Rode the RT to Windy Ridge with the boys and enjoyed the ride. RT ran sort of OK at first, but perfectly after a gas stop at Randall, WA. Thereafter, not so good. The issue is becoming more minor but puzzling for the technical side and I had a decision to move upon. So I did.

RT is gone and replaced with a 30th Anniversary GS Adventure. It runs correctly, is surprisingly fun to ride for a bike that looks as big as the Titanic, and eliminates the need for an extra fuel cell. I'll live without a fairing and go do the rides I have planned.

First shakedown ride in September after I get break in miles accrued, first service done, and enough additional miles and heat cycles to be ready for a ten day ride.

Later

Rode the RT today and it still has the sickness - will put a bunch of miles on it tomorrow and see if it improves - doubt it; but at least I'm riding with the Service Manager and he can have a go at it to really understand what it does.

Later - disappointed!

The techs in my shop have been working on my new RT for a while and slowly working down to a resolution to the rough running engine. I think they finally nailed it. Seems the valve timing on the left cylinder was off a tad perhaps accounting for the off and on again run-ability issues. Will pound a few miles on Monday and see how we do. Pretty excited as the engine runs so much better and I really like this motorcycle.

Later

Still an occasional rough running but the boys are drilling down to the solution. Man I like this bike; handles like a dream and thrifty with gas. All I really need to do is get the saddle done by Rick Mayer and I should be good to go.

I'm about to put some miles on the bike to determine its real fuel range. Once I have that dialed in I can work the timing for some long delayed Iron Butt rides. Looking forward to September ride with friends as well.

Later

Got my RT back from the shop. Main problem seems to have been a bad sensor. Power is up and throttle pick-up is much better. Still a bit intermittent as sometimes it runs rough - so not fully sorted but we re moving in the right direction. Hope it gets fully resolved soon.

Later

Took a short ride with the boys in the shop. Amazing how well the War Piglet did with air in the tires.





One of the guys got hungry

Laurie and I took the Big Red Truck to Port Gamble for lunch and then down the Hood Canal to end the day. Fun to ride with my woman, but am sure tired of the cold overcast days we have had lately. Beginning to think this will be one of those cold wet summers we get every now and then.

The Vulture is tired of rain - just wanted you to know.

Later

Well, the RT is still sick. Had an updated cam timing trigger installed but it still runs rough - not as it should run, and as I've experienced the bike to run. The issue is an intermittent thing - probably the toughest to troubleshoot and often results in throwing parts at the problem till something works.

Frustrating, but I'll hang in with the technicians for a good while to see if they can sort it out as I have a lot of future riding invested in this particular motorcycle. I'm curious too - like what causes this - I have theories and want to see how far off my diagnosis is.

Later

Got home Tuesday after a night in Twin Falls, ID. Mostly dry - a few showers, and reasonably comfortable riding temperatures. Bike runs weird. Sometimes after starting, it runs perfectly - other times rough like the throttle bodies are out of sync.

The boys in the shop redid the cam trigger adjustment, installed new software, and reset adaptive values - and asked me to go ride it, which I did this weekend. It runs better in the crappy dimension but still rough and unacceptably so. When it decides to run correctly it is the best motorcycle I have been on in years.

Not sure if anybody has a solution - theories abound - but those don't make the bike run right. I think I'm done with BMW bikes. This makes three in a row with issues right out of the box.

Later