| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Well, I had an "adventure" all right, but it had nothing to do with the weather. My K1200LT has a security fob that I need to disable the anti-theft system each time I start the bike. On Saturday morning, I filled my tank in Winter Park, FL and started back north. I stopped for lunch in Savannah, GA and when I went back out to the bike, my security fob was GONE. It was attached to the top part of my pull-apart keychain, and it must've dropped off somewhere between my gas stop and my lunch stop. I frantically checked all of my pockets, the restaurant and the parking lot but it was just GONE. After I calmed my breathing I checked my GPS and the closest BMW dealership was 100 miles away in Columbus, SC. I tried calling them but they were closed. I took out my handy BMW MOA "Anonymous Book" and found someone in Savannah listed with a truck and trailer. I gave the number a call, and got the wife of the BMW owner. He had gone out for a ride, but she took my info and called him. While I waited for a call back I got out my trusty laptop and went back inside the restaurant (it was the Hooters in Savannah, right off I-95) so I could use their wireless access point to start some frantic "Googling." I also called some friends of mine familiar with the K1200LT and they told me they knew the system could be overridden, but they weren't sure how. Eventually, the "Anonymous Member" I called returned my call. He didn't know anything about the K1200LT but would be happy to trailer me off the Hooters parking lot to a motel. There were enough of them in the area so I chose the Motel 6. While he was on his way one of the people I called hit pay dirt and sent me a link to the BMWLT.com website that had detailed instructions on how the system could be overridden. By the time Mark (the "Anonymous Member') arrived we both decided it would be too dark to work on the bike but I didn't have any problem waiting till the morning, so I got myself checked into the Motel 6 and we dropped off the bike in their parking lot. Next morning I walked over to the convenience store to buy an electrical cord and some electric tape so I could "MacGuyver" the jumper plugs I'd need. Turned out I really didn't need to cut up the extension cord, as it was bound with a plastic-wrapped, steel twist tie! I made the jumper plugs from that, and we have an extra extension cord at home now. Let me tell you, the sweetest sound in the whole world at that time was the sound of the engine turning over and running when I turned on the ignition and pressed the "Start" button. I lost an extra vacation day at work, but I made it home safe and sound. No weather worries at all (beyond unseasonable COLD down south). My new weekend project is to get some proper wiring and Molex pins and create proper jumper plugs. I can't imagine the steel wire I used will last all that long here with our humidity. Trunk and saddle removed to expose alarm system:  Factory Anti-Theft System:  MacGuyvered Jumper Plugs:  | ||
| Teeps |
This begs the question: if it's that easy to defeat the security system, what's the point of having it? | ||
| 86129squids |
Good story, friend- glad you figured it out! Sometimes just having to deal with stuff like that and succeeding enrichens the trip... You've reminded me that I really should join the BMWMOA and/or my local club, to have access to the "anonymous" folk. I dunno if that was an idea from the BMW factory to create such a thing, but it sure is cool! Seems a LOT more useful than being a HOG member... I've got an old 1986 and a 1987 handbook of the BMWMOA on my bookshelf here in the office. That said, I had to laugh a little and just love the fact that my Beemer is a '77... my security measures are a bit simpler!  So- other than that, any notable highlights from bike week to report? My old boss arranged to have a beachfront hotel reserved for folks with the time and $$$ to roll down from E TN with him... wish I could've made it! | ||
| 86129squids |
Oh- and at least you had the good luck/good sense to settle in a Hooters for a while to figure out the solution... I'm sure the scenery wasn't too bad.  | ||
| Jaimec |
That Hooters in Savannah is my traditional lunch stop on Day 2 to Daytona Beach, and Day 1 heading back home. It's in the perfect location and I always hit it around lunch time. It shares a parking lot with an Indian dealership (it used to be a Harley dealership, but it looks like the Harley shop moved across the street). Teeps, it wasn't THAT easy. It took me well over an hour even after I disassembled it once before to look inside. It's not EXACTLY the kind of bike you can easily toss into a van and work on at another discrete location, either. | ||
| Jaimec |
86129squids, the AMA has a similar organization, "Help'n Hands," but it oddly enough doesn't seem to be as extensive as the BMW Anonymous book. By the way, the BMW MOA is not affiliated with the BMW Factory. BMW wanted to "take them in," as it were, so they could build it into a "HOG-like" organization but the MOA founders preferred remaining independent. Mark said I was the FIRST person ever to call him from the book. Several years ago, I had my first call too. A fellow from South Carolina was looking to attend his High School Reunion and was looking for a place to crash. Nice guy, and after he left we found a bottle of wine in the spare room he left for us. | ||
| Tootal |
For the future you might want to put in a hidden switch that will override the security system. Out of site behind a side panel or something. It would keep you from tearing the bike apart. A friend wired his high beam lever in his 1976 BMW 2002 to a relay that wouldn't allow the starter to work unless you were pulling on it. Another K-bike story is when another friend and I were traveling in Canada. His bike started doing all kinds of weird electrical anomalies! We made some phone calls and were told to clean the commutator in the starter! WTF? We pulled it out and took it apart and used his wife's emery board and polished it. Put it back in and all was good! Who'd a thunk? | ||
| Jaimec |
By the way, this is Tyller (yes, that's the way she spells her name, with two "L"s). She's the young lady who let me sit at her table so I could use my laptop even though I'd already eaten and wasn't going to buy anything else. When I had lunch on Sunday, I sat at her table and made sure I left her a GOOD tip for the day before. She also agreed to let me take her photo on the bike (she said it was the first motorcycle she'd ever sat on. Too bad I didn't have a spare helmet and more time):  (Message edited by jaimec on March 22, 2017) | ||
| Ourdee |
And all that while wearing a kilt? |
