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Our website is all about motorcycles, especially BMW cycles. We cover rides in the Southwest and Mexico, motorcycle modifications and review motorcycle products. 

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Reviews

Filtering by Author: Ricardo Perez

Sena SMH10R - Low Profile Motorcycle Headset

Ricardo Perez

I was on a long ride out West and had gone days just with ear plugs listening to nothing but the desert air. Then I used my S-Plugs to listen to my music on my iPhone and finally I used my Bose Noise Canceling Ear buds. All three left me wanting something else. (I've reviewed the S-Plugs and the Bose on earlier posts.) After a couple of thousand miles I can honestly say that just using the ear plugs is okay, but eventually you'll get tired of listening to nothing at all. The S-Plugs are good, but don't block much of ambient noises, and the Bose ear buds are just a bit too bulky to wear under a snug fitting helmet. That's not to mention the fact that they are scary quiet, almost too quiet for safety purposes imho. 

So as we pulled into A&S BMW in Sacramento, California I noticed on one of their displays the Sena SMH10R "Low Profile Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset & Intercom" box and grabbed it to just read, not buy. One of the trusty clerks noticed that I was looking at it and gladly offered to open the box and show me what it looked like. I must admit that I was impressed with the size which is much more sleek and slimmer than the previous models. I had thought of getting the Schubert helmet with the communications system built into the collar, but that would set me back about $900 so I decided to buy the Sena unit. 

The install is very simple and I did it myself while I waited on the other guys to finish their business. There are three main components to the system: (1) speakers, (2) Control Unit, and (3) battery pack. The two speakers are fairly flat and take almost no space in the helmet. They're secured by some very good velcro strips and can be moved should you like to reposition them. They also come with some spacers should you desire to get the speakers closer to your ears. The microphone boom is easy to install and it comes with an alternate 'mic' which is great for a full faced helmet (non-flip-up). I like how sleek it looks and may try to use it on my flip-up helmet.  The Control Unit fits on the outside of the helmet approximately where the left ear is. The battery pack can be placed in many different positions, but I placed my on the rear of my helmet about two inches above the bottom. All of these components are connected by cables which have plugs unique so that it's impossible to plug the wrong cable into the wrong socket (dummy proof). 

As far as performance I would rate it as very good. Once I figured out how to use it and how to move between features it was a snap to use. The sound quality of the speakers was very good. I wore my ear plugs and still could hear the music without any problem. Without the ear plugs the volume was too high and I had to lower it. Of course, wearing the ear plugs is a personal preference. 

I'm not too sure how long the battery runs, but I believe it's about eight hours. I ran down the battery twice, but that proved to be no problem since the box contains a USB port charger that plugs into the control unit and charges the system as you ride. 

As you can see by the picture the unit is capable of many things. It has 3.0 Bluetooth and it can do four-way bike-to-bike conference intercom conference; Phone and Intercom Call; and GPS connection.  I used it to listen to music and to make/receive phone calls. I was on a conference call at a high rate of speed and I didn't have any problems hearing or speaking during the call. I once connected with my BMW Nav V GPS unit to hear turn-by-turn directions, but opted to listen to uninterrupted music instead.

The control unit is sleek and it took me some time to get used to where the "+" and "-" buttons are and the central button. At first they seem too close together, but after some time in the saddle it came fairly easy to know which was which. 

I've just put a couple of thousand miles with the Sena unit installed so I can't give you a long term use opinion, but for the time I've had this unit it has been a pleasant surprise. I'm glad I finally got it. 

I probably placed the battery too high on the rear of my helmet, but I wanted to keep it off those ridges and have it snuggly on the helmet. The battery will slide off the base, with an upward motion.

This is the neat flexible mic that is used for full face helmets (non-flip-up), but I am going to use it on my Shoei anyway and will report on how it works. 

Michelin Pilot Road 4 Tires

Ricardo Perez

Just installed the new Michelin Pilot Road 4 tires on my 2013 BMW R1200RT. I only have 238 miles on them so I've taken it easy to get them scrubbed-in, but what little experience I have with them, I like. I had over 11,000 on my stock OEM Metzler tires and liked them, but I'm looking for an improved rain handling tire. These Michelin tires are suppose to give a 17% better stopping power in the rain so we'll see how they work. I'll provide a long term usage report this summer.    

Bags Connection "City Model" Tank Bag Review - BMW RT Tank Bag

Ricardo Perez

Here's my Bags Connection Tank Bag!

Here's my Bags Connection Tank Bag!

I have the Bags Connection, City Model, tank bag for my 2013 BMW R1200RT and have had it now for over a thousand miles of use. As we know, the RT is fitted with a rail system on the tank which will hold the BMW tank bag. The two closest dealers (275 miles and 330 miles) did not have the BMW bag in stock and I hesitated ordering it online since it looked too big for short weekender trips. For the price, I didn't want to end up with a bag that I wouldn't use on a regular basis. So I opted for the Bags Connection tank bag. The base fits right over the gas cap base and mates to a similar base on the tank bag. 

The connection is really solid and it's not loose once it clicks into place. My fit is near perfect as there is no extra space between the bag and the downward curvature of the tank. I looks like it belongs there. As I mentioned the bag is secured to the base by a pin which is tensioned by a spring so that it won't open on its own. The bag just clicks into place without having to pull the pin outward. To remove the bag you do have to pull the strap that's conveniently connected to the pin and the bag just lifts off the tank base. Did I mention that it's really a secure mating of the base plates!

Installation is very simple. The base plate on the tank only requires that you pull four screws from the tank's ring that is around the gas cap lid and place the base plate over the tank's ring and secure it with the longer screws provided with the base. The base on the bag is a little more complicated since you have to decide where you want to place the mating base plate. Location of this base plate determines how far forward or back the bag will sit on your tank. I placed the bag over the tank to help me determine where to locate the mating base plate. If you get it wrong or don't like how it sits on your tank all you have to do is move the mating base plate, but that will leave a set of four holes through the bottom of your bag so it's best to get it right the first time.

The bag itself is a medium sized bag that's perfect for my quick to grab stuff like my cell phone (on the front separate pocket with the port to run your ear bud cord through), garage door opener, flash light, ear plugs, sun screen, lib balm, towels for wiping down bike, and my cap. The two side pockets are for my receipts and any medicines/vitamins. It sure beats having to reach into your saddle bags or the handy right hand pocket on the fairing that's nice, but too deep to keep any smaller items or bigger stuff like a cap.

The beauty of the Bags Connection is that you can buy different sized bags, including a very small tank bag for short rides that will hold your phone, change, and other smaller items. From there you can go up to the larger bags that are made for those long cross country rides. 

Base plated mounted over existing gas tank ring.

Base plated mounted over existing gas tank ring.

Side view of base plate shows that it is about the same height as the existing stock tank rail system.

Side view of base plate shows that it is about the same height as the existing stock tank rail system.

Here's the mating plate that goes on the bag. The pin secures the bag in place and it does not need to be pulled in order to insert the tank bag base onto the tank base. It does need to be pulled to remove the tank bag from the base. 

Here's the mating plate that goes on the bag. The pin secures the bag in place and it does not need to be pulled in order to insert the tank bag base onto the tank base. It does need to be pulled to remove the tank bag from the base. 

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It comes with a handy tote handle, plus a shoulder strap for those D-Rings, and it also comes with a rain cover. The snap directly below my fingers & the cable port hole is the cord leading to the pin. Just unsnap the cord and pull the strap to remove the bag from the base plate. 

It comes with a handy tote handle, plus a shoulder strap for those D-Rings, and it also comes with a rain cover. The snap directly below my fingers & the cable port hole is the cord leading to the pin. Just unsnap the cord and pull the strap to remove the bag from the base plate. 

This rear pocket (or pocket closest to rider) is perfect for carrying a cell phone. I also have an extra pair of ear buds in this pocket. 

This rear pocket (or pocket closest to rider) is perfect for carrying a cell phone. I also have an extra pair of ear buds in this pocket. 

The cord port must be cut open in the standard "+" configuration and you can lead your ear bud cord through there. There is a similar port on the front of the bag that serves well for a charger cord or auxiliary power cord. 

The cord port must be cut open in the standard "+" configuration and you can lead your ear bud cord through there. There is a similar port on the front of the bag that serves well for a charger cord or auxiliary power cord. 

Here's the bag mounted and the snap cord is un-snapped. 

Here's the bag mounted and the snap cord is un-snapped. 

Computer Diagnostic GS-911 Tool For BMWs

Ricardo Perez

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Since we have a few BMW bikes to maintain we decided to get one of these tools.  My bikes are a 2008 K1200S and a 2010 R1200RT.  I've used the tool a few times on both bikes and two other friend's bikes.  I'm impressed with the information that you can view with this tool and even better are the different functions that you can perform on various systems.  Something to note is that the newer the bike the more information and functions that you can perform.

The software included with the purchase is strictly Windows but it ran perfectly fine on a Mac running a Windows emulation program.  As a matter of fact it ran better in that way than on my Windows Laptop.  The laptop is older than the Mac but it's one of the higher cost laptops, i.e., it cost more than the Mac.  There is also limited functionality on certain phones (no iPhones!).


Software running on a MacBook Air

A detail review of this tool will follow after I have used it much more.  At this time I do want to report that my K1200S seems to be idling and running at slow speed much better than before.  I also used it to help bleed the ABS module that I had replaced when I purchased the bike earlier this year.  That made a big difference with the front brake feel.  I had run an entire bottle of brake fluid (12 oz) through the system before I did the ABS cycle function.  I do have a MityVac but did not use it when I was doing the bleed.  The MityVac might (should?) have done a better job than regular bleeding but cycling the ABS module is best and there is no way of doing that in the garage or under a shade tree.

I'll give a thumbs up to the software also.  It seems to be updated several times a year.  I like that.  Being a techie I hate stale software.  As you can see from the picture above I'm running the beta version.  If you don't want to be at the bleeding edge stick to the release versions but it's easy to downgrade if you need to do that.


Short and to the point


No rating of this product yet but it looks like it will be a high rating.  In addition, with software upgrades it can only get better.  I recommend this product if you do a lot of your own maintenance.  Heck, for me, it's worth half the cost just to be able to reset the service reminder.

Warning: If shopping for one of these be careful because there are Chinese copies out there.  The Chinese copies are not supported by the manufacturer and you won't be able to upgrade the software of your unit.

Thanks for reading...
tsp