Campsites and Airports

The always unpredictable spring weather in Wisconsin provided a window of opportunity to ride today and I did not waste it. I was finishing a turkey sandwich as the thermometer crept up toward the magic 50 degree mark. My BMW GSA was already out in the thin, late morning sunshine soaking in whatever warmth was available.

As I cleaned up after lunch, my thoughts were on how hard the bike had worked to turn over last week. I had already decided that I was going to pack the Battery Tender again today just in case it was needed.

I keep my bikes and riding gear about three blocks from my house, at a duplex that I own. One side of it is sort of a man cave and I rent out the other side. There is a two stall garage with a wall between the two and I keep the bikes on one side. With an arrangement like this I have to remember to bring what I need from my house to the duplex. As I put on my riding gear I realized that last fall I did not leave any of the thick socks that I usually wear with my Sidi Canyon riding boots there. A little thing, but something to remember for the next ride.

After securing the snaps on my Olympia AST 2 I went out to crank up the big boxer engine. Today it turned over with no problem and I smiled as I pulled on my helmet and gloves. In a few minutes I was merging into noon day traffic on Highway 172.

I had planned to go west toward Waupaca, but the radar showed a batch of rain coming down from the northwest, to I decided to go up toward Door County. It was a little more windy than I anticipated, but I was comfortable as I took the Sturgeon Bay exit. I was not certain how far I wanted to get from Green Bay with the rain coming, but it felt so good to be out on the road.

Bayshore County Park is a good place to stop and take a short break. There are campsites and picnic tables available. Today there were only a couple of hardy souls out getting some fresh spring air. The road down to the boat landing was still off limits as the county barricade was across the road leading to the steep hill down to the bay. After taking a couple of pictures and returning a voice mail message, I rode east.

The wind was now a crosswind and was stronger than it had seemed as I was riding into it on the way north. The roads in Kewaunee County are familiar, but I usually turn south at Frog Station. Today I continued east into Rio Creek. I was quite surprised to note that there is an airport in Rio Creek. The county road here meets Wisconsin 54 and I turned back to the west here.

The ride to Green Bay was cool and windy, but it looked like the rain was going to miss northeast Wisconsin. So once I got back to town I took a quick ride out to Austin Straubel International Airport to see the new hangar going up on the east side of the terminal. It is being built to house the corporate jets of one of the local paper companies. They have two Dassault Falcon 2000 EX aircraft and it looks like they will have a comfortable new home.

As I headed for home I was glad to have had the bike out of town and stopped and started it a few times without any issues. It is due for service soon and I will be more confident in it once that is completed. The weather does not look too promising in the coming days, so the big Beemer is under cover and on the Battery Tender once again.

The 2017 Riding Season Underway

Two days ago I opened the garage door and began the motorcycling season. The thermometer read 25 degrees Fahrenheit, but the calendar said it's time to ride. My BMW R1200 GSA had been under cover and attached to a trickle charger for four long, dark and cold months. Enough was enough.

Last fall I had cleaned up the bike and removed the aluminum panniers so I could give them a good cleaning. Taking them off also left me more room in the garage for the snow removal equipment. All I needed to do to prepare the bike for riding was do a few checks and install the panniers. I used the portable air compressor to bring the tires up to the correct pressure and locked the panniers into place.

Yesterday dawned clear, sunny and cold. At 8 am it was only 22 degrees, but the forecast was for the high 30's. The roads were clear, although the local municipalities had treated them with something in anticipation of snow overnight. I had to go to my dad's for a few hours, so it was a great reason to get the bike out for it's 2017 debut.

Before I donned my jacket and helmet, I wheeled the big Beemer out into the bright sunshine. Once I had my riding gear on I came out to start it up and let it warm for a few minutes. It started harder than I thought it would, so I threw the charger into one of the bags in case I needed it. I checked the lights front and rear, brake light and turn signals before toeing the German beast into first gear.

The dash was flashing 33 and the little snowflake was pictured as I turned right out of the driveway. If you are not a rider, or you are able to ride year round, it is difficult to describe the euphoria involved in the first few miles each spring. The winter sometimes gives way to doubts about my riding capability, especially knowing that my Medicare card will turn up in my mailbox before Independence Day. So each year I get a warm glow as once again I experience the sheer joy of motorcycling.

Each spring, or technically, late winter, I never really know how much different the bike will feel after a few months off of it. The GSA is a big, heavy bike. I spend the winter pushing around the weights at the YMCA just to keep some semblance of muscle tone, but there will come a time when the bike is too big for me. Happily, that time is not now. There is also the issue of the motorcycle itself. It is great to hear the iconic boxer engine start, but then I find myself listening closely to make sure it sounds just as sweet as it did in November. I pay attention to handling and cornering, aware that I am riding on cold tires on cold roads. The local dealer warned me of this after one of his salesman dropped a bike leading a potential customer on an early season ride.

After a few city miles, I opened up the 1200 cc powerplant on the local interstate highway. It merged easily into traffic as I yanked the face shield on my Shoei Neotec to the closed position. The motor purred as the needle rushed past 75 miles per hour. All too soon I was at my exit and headed back into town to put in a shift caring for my dad.

I was still a little nervous because of how difficult it was to get the bike started, so after a couple of hours I went out and pressed the starter button. It started just like the day I bought it five years ago. I took this opportunity to reset the clock so it would reflect the change to Daylight Savings Time last week.

On my way back home I took the big twin out over the Tower Drive bridge and onto I 43. The weather had warmed into the high thirties and the sun was blissfully bright. As I pulled off the highway I wished that I had more time to enjoy this first day of riding.

Today I woke to snow covered streets and cloudy skies. There is an old saying about making hay when the sun shines and it applies to motorcycling here in America's Dairyland.

BMWs from Brazil and Harleys from India

Once the calendar turns to March I expect the weather to allow me to get out my two wheeled treasures and put on some early season miles. This year the bikes are still in storage, but my motorcycling passion has led me to researching some information on where my favorite brands of bikes are produced. President Trump has made a lot of racket about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America and imposing steep tariffs on imports, so I wanted to learn more about BMW and Harley Davidson motorcycle production.

BMW made news last fall with the announcement of its first assembly plant in South America. BMW Motorrad is building several variations of their high end bikes in Manaus, Brazil. I only learned of it while paging through a magazine at Barnes and Noble this week. The German bike builder will begin by building the F 700 GS at the new plant. However, there are plans to add manufacturing of the F800R, F800GS, R1200GS, R1200GSA, S1000R and possibly the S1000XR. The company employs 175 workers and will produce 10,000 bikes annually. At this time the bikes are being built for the local market. BMW is building the G310 in India and sources parts from plants throughout Europe, but this is their first production facility in South America.

This is an example of how the global economy operates and how manufacturers cannot be bound by national borders. The demand for BMW motorcycles is strong in South America and the company is responding to meet that demand. Peter Vogel, Production Director of BMW Motorrad in Manaus stated that, "BMW Motorrad Brazil is focusing its strategy on sustainable growth, based on domestic market potential. With our local production, we hope to increase sales significantly. Domestic production, starting with the F 700 GS, guarantees even more availability and fast response to local demand, which is important to the success of our business in Brazil."

The American Motorcycle Association Flat Track season is just around the corner and Harley Davidson has a completely new motorcycle for the popular series. After many seasons racing and winning with the venerable XR 750, the new entry is the water cooled XG 750 R. The new racebike is based on Harley's entry level motorcycle, the Street 750. When the Street was announced a few years ago, it made headlines because it was being produced in India. However, Harley executives made it clear that those bikes would only be sold in India and several countries in Europe. The Street 750 bikes for North American sales are built in Kansas City.

Harley offers 13 different models from each of their Street, Sportster, Dyna, Softail and Touring lines of motorcycles. More than half of these models are produced at the assembly unit at Bawal, in Haryana. These bikes are for local markets and allow Harley Davidson to avoid the high tariffs that India imposes on heavyweight motorcycles.

Anoop Prokash is now the managing director Harley Davidson Canada, but he was the man who spearheaded Harley's introduction of heavyweight motorcycles to India in 2009. He overcame the Indian skepticism of big bikes by organizing rides and parades throughout the country. By showing people that Harleys were meant for Indian roads and the Indian people, Prokash was successful in selling the brand.

Reading about motorcycle manufacturing, wherever it occurs, is interesting. But it is no substitute for riding and I hope to be able write about my first ride of 2017 soon.