steve_herrick
New member
Ok here goes... Last summer I made may way up to SF during what's been a year-long cross country trip from Vermont (year long because I could only do it in phases due to work/budget challenges). As I started getting into the city, I noticed that shifting gears had become way more clunky than what I had become accustomed to. The bike had been running pretty much fine until then, but as I pulled into my friends driveway I found it next to impossible to shift gears without fear of seriously breaking something. Unfortunately, I had to fly back home to Vermont shortly after arrival to get back to work, and wasn't able to address the problem while I was out there.
Fast forward a few months and now I'm finally able to take some more time off of work to get out west and reunite with my bike toward the end of April. I intended on having the bike brought over to Bavarian Cycle Works in town this week for repair but I recently found out that they're going to be evicted from their space. I'm hoping someone on this forum can either point me in the direction of a reputable shop in the area that could diagnose the problem, or even better, if someone in the area would be willing to take a quick look at the bike and see if they can figure out what needs to get done to get her back on the road. Currently, the bike is in a friends garage in Outer Richmond, but none of my friends in the area know enough about BMW's, let alone motorcycles in general, to be of any assistance.
From what I could tell, I think it might be a busted gear box. It looks like getting a gear box repaired could cost upwards of $2k, but having one replaced would be a bit less expensive. I'm looking for the cheapest fix but honestly I'd do whatever it took to get this bike back on the road. I'd sell a kidney. I love the bike that much.
I've only been riding for 7 years (I'm 32) and have never really done any long trips prior to the cross country trek. But alas, I've absolutely fallen in love with the R90, motorcycle touring and the freedom and adventure it affords. My goal is to someday complete a RTW but in the meantime, I'd like to get the R90 down to Phoenix where my parents currently live so I can garage it down there.
I met a woman named Voni Glaves in Terlingua TX while on my trip West who told me all about how tight-knit the BMW community is and how the BMWMOA is a great place to get help when in a pinch, so I figured I'd take her advice and reach out. I'm not really sure what the best course of action is in a situation like this, since I live in Vermont and have no way of really diagnosing the problem on a bike on the opposite side of the country. This is my first post and I just joined the forum last week, so please take any ignorance with a grain of salt.
Thanks in advance if you've read through this and can provide any help at all.
Here are some pics of the bike with my touring setup:
Fast forward a few months and now I'm finally able to take some more time off of work to get out west and reunite with my bike toward the end of April. I intended on having the bike brought over to Bavarian Cycle Works in town this week for repair but I recently found out that they're going to be evicted from their space. I'm hoping someone on this forum can either point me in the direction of a reputable shop in the area that could diagnose the problem, or even better, if someone in the area would be willing to take a quick look at the bike and see if they can figure out what needs to get done to get her back on the road. Currently, the bike is in a friends garage in Outer Richmond, but none of my friends in the area know enough about BMW's, let alone motorcycles in general, to be of any assistance.
From what I could tell, I think it might be a busted gear box. It looks like getting a gear box repaired could cost upwards of $2k, but having one replaced would be a bit less expensive. I'm looking for the cheapest fix but honestly I'd do whatever it took to get this bike back on the road. I'd sell a kidney. I love the bike that much.
I've only been riding for 7 years (I'm 32) and have never really done any long trips prior to the cross country trek. But alas, I've absolutely fallen in love with the R90, motorcycle touring and the freedom and adventure it affords. My goal is to someday complete a RTW but in the meantime, I'd like to get the R90 down to Phoenix where my parents currently live so I can garage it down there.
I met a woman named Voni Glaves in Terlingua TX while on my trip West who told me all about how tight-knit the BMW community is and how the BMWMOA is a great place to get help when in a pinch, so I figured I'd take her advice and reach out. I'm not really sure what the best course of action is in a situation like this, since I live in Vermont and have no way of really diagnosing the problem on a bike on the opposite side of the country. This is my first post and I just joined the forum last week, so please take any ignorance with a grain of salt.
Thanks in advance if you've read through this and can provide any help at all.
Here are some pics of the bike with my touring setup: