Picture Of The Month! Western Beauty!

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 spectacular November POTM was contributed anonymously and it's a beauty. I'd guess Utah? I love this shot!! Sweet.

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.

2009 I-BMW. com's 10th Annual Deals Gap K12 / K13 Rally: It Made Me Wet!! (Sponsored by www.I-BMW.com )

The 10th Annual Deals Gap K12 Rally was again the center of the known universe in late Sept. For the first time in 8 years we had Mount Waialeale-ish weather although the temps were good. Among our group.. the usual miscreants showed and quite a few newbies. I counted over 35 bikes. Many legends (in their own minds) of the K12 community showed..but just as many were mysteriously absent. Apathy? Old age? Incontinence? Who knows. I won't name names for fear of compromising their respective witness protection programs.

The only negatives for the rally weekend were a few velocity awards, the aforementioned Biblical rains, and one pretty hairy crash by an attendee. He sustained only minor injuries and actually showed up at that nights festivities, despite his destroyed GT. Next year's DGR has already been scheduled. See details in our 2010 rally section below. Hope to see you there. I'm already booked.

Thx to Tim (Cbnfvr over at I-BMW.com) for stepping up to the plate yet again and arranging the digs on short notice. I've posted what few rally pics I could come up with in the Pirates Lair Photo Gallery. Look for the album cleverly titled.. the Deals Gap Rally 2009 Enjoy.

Product Review: SpeedyHitch Camera System!

If you own a trailer you know that hooking it up is generally a total PITA. It's rarely easy if you are alone. You back up and get close.. you get out and look.. you get back in... you back another 6 inches.. you get out and look.. you get back in... you back another 2 inches.. Geezz.... So what to do? There are a few products on the market that help including those yellow aligner balls or the florescent sticks you stick on the trailer hitch and/or ball which help you line up things while backing. That's what I've been using for the last 5 years.

In today's hi-tech gadget obsessed world are you surprised that somebody came up with a portable wireless video cam and monitor just for this purpose? The SpeedyHitch Camera System which I purchased from Hard Line Products is the latest to hit the market. It makes hooking up or backing into tight sheds or garages chimp easy. No more dented license plates. No more dinged bumpers. No more crushed lawn furniture. No more flattened Dachshunds.

The Speedy Hitch is a no-brainer operation... sort of. The small camera mount has a magnet on the bottom which in theory should attach virtually anywhere to the back of your car, truck, SUV, or trailer. You aim it down at the ball. The magnet is plenty powerful so it doesn't matter where it's located although the closer the better. The handheld receiver with the full color monitor can either be held in your hand, laid on your dash, or just set on the console beside you. You back into place and viola!.. You're done. You remove the rear camera, store it in it's handy case and you're off. Simple, easy, as it should be... sort of.

Before I go any further, I should preface this review by saying that I am NOT a gadget freak. I don't care a thing about phones that take pictures. I don't own an iPod or iPhone. Never owned a Blackberry. I don't use bluetooth in my helmet or listen to iTunes when I ride. I don't need no stinkin' "App" to tell me if it's gonna rain. IMHO.. most technology distracts one from experiencing the simple things in life. Going into this review I was skeptical as to if I thought a gadget like this would be worth the $200 asking price as I'd been doing just fine with my cheap florescent sticks stuck to my hitch and balls. I could do a "balls" joke here.. but I won't. Too easy.

After charging the batteries in both the camera and the hand held receiver I was kinda excited to try the little gadget.. However.. I immediately ran into a problem.. My Ford Explorer has no metal on the back for the magnet on the little camera to attach to. DOH! Didn't see that one coming.. Not sure what the body panels and rear door are made out of but it's not metal. So what to do? I pondered the predicament for a few moments and then.. an epiphany. If I removed the plastic license plate cover...permenently.. I could just affix the tiny camera to the metal license plate. A minor inconvenience, but it worked like a charm. I also tried the camera on my wife's Ford F-250 pick-up. Plenty of metal on it so the camera would mount anywhere. After just one use of the Speedy Hitch, which cut the time to hook up the trailer by 2/3rds.. I was impressed.. Amber, who always has trouble hooking up her horse trailer due to the high gate on her pick-up, loved the little camera. She even found another use for it. She can put the camera inside the horse trailer and keep an eye on her horses while she's driving. Cool. This alone is worth the price of admission to her.

While I really like this product... I feel it's only fair to point out a few minor turds floating in what would have otherwise been a delicious punch bowl of technology.. First... for whatever reason.. no A/C charger comes with the kit. Only a cigarette plug for car charging. It worked just fine, but WTF? Second.. Do you see the little black antennae sticking out the back of the camera in the pic (above right)? That little sucker doesn't slide in or fold up. It's just sticking out of the back waiting for you to snap that sucker off in a moment of ineptitude. They should have made that retractable. Third.. A little windshield mount would have been nice like you can get with any GPS. And finally Fourth.....see that little bag that comes with the kit? For whatever reason.. the damn thing won't hold everything unless you cram it all in there risking damage to the pieces. Let me reiterate.. WTF? I'll have to find a larger bag just so I can keep it all together in my glove box without damaging the camera.

There is an FCC warning in the instructions about spying on people with this thing. (and I'm surprised my sick yet inventive mind didn't think of this..) Neighbors, friends, family, strangers, ACORN employees, that honeymoon couple in the tent just over from your campsite, or the sexy sister-in-law who unexpectedly shows up on weekends who casually let slip that she always sleeps in the nude. I initially didn't realize that the little camera can be removed from the mount (it's about the size of a large lipstick tube) and placed anywhere. The range on this thing is 300 ft and as it automatically switches to infra-red when it's dark... Woohoo!!.. er I mean... of course.. peeping is wrong.. and unfortunately ..illegal... I'm just sayin.'

IMHO.. This little device is one of the coolest accessories anyone who trailers often can own. Is it worth $200? If you trailer just once in a blue moon.. probably not. If you trailer often.. absolutely. Is the device a "must have?" That would depend on your circumstances and your life philosophy. It'll save you time and make things a lot easier.. no doubt about that. On a rainy day it could make the difference of you getting a little wet or soaked. Is it better than those florescent sticks stuck on your hitch and balls? Yes.. not that there's anything wrong with having things stuck on your balls. IMHO.. the SpeedyHitch Camera System is da shizzle and would make the perfect Christmas or birthday gift for the person who trailers often. I actually mailed Hard Line Products a check for my demo unit and added them to our product line. We have them here.. . Here are a few features they have listed on their website...

Inconceivable Clear Alternatives Turnaround: Surviving the Cliffs of Insanity

If you've tried to order parts from Clear Alternatives over the last year or so you probably ran into supply problems, excuses, silence, or the proverbial brick wall. I, like many, have not been able to get parts from Clear Alternatives for over 7 months. In this industry that's a lifetime especially if you have a pile of back-orders on your desk and angry customers at the gate with pitchforks and torches. Last week, just when I'm about to do go public with a Howard Beale-ish rant.. ("I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more..").. I got a call from Clear Alternative's CEO Frank Brower. He was calling to apologize for the clusterflock and explain what has been happening. We spoke for over 20 minutes. His was a tale of woe, misery, foreign extortion, and intrigue. The long story is too harrowing to print. I kid you not. Here's the "short" version.

As soon as Frank agreed to the $40K.. the owner of the company upped the price to $250K.. Basically.. full blown extortion. Time to lawyer up. Days.. weeks.. months passed. Seasons changed. Clear Alternatives was basically dead in the water. While all this was going on.. the Taiwanese owner of the factory was clandestinely producing parts from the Clear Alternatives molds and not only trying to sell them as their own design to foreign companies, but he was contacting US vendors trying to sell them through the back door by-passing Clear Alternatives. To make things worse..this guy was trying to get his own foreign patents on the molds that Clear Alternatives already had US patents on. This guy was a piece of work! When the Chinese lawyers and courts got through talking ....Frank got his molds back, all inventory, and a huge legal bill.

The good news is..Clear Alternatives is back in business. Their all new manufacturing facility is up and running at 6 times the capacity of the former plant with better quality materials and welds. Parts are flowing. We actually got a shipment last week and more are on the way. Woohoo! If you have had parts backordered from Pirates Lair or "lessor" vendors, you can expect relief sometime very soon or so I'm told. As Paul Harvey would say.. "and now you know.. the rrrrrest of the story."

Postscript: I later heard that the aforementioned Taiwanese businessman was offered one of the vacant Czar positions in the Obama administration.

Product Review: Microtec ECU for Ducati 1098 / 1198

I hear a lot of complaints from our Ducati customers saying that I don't devote enough time to Ducati products. This is a valid point although I defend myself by pointing out that less than 5% of our biz is Ducati related.. With that said.... this one's for you, Duc boys.

My 2008 1098 has had the dreaded low rpm stumble like many others since I installed Quat-D slip-ons last fall.. The bike would  stutter and stumble like Foster Brooks on a bender... stalling at the worst times.. Sometimes when pulling out in front of fast moving traffic.. Yikes!..  I've had to rev the engine and slip the clutch just to take off for the last few months.. A royal PITA. I tried a few cheaper fixes but nothing helped so  last week I broke down and bought the 1098 version Microtec ECU  from the Ducshop. I had hoped it would be a plug-n-play affair with a standard slip-on map installed. I had hoped it would be a miracle cure for all my problems.. stalling.. sputtering.. balding.. a Democratic congress, etc..  but that was not to be. Once installed with the generic map, even though my fingers were vigorously crossed, the bike still had the low end problems. Drat! I knew going in that there was a possibility that I might have to have a new map made. Guess it was in the cards. So what to do?  Rather than take the bike to the "locals" who can't even cure a fogging dash ..I decided I had to suck it up and get experts to work on my bike. When I think of Ducati experts.. I think of the Ducshop.. located just outside of Atlanta. These guys are legends.

I called Thursday and made a plea to Mark (big Kahuna at the Ducshop) to squeeze me in ASAP and inferred that my sanity depended on it which was not that much of an exaggeration. I had heard that wait times for an appointment was at least 4-8 weeks... After a few minutes of back and forth wordplay with perhaps a tad of begging thrown in for good measure.. Mark just said.. "How about tomorrow early?!  Damn!  Rather than risk losing another once in a lifetime opportunity...like the time I almost slept with twin sisters but didn't because I stupidly misread their subtle signals, I told him "Sure!! Can do! I'll be there!"  Friday morning I broke precedent by getting up at and ungodly 6:45am to make the 4 hour drive to Atlanta. FYI.. I haven't gotten up that early since Pterodactyls ruled the skies!

I arrived around 11:15am and the guys immediately made me feel at home. Offering me a couch to nap on while Mark worked his magic on the bike. I passed on the couch and instead went out to my SUV, folded down the rear, and took a multi-hour nap. Woke up.. went to get a late.er... lunch.. came back and read for a while until I was informed that Optimus Prime.. the name I bestowed on my 1098, was ready. It was about 3PM. Mark told me that all went well.. all the low end demons should be vanquished and added that he dyno'd me at about 4 more HP.. Kewl.

Took the bike out the next day for a few hours and it's like riding a new machine. As promised.. the low end gremlins are virtually gone ..Don't get me wrong.. the bike does NOT run as flawless as say an R1 or Gixxer or VFR right off throttle, but it's easily as good as any Ducati I've ever ridden.. I have better throttle response.. The powerband seems a little more linear.. and after close examination in the mirror...I think I see new hair growing on my scalp. I can even loaf around at 3500rpm in a higher gear if I'm in an "old man" mood. I'm sure I'll see better mileage. Another benefit to the Microtec ECU.. Once installed, the factory 1098 auto start feature is gone. That's the one where you push the start button and it is supposed to keep cranking until it starts.. With the Microtec, the bike starts like every other bike although NOT as easy.. You let off the button and it stops cranking. A good thing... Especially if you are one of the few that has hit the auto-starter button while the bike was in gear and have it take off and crash into a gasoline pump... I'm not kidding. Don't ask.

Now that it's all done and the bike is running like hot buttah.. even though my wallet is still warm to the touch ($1100 Microtec ECU + $320 dyno time & labor+ $100 gas R/T to Atlanta, + $100 for 2 lap dances at Atlanta's Cheetah Lounge)... I feel like my  doubloons were well spent.. For the first time since I've owned the bike .. I'm really, really happy with it. IMHO..the Microtec is worth every penny.

I should also mention.. I deal with a lot of bike shops and vendors and not all are easy to work with. Many I just don't like because of their "money first.. customer second" philosophy.. Some don't even recognize you unless your wallet is open and they detect the sweet aroma of US greenbacks wafting on the breeze. I honestly enjoyed dealing with the Ducshop crew... Professional. Honest. Helpful. Knowledgeable. As it should be. One Ducshop guy even gave me a Pepsi out of his own lunch because I needed a caffeine fix and they didn't have a coke machine. Is that cool or what? Good people worthy of our business.

1. "I Can't Get No..." As per the blurb above... If you've tried to order parts from Clear Alternatives over the last year you probably ran into problems, excuses, silence, or the proverbial brick wall. You would think that Rahm Emanuel was at the helm. The good news is.. things are about to change. Their all new manufacturing facility is up and running at 6 times the capacity with better quality materials. If you have had parts backordered from Pirates Lair or "lessor" vendors, you can expect satisfaction sometime in the very near future..