August 2006 2 BMW Club Journal • August 2006 the Journal CONTENTS Editorial Ramblings
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The BMW Club JOURNAL £2.00 August 2006 2 BMW Club Journal • August 2006 The Journal CONTENTS Editorial Ramblings............................... 4 August 2006 National and Section Officers............. 6 The Official BMW Club President’s Platform........................... 7 within the UK and Torque Reaction...................................8 Republic of Ireland The new BMW R1200R..................... 22 Affiliated to BMW Club Europa e.V Beaulieu 2006 .......................... 24 www.bmwclub.org.uk Tour De Force Revisited ............... 25 General Enquiries: 0800 0854045 Motorad News ................................. 36 FREEPOST THE BMW CLUB National Rally Advert........................... 41 The BMW Club is the Trading name of The B.M.W. Motorcycle Club Ltd Registered in England, Registration Diary of Events................................... 39 number 4261129 whose Registered Office: Charter Court, Around the Compass.......................... 48 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 5GE German Jottings.................................. 49 All Rights Reserved Book Review ..................................... 53 HONORARY EDITORIAL TEAM EuroRide 2002 ( 1 of 2 ) .................... 54 Please send all letters to Paul Nadin, Where We Meet................................... 60 Mutual Aid to Owen Vaughan, features Section News...................................... 61 Dave Bertram. All other correspondence or queries should be sent to the Editor. Social and Register Secretaries.......... 61 EDITOR: CHRIS FLEMING, 58 Janes Lane, Bur- Mutual Aid............................................ 78 gess Hill, West Sussex. RH15 0QR. Tel/Fax: Small Business Adverts.......................80 01444 245367. e-mail: [email protected] SECTION NEWS & ‘COMPASS’: Please send to the Editor at present. FEATURES EDITOR: DAVE BERTRAM “Kimber- ley”, 4 Southcrest, West Hunsbury, Northamp- ton, NN4 9UD. Tel/fax 01604 479749. e-mail: [email protected] TORQUE REACTION: PAUL NADIN, 49, Berk- shire Drive, Congleton, Cheshire. CW12 1SB. e-mail: [email protected] MARKETING MANAGER: ROB PEARCE 16 Forestfield, Horsham, RH13 6DZ. Tel/fax For problems regarding distribution of the 01403 Journal please first contact your Section 754912 e-mail [email protected] Secretary. Should there still be a problem then MUTUAL AID & SMALL BUSINESS ADS: OWEN contact the membership secretary. Their details VAUGHAN, 16 South Meadows, Pembroke, are listed on page 6. Pembs. SA71 4EW. Tel 01646 683188. e-mail: [email protected] DISCLAIMER SMALL BUSINESS ADS: CHARLES KNIGHT, The BMW Club Journal accepts for publication articles and letters written in good faith; however, the views expressed in articles and letters which are Tel/Fax: 01534 485474 e-mail published are not necessarily those of the editor of the Journal or those of [email protected] the BMW Club or its officers or members. DIARY OF EVENTS: GORDON CATCHPOLE, The information, including advice and suggested modifications published in the The BMW Club Journal has not been approved, tested or otherwise Avenida de las Especias 58, Pinar de checked by The BMW Club Journal or the BMW Club. Before acting on Campoverde, 03190 Pilar de la Horadada, information, advice or suggested modifications published in The BMW Alicante, Spain. Tel/fax: (0034) 966762893. e- Club Journal you should always obtain technical advice, and if appropriate have a professional motor-cycle engineer carry out the work for you. mail: [email protected] The BMW Club Journal and the BMW Club cannot accept liability for any COMMERCIAL DISPLAY ADS: DAVE ENSOR 4 loss, damage or claims occurring as a result of any modifications or work or other action carried out on the advice or based on the suggestions given High Silver, Loughton, Essex, IG10 4EL Tel/Fax in any article or letter published in The BMW Club Journal and (save for death or personal injury arising from The BMW Club Journal’s negligence) 020 8508 3906 [email protected] all such liability is hereby excluded. TECHNICAL OFFICER: MIKE FISHWICK, Sirgon, The BMW Club Journal is published for and on behalf of the B.M.W. Motorcycle Club Ltd. 24250 Daglan, France. e-mail: The BMW Motorcycle Club Ltd, the BMW Club Journal, It’s Editor and [email protected] Officers accept no liability in respect of loss or damage occasioned directly or indirectly as a result of the publication of any advertisement in The BMW 100,000 MILE AWARDS: BOB HARRISON, 251 Club Journal or Web site Preston Road, Coppull. PR7 5DS. Tel: 01257 793209 e-mail:[email protected] The cover : two fine examples of German And grateful thanks to: Tony Wood for as- Engineering ( Jack Weir’s K1200S in pride of sistance with proof reading and sub-editing. place ) BMW Club Journal • August 2006 3 SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND Editorial We have been fortunate in locating a replacement for Dave Ensor, our commercial display ads manager. He’s Jim Bruce and Freewheeling he’s based on the Isle Of Skye - all being well he’ll be in the hot seat from September onwards. The editorial team is now truly multinational. Yours truly is based in Mid-Sussex ( as is our marketing manager, Rob : and by pure serendipity so are our printers and mailing house ). Diary Editor Gordon is in Spain, Tech Ed Mike is in France, Mutual Aid Owen says he’s in Darkest Wales while Small Business Ads Chaz lurks on the Channel Islands. Then there’s Features/Deputy Editor Dave and Torque Reaction Paul who reside Somewhere North Of Watford - with Jim coming on board now we have a team member who lives Even After last month’s hiatus its business-as- Further North. usual this month, especially as we’re back to 84 pages. Whether this happy state of affairs Thank heavens for broadband ... although I can continue is up to you, gentle reader, for still propose holding regular editorial team unless you keep sending in your contributions meetings, if nothing else just to see the look we can’t print them ... of joy on Our Treasurer’s face when I present him with the bill .... As hiatuses go it was rather special. 24 hours before the Journal was due to be despatched CHANGES to the printers, I experienced what’s known as a computer system crash. My backup The proposed revamp of the Journal is taking system - a second hard disk cloned by the longer than I had planned for a variety of ever-so-useful Norton Ghost utility program- reasons, but they are still in the pipeline, so to was called into play, but this also crashed as speak. One of the most significant will be soon as you tried to use it. It seemed I either having a picture of the social secretary had a major hardware/machine fault or more accompanying their Section News report each worryingly I may have contracted a particularly month. Since this idea was announced two nasty PC virus known as a “Trojan” - one that issues back my in-box has been lies dormant for a specified period then when conspicuously silent on the matter. Please waking up causes havoc. In the end, it seemd send in a passport-sized photo either by post it was a Trojan causing the headaches so I or eMail and ( if necessary ) I’ll use the put the clone disk into an old PC ( never throw PhotoShop program to make you look even anything away is my motto... ), re-installed the more attractive .... software programs and managed to resurrect most of the data held on the backup. We also haven’t lost sight of the proposed Consequently last month’s edition was(re)- photos-of-bikes-for-sale concept : once the assembled in a bit of a rush .... it took several details have been discussed and agreed in- hours just to re-install the programs ! As you house we’ll go public ! can see above, the restoration process was carefully supervised by The Management ... 4 BMW Club Journal • August 2006 The Editor’s K5RT Project .... THE BMW CLUB is gradually gaining momentum and I’ve put NEC VOLUNTEERS nearly 10000 miles on the clock since its JOURNAL APPEAL purchase in March. A series of articles about its refurbishment are in-progress ( not helped by the Editor’s faux-pas when he deleted files from the camera rather than transferred them HELP to the much-discussed PC ... ) but already its more than covered its cost compared to using NEC public transport and its proving to be a nice VOLUNTEERS reliable and economical runabout to boot. NEEDED ! Friends of the project include MotoBins ( windscreens ) MotorWorks ( instruments and fixings ), SPC Motorcycles ( don’t mention radio wiring in their earshot : Steve, Dean and Hopefully you have got the message, but just Jody have been known to go a bit pale around in case you haven’t The BMW Club will be the gills when the subject is mentioned, while back to the Motorcycle & Scooter Show again poor old Peter has Aged Prematurely. That’s this year. The dates are Thursday the 26th before the vexed question of brake disks October through to Sunday the 5th of emerged .... ) and Pete Rihoy who helped me November. tackle the intracacies of purchasing a used radio on eBay from Germany. Also a special We need your body to help run the stand and note of thanks to Nippy Norman and Autocom the main qualification is that you are who have provided lots of goodies for testing enthusiastic about our Club. You will be : thank you one and all for your patience and expected to convey this enthusiasm to any courtesy throughout. person who shows a remote interest in BMW motorcycles and if they actually own one then you will be obliged to make them a member. Joking aside if you have a day or days to give the club some help at this premier motorcycle event please get in touch. You will be briefed on what is involved. The rewards are astounding, you get in the show free from 8am if you want to, laughs are guaranteed and we even supply the tea and coffee.