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Hello Everyone

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r90sLifer
beemerbike
Dino
Alan Coles
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Post by Alan Coles Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:31 am

Hi, my name is Alan Coles. I'm the proud new (to me) owner of a 2004 R1150RT. Hope to make it out to the Arby's meets on Thursdays that Ken George told me about today. I forget what time these are, sorry Ken. ;-)

Also, I am looking at getting a pair of BMW Allround boots to replace/supplement a worn pair of Sidis, but as these things have to be ordered and I am a bit concerned regarding their fit. As most know, size is only part of the issue and every manufacturer uses different lasts. I'm wondering if anyone here has a pair (or any other BMW model boot) in size 9/9.5/10 that I could try to see how they fit.

To introduce myself, I guess I should say that I started riding friends bikes in the 60's, mostly small Hondas, an RD350 and street/trail bikes. I took the Safety Course in the early 70's and in 73' bought a 73' Norton 850 Commando in boxes. Yes, the original owner, and the factory had conspired to ensure that the bike didn't make it 4,000 miles before it needed a rebuilt top-end and complete primary drive. I rebuilt it and headed out across Canada on it with my friend Dick Lind on his BSA 650 Lightning. After an extremely circuitous route (5,000 mile just to get to Grand Bend, Ontario, on Lake Huron) we found that we had drunk far too much of our money to make it to Vancouver, let alone make it there and back. In fact I just had enough to turn around and head back to Halifax. Unfortunately, the bottom-end let go just outside Quebec City, on the old hump-backed bridge that went from Levis to QC. It seized right on the bridge in 5 pm Friday traffic. I shipped it home in a Ski-Doo crate, rebuilt it again, and rode it year-round while going to Dalhousie, until I sold it in 1976 to move to Vancouver.

In 1977 I bought a brand new Suzuki GS750 as soon as they were introduced. I was told I got the third one that came into the country. I started to club road-race it at the old Westwood track outside Vancouver but sold it in 1979 to buy a house.

My next bike didn't come until the 1990's as home ownership, moving back to Halifax, eye operations, marriage, children, divorce, etc., conspired against the inner draw of the open road. That bike, in the mid-90's, was a stripped 1100 GoldWing which I rather enjoyed, but again had to sell. Building a new home in 2000 and then racing a BMW M3 (my co-driver took the 2008 Canadian AutoSlalom class Championship and the 2009 Canadian Time Attack class Championship), have kept me away from two-wheels until last week. I plan on getting as many rides in as my schedule and other commitments will allow.

My wife, Anna, isn't very enthusiastic about motorcycles, so aside from my always having a soft spot for BMW bikes since spending a summer outside Hope, BC in the early 70's with a friend's R69S, I felt that an 04' R1150RT would fit what I was looking for perfectly and I think it is likely one of the best bikes to introduce Anna to one-hour rides on and hopefully move up to 2-3 hour trips to The Valley, and then to PEI, etc., if she acclimates sufficiently. Only time will tell, but I'm crossing my fingers. ;-)

As far as knowing folks in the motorcycle community, it's mostly guys who were active here in the 70's like Johnny Doherty, Peter Dobson, and Dave Munroe, then later Andy Hill. The only current BMW owners that I know who come readily to mind would be Ian Pierce and Darren Tapely. I don't think Brian Jarvis still has a Beemer, not sure if his father Ken (whom I only met a few times) still does.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Hopefully someone can let me know the time for the Arby's meet and I can meet some of you. The April 18th., one is the first I'll be able to make. Also, as above, does anyone have a pair of BMW boots in the 9.5 size area that I might try on for fit?

Regards, Alan
Alan Coles
Alan Coles

Number of posts : 627
Location : Bedford, Nova Scotia
Registration date : 2013-03-31

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Post by Dino Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:36 am

Welcome to the club.
: ^ )
Dino
Dino

Number of posts : 432
Location : Cole Harbour, NS
Registration date : 2007-11-20

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Post by Guest Mon Apr 01, 2013 3:04 pm

Alan, welocme. I don't know about the Doherty, Dobson, Munroe connection, we will not hold that against you, great guys, know them all very well.

First club run was yesterday. First long club run would be the May long weekend to Hermit Island, Maine.

Ken still has 2 BMW bikes. Brain has cars, no bikes that I know of.
Look forward to meeting you. Greg

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Post by beemerbike Mon Apr 01, 2013 3:07 pm

Hi Allen,welcome to the fraternal order of BMW Motorrad Owners.Your choice of a R1150RT is an excellent one and should give you more smiles per Km. I have 2 pair of BMW boots,different styles both size 43 euro.Equivalent Cdn/?US size is 9.5-10.You are welcome to try them for size.Call for a mutually convient time.902-864-1268. Ken J.

beemerbike

Number of posts : 42
Location : Sackville
Registration date : 2007-11-22

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Post by Alan Coles Mon Apr 01, 2013 3:56 pm

Thanks for the welcomes Dino, Greg, and beemerbike.

I'm glad my acquaintances won't be held against me. I could be in real trouble otherwise. ;-)

The Maine run, is one I'd enjoy, but will be too long for what I plan on being a gradual introduction for Anna to motorcycle riding. This will be a very gradual process to make sure she doesn't get too much at first and help identify any issues she might have that I can then try to fix/adjust/modify to make sure she has the best chance possible of learning to like it. If she does, that would be fantastic. If she doesn't than I'll just ride solo and, unfortunately, less often. I'll still ride, just less often.

beemerbike, I've spent a lot of time looking at which model I wanted. I really fell in love/lust with the R90S when they were introduced. They had a smoke grey version and an orange colour scheme that were both extremely appealing to me both aesthetically and mechanically. There were others since then that I liked quite a bit, but the R1150RT is the one that has had the best combination of looks, features, performance and simplicity to satisfy what I "think" I want at this stage in my life. I'm looking forward to bringing it back from New Jersey in two weeks time and getting into riding it to work daily in medium to good weather.

Glad to hear you've got something that can give me some insight into fit/sizing on the BMW lasts. I'll call you shortly.
Alan Coles
Alan Coles

Number of posts : 627
Location : Bedford, Nova Scotia
Registration date : 2013-03-31

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Post by r90sLifer Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:09 pm

Hi Alan,
I'm the one that directed you to this newsgroup. And I think your goal of sizing up a BMW boot may be well on it's way.
I hope you will enjoy the membership, this website and what the collective wisdom of the BMWONS has to offer.
I read your intro and can atest to owning one of the BMW bikes that caught your eye early on: a 1974 R90S. I need to do a few things to it, such as a new timing chain and chasing a charging problem but other than that it is a dependable ride that is almost sure to start a conversation anywhere I take it.
Re: meeting at Arby's, reiders usually show up around 6:00 - 6:30 but there is no set time.
Welcome to our newsgroup,
Amédée Smile
r90sLifer
r90sLifer

Number of posts : 779
Location : Waverley,NS
Registration date : 2007-11-18

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Post by 1st Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:41 pm

Welcome to the club
1st
1st

Number of posts : 366
Location : Middle Sackville
Registration date : 2008-01-04

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Post by TREE Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:50 pm

Greetings Alan. Look forward to seeing you and the new bike.
TREE
TREE

Number of posts : 535
Location : Somewhere in da mud
Registration date : 2007-11-17

http://www.tinyurl.com/y88wmxj

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Post by keng Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:09 pm

Hi Alan:

Glad to see you made it to the web site. Told you Amedee was a helpful guy Very Happy Hope to see you soon!

Ken G
keng
keng

Number of posts : 253
Location : Dartmouth, NS
Registration date : 2008-01-22

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Post by Alan Coles Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:43 pm

Thanks Amédée, 1st, Tree, and Ken E.

Yes, I was able to try Ken J's two styles of BMW boot and determined that I'm a size 44 for their product (perhaps a 43.5, naturally). We chatted about some mutual acquaintances from the past, got caught up on what he'd been doing since we last saw each other several years ago and more importantly, I got to drool over his R100RS. May have to go back and offer to clean or polish it or something just to look at that thing again. ;-)

Amédée, it may not be safe if I get to see your R90S'. They and Ken's R100RS are just too sweet to look at to forget. I can't afford to collect bikes but I sure wish I could.

Unfortunately, I called Bob's BMW and they're all out of the BMW AllRound Boot in sizes 43-44-45. They still have a few other sizes left and I think their sale price of $199.99 can't be beat. They won't have any 44s in until the new version arrives in about a month.

Thanks again Amédée, Ken G, and Ken J., for your help.

I won't be bringing my R1150RT up from NJ until the 15th, but will try to come to Arby's this Thursday (might bring my wife's little two-seater BMW) to say hello to everyone.

Alan Coles
Alan Coles

Number of posts : 627
Location : Bedford, Nova Scotia
Registration date : 2013-03-31

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Post by shereef Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:58 pm

Welcome to the gang Al
We will meet soon I hope, you gotta tell me more about this m3 stuff
shereef
shereef

Number of posts : 237
Location : Halifax
Registration date : 2012-11-05

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Post by Alan Coles Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:07 am

shereef, here are two teaser pictures of the M3:

This is me in Turn-3 at Atlantic Motorsport Park in the 2009 National Time Attack Championship, where my co-driver (Brian Gay) took the National SGT-2 Class title. Notice the rubber and the strip being left on the asphalt. Very Happy
Hello Everyone 2009-011

This is from the 2008 National AutoSlalom Championship where my co-driver (Brian Gay) took the National B/SP Class title.
Hello Everyone 2008_c10

Here are two pictures of the previous owner of my R1150RT. When I met with 1st @ Arby's last night and showed him the picture he recognized the bike from the Killboy.com site where, as I understand it, this bike is the only one to have been the sites feature photo two separate times. Here they are:
Hello Everyone 3g43fe10
and
Hello Everyone 3ka3n510
If you zoom in on this one (not sure if the down-sampling losses the detail), you can see the sparks flying off the foot peg. I believe the bottom outer edge of the side case may have been shaved down slightly there as well, but I'm not certain. Twisted Evil
Alan Coles
Alan Coles

Number of posts : 627
Location : Bedford, Nova Scotia
Registration date : 2013-03-31

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