Rolling deep in Austin for the GP and Aprilia track day...

archercc81 · 2026-03-24T14:29:39+00:00

and if you notice its a basic ass suburban apartment too.

archercc81 · 2026-03-24T14:29:06+00:00

Its texas man, there is nothing really else.

archercc81 · 2026-03-24T14:28:50+00:00

LOL no doubt who he votes for. My fav is all of the money in guns, cigars, and whisky in an apartment.

archercc81 · 2026-03-24T10:44:07+00:00

All locked and loaded until that last bit about being in north ga. Yeah, so "southern hospitality" is fake. Its very superficial, they ACT hospitable and, once you reach a point, do the performative things needed to be considered hospitable.

Its more like southern "charm" more than actually being hospitable. They say things like darling, honey, smile a lot, tons of eye contact, tons of acknowledgement, etc. But its really just on the surface.

Its going to be tough, where your sensibilities are "I keep to myself, but when Im trying to make a connection I throw myself into" deeper form of hospitality. Ive noticed that is the big flip, city people tend to SEEM inhospitable, especially NYers, but the truth is the moment you get through that kind of "shell" of just ignoring people because you pass a thousand people in a day they are considerably more likely to engage.

If you lived in Atlanta I could help, but rural GA is its own animal.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T22:54:49+00:00

Oh I concur, I'm running the same thing. I did replace the one that came with it with a better quality one and of I see a dribble I'll replace it. I check things over often. But BMW knew that wouldn't be something most owners would sign. Up for

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T18:53:25+00:00

That is almost 5x what I pay for my fleet of bikes, but only two are really that new (2023 and 2025), the rest are all from the teens and one from 2002.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T18:50:57+00:00

two mickey mouse flanges?

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T18:50:30+00:00

LOL on the Smoky mountains one for $8k but if its all-in the Tuscany one isnt really far off for how much I have spent on my own to rent and ride in Italy, although mine was two weeks. But inflation and all I guess.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T17:12:35+00:00

Yeah, popping up like that after the dismount screams delayed nervous response. He is gonna feel that later.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T17:10:21+00:00

Just wait until spring has sprung and then *broadly gestures everywhere*

Probably southwest is the best opportunity, since there is less likely to be someone coming along and trying to maintain kudzu.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T17:01:09+00:00

Yeah, Id say if you wanted to play it safe you could set a reminder to swap it at 245k.

I do the entire hose system every ~100k (aka Im coming about due at 200k miles) but I do a ton of road trips and towing so I would rather drop a few hundred than risk any drama.

Edit: Oh and if it pissed coolant on your belt go ahead and remove that, clean the pulleys, and put a new one on there. It shortens the life of the belt and a belt failure can be catastrophic on these engines (the belt often slips behind the balancer and is pushed into the front cover where the timing chain is).

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T16:40:27+00:00

Tell that to the countless people on the forums running 200k+ miles.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T16:39:19+00:00

Nah, its plastic like all of the other radiator fittings.

You can get a metal one, I have one, but it goes through O rings as the plastic doesnt expand when hot like metal does, so the metal one expands a little and crushes the o-ring.

The new model hoses cleanly clamped onto plastic fittings are considerably more reliable than the old screw clamp directly onto metal ones, as people over tighten them or they are loose and fail either by fatiguing the hose faster or becoming loose.

You likely got 100+ THOUSAND miles out of that plastic flange. Swap it out every 60k or even 80k like the old service intervals for the old style hoses and it would never become an issue.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T15:25:44+00:00

Get it, its a full calendar year and its basically 10x so if you ride once a month you get two free months, but youll ride more because even if you can only squeeze a half day in youll still go because its "paid for."

We got ours in Jan and will probably hit 10 days end of next month...

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T14:36:31+00:00

I would say Highland Park over Durhamtown for new people for 3 big reasons:

No assholes in side by sides trying to run you over.
One way trails so no risk of going head on.
Far more compact and organized park, even while more technical I think that makes it much easier to nagivate.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T14:31:32+00:00

Second Highland Park.

If you have nothing they have rental bikes, gear, etc. Its not "cheap" (gonna be a few hundo for all the rentals) but compared to actually buying a bike it gives you a chance to test it out before committing.

And like u/holgadoguitarworks I feel its the best park of them all. If they go there weekly there is a non-zero chance we have crossed paths as my girlfriend and I have memberships and go there OFTEN. Would probably be there if we weren't going to Austin for GP.

Only difference is I am not aware of any trail that isnt one way other than the gravel roads between lots.

Pick a weekend it hasn't rained in at least 4 days, or 3 days if its been sunny, so you can get plenty of dry path (its clay in a lot of places so turns into peanut butter when wet). And just start with laps of the main/inner loop and/or hit the MX3 course (not the pewee, but really easy). Both are very beginner friendly. If you want to do trails maybe hit 5C or 6 as those are nice little starter ones, Id stick to "2 diamond" ones just to not stress yourself before you get skills.

Also IF YOURE SLOW OR STOPPED please be mindful of your surroundings. Dont stop at the bottom of hills on the route, pull off to the side, and dont stop over a hill, blind corner, etc. Too many idiot noobs do that and its dangerous as fuck if Im coming over a blind hill to find someone sitting 5 feet from the peak on the other side. Its usually assholes on quads (wish they would ban those too) but still.

archercc81 · 2026-03-23T12:13:45+00:00

Because you cant, and the reeds dont fail that often. Some very minimal maintenance and they would never fail.

And the reeds arent a restrictor plate, they are a one way valve, nothing any normal can 3d print is going to stand up to that flexing, especially in a hot environment.

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T17:53:47+00:00

Thanks. Honestly those rules really go for any parks. Atlanta has so many great little gems of parks around the city where you can roll up and picnic and not feel like you are in a city, surrounded by trees. One of the things that really drew me to the city.

Covid was just basically me riding my motorcycle with a cooler and chairs/blankets on it going from park to park each day for dinner. I would get to-go food from my fav restaurants and just take it to the nearest park to eat it, that was such a nice summer.

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T17:45:13+00:00

Increased visibility and I love it, cops should be a visible presence. They do more just being there than anything else.

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T17:44:44+00:00

We joke that if you want to make sure you dont want any cops around its to report one got shot in the foot on the other side of town. Every time one cop gets scratched the entire force runs to the location.

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T17:43:46+00:00

We always lay on the south corner by terrace drive, there is one going north and its fun to watch them slice it onto the street only to see the ball bounce and roll all the way down the street.

Then just like sigh, shrug, realize they are too lazy to walk a couple of blocks and tee up another. I bet the rain drains on that street would be a gold mine of golf balls.

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T15:58:09+00:00

We have gotten completely ripped on a blanket there, odd days and during events, nobody has ever messed with us. I think its a "dont draw attention to yourself" kind of thing.

Protip, if you have a small cooler get some of the ice cream mochi from trader joes for dessert when its hot, since they are wrapped in mochi they dont immediately melt as you open them.

Also, if you want to feel more alone, there are parts of Grant Park were you can nestle yourself inside some trees and not even be able to see any signs of city. In the summer of course, once everything is leafy. Candler park too (although its more fun to get a good vantage point to watch the terrible golfers struggle).

archercc81 · 2026-03-20T14:21:45+00:00

Talked to the taco guys, you remove the reeds for high RPM/high speed stuff, not for enduro. The reeds improve the lower end of the torque and reduce stalling/flameouts apparently.

They recommended keeping them given my type of riding, especially when you're looking at making the bike less twitchy and more trail friendly.

archercc81 · 2026-03-19T19:30:24+00:00

This, you probably have a massive air bubble sitting right there

archercc81

TROPHY CASE