Am I a newbie since I have not posted for a couple years?

[RedRyder]

I really enjoy this site and have made use of many of the farkles you folks have come up with. I just finished installing a plexiglass shield/shelf in my left case that keeps all those items that used to rattle around in a nice tidy upright position... you know small can of honda cleaner, first aid kit, hat/beanie, glove liners, etc. etc. I also wanted to let you know about a new concept in trip planning and road discovery. This site is currently a test site to see if there is interest, and the author is GPS programmer and has found a way to assign a "twisty score" to every road in the North American continent. I apologize if this feels like an advertisement, but who would know better about mapping and road discovery than my fellow BMW riders. Here is the site address: http://www.twistyroads.com/ Please take a moment to look it over and give him some feedback by joining or sending him an email. I DO NOT HAVE A FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THIS SITE.

Here is a picture of me on Hwy 3 in Nor Cal on the way to Yreka

[Xdot]

Cool Stuff. And nice bike. Just like mine. Love those coordinated case covers. Yellow isn't the faster color but it does handle the best. And we know it is all about handling in the end.

[RedRyder]

When you said "cool stuff", were you referring to the mapping website? I do love my beemer. Have been to dealers several times to trade it in and walked out because there is nothing wrong with my bike and it does everything really well. I have kept up with sport bikes in the twisty's and traveled long distances two-up with my wife. It really is an amazing all-purpose bike. Most riders are ignorant to what it can do.

[sweatmark]

CA3 would rack up some twisty-points, just as certainly as CA36.

So, I've seen your bike around the valley and in town. We should coordinate for a ride sometime.

Did the twistyroads guy have info at the Redmond rally last year? I talked to someone about something similar... got a business card that i currently cannot find.

[Xdot]

When you said "cool stuff", were you referring to the mapping website?.

Both. I'm a navigation engineer by trade. Motorcycle rider by choice.

[RedRyder]

well if a navigation engineer thought the site was OK then it must be pretty good. i have two engineers in my family and they are hard to please. Sweatmark - it would be great to hook up for a ride. I lost my best riding partner when my bro retired and moved south. Let me know. The mapping site that i referred to was just launched so he could not have been at the Redmond rally last year. There are lots of mapping sites but they all rely on members or the authors to go out and ride the road and report back. kinda static. this site allows you to point and click on roads and receive the feedback on a twisty score and the road condition and weather and, on and on. pretty cool.

http://www.twistyroads.com/

[Xdot]

well if a navigation engineer thought the site was OK then it must be pretty good.

I'd prefer is the owner put something up there about the covariance values of the estimated position and...

Great site but I was looking at it today and was struck by a thought. I have a buddy who does a LOT of twisty-road trips. Thing is, he does it in a car. This site looks motorcycle specific and I'd hate to see the author lose potential members by not having any pictures or mentions of cars. A car guy is going to look at this and keep going. Lot of people out there doing the Tail of the Dragon in Miatas, Spiders, Porsches and other four-wheeled mounts. Stroke their ego, take their money, I always say. You can quote me on that.

John

P.S. I'm sending the site to my car buddy to see what he thinks.

[RedRyder]

great suggestion. i will pass it on. thanks for sending to your "car guy" friend. let me know what he thinks.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hi, JsL, just followed this link to your post.
Re the plexiglas divider, I did the same with the top half of my topcase, now having two compartments. That's a good mod to do and easy.

Bumping this for the twistyroads link and the ingenuity!
John

edit:
Is that site up and functioning? looks like it's still under construction. Looks like a promising idea though.

[RedRyder]

thanks for taking the time to look at the TwistyRoads website. it is getting closer. I know they are partnering with a major mapping company to access their software at a better rate. i believe they want to have a presence at the National Rally in Oregon this July.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Actually I signed up, but I don't see anything really there other than some "read mores"

Is there anything there I am missing? I think I went to all the links and I see a couple of comments, but you have to "log on" and I cannot find a link to get a username or password.

Like your signature, btw. Brando has some of the best lines ever written, anywhere, anytime, ever.

[pietervn]

I just finished installing a plexiglass shield/shelf in my left case that keeps all those items that used to rattle around in a nice tidy upright position... you know small can of honda cleaner, first aid kit, hat/beanie, glove liners, etc. etc.

G'Day,

I love the look of the pannier covers. I have the same colour bike but with standard black pannier lids.

Would you mind posting a picture of the plexiglass shield/shelf? I would be interested in one myself.

Cheers,

Pete

[RedRyder]

I don't think you are missing anything. The site is a decent design and was launched to gauge interest. The guy who is the brains is a GIS guy with tons of mapping experience. The idea is to not just collect rides/roads from contributors but to have an actual application where you look at a map on line and then run it through his program and it tells you about curvature, elevation, road conditions, etc. etc. Not a static collection of roads, but real interactive. Nothing wrong with sites that do collect contributors rides and organize them, but that is to dependent on others. This idea is that you anytime, anywhere can click on a road and discover it for yourself.

Brando was cool. I like your moniker. Dr. Strangelove is one of the greatest characters ever created. I love that movie.

[RedRyder]

Want the painted panniers? I don't have the bumblebee R anymore. Make me an offer and you pay shipping

[duckdave]

I just finished installing a plexiglass shield/shelf in my left case that keeps all those items that used to rattle around in a nice tidy upright position... you know small can of honda cleaner, first aid kit, hat/beanie, glove liners, etc. etc.

G'Day,

I love the look of the pannier covers. I have the same colour bike but with standard black pannier lids.

Would you mind posting a picture of the plexiglass shield/shelf? I would be interested in one myself.

Cheers,

Pete

I made mine out plywood ("plexiglass shield"). When I get to a place with squishy ground I put it under my center stand. Problem solved. Works great in my side case the rest of the time, too.