Picture Of The Month! Alice's Restaurant! (Click image for a larger view)

Every month customers send us killer photos and I see no reason to keep them to myself so what better way to say thanks for sharing than to post them in this Picture of the Month spot..

Our March POTM was sent in by Kendall Lee. Yes.. that's his magnificent BMW K1200RS in front of the infamous Alice's Restaurant in Woodside, CA.

If you would like to contribute your own"worthy" shot for our newsletter, here's what I'll need. First.. just email me 1 or 2 of your best digital shots. It'll need to be at least 800x600 in size or larger and preferably A. Of a BMW K1200S, K1200RS, K1200R, R Sport, or any model year K1200GT and B. In focus.

Hi-Rez is fine just not "stupid-large." If you don't know how to reduce a photo from a gargantuan size.. buy a freakin' book or program and learn. Geezz. Along with the photo, provide your full name and a paragraph or two explaining when and where the shot was taken.. some minor details...whatever you want to add.. temp, camera, state of mind, etc, .. I'll evaluate all the photos I accumulate at the end of the month and pick one. No promises! If you beg me to post yours.. that will guarantee you that I won't. Savvy?

New Product: Pit Bull Trailer Restraint

Pit Bull.. makers of those bullet-proof motorcycle stands (I have 2!) has a new product on the market...the Pit Bull Trailer Restraint System! While we haven't had a chance to review one, this looks like a truly innovative product for those who do a lot of towing..

I spoke with Trent, one of the tech guys at Pit Bull about how it works and it sounds chimp easy both to install and use. Basically, you bolt the mounting plate to the floor of your trailer or pick-up with the securing clips open. The other part of the restraint attaches to your rear wheel prior to loading in your trailer. Then you roll the bike into the trailer until the bike locks into place. You can then walk away with a clear conscious.. no straps.. no worries.. no fear of your pride and joy falling while in tow. When ordering you'd specify what bike you have as the connecting pins are bike specific. What a damn good idea. Easier than using a Baxley Chock? I have no idea..

The Pit Bull Trailer Restraint System is sold complete with axle pins for your specific bike, floor mounting hardware, and a even a bungee cord to help keep the Trailer Restraint out of the way when you are moving the bike around with the restraint installed. The BMW version (# F0075X-000) fits the K1200S/R/GT as well as the BMW R1200S/GS/ST 2005 and later. If anyone tries one of these.. let me know what you think. Price is $279.95 Here's some wordage from their website...

Product Review: Acumen DG8 PLUG-IN Digital Gear Indicator

Yea yea.. virtually all BMW's have a digital gear indicator so why am I wasting sacred newsletter space and your valuable time reviewing a product that comes standard on our foofoo expensive German bikes?? Well... because many of us also have second bikes.. Japanese .. Italian .. British.. Cardassian...that aren't so mechanically blessed. I bought the Acumen DG8 for my 2006 Yamaha R1 which I use primarily on the track. Nothing is worse than setting up for a curve at warp 9.5 and due to the distraction of the cheering fans (in my head), the swollen testicles (in my pants), and the accompanying testosterone rush from just passing those two lowly youngsters on their shiny new Ducati 1098's .. you have forgotten what gear you are in..DOH! Bad things can happen fast if you are counting on serious engine braking to slow you down and you're one gear too high... DOH!! After last years accident free track day season I vowed to add a digital indicator kit to my Yammie. After the prerequisite painfully anal research I determined that the Acumen DG8 was the best on the market.

My local Yamaha dealer, MR Motorcycle in Asheville, NC installed the $160, plug-n-play Acumen DG8 without a hitch in 1.5 hours.. Not bad for their first time. My compliments to Acumen on the well thought out instructions and quality made product. Out on the road, the blue digital indicator (it also comes in sissy red) is super bright even in bright light. The display box is a tiny 1.5in x 1.2in x 0.8in. so mounting it anywhere in the dash area (with the furnished velcro) is chimp-easy. The DG8 also has an "auto dimming" feature for night time use. Cool.

In less than 2 miles I found the product's Achilles heel. The problem as I see it is... it seems that about 65%-70% of the time.. it takes a full 1 second to register a new gear after the shift...

At a snail-like 100mph on the track, that translates to 150ft per second... so for 150ft I'd be in the dark as to what gear I'm actually in... 150ft!... that's 1/2 a football field, my friends. To be fair, It does seem that sometimes the display lag time is only about 1/2 second which was about what I was hoping for but,... not often enough.. Honestly.. I was/am disappointed.. Could I just be a spoiled uber bastage? Definitely. Should I just shut the flock up and pay attention to what freakin' gear I'm in? Blow me..

Is the Acumen DG8 worth the money? Not to me...Having the DG8 is better than NOT having it and it might be OK for street riding, but if mine is set-up and working within factory spec as both the dealer and the manufacturer infers it is... it won't be of much "comfort" on the track.. and that's the ONLY reason I bought it...

Acumen Enlightenment: Just before this went to cyber-press, I got the following wordage from David Martin at Acumen in response to my email asking for an explanation as to my "lag" problems. He pretty much says that the lag time I experienced is probably normal and varies from bike to bike. Very refreshing for someone to take the time to answer so honestly in terms that even a Neanderthal (like myself) could understand.....Thx, Dave

"I guess you know how the DG8 works, by comparing the speedo and tacho signals - it effectively learns the gear ratios of the bike. But it gets a bit trickier than that.

Number 1 consideration; is it needs a certain number of signals to be able to do the maths. That number varies depending upon a few factors..but for the purposes of what we're explaining let's say it needs a minimum of 100 pulses on the speedo and/or the tacho. 100 pulses on a tacho is hardly ever a problem; the engine is spinning so fast. The problem is usually 100 pulses on the speedo. Some bikes, with a wheel driven speedo (early Hinckley Triumphs, early Aprilia Mille, Early SV650 plus a few others) that have only 4 pulses per wheel revolution will be slow in their reaction time. 4 pulses into 100 is 25 wheel revolutions. at around 2.2metres circumference per wheel - that's around 55 metres (170 feet). BUT you need to factor in the time takes the rider to let the clutch out as well.

Number 2 consideration is the gear ratio spacing. When the DG8 learns a gear it puts a window around what it learns and deems that everything within that window is that gear. The width of the window is determined, in part, by the spread of the gear ratios. A close-ratio box, like the R1 will have small windows. A wide-ratio bike,like and FJR1300 will have wider windows. As the rider lets the clutch out, and the gear effectively slips toward it should be the ratio comes into the window and the DG8 can start doing the maths. My old FJR and my current MT01 (A bike you don't have in the USA) are so fast in respect of DG8 response time, the clutch lever isn't an inch away from the handlebar before it knows what gear it's in

The DG8 was designed after an off-the-cuff comment from someone who said " I wish someone would make alight that comes on when I'm in top" - "It's a doddle" said I...but of course it wasn't, it took ages to get right! It was never designed for track days - but there's an awful lot of people who do use them for that.

What you need to remember is the DG8 is a universal product, and therefore has to work on everything from a Hyosung to a Harley - and it's a job it does pretty well. We always describe it like this; it works very well indeed on 85% of bikes, adequately on 14.5% of bikes and 0.5%...I'd rather not take the customers money.

If the DG8 was taught on a paddock stand you will find you will get better results by teaching it on the road as all the drive-train backlash is taken up (especially if you have a worn clutch-basket, or cush drive rubbers, or a slack chain. If the bike is non-standard (Speedo Healer etc) this may cause the odd problem.

The R1 response time is pretty good, I've never heard of one taking a second before. Late Yamaha's are pretty good, as are the 1050Triumphs, HD/Buells, Honda and the late Aprilia's (More and more makes are going to faster signal processing to suit ABS/Emissions)

K-46 Superbike News! First Look and the Latest Dirt!

The latest quote is attributed to the V.P of Development for BMW motorcycles. You may want to sit down...

..."yes, we are creating a 1000cc, four-cylinder machine in order to enter the World Superbike Championship in '09. It is a totally a new concept engine, like nothing we have in our range at present, so the entire bike and engine are new. There is a possibility that we'll test it in the '08 endurance races as a prototype. We need to acquire the necessary data to be as competitive as possible from the beginning. We need enough units to bring it to homologation, so we have to start manufacturing the bike before we are allowed to enter it in a Superbike race. But it won't be generally available to customers before the end of '09. First we have to produce a street version, but as a next stage, it is quite possible we could develop an HP4 Superbike model."

Well...it looks like we're in for a long wait. This news isn't very comforting for those of us who have been drooling from the mouth in anticipation.. I've lost my erection. Guess I'll have to make due with my R1 for another year.or two.. O, woe is me..

1. As of a few days ago we are now carrying the new Kisan TailBlazer for both the K1200S and new version K1200GT. These 3rd generation versions are plug-n-play, essentially trouble free, and CanBus compatible. The new K1200S version is unique in that it has 2 bulbs with a single socket. (pic at right) One bulb is for the tail light... the other the brake light. Shows out of the box thinking by Kisan. Glad they finally figured it out. I'll imagine these kits will save a few lives.

The Tailblazer is essentially plug-n-play replacement bulbs that are both brighter than stock and FLASH when you brake. The TailBlazer uses a flash pattern, which decays exponentially. The attention to the initial flashing now changes to a clear recognition that you're beginning to slow down! The GT kit (which fits the 2006 and Up models) offers 2 halogen bulbs. Sound good? Yes it does. Also.. each kits includes spare bulbs!! Protect your ass...the Kisan way.. Both versions are In Stock!