BMW GS Update

Dirt_Dad

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I've ridden a Honda DCT and hated it. But on 4 wheels spend hours a day, day after day, month after month, going 1st, neutral, 1st, neutral, ride the clutch, 1st, neutral, and you'll never consider a manual shift car again.
 

Madhatter

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RonH is hard core .... its a theft deterrent these days . most don't have a clue how to shift . no auto for me on a motorcycle , got to draw a line somewhere . and down the road if and when I decide I want a new car I am going stick if there are any still being made.
 

Jlq1969

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If it has a side fill, start the vehicle, let it get up to temp, shut it off, and fill until it starts to run out of the fill hole. Just like a diff. It sounds like a pain but is actually really simple.
Chris, be careful with this. In automatic transmissions that do not have a dipstick to measure the level, the fill plug does not always indicate the maximum level. There are transmissions that have a "double plug". An outer one (that if you remove it will not drain the oil) and an inner one (shaped like a tube, which penetrates inside the crankcase and indicates the maximum level), when the latter is removed, the oil will be emptied there. To control the level, oil is made by the filling cap and when it starts to come out of the drain plug, there you have the "first level". Why I say “first level”?, because ATF oil has a high hot expansion rate, so when you add cold ATF oil and it comes out of the drain plug, you must do a couple of kilometers until it is hot and take out the drain plug (without removing the plug / inner level) and let the excess drain by temperature expansion. That is the maximum "hot" level. The filling cap, usually above the carter, if you use it as a maximum mark, it would be overfilled, this is in those that have the measurement along with the drain plug
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Checkswrecks

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No automatic transmission is worth owning to me. Every vehical from a motorcycle to a bus, a car, a truck, a moped. I don't care, if I had my wish, all would be manual, and no option of automatic unless a doctor prescription because of physical disability.
Spoken like a man who does not commute in DC traffic for hundreds of hours each year.
Ron - As Dirt_Dad wrote, it was the DC/Baltimore commute that got me from a stick shift pickup into an auto. I was doing a 124 mile loop to go to the downtown DC office in the morning with ALL the other commuters in 37 miles of stop and go, stop & go again up to Baltimore when we were rebuilding my daughter's new place for months, then from Balmo home afterward. Now it's just a 113 mile loop to refit a boat in Annapolis and back with the thousands of my closest friends in other cars.

It also helps that the auto in the F150 gets SO much better gas mileage than the old Nissan Frontier did and the Ford has more room.

As for bikes, I did like riding the electric Zero but not the Honda DCT.
 

HeliMark

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After 40 years of only owning/driving stick shift cars and trucks (except the family van), I am done with them unless it is a sports car. Los Angeles traffic with stick shift sucked. Like to try the DCT on bikes just to see though, otherwise, not sure I want anything but manual on a bike.
 

azb

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Spoken like a man who does not commute in DC traffic for hundreds of hours each year.
It's not that big a deal to drive a manual in traffic. Most of us do it now on our motorcycles without much thought, and it's far easier in a manual car.

You simply have to drive differently. Look farther down the road, think ahead, leave space... all the things everyone should be doing anyway, but it's not encouraged because stomping on two pedals over and over is easier.

But overall, the best decision I ever made was 25 years ago, moving from the large house out in the country to a smaller house 2 miles from work, and 6 miles for my wife. We have had much more time to spend with kids and each other, and our transportation cost savings were astonishing. Now I can't even imagine why someone would put up with that level of traffic on a daily basis, even with an automatic transmission.
 

VRODE

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I like manual transmissions, but after foot surgery and dealing with an arthritic knee, auto trans has its place in my world.
 
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ballisticexchris

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I really like my Rekluse. It's a game changer for an old guy like me when going through miles of clutch burning rock gardens.
 

Dirt_Dad

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You simply have to drive differently. Look farther down the road, think ahead, leave space... all the things everyone should be doing anyway,.
This one got me to chuckle. Maybe in your region that works. Around here, any open space you leave in front of you is the same as hanging out a "Please cut in front of me" sign. You think nature hates a vacuum... mid-Atlantic traffic drivers will fill any space that could move them an extra 9 inches ahead of the other guy.
 
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ballisticexchris

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It's not that big a deal to drive a manual in traffic. Most of us do it now on our motorcycles without much thought, and it's far easier in a manual car.

You simply have to drive differently. Look farther down the road, think ahead, leave space... all the things everyone should be doing anyway.
Yep! That takes the stress off driving.


This one got me to chuckle. Maybe in your region that works. Around here, any open space you leave in front of you is the same as hanging out a "Please cut in front of me" sign. You think nature hates a vacuum... mid-Atlantic traffic drivers will fill any space that could move them an extra 9 inches ahead of the other guy.
It's the same almost anywhere in the world. I always leave a space and can care less if someone fills the gap. I recommend to keep backing off. It's called defensive driving. Now if I had a BMW I could strobe flash the other drivers with my 1200.00 Clearwater Dixi's and own the road!!
 

AVGeek

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Both my dad and I miss driving manuals, but they're harder to find. I also understand RonH's point, because cars have become so easy to drive, most people no longer see driving as a skill but as a chore, and it shows in how poorly everyone drives. Here in Nevada, it is illegal to stay in the left lane of the highway unless you are actively passing traffic, yet it happens all the time (and most cars that camp out there seem to have California plates...). People also don't understand flash to pass anymore either...
 

Wallkeeper

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I too am a die hard manual trans man. BUT, he's right....heavy, stop-n-go traffic could change my mind for a car/truck; but not a bike. Or, maybe living in San Francisco.
interesting comment about Babylon on the Bay. One of my BRC's last summer had a young lady who would be attending Cal across the Bay from SF. All up and down like SF. Dad had purchased a scooter with an automatic for her to get around on. He also insisted she take the BRC with standard transmission bikes. Even though he had an endorsement, he took the class with her and I asked him about it. He felt if she could handle a clutch she could handle the automatic...AND get the message to wear a helmet *L*

I think he is still worried about her riding around in "Banzai Berkley" traffic

FYI.....BRC=Basic Riders Course
 

Sierra1

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For ME, working a manual on a bike is SO much easier than a car/truck. Even on hills: foot n pedal, gas & clutch with hands, much easier to manipulate safely than with my two left feet. As a matter of fact, when I first started driving, the manual trans in my dad's car was kicking my a**. I got my first bike, and shifting felt natural. Went back to my dad's car, and my pea brain had zero problems with the manual trans. It's also my belief that the BRC is NEVER a waste of time for beginners; or anybody that takes a long break from riding. In Texas, It's mandatory to complete the course to get a motorcycle endorsement.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Here in Nevada, it is illegal to stay in the left lane of the highway unless you are actively passing traffic, yet it happens all the time (and most cars that camp out there seem to have California plates...). People also don't understand flash to pass anymore either...
Boy ain't that the truth!! I found out about that left lane law right between Stateline and Jean NV. I was doing over 80mph passing a truck and did not move back over fast enough. Got pulled over thinking a big speeding ticket. Nope. NHP warned me to stay in the right lane or get an impeding traffic ticket. And flash to pass entices road rage anymore.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Best response so far and you busted Dirt_Dad!!!

Here he was on his normal commute when he gave me a ride:
LOL
I was so engrossed in that episode of Sponge Bob I was watching that I didn't even realize you were taking my picture.
 
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