No not that Woodstock!

This was Woodstock, Virginia, a sleepy little I81 exit north of Harrisonburg, in northwest Virginia, population 5,000. The BMW Rider’s Association (BMWRA) held their “Set My Soul Free” National Rally at the Shenandoah Fairgrounds from Thursday, September 5 through Sunday morning, September 8. Having an old BMW motorcycle I was curious to go to a motorcycle rally, even if it is marque limited.

Daytona Bike Week? Sturgis? Myrtle Beach Bike Week? Nope, quite a bit tamer and smaller than those, about 900 attendees versus 500,000, but fewer than expected because of Hurricane Dorian.

No drunken, tattooed, beer-bellied bikers watching wet T-shirts wash their bikes. Well, yes, lots of beer (I volunteered and helped serve one night) and yes, overweight dudes, and yes, some tattoos, and yes, some drunks, but I lot fewer of them!

Plenty of BMW vendors who could “farkle” my bike, riding clinics, destination rides, seminars, and a chance to talk to other riders. To see the brochure, click here.

So I rode the back roads to Woodstock on Thursday avoiding I64 and I81. Robious Road (711) west to 522, west on Route 33 and through Louisa, Gordonsville, and up and over Swift Run Gap to Elkton. North on 340, up the valley and over the Massanutten range to the Shenandoah Valley, and finally north on Route 11 to Woodstock. About three hours of riding time.

Well, Murphy found me there. On Saturday, I walked by the bike and noted the clock was not working. Hecky Dang Doodle! (Not what I actually said and not even close to the more forceful, Hecky Ding Dang Doodle.) The new, expensive, BMW battery that I installed was stone dead.

Because both the left and right fairings need to be removed to reach both battery poles, (32 screws, see previous post), I called my friend Jeff who rented a U-Haul motorcycle trailer in Richmond and drove up to rescue me. The following Tuesday we trailered the bike up to Morton’s BMW, left it, and had dinner with the Grumpies. I was told that the mechanics at Morton’s were swamped and they don’t know when they will get to it.

My original plans were to continue from Woodstock to Morgantown WV and visit the cousins. Not happening.

Stuart, Morton’s Service Manager, showed me how I could remove the seat, attach a jumper cable to a long screwdriver and wedge it up into the bowels of the bike to reach the positive pole. So, it could have been jump-started but not push started. You have to have enough battery to boot the computer for a push start to work and yes, though I have been asked by non-riders, there is no kick-starter on road bikes these days. Besides, I would need to gain a few hundred pounds to kick-start an 1100 cc bike.

So it is September with warm, sunny, great motorcycling weather. October is often better. Waited all year for the best two riding months … and I had a trip to Athens, Ohio scheduled next week to ride the Windy 9 with eight other guys and both my bikes are indefinitely in the shop.

Buy a third, new (the other bikes are 1991 and 2001), lighter (the Beemer is 600+ pounds), unfaired (easier to get to the battery), more reliable (latest technology) bike? Been thinking about it. Does anybody want to buy a used bike? Cheap!