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California advice

bmwcliff

New member
Planning to ship my bike to San Francisco area in June, to ride back to Pa. following my sons wedding on June 16 in Fremont. Looking to ship to dealer/mechanic with a good reputation with the local MOA folks. Can be big box BMW store, or small independent shop, just has to be well thought of mechanically, and fair in their business dealings. Will have whoever I ship it to, do the 18K service so i am ready to go east on June 17, and they get to make a little for helping me out. Thanks.
 
What model bike?

TriValleyMoto is the closest dealer to Fremont (19 miles) and easy to get to NOT in the center of an urban neighborhood like San Jose BMW or CalMoto in MountainView (TriValley and Cal Moto are owned by the same person).

I do all my own maintenance, so no service experience, but the owner and parts people are nice.

http://www.trivalleymoto.com/ 19 miles east from Fremont, a more relaxed out of the urban area freeway to an easy right off the freeway location.
http://www.sjbmw.com/ 20 miles south from Fremont , but VERY high traffic urban freeways and urban streets the entire way.
http://www.calmoto.com/ 21 miles south west from Fremont, similar roads and conditions to San Jose BMW

TriValley is about 5 miles from my house, so I prefer them and it would be 30min. to 120min. closer to you're home (depending on traffic when you left).




:dance:dance:dance
 
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All I can say is that San Jose BMW is where I purchased my GS 1200 last year along with some gear. I have been back for service and have been treated well. Yes the service was expensive but the going rate was the same elsewhere. I would not hesitate to use them if I was in your shoes. I have not dealt with any other shops or dealers in the area. Good luck to you and a happy time in your families life.
 
All I can say is that San Jose BMW is where I purchased my GS 1200 last year along with some gear. I have been back for service and have been treated well. Yes the service was expensive but the going rate was the same elsewhere. I would not hesitate to use them if I was in your shoes. I have not dealt with any other shops or dealers in the area. Good luck to you and a happy time in your families life.

Just spent Sunday at a BMW BBQ in Show Low AZ with Dean Lear, the founder of SJBMW. What a great gathering hosted by Dean and Ms Pam (his wife). You should see his Man Cave filled with BMW motorcycles and BMW momentoes from Deans racing days. He was also a Test Pilot for Aerostar.

Jack
 
Modesto,CA BMW dealer there;

Bought 6 BMWs there, Cycle Specialties BMW, nothing bad to say about'em:). One hour from Fremont in San Juaquin Valley. We have an abundance of dealers here, so pick well. Modesto,CA above has been mine for 20+years:). Randy...PS; Mention my name for a discount:)?:clap
 
Ca. advice

Thanks everyone, getting a plethora of good reviews of SJBMW, gonna make a final decision on doing this trip by the end of April. :groovy
 
Ca. advice

Ain't got a clue yet, haven't researched it that far, but any route I take needs to include the extraterrestrial hwy. Thats a personal goal since I was a teenager, open to sage advice beyond that. Just want the ride to be pretty.:dance
 
Ain't got a clue yet, haven't researched it that far, but any route I take needs to include the extraterrestrial hwy. Thats a personal goal since I was a teenager, open to sage advice beyond that. Just want the ride to be pretty.:dance

Through Yosemite Valley, then over Tioga Pass.:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb



:dance:dance:dance
 
Or at least the first three.

+1 on that, Hwy 50 has a few nice sights...80 is a high speed drone with lots of cage/truck traffic. The E.T. Highway is ultra desolate, beware that gas stations are few and FAR between. As I understand it, gas is no longer available at Rachel. (Former Nevadan here).

Not sure how much time you really have, but if you must do the E.T., I'd take 120 over the Sierras through Yosemite. A lot of turistas that time of year, but if you've never been, it's a special place. Once you're on the east slope of the Sierra, you might want to gas up in Lee Vining before continuing east on 120 to Benton, not sure how many gas stations are still open between Lee Vining and Tonopah.

If you've seen Yosemite before, and wish to enjoy the Sierras with a bit less traffic, I'd recommend Hwy 4, Sonora Pass. You won't see El Capitan, but you will see fewer RV's once your up past Dardenelle.

Or...if you want something really different, with a selection of the High Sierra roads, just zoom out of the Bay Area up I-80 to Auburn, then north on 174/20 to Nevada City. From NC take Hwy 49 through Downieville, and over Yuba Pass. Connects with Hwy 89, head south to Truckee, then Hwy 267 to north shore Tahoe, go around on the Nevada side on 28 to Hwy 50, southward to pickup SR207 (Kingsbury grade) which will take you over to the Carson Valley and Minden. From Minden south on Hwy 88 and 89 to Markleeville. A few miles south of M'ville, 89 turns up over the mountains again, via Monitor Pass and Hwy 395. From there you can trek on down to Lee Vining for the beginning of your E.T. adventure...

Boy do I MISS those Sierra vistas and highways! :laugh

Cheers...!

PS. Sneak peek of E.T. Highway...Oilhead pictures...page 48, #708 :dance
PPS. If you've never had a Basque style dinner, try the J-T, or the French Hotel in Minden/Gardnerville.
 
... I'd recommend Hwy 4, Sonora Pass. You won't see El Capitan, but you will see fewer RV's once your up past Dardenelle.

Hwy 4 is Ebbetts Pass
Hwy 108 is Sonora Pass

In my opinion either is preferable to 120 unless you are planning on a stop inside Yosemite Valley. Some samples to help you decide.

Highway 4:

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1459218766_SFPvTsJ?width=640&height=360"></iframe>

Highway 108:

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="http://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1071430441_A4p35?width=640&height=360"></iframe>

Decisions, decisions...
 
Hwy 4 is Ebbetts Pass
Hwy 108 is Sonora Pass



Decisions, decisions...

Ooopsie! Thanks for refreshing my brain...perhaps I need to head down there and ride ALL of those passes again. Did that many moons ago on a Ducati, accompanied by my b-in-law on his VFR. Started the trek near Redding, did all the better roads (ie., not I-80 or US50) and ended up in Yosemite after a few days. What a week.

Cheers!
 
Does Sonora still have those ultra narrow sections near the summit? First time I drove a car over that road ('71) there was one spot I had to back up about 200 yards so some guy in HUGE RV going the other way could squeeze by our little Ford Capri...

Thanks for the vid clips!

Cheers!
 
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