Shawn Smoaks

[jammess]

Anybody ever watch the Shawn Smoaks vlogs on U-tube? Shawn is the head mechanic at the Vancouver, WA BMW dealer Pro Caliber and he posts a daily video on U-tube. Click the link below for his website. Anyway, Shawn is a really fine mechanic with years of experience and he absolutely dislikes the K1600 bikes and has convinced me that I would sooner walk than ever, in this life, own such a beast. So check out his channel on U-tube for some really good info and scenery as well. Shawn's wife Kelly also works in the parts department at Pro Caliber. Shawn owns numerous bikes of his own and is actually a die hard fan of Harley Davidson. Now, I've never owned or even ridden a Harley in my 45+ years of owning road bikes mostly BMW with a few Japanese makes thrown in like my present FJR1300 which, by the way, I would prefer over any late high tech wonder from der fatherland. Shawn owns a fairly new Road King which is a beautiful to look at machine and if it weren't for my age and bad back I would like to at least test ride. Then I find out HD has suspended production of the RK bikes. What a nightmare even doing a valve check let alone an adjustment on that beast of a K1600. BMW today is a far cry from the BMW I used to know and admire.

http://www.shawnsmoak.com

 

[kbasa]

Why haven't you ridden a Harley? They're fun. Not for me, especially at this point in my life, but they're a blast to ride. One of our favorite motorcycle memories is cruising around Daytona during bike week on a tangerine Road Glide. A little Van Morrison on the radio as we cruised around at sundown really set a tone for that ride that I can still feel.

I kinda have some difficulty understanding the difference between a K16 and an FJR in your mind. Across the frame inlines, stuffed into a spar frame aren't all the different beyond one having 6 cylinders and one having 4, IMHO.

Given that your newest bike is working on 14 years old, it doesn't look like you have much interest in modern bikes, so why do you feel it necessary to come in here and drag them through the mud?

First it's pumping your own gas signifying the end times or something and now you seem to be on a mission to throw K16s under the bus.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

I've seen a lot of his videos.
I always thought he owned the damned place.

 

[BC1100S]

BMW today is a far cry from the BMW I used to know and admire.

Just more of the same from jammess.

 

[jammess]

Well, it passes the time and I don't chase girls anymore. No, truth is I enjoy some of the replies I get.. That and I think some of them are well founded and even informative.

As to the difference between an FJR and a K1600 goes....man, I could start another thread just to address that question. Overall reliability and cost to maintain come to mind. I watched last night's Smoaks vlog where he was addressing a valve check on a K1600 and I can just see me trying to contort my body to do that without a mc lift. I am really kind of sad the way motorcycle design has progressed from the end of the airhead era to the present. Remember from the '70s when BMW's slogan was, "Simple by choice"? This is not to say I don't like my pristine work of MC art that being my much admired and beloved R1100RSL which is to me a very advanced and perfected airhead computer controlled though it is but at least the computer mainly controls just fuel and ignition. The ABS system I could do without but at least it doesn't have what..13 bleeders or thereabouts?

I guess the old saying, "Whatever floats your boat" applies here.

Hey, at least we still have attendant gas pumps at all stations that must sell gas at the same price as their self service dispensers so no issues. I think half the pumps at each station have to be attendant serviced.

Sorry if my occasional post upsets. Well, not really. lol..lol..

 

[kbasa]

Well, it passes the time and I don't chase girls anymore. No, truth is I enjoy some of the replies I get.. That and I think some of them are well founded and even informative.

As to the difference between an FJR and a K1600 goes....man, I could start another thread just to address that question. Overall reliability and cost to maintain come to mind. I watched last night's Smoaks vlog where he was addressing a valve check on a K1600 and I can just see me trying to contort my body to do that without a mc lift. I am really kind of sad the way motorcycle design has progressed from the end of the airhead era to the present. Remember from the '70s when BMW's slogan was, "Simple by choice"? This is not to say I don't like my pristine work of MC art that being my much admired and beloved R1100RSL which is to me a very advanced and perfected airhead computer controlled though it is but at least the computer mainly controls just fuel and ignition. The ABS system I could do without but at least it doesn't have what..13 bleeders or thereabouts?

I guess the old saying, "Whatever floats your boat" applies here.

Hey, at least we still have attendant gas pumps at all stations that must sell gas at the same price as their self service dispensers so no issues. I think half the pumps at each station have to be attendant serviced.

Sorry if my occasional post upsets. Well, not really. lol..lol..

You must be new to BMW. "Simple by Choice" is the Airheads club motto. BMW was something like "For one shining moment, stop compromising" when they were trying, usually unsuccessfully, to sell airheads.

From reading your posts, it's clear you have a problem with everything from pumping your own gas to bikes being too capable for you or something, so I have to ask: Why are you here? You don't seem to want to learn anything, you seem to want to grouse about stuff.

 

[jammess]

You must be new to BMW. "Simple by Choice" is the Airheads club motto. BMW was something like "For one shining moment, stop compromising" when they were trying, usually unsuccessfully, to sell airheads.

From reading your posts, it's clear you have a problem with everything from pumping your own gas to bikes being too capable for you or something, so I have to ask: Why are you here? You don't seem to want to learn anything, you seem to want to grouse about stuff.

I think you are correct about the motto. I swear my memory isn't what it used to be. Yeah, I did belong to the airheads beemer club. Joined in early '90s when I bought '89 R100RT. First BMW was a new '77 R75/7 which I wish I still had. By the way over on the Flea Market is what looks to be a '75 R90 with really low miles for sale. Looks to be a real beauty.

One of the things that drew me to BMW was the inherent simplicity which made the bikes very easy and practical for owners to maintain which is also pretty much still the case with my just turned 30 R1100RSL. That was then but certainly not the case today. I mean today you can't even buy a factory service manual for one of the new bikes not that one would help you much anyway owing to the what I view as complexity and often without purpose other than to attract today's more youthful and affluent buyer.

These thoughts are just my points of view which may be different than yours and I admit my advanced years no doubt influence my thinking. Sorry if you're offended.

 

[BC1100S]

Apparently jammess has nothing better to do than to grouse about.... (fill in the blank)

Its actually kind of sad.

 

[pglaves]

OK enough!

Let's talk about bikes, and stuff that breaks, or works, and oil, and tires, and not about people!! OK?

 

[cajunrider]

The ABS system I could do without but at least it doesn't have what..13 bleeders or thereabouts?

Let's see...
- 2 front calipers
- 1 rear caliper
- 3 front circuit on ABS module
- 3 rear circuit on ABS module

So, 9 actually (10 if you count the clutch)... but I get your point.

The nice thing about the Oilhead servo ABS is that it can be bypassed. Re-route a few hydraulic hoses, cut & splice a few wires, then ride on. Still, it sucks that they fail so often...

I fully agree about the modern machines being TOO computer controlled. The moment I have to dig into a menu to turn on/off some setting, I walk away. Mainly because IF that screen breaks, then that menu no longer exists. This HAS happened to cars before... Where a screen on the dash died and an otherwise working vehicle is now completely worthless.

Give me a switch or button for all the optional accessories. At least those can be replaced with after market if factory parts cost more than the value of the machine as a whole.

 

[skibum69]

My oilhead has no ABS.

 

[drew]

Content relevant to the subject header.

 

[kbasa]

I'm sitting here with my mouth open reading about people getting rid of safety equipment because [reasons]. Or objecting to them because of [reasons].

After 45 years on BMWs, it's kind of mind boggling to see this in a group that typically prides itself on safe competent operation of their motorcycles.

I'm 64 and KNOW that my riding abilities aren't going to get better. I sold my beloved 916 to buy an R1250GS because it has safety functions that will help me stay out of the ditch.

That people actively reject this survival advantage is pretty stunning to read. The last thing I want to do is leave my wife of 39 years a widow because I was out on my bike and got in over my head.

You all do you, but taking advantage of every safety advantage I can get.

 

[kbasa]

I think you are correct about the motto. I swear my memory isn't what it used to be. Yeah, I did belong to the airheads beemer club. Joined in early '90s when I bought '89 R100RT. First BMW was a new '77 R75/7 which I wish I still had. By the way over on the Flea Market is what looks to be a '75 R90 with really low miles for sale. Looks to be a real beauty.

One of the things that drew me to BMW was the inherent simplicity which made the bikes very easy and practical for owners to maintain which is also pretty much still the case with my just turned 30 R1100RSL. That was then but certainly not the case today. I mean today you can't even buy a factory service manual for one of the new bikes not that one would help you much anyway owing to the what I view as complexity and often without purpose other than to attract today's more youthful and affluent buyer.

These thoughts are just my points of view which may be different than yours and I admit my advanced years no doubt influence my thinking. Sorry if you're offended.

Never mistake being annoyed with being offended.

 

[jammess]

Yeah, my '04 R1150RT developed an ABS system issue and it was very easy and inexpensive to just remove the ABS pump and convert to manual brakes with no ABS. Also, the payoff was a very good braking system. Another issue I had with the 1150 was the linked brakes. Early on with the bike I wasn't aware that if I engaged the rear brake like when making tight turns in a parking lot like you would normally do that you would also engage the front brake. This happened to me several times and twice I lost control when the handle bars abruptly turned into the stop and over I went. Now, until this happened with the '04 I had never had this experience in my riding career. Both times the rear view mirrors took the worst of it to the tune of $200 each for replacement so $400 invested in a couple of mirrors. This really irritated me and I still occasionally think about it. It's incidents like this which indicate a definite lack of basic R&D that has affected my overall attitude pertaining to the marque. Sorry but that's the way it is.

It's things like this that cause me to be hesitant to invest in the latest and greatest technology from der fatherland. Well, that and my age to be truthful. lol..lol..

 

[pauls1150]

Gosh, I'm on my second '04 1150 and I've never felt that the linking of the brakes was any kind of "issue".

Thanks for posting Smoakes' link, interesting stuff.

I've had two Harleys and also consider them lots of fun; unfortunately, EVERY bike out there has its own quirks... A neighbor across the street just had the "modified" electronic ignition system on his HD go belly-up. Ah well... having lunch today with a few Sturgis returnees.

I don't think there's anybody left anymore who can actually offend me, and I {usually} don't waste my energy being annoyed.

 

[jammess]

Oh, one more thing. An earlier poster said that the FJR valve train is just as hard to access for checking and adjustment as a K1600. This is simply not the case. You don't need a lift to access the valves on an FJR or get down on your hands and knees. There is just no comparison when it comes to valve checking on the FJR as it can all be accomplished with comparative easy while standing in an upright position. The FJR valve check is done at 26K miles. Not sure what the intervals are on the K1600.

Anyway, I enjoy the Smoaks vlogs and one fine day I'm going to pay a visit to Pro Caliber just to say hi. The place is for sure a motorcycle super store as they sell everything from BMW to Indian, Honda, Yamaha and other brands as well. Don't think they work on bikes over 10 years in age so I'd be out of luck anyway but that's ok sense I always do my own thing. This is a big reason why I'm down on this so called technology today. I wish these new bikes would offer the buyer a way to opt out of some of this what I view as superfluous whistles and bells that just add to unnecessary complexity. Also, the Yamaha FSM is fantastic and very thorough compared to the R1100RS FSM and now you can't even get a service manual for the latest and greatest not that it would do you much good. This kind of thing doesn't anger me it just makes me sad to see how technology has progressed. I know my age is beginning to show.

Long and short is I think BMW needs to be a bit more user friendly especially when it comes to the needs of different buyers. Then again maybe it isn't practical to offer options like I'm describing in today's world. Maybe this would negatively affect a manufacturers bottom line too much in a negative way so really what do I know.

 

[cajunrider]

I'm sitting here with my mouth open reading about people getting rid of safety equipment because [reasons]. Or objecting to them because of [reasons].

In the case of early 2000's BMW servo assisted ABS, the reasons are many... like 2,000 plus reasons in USD. Plus a wait list of almost a year, if you're lucky.
Not many people want to let a bike sit for a year after paying $2,000 (plus/minus) to fix a bike that has a blue book of about $3,000 or less.

And thus... we must find a way to bypass them to simply make the machine usable again, or take apart and part out what is otherwise perfectly usable.

Which brings us back to the cost of too much computer controlled "goodies" on a vehicle. When those computers are no longer manufactured, repairs (if even possible) can cost more than the value of the vehicle.

 

[kbasa]

In the case of early 2000's BMW servo assisted ABS, the reasons are many... like 2,000 plus reasons in USD. Plus a wait list of almost a year, if you're lucky.
Not many people want to let a bike sit for a year after paying $2,000 (plus/minus) to fix a bike that has a blue book of about $3,000 or less.

And thus... we must find a way to bypass them to simply make the machine usable again, or take apart and part out what is otherwise perfectly usable.

Which brings us back to the cost of too much computer controlled "goodies" on a vehicle. When those computers are no longer manufactured, repairs (if even possible) can cost more than the value of the vehicle.

I've got 18 years on my 05 RT and have had to sink almost no money into it. If I had to put a couple K into it, I think I'd be OK with that. For my entire ownership, I've not had to do anything other than put tires on it and change the fluids.

 

[EUGENE]

Kbasa No battery changes? Love my '07 F800ST simpleness.