used BMWs along with other brands.
Although My friend (Rob Boyce) and I didn't get to ride the dragon, we did have an interesting adventure. We were quite a sight riding 2 up on his K 100 RT (1986) for the 220 mile trip back to my home. BTW Rob's a pretty heafty guy. we figure we were about 200lbs over the max suggested load for his K 100. It ran flawlessly. If I'd had to ride him on my LT I'd have worried about the final drive the whole way!