Good to be back at the shop and see the business that has been done since I was gone racing! It is also nice to know it is very superficial damage to our new R12S. I look forward to seeing everyone at Main Line BMW's next race this weekend at Summit Point Raceway. I am a bit sad to see my race mechanic go. He has interests in CA and wherever he goes he will be an asset. His knowledge of BMW motorcycles is awesome and has been able to do alot with the time available.

For not being a large dealership, Main Line BMW has proven it's dedication to the riding community and has allowed the conquest to change the mind of many in the motorcycling world.
I look forward to meeting as many of our BMW motorcycle owner's over the last half of the season and a west coast trip would be great too!


Now on to find out about parts availability for the new S. Also, with the 3 weekends on the new R12S I will be going with the GS final drive in the R12S for the National Thunderbike race at Barber Motorsports Park in August. The RT final drive will help at Daytona for sure.

Ride smart!

Winding down now and just wanted to reflect on the support of the ONLY motorcycle owner's group that goes through the motions (riding 8 plus hours in the rain) to support not just me but a way of life. Its not all about racing. Im very fortunate and blessed to have a natural ability to communicate with my BMW motorcycles, but the communictaion with the community away from the track is what I look forward to more. Rallies and club breakfast's, open houses... This is really an eye opening experience and wouldnt miss it for anything! House Industries also had just as much success as I did by producing a really fun shirt for the races and our riding community. Soon there will be a site to go to for getting one.

BIG thank you to Touratech for the ceramic clutch that can withstand all the abuse I can throw at it! Their support, quality, and neccessity of a ceramic clutch from Touratech is imperative for the long haul.

Have a good one!

N8!

HEY YA'LL! (as Bobby would say in Atlanta, LOL) Everything is just fine. I have chuckled a bit on the way home about trying to out do my first tests on a slip n' slide when I was about 8 yrs. old... lol

The weekend was a fun filled drama/love/hate/comedy/yadda yadda that had everything you could ask for in a race weekend.7 races due to the fact that it was a regionla and National combined.

GT Lights - 1st

Unlimited Superbike - 1st
* Sometimes I reach deep inside and pull out the N8 that needs to show up each race. I really wanted to shut people up about the K12R running against the latest greatest litre bikes. That 7 lap sprint was equal to an hour straight on and R bike... whew!

LW Supersport - 1st on R1100S (then disqualified)
* Supersport class has a mandatory post race tech inspection to make sure you have no illegal go fast parts. Bike never made it to the post race tech... DQ'ed. Regardless of how well I do on the track, I need an equally efficient crew. My 2 guys that make it when they can do the best they can, just sometimes mistakes like this hurt (points).

Qualifying for the National Thunderbike race - 2nd on the stock R12S (DQ'ed again)
* I had an "outlap" from pit out to scrub in the new tires, one flying lap (2nd lap), and on the 3rd lap the motor made a farting noise...Bent a push rod. I know why, I got caught up battling with a front runner Buell and had a serious over rev to avoid his near agricultural experience. Severe over rev due to me not leaving a better margin for error of error for the other rider, led to this failure. FUNNY part is, I coast back to the pits, pull off my helmet, stare at the bike (knowing I dont have a mechanic), just to have an official of the ASRA series come up and say "N8! You qualified 2nd and your time stood for the remainder of qualifying!" Then he proceeded to dish out a warm slice of "Your DQ'ed AGAIN for not having on file the proper payment for that weekends Thunderbike National race!"WHAT!!!!!!!!! So even if the bike didnt break the push rod, I was DQ'ed for not having the class entry fee paid...(hmmm)?!Dejavu, once paid I had to start from the last row AGAIN (Daytona) for the 5th round of National Thunderbike.

LW Grand Prix - 1st
*After having Hammersly BMW of Lynchburg, VA pulling a whole assembly out of a new bike on the show room floor to replace the bent rod in our R12S and assembled that night, I rode the R12S in the first sprint race of the day to see what was what. Won by 20 seconds.

LW Superbike - 1st
*R12S with a new ride height change for the front shock. Started to rain on the last lap cresting blind hill coming up to T14. I was on DOT race tires and it was a down pour in just that turn. German version of "Ice Capades", drifted both ends for about 2 feet, reconnected and drove off the corner to a dry final 3 turns for the win. (Cool down lap, 3 bikes piled up in T14 after I went through)

UNL. Supersport - 3rd
*Fun, it just started to pour and I decided to take the R12S out or its first bath. Instead of running the K12R, I ran the R12S with rain slicks fitted. Finished 3rd and felt great about the National Thunderbike race coming up. Here we go again... my fault... our fault... doesnt matter DISQUALIFIED for a 3rd time (record in CCS/ASRA). I had said I was not going to run the Unlimited Supersport race trying to save what was left for the national, and the # 12 for my National # was on the bike, not the # 1 for my regional race. SO I go out and skate around in a moderate down pour and finish 3rd, just to have the DQ for having the wrong # on the bike... (does it get any better, YES!)

NATIONAL THUNDERBIKE - DNF, crash
* SO I lined up on the last row and had a game plan. Plan went well. I was 4th exiting T1. Had to be a demon on launch and on the brakes to get there. Passed into 3rd halfway through lap one, lost the front, regained it, spun the rear, regained it, went four wide through the kink at the top of 5th gear in the worst rain I have ever raced in. The rivers that were running across the track and the unnamed lakes that were forming rapidly, ended up catching me on lap 3. As I picked up the throttle smoothly in 3rd gear coming onto the front straight, I clipped the very edge of a "mad river" and it was the most gentle, smooth, longest hydro plane of the front wheel I have ever experienced. A few things were going trhough my mind, but only one was verbalized...Coming down T17 "the Hog Pen" and then back up onto the front straight that curved ever so slightly. I was about 2 degrees leaned full throttle 3rd gear, cannot see due to the fogging in my visor, once the front tire lifted to the top of the mini river/lake on the edge of the track it kept me on course for the grass. I tried to rutter it with body position and throttle, but after a good 3 yard or so hydro plane, the front took forever it seemed to finally tuck. I slid about 60 yards. Ran back 60 yards to find my front brake resevoir topless. Hey, at least it happened in front of my whole pit area and I didnt have to explain myself! LOL.

There are 3 rounds of the National Thunderbike series left and WE are going to the front again to annoy the competition on our BMW! BIG thank you to RoundelRider, JonyRR, FlatBUtt, and everyone else for keeping the heads grinding!

N8!

Hey gang, I just got in from GMD Computrack in Atlanta. Took the R1200S there to see if there are some spring rates (stiffer) for this upcoming National Thunderbike round at Virginia Intl Raceway (VIR). Now that we are only 5 points back after leading the championship going into Kansas, I am a bit at ease regardless of what happened to the clutch in the last race. I hope to be able to capitolize on some practice sessions at VIR. I need to find a good base line setting, but we have run into an issue. There are no springs with the right length here in the states. It may be too short of time to get the right ones.

I am very happy with the new bike; out of the crate it showed me and the rest of the motorcycling world what it can do! With actual race set ups and non-street suspension... the Buell guys are already frustrated with what I could do on the R1100S!

VIR is very similar to Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas. There are elevation changes and blind turns, but for the most part it is a flowing track. VIR does not have as many deep trailbraking turns as Heartland Park, though.

If I have to run the stock spring rates, then so be it, but we are all missing out on the even better feeling of being on top of the box! Remember Daytona....?!

I really enjoy racing at VIR and I feel good going into this weekend for the most part. I really just need to get the suspension and geometry to where I know they can be! Depending on my ap times this weekend, I want the next biggest challenge that many naysayers think cant be done - AMA!

I'm going to go ride the bike now and see if the 85 spring that replaced the 62 (stock rate) spring is too stiff. The problem is, the 85 we have is 10 mm too long, which leaves no room on the shock body to back off pre-load. Considering that we are running Ohlins supension, I would hope they understand the value of winning on a BMW...

Cheers,

N8!

Ok here we go; I am at a fellow BMW motorcycle owners homestead, outside of Kansas City, who was gracious enough to allow me to use his computer and garage. I dont know where to start. I qualified 2nd for the National Thunderbike race at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, which really shocked me considering the bike is all stock. The stock suspension was screaming for mercy, but allowed me to put it next to the pole sitter and current Thunerbike champion. I was really excited knowing that the next day for the national, our BMW riding community that was joining us for the races would have something more to cheer about.

WELL, we led the first lap, battled hard for 2nd and on the white flag lap (last lap), the Buell rider that was 3 points behind me in the championship and thatI was battling with for the second spot, crashed in front of me. At that same moment he crashed, I was letting out my last down shift and the clutch desintegrated.... (silence). The desperatly needed podium that had been in sight was gone. I thought it was the vulcanized peice of rubber in the drive line... nope, the clutch. I have been beyond hard on the clutch to make up for the soft spring rates, and not being able to turn the bike effectively without the proper geometry. I would turn the bike with the clutch while trail braking.

SO, Im really not that bummed because the R1200S in stock form far exceeded my expectations!

I am very beside myself that the BMW riding community never ceases to amaze me. Im at a new track in Kansas and the next thing I know there are BMW riders from all over coming to support us! Regardless of the drama that I feel I brought on myself by being brutal to my clutch, all the feelings I had going through me at that moment are wiped away by the genuine support received from BMW motorcycle owner's there and everywhere!

There was one young man in particular that stands out, he is a new R1100S rider at the age of 16. I think he started on an F650GS, but I know the torment he goes through at times for riding a BMW. Kevin was a corner "safety" crew member during the ASRA National weekend in Kansas. It was great to be able to go out there and show everyone that you cannot judge what Kevin, myself, and all BMW riders ride by their covers!

A very special thank you to a BMW dealer in Kansas City (Englewood as I recall?) to offer to help fix my bike before the next round at Virginia Intl. Raceway. A bit closer to the track and having the parts in stock, BMW of Atlanta knocked out the clutch job in no time!

Again, I love being a part of this community and know there is no other comparison in the motorcycle world!

Okay, so I got my first race in today at the new track here in Topeka, Kansas (Heartland Park Raceway).

Decided to run the R12S, knowing that the bike was a lot quicker down the straights and up top, but does not have the bottom end grunt (due to tuning) the R11S Thunderbike has. This is a cool track and the R12S did 1'52.332 in practice this morning and the R11S Thunderbike did a 1'52.602 in the 2nd practice. It was very windy with a strong head wind down the straight. I like the R12S, but until I get the right spring rates I will
A) not be able to get the darn thing stopped in time, needs way stiffer springs to get in deeper and more efficiently on the brakes. The rear is off the ground for almost 3 downshifts (front spring just bottoms out).
B) I have taken a good 3 to 4 millimeters out of the left head (smoothly). There is so much traction here that both ends hook up so well at full tilt it pull the heads down at the top of 3rd gear. Also wore a hole right through my toe slider and boot (little bit o' sock showing through), I need rear sets bad.
C) I will stop chewing up tires, I think the right springs will be at VIR for me next week... then its really ON!

I won the 30-minute GT Lights race today by 45 seconds. Just used it as a test for qualifying tomorrow. I think I will use ol' faithful and run the R11"50"R in Thunderbike and the new R12S next week. The Thunderbike brakes better and has the right ground clearance. Just down on power.


Thnks gang,

N8! Kern

The goal is to get people to see that you can drag the cylinders around corners. Once people see that, they say “Holy shit, that really is a performance bike!” (even though it doesn’t look like it). I was of the same mindset for a long time. I was a typical American sport biker. Now I appreciate the European look and feel. I was raised in the Midwest so I never saw that kind of thing. Being over in Munich and seeing the riding community, well, it was like artwork. Until people actually ride a BMW they will never see it like I do, at least aesthetically.

I look forward to going to rallies and telling people that the race version I ride and the street version are not that far apart. Hey - I’m just another BMW rider. I just happen to ride a little faster!

Hello all, I have been running like crazy since I have been here. I did get three twenty minute sessions in yesterday. I like this track cause its a "riders" track. Horsepower will not make up for rider inability at Heartland Park.

Very good traction and very hard on front tires. I did 3 sessions and it destroyed the left side of the front tire. Extreme trail braking which again, favors our BMW R1200S. You have to have a lot of patience and not rush corners here. A lot of decreasing radius turns and 90 plus degree entrances. I had to force myself to go slower in order to go faster.

Thunderbike qualifying Sat. and final on Sunday. I will be entering a sprint race to see where I can pass during the National race.

I will be in Garage 2 with 9no #'s on them, but its the second one you see.

Take care!

N8!

You have to have a flawless race on a BMW, because you’re not going to overpower anyone. But that’s the challenge. Don’t judge a book by its cover, basically. I got a chance to ride a BMW in Daytona in ’03, and the next thing I knew, that was it. I don’t know if I could ever go back to conventional forks. This bike has changed my perspective. And I’ve met the coolest people because of this bike. I’ave had people tell me “When I leave the track I don’t have to cower in my seat. Because the bike you’re racing is the same one I’m riding.

At Roebling I was so into my own little world, trying to develop the R 12 S that I didn’t even realize we were winning - and what did it was the bike! People in the pits said that there was no way the bike was capable of 18 seconds, and we went out and did 17.3. The track record is 13 on a GSXR so we were very impressed!

We ran twelve races on the weekend, lightweight, middleweight, and against the 1000s in the rain and we were unstoppable. The torque comes through smoothly on the shaft drive. You can roll on the throttle, and ease into the power harder than with other bikes. So there’s a little less throttle control but it’s smoother.

The action is definitely heating up. The other guys don’t let me draft them, once we got oback on that long straight they opened up the gap and I settled for 4th. Back at Daytona, all they did was leap frog each other. They’re drafting off each other and slingshotting off each other. At Daytona you need to get a draft out of the chicane to start a fresh lap and get the best top speed going into turn one, and they’d look over their shoulder, sit up and pull off the line, and come to a crawl, getting me to blow by them, then they’d try to use me for the draft. They all work together but I just put my head down and qualified fourth anyway. Even though they were leapfrogging on the banking, I still won by 19 seconds. I did in front of Eric Buel and his whole entourage. Then I went to Road America for the second round, and never having seen the track, I qualified for that, too. They’re starting to squeeze me, one will come up on the outside, one on the inside, they’re like an inch from my front axel. I guess I expected a little more sportsmanship out there.

The biggest key to my success is the BMW community. The owners clubs, etc. It’s amazing, I got a check for $100 from the Chesapeake BMW Owners Club, which way cool. (Thanks guys!) People are coming out of the woodwork, even guys on LTs. It’s like this dorman community coming back to life, they haven’t seen a BMW compete in road racing in years. It’s like Woodstock coming back or something. BMW’s dominated in the 70’s and now they’re back. Basically to see it in their eyes, well, its’ very cool. The coolest thing about BMW guys is the distances they ride to get here. Last year at V.I.R., with two weeks notice, we had 52 riders, one guy and his son rode down from Toronto, Candada. That’s plenty of motivation for me to go out and ride the way I do!

From Roebling I go to Kansas for the fourth round of Thunderbike. That’s heating up big time. I hear—hush, hush—there’s a big bonus for whoever knocks me off the top and wins the championship. See, you’d expect Suzuki or one of the Japanese bike sto win, not BMW. That was the atmosphere going into Daytona. They knew that we rode hard and that we had won the regional championship, but no one expected us to win. But we did!

Hey There Fellow R11S Lovers!
Hey there fellow R11S lovers! Apologees for beeing a bit unpunctual considing there has been alot of fun and drama... lol.__

Our faithful R11S's have been living up to their reputations well, reliable. There have been a couple o' little stuff here and there, but they are fianlly showing their feelings. My 2 R11S's started their lives in 2003 in the BMW Motorrad Boxer Cup. 03', 04' in Europe, 05 112 races between the 2 of them, and now 2006 very big handfulls of throttle and stressing every bit of their abilities.

The Supersport bike (stock wheels, brakes, motor) has exactly 14,535 miles. Never had the bottom end out of it. The Thunderbike, ti valves, 36mm intake, 1150 kit, J&E pistons, heads done, etc. and the bottom end also has never been replaced.

Never Had The Bottom End Of It
That weekend I left ecstatic with a personal ebst on the Boxer there at 1'21.1 second lap time. Not to be overshadowed, the K12R had its first outing at Summit and the track did not particularly favor the wheelbase in the tight carousel section (T5 through T9). In Unlimited Supersport we had an impressive 8th place finish. After a mental debrief, thinking hard about how to rid.