Motorcycle Examination Results

I passed the skills test and now have the MC Novice endorsement on my drivers license! What a relief to have that behind me.

Having the endorsement means that the restrictions that apply while operating with the temporary permit no longer apply. I can now legally ride with passenger, commonly referred to as a pillion rider. I can also ride at night and on interstate roads. The MC Novice now on my license indicates that I have the endorsement and am within the first year of having it. This requires me and my passengers to wear a helmet. In the State of Ohio, you can choose to not wear a helmet. After one years time, the MC Novice endorsement drops and gets replaced with just MC. Then I could choose to not wear a helmet, which I will not choose to do.

I was nervous heading out to Hilliard for the test. The weather was cold and rain seemed like it was just around the corner. The bike I used for the test doesn’t have a windshield. So I got a nice 35 mph cold breeze slamming into my chest. I was wearing my gear so it was alright.

The test consisted of 4 runs in a closed course. These are described fairly well at the Motorcycle Ohio website. I was particularly spooked by the staggered-weave test where you have to slowly slalom through offset cones but I made it through flawlessly! I had a few point reductions on the quick stop run, I’m not sure if I stopped too quickly or waited too long. By this point I knew I would pass so I didn’t really care!

Upcoming Motorcycle Exam

I have a scheduled Motorcycle Exam on Tuesday, April 29th. This will be a riding test on a closed course. It is the last test to complete before I get the permanent endorsement on my license.

A friend has loaned me a very special little bike to use while taking this test. I’ll introduce it in a separate post.

Electronic Immobilizer Lock. Uh oh!

There’s trouble in paradise.

Between miles 125 and 150 a problem has developed with the bikes anti-theft system. When I put the key into the bike to start. The engine immobilizer turns on and will not allow the bike to start. So I’m sitting on a perfectly good bike that won’t go anywhere because the computer has gone a little wonky. Not very fun!

The warning lamp comes on and the message “EWS!” shows up on the screen. EWS stands for Elektronische Wegfahr Sperre which is German for Electronic Immobilizer Lock.

Some BMW Motorcycles have electronic anti-theft systems built in prevent your typical hotwire situation. The key is a physical key that contains a microchip. When you insert the key into the ignition, The physical key unlocks the forks and turns on the electronics. What also happens is a round antenna in the locking mechanism activates and reads the security codes off of the microchip in the key. Once those codes are read properly, the computer will allow the engine to run. Otherwise, your sitting on dead metal.

That antenna isn’t reading my key it seems. If I take the key out and retry for a while, it sometimes will read properly and allow the bike to start. I’ll be taking the bike in to Motohio this evening hopefully under its own power. Otherwise, the fine people at BMW Roadside Assist will be giving me a lift.

The First 100 Miles

I’ve been riding every chance I get. The weather has been been nice and getting warmer. I’ve commuted to work a few times already. It’s a very nice ride, under 20 miles and a good portion of it is along the Scioto river. The bikes computer says the miles per gallon for the commute was 48 mpg. Wow! I’m used to my V8 powered car drinking fuel at rates of under 20 mpg. This is a nice perk to riding a motorcycle.

Cold weather has not been able to stop me. I’ve also been riding during slight rain. I didn’t care much about getting wet but I do know now that I need a rain suit if I want to continue riding in the wet weather!

The 1200 GSA is interesting. I’m taking it easy on the throttle as it’s still in the break in period so I’m not really winding up the rpms. The bike has a lot of torque right from the start. It does feel a little pokey in terms of high speed compared to my old sportbike, but thats completely fine with me. We’ll see how it runs after the break in period is done. The stance is really comfortbale for me. I can sit completely upright while operating the bike. I like this alot. It’s also very tall. The seat height is almost 36 inches. I can see right inside of SUVs and trucks which is kind of strange to be able to do so. The nice part about this is that I become really hard to miss out there on the road. High visibility on a motorcycle is a good thing for improved safety.

It’s been hard to put the miles on. I have to leave the city if I want to really test the odometer functions! That chance is coming up soon. A ride to Marietta Brewing Company is planned for this Sunday. This will be a 210 mile round trip. Some of my riding friends from work are helping me to learn and get experience. I will surely write more about this later.

I’m still waiting for the side panniers and luggage to arrive at the dealership. The luggage is on backorder.

Buying the Bike

I made the leap. This past Saturday I purchased the motorcycle that I’ve been drooling over for what feels like forever. I drove a brand new 2008 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure off the lot.

Over the past month I’ve become a regular visitor of Motohio European Motorbikes over on E. Main street. BMW dominates their showroom but they also carry European brands Triumph, Ducati, Husqvarna, and Piaggio. I visited other dealerships in the area and they quickly became my preferred. They are very knowledgeable people. They also have a great rapport with their customers which becomes evident if you linger around the place for a while.

They had the exact model and color that I wanted. When you purchase a vehicle, you want to hide that ear-to-ear smile. It lets the entire world know that you’re in love. This isn’t helpful if you want to negotiate on price. I couldn’t hide mine for long so I kept the haggling pretty brief. I wanted to get just enough off the asking price to feel good, but not really put them through the ringer.

It’s slightly different then when you’re buying a car. Bikers will return to the dealership quite often. It’s becomes a social spot. There’s regular maintenance, accessories, riding gear, etc. You’ll be stopping in again and again. This is not so prevalent when your buying a car where it’s easier to push your price down. There just aren’t as many motorcycle dealerships around as there are automotive. So support them, don’t beat them into the ground.

I rode the bike home that afternoon. The bike is so tall and large. It was really intimidating for me. I haven’t ridden in a long time. It was cold and it even started to drizzle. I put the first miles on and It felt fantastic.

Motorcycle Shopping

For the past month, I’ve had a pretty good idea when it comes to what I want out of a motorcycle. It must be a model born with dual purpose riding in mind. I will mostly be riding on the paved and brick roads of downtown Columbus and the highways leading to and from it. I don’t want to be limited to just that though. I want to go to obscure and remote places so the ability to ride on service roads, trails, or river beds must be second nature. The go-anywhere abilities must not take anything away from the on road touring experience. I want to travel long distances. Distance was always a problem for me when I was riding the Honda CBR and other sport bikes. The category of bikes that fit my needs is called the Adventure Touring class. It’s becoming more and more popular lately. There are quite a few manufacturers adding these bikes to their line up of enduro and dualsport offerings.

I’ve been panning my friends for recommendations and reading reviews. I considered the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and the Ulysses® XB12XT. I even looked closely at the very interesting Ducati Hypermotard which has many of the characteristic of a dirtbike, but made for the streets. It was great for urban riding and getting into tight places. Ultimately there really was only one bike that I truly desired. I gave the other models a fair chance to woo me but they simply did not. It’s unfortunate for me though since they are all a bit cheaper. The bike I like is the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure. How’s that for a name? Quite a mouthful. This is a bike that you could circle the globe in. Not that I plan on doing that. Across the states and perhaps the country? Yes I want to do that.

I’ve been visiting local dealerships and I’ve found the bike equipped just as I want it. I’m so close to the purchase. However, I’m very nervous and a little shy to take the plunge. It’s an expensive purchase. My rational brain is reminding me of all the more responsible things I should do instead. It is within my means to go forward without it being a reckless endangerment to my well being. What the hell. You only live once right?

The Motorcycle Written Exam

I took the written motorcycle exam test this morning and passed! The test is computerized and not exactly a written exam. I suppose the good people at the BMV like to hang on to tradition.

So what is the test like? It’s a 40 question test in multiple choice format. You need to answer 75% correctly to pass. Situations are described in text, and also in pictures. You can skip questions that your unsure of, which is a good practice to use the way the test works. The test ends once you’ve answered 30 questions correctly. For me, the test ended after 34 questions. I missed the answers on 4 questions. You can save yourself some stress by just passing on the ones you aren’t certain of. You may not have to answer them at all.

I’m glad this is out of the way. The next step for me is to get through the riding test, so I can get the full motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license.

A Return to Motorcycling

My first bike was a 1995 Honda CBR900RR. My friend Mark had purchased a Kawasaki ZX7R and he needed a riding buddy. It wasn’t hard to convince me to take the plunge. We were college freshmen. There were plenty of fast and loud motorcycles around campus. At the time the sport bikes appealed to me most. They are sexy and sleek. They have performance numbers that are just staggering. With a little bit of encouragement, recklessness, and a fresh line of college student credit, I purchased the used Honda.

Riding around the city and campus was the popular thing to do. I went to school at The University of Akron. Every city has areas where bikers like to congregate. You’ll meet all types of riders here. I think most come there just to shoot the breeze and find other gearheads to ride with. The pack would take little jaunts around town, race around the loop on the freeway, and every once in a while a few people would want to go for a ride in the Cuyahoga Valley. I would do all of these, however the latter option is where I really fell in love with motorcycling. It wasn’t the speed of the bike, or anything that a young man could absorb from reading a motorcycle magazine that I ended up loving. It was the journey that I really loved. The joy of riding with friends and going places just to go there. This was the kind of riding that I looked for and really got into. Road trips. I even made a trip to the Daytona Bike Week rally. The culture is amazing.

Now feels like the right time for me to get back on two wheels. I didn’t keep that Honda for various reasons that I may explain later. It’s been around 7 years since then. I miss riding. Lots of people say that motorcycling gets into your blood. That once you get the feeling for it, you’ll always crave it. And I do. There isn’t anything quite like it. When I see a biker on the road, I ask myself why am I not out there too? I’m sick of asking that. I miss those journeys to places unknown.

So I’ve decided to return to the motorcycle. This blog will describe the journeys that I’m about to take.