NJ BMW CCA Newsletter 9-10

Bimmer…Beemer… we all should have both

 So far the newly acquired e38 has been a fairly good buy. Sandy and I are enjoying it since we put it on the road. Of course it needed a few items but I have gotten a lot of the issues taken care of already. The headlight lens is replaced; the fog lights are also replaced as well as a new mirror cover on the driver’s side. A new radiator, expansion tank, and hoses were installed with the use of proper BMW coolant topping everything off. Several people have asked what the difference is and why wouldn’t I buy just any coolant, or the cheapest. There is a difference. The BMW coolant is nitrite, amine, and phosphate free. This helps prevent corrosion and electrolysis damage. Plus it’s a really cool blue color. Not to bore you any further with fluid talk, this concludes my cooling system public service announcement.

 My tan e21 has finally gotten its full tune up I’ve been putting off. Let me tell you, I should have done this sooner. I have done some things over the last year I have owned it but I didn’t realize the wires were the originals or at least they seemed they were from 1977. It also appeared the cap, rotor, and possibly the points were also original. Points you ask? Yes, this ol’ e21 has points, something that went away shortly after in the early 80’s. It’s amazing how those little things make a car so much better and an absolute pleasure to drive. I thought my tan 320i was a little sluggish but never paid much attention to it. The automatic e21 always seemed a bit quicker, which shouldn’t be the case. After the tune up was done it made a huge difference. I actually planned to install a tii distributor from a 2002 but now I am going to hold off. This little car is even more of a blast to drive. I have to stop putting things off this important for so long. Too many projects and interests pulling me in all directions.

Speaking of…

 How many times have you spoken with someone and they say “Hey, that’s a nice Beemer you got there?” – 9 times out of 10 you just ignore the common misuse of the term. We all know Bimmers are the cars from BMW and Beemers are their motorcycles… or at least I hope you would know this by now. We will revoke your membership if you don’t.

 So why am I bringing this up you ask? Some may guess that I have an itch for a BMW brand motorcycle. You might be correct. A friend of mine is a Beemer owner and his love for these finely crafted motorcycles has become infectious. His newest is a K1200S, a beautiful sport touring bike that looks like a flying bumble bee. Yes, it’s yellow and black. He asked if I was interested in attending a meeting of the New Jersey Shore BMW Riders in Avon by the Sea. I said why not. Those two wheeled wonders have Roundels on them so I’ll see what it’s all about.

 It’s interesting who you might run into. As I walk in, I see my friend Nowell, who invited me, and his son, who also owns a Beemer. I sat down at the table not knowing what to expect. I look over to my left and there is Hank Farber, one of our CCA members who is also a BMW motorcyclist. I also got my tan e21 from Hank. What a surprise that was. Hank wound up joining us at our table. I have to say the BMW riders are much like us in the CCA, a very nice group of people passionate about their brand. I was told that once I ride a BMW motorcycle, I will never want to ride my Hondas again. We’ll see about that. At the end of the meeting I was handed one of their newsletters by one of their members (I am sorry, I forgot your name). I mentioned I wrote for our NJ BMW CCA newsletter and he said “I know who you are; I read your articles every month.” – He is apparently a CCA member as well.

 When the meeting was adjourned, everyone spilled out of the restaurant into the parking lot to graze the 2 wheeled wonders everyone rode in on. I took the e38 even though I was thinking about riding my 1981 Honda CB900c. It was either drive a BMW car to a BMW motorcycle meeting or ride a Honda motorcycle to a BMW motorcycle meeting. Either way, I wasn’t riding Beemer style. It didn’t matter as one of the members offered to sell me his bike, a beautiful 1998 R1100R 75^th Anniversary edition, one of only 500 built. As beautiful as the bike was, I seemed to have left my stack of Ben Franklins at the bank. As many of you can guess, I was thinking about it hard. I also found out what BMW really stands for “Bikes Made Weird”.

 But I have priorities right now. 3 that all could use a little something. Plus I have that pesky (or as the English say Dodgy) XJ6 Jaguar mistake I purchased and the 83 Mercedes 300d I started to fix up. With just the repair bill from the 300D, I could have bought a used e30. Yeesh, what do I get myself into with these things? If I can sell off those two, I’ll put a little into the save a Bimmer fund and maybe with what’s left over, if anything, I will search for a BMW cycle.

 But wait, I have a BMW cycle – Bicycle that is. This is the BMW Cruise bicycle Sandy and I got from a first place finish at the Spring Rally we won. After watching the Tour de France on VS all July – something I do every year - I decided I needed to get into shape. Well, round is a shape but not the shape I would like to be in anymore. I just brought the bike to a shop to get tuned up. You want to cause a stir at the local bike shop or bike trails, bring out a BMW bicycle. No one ever heard of or saw one so it was quite an interesting conversation piece. Maybe the Beemer guys would allow me to ride that in their club? It has a BMW emblem and it has two wheels.

 So as usual, my interests are about as grounded as a dirigible pilot. Bimmers, Beemers, and what the heck would be the nick name for a BMW bicycle? Beekers? Bammers? Who knows? It’s late and Sandy and I are going to be flying to Sin City tomorrow for vacation. I need to get some sleep.

Stay tuned next month – VEGAS!

JT Burkard

Comments and suggestions are welcome