MOA Rally - MSP Minnesota July 24-27

[sgtbill]

Maria: Stop by when you get set up. Another local rider (Warren) has a BaseCamp and lives in Herndon or Sterling. The one you saw at RA Rally in Vermont was probably the one we bought or Warren's. The previous owner brought it to several National Rallies as well as Burning Man. His widow sold the trailer (and his bikes) after he passed way this spring. A few people have stopped by wanting to say hello to him having met up at previous rallies.

[Maria V]

Our group camp site is directly behind the mid-Atlantic MARS group. We don't have signage but.my blue and white kelty is set up, and an interloper tent is orange. See you all soon!

[dcgsrider]

Back home after almost 3,000 miles. Thanks everyone. St. Paul was a good time, and I had an excellent ride to and from.

[Maria V]

Had a nice trip, but mixed results.

I had a very nice visit with my BFF from high school, who lives in Oregon WI south of Madison. Headed to the rally on Wednesday, immediately stopped at onsite local dealer for oil change, new front tire, and chain adjustment. Thursday morning I planned to hit the vendors then go for a ride. To my delight OHLINS was there, partnering with Wunderlich for installs. So I ponied up for a new shock (OEM had 30K on it) since installation and setup were FREE! YAY!

So I return to pick up my bike, and the rep says "hold on a moment, the tech wanted to mention something to you about your bike". Uh Oh. So the tech comes over and mentions two things:
1) The rear axle bolt (you know, holds the wheel on) was only hand tightened. (I addressed that with the onsite dealer the next day. They addressed it appropriately - turned white, apologized profusely, asked me to bring the bike back, and checked EVERYTHING the tech touched.)
2) My twin 650 has the infamous gas tank cracks.

AWESOME news.

I contacted three dealers. No one stocks the tank. All said "well, we've never seen one that leaks."
So I decide to bag the second half of my trip - Duluth/Lake Superior loop - and just head home. I had gracious offers from Gene to change his plan to come back with me on Saturday, and from Tim & Chris Lloyd to come back with them as well. I was slated for a Saturday departure, and Tim demanded a sanity check from me, since his weather info showed leaving Sunday would be much better. I listened, and he was right. We did battle some westerly winds on Sunday, and just had some light showers on Monday. Overall not a bad two day haul with three people willing to put up with me for my piece of mind.

Took the bike into Bob's on Wednesday, they are submitting a warranty goodwill request to BMW. We'll see.

I enjoyed hanging out with Paul and Kit, as well as the premium tour of the BaseCamp courtesy of Bill and Karla. Site was fantastic, though it did sprawl quite a bit.

[dcgsrider]

Glad you made it home with the gas tank issue. Maybe instead of tent spacing, the Minnesota Health Department should have required the BMWs to park at least eight feet apart to deal with fuel leak combustion issues. Mine is getting the fuel pump recall done next week.

Thanks for cluing me in on the lean fuel mixture cut-off issue. At least I know I'm not crazy. (At least as regards that! ) Happened twice on the return trip. Seems to help on mine not to let the throttle close suddenly when coming to a stop or downshifting to a smooth stop.

[Qijote]

Sounds like everyone had a great time. Sorry I missed it. There is always next year!