Picture Of The Month! Norwegian Beauty (Click Image for a Larger View)

Every month customers send us killer photos and I see no reason to keep them to myself so what better way to say thanks for sharing than to post them in this Picture of the Month spot..

Our April POTM was contributed by our Swedish buddy, AndersA.. This spectacular shot of his bueatific 98 RS was taken in Norway in 2007. Damn! Tack så mycket, Anders.

If you would like to contribute your own"worthy" shot for our newsletter, here's what I'll need. First.. just email me 1 or 2 of your best digital shots. It'll need to be at least 800x600 in size or larger and preferably A. Of a BMW K1200S, K1200RS, K1200R, R Sport, or any model year K1200GT and B. In focus.

Big Brother Is Watching: Another Nail In Our Coffin: Part Three

You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into an ominous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. There's a sign-post up ahead - your next stop, George Orwell's worst nightmare. In the last two cheesy newsletters, I've been ranting and raving about what I foresee as the demise of the street motorcyclist's rights. Here's the latest and it ain't pretty.

On March 16th, Madrid is going to introduce a new speed detection system on one of its main highways in and out of the city. It is based on time / distance and covers a 20 km. stretch of 6-lane highway. Cameras and sensors will check license plates upon entry and exit (this is not a toll road, its a regular freeway) and will work out the averages as you exit the road. You speed - they send you a fine to your home. Can you say cachiing? Austria has a similar system in place already and we hear that Norway is not far behind.

Here in the states, Arizona's lawmakers are well underway in implementing a wide-ranging speeding ticket by camera system, despite a huge outcry from the citizenry who elected them. Some states, such as Florida, are installing camera systems under the guise of calculating travel times for display on message boards, but we know better. The issue of speed cameras in CA and Tennessee has also been legislatively proposed, but shot down, for the moment. All this doesn't bode well for us, my fellow shipmates when we have nobody looking out for OUR rights.. And yes.. that was an indirect shot across the bow of the toothless AMA.

I'm no Edgar Cayce, but I foresee a day in the not so distant future when the technology exists that will allow "big brother" to monitor our speeds and location every minute of the day. I hope that day comes when I'm 80 years old and too decrepit to ride, but I fear the day is near.. How did we let this happen?

Product Review: Moto Grip Skull Death Grips

A few weeks ago while I came across Moto Grip Skull Death Grips by Moto Grip on Ebay. I had been wanting to replace the stock grips on my Ducati 1098 and these seemed to fit a pirate's manifest nicely. They look cool and are advertised as "gel" grips so in theory they should be a little more comfortable than the crappy card-board feeling stockers. Ordered them and had them in about 8 days.

Install took all of 15 minutes.. 10 of that was getting the Throttlemeister off, back on, and adjusted. Hmm.. Just sitting on the bike..the Skull Grips feel good... They feel real good. A total of 6 hours ride time backed up my initial assumption. Not only do they feel "cushy" when compared to the paper-thin stock grips (or any stock grips I've ever used) but they seem to further dampen what little vibration the 1098 has. Also...due to the protruding skulls on the grip.. your hands have more "traction" in contrast to the smooth surface of factory grips. I had not even considered this but it really makes a huge difference... I LOVE these grips and believe me, I've tried many different brands through the years. I should mention.. IMHO the grips should be about 1/8" longer. They are that much shorter than factory Ducati grips. Not a biggie.

Zero idea how Moto Grip Skull Death Grips would work with heated grips, but I'm sure gonna find out soon as my BMW is in need of grips. Well worth the $17.99 + shipping for any sportbike rider looking to try something new. I would think these would be great on a track bike where throttle control is critical. You can contact Moto Grip at 888.MOTO.GRIP or find them on Ebay. My personal thumbs up.

Product Comparison: Custom Ear Plugs vs Hearos! Urban Legends Be Gone

As far back as I can remember I've wanted a pair of custom made ear plugs. Many of my riding buds have them and swear by them.. I'm constantly hearing.. "They are so much more comfortable than anything else" and "you can wear them all day in total comfort"  and "they are so much quieter than a foam earplug."  That's all well and fine, but as I'm a cheap bastage and relatively happy with the foam Hearos ear plugs I've been blissfully using for years.. it's been kinda hard to convince myself to lay down $100-$200 for a custom pair when my $2 pair gives me total comfort as well as peace, love, and tranquility inside my helmet.

While I have never listened to music while riding (and never will) I decided after the last Sierra Goldrush Rally that the time had come for me to suck it up and buy some earplugs with speakers for the sole purpose of hearing my GPS. While on the meandering roads of California I got lost multiple times. Think of a two-wheeled Lewis and Clark without Sacagawea. That would be me. Before the rally I bought myself some cheapie $25 in-ear speakers from Radio Shack thinking that's all I'd need, but and they were so noisy that I couldn't hear the GPS voice commands over the wind noise and they kept falling out of my ears. Total crap and a wasted $25... Lesson learned.

I knew that at least 2 earplug vendors would be set up at a recent motorcycle show so I attended, paid the big bucks, and got some made. When I went to the booth I asked all the prerequisite questions already knowing the answers. Sure enough, the reps practiced response.... "They are so much more comfortable than anything else" and "you can wear them all day in total comfort"  and "they are so much quieter than a foam earplug." OK..It must be true. I'm convinced. Take my credit card and do your worst.  Cost for the custom plugs with speakers, a carry case, a cleaning tool, a hand written receipt, and shipping was about $210. The guy took the molds which consisted of squirting globs of blue goo into my ears and waiting about 20 minutes for them to harden. The goo.. not my ears. He promised my custom kit would arrive in about 3 weeks. I had mine in 2. Woohoo!! Today I got to try them. Today I was disappointed.

The first 10 minutes of the first ride .. I wanted my money back. Not only were they NOT as quiet as my Hearos, but they were flat out noisy. It couldn't have been noisier if I had been riding without a helmet.. on Mt Everest. What the f#@*? I stopped and adjusted the fit and that helped a little. Rode another 15 minutes .. still lots of wind noise so I stopped again. This time I spit on them thinking that would make a better seal even though the rep told me that was never necessary. Still noisy, but a little better. I know you are thinking.. "are you sure you had the left in the left ear and the right in the right ear?".. Yes and each plug was locking solidly into place.. They can only go in one way!.. Stopped again and used more spit than you'd need for a successful prison rape and finally got them ALMOST as quiet as my $2 Hearos. Great. I should mention that during this time I had them plugged into my GPS and the sound quality was excellent.

As I fight back tears of disappointment... the news gets worse. Not only were they not as quiet as per the prophesies, but they were nowhere near as comfortable as my Hearos either. When I'm wearing my foam plugs I forget about them after only a few seconds. They are as comfortable as slipping on an old pair of Sperry Top Siders. So comfortable in fact that I sometimes sleep in mine. The ear plugs.. not the shoes.  During my 2 hour initial ride with the custom plugs, I was aware of them every minute. They have a soft gel-like feel to them while in your hands and while inserting them, but once I got them in they just felt like I had hard pieces of plastic in my ears. You may be wondering..." was the inside of the helmet pushing on the plugs causing the discomfort..?" No. That area in my helmet is cut out to allow for a little ear room and speakers. After 1 hour my ears hurt and I was glad to take them out after 2. Not once did I feel they were as quiet or as comfortable as my Hearos.. Not once. For a fair evaluation, the next day I tried the custom plugs in another helmet for another 2 hour ride. Same results.

Ok.. so what to do now that I'm out over $200 and my "world-class sound and/or Walden pond solitude in the helmet" dreams have been shattered against the rocks of reality? Other than whine like a little girl, I thought about asking for my money back, but that wouldn't solve my problem of needing in-ear speakers the 2 freakin' weekends a year that I'm out of state and needing to be wired into my GPS.. Could I just have prima donna ears? Perhaps. Is there a possibility that they screwed up my pair for a bad fit? Well... they do lock into place like they said they would so fit doesn't seem to be an issue. Might I get used to them after a while? Apparently many do, but if they aren't as quiet as my Hearos.. I'm not interested.  I am so disappointed and 100% amazed that other people profess vast superiority over foam plugs. For now.. I'll toss the custom plugs in a drawer to collect dust with my old beeper, 35mm camera, floppy disks, and other obsolete farkels until I absolutely, positively must use them to keep from getting lost again. My next ride I'll be wearing my trusty $2 Hearos...

Follow-Up: I contacted the guy that made my custom plugs before this went to press and told him about my dissatisfaction and resulting erectile dysfunction. He walked me though all the possibilities that could cause the problem. The noisy plugs.. not the erectile dysfunction .. and I shot each one down one by one. Apparently my kit is just fine and I was just expecting too much. Really? I guess for $200+ I should have low expectations? I told him I didn't think it was too much to ask that at the very least they be as quiet and as comfy as my $2 plugs.. I also scolded him for mindlessly telling people how superior his custom plugs are to a top of the line foam earplug when apparently in some cases they clearly aren't. The next words out of his mouth were.. "send them back and I'll give you a full refund." I did.

Postscript: So what is the moral of this cheesy story? Well... every motorcyclist should wear earplugs on every ride. It makes for a more enjoyable ride and more importantly.. it'll protect your fragile hearing. Having lost 40% of my own hearing due in no small part to riding 20 of my 38 years without them,  I speak from painful experience. Lecture over. My point was to clear up the urban myth that custom plugs are far superior to a good pair of foam plugs as they are not. Don't believe me? Go pick up a pair of the latest Hearos and see for yourself. If your goal is to have speakers in your helmet I would agree that custom plugs are the way to go, but in a head-to-head comparison of ear plugs only.. IMHO.. Hearos are quieter, more comfortable, and 50x cheaper than a $100 custom made pair. So it is written..

Transformation of a Menu: K1200GT to K1300GT

Now that the 2009 K1300GT is showing up in garages all over the US, I'm already getting lots of questions about which K1200GT products on our menu will crossover and fit the K1300GT. Have spent multiple hours over the last few weeks transforming dozens of pages to now reflect our K1200GT / K1300GT Product Line The following parts are just a few examples of what we already have for the new 2009 K1300GT.