Some background
I am a “patch” seeker! During my 2017 Sturgis trip, much before I started doing IBRs, I had seen this old, scrawny guy on a Harley. He had patches all over his leather jacket – front and back, and then several more on his chaps. Fully covered with patches; there was not an inch of space remaining. I absolutely LOVED it! I wanted to be like THAT. It would be a testimony to all the great times I had on two wheels. Ever since I got the Iron Butt bug, that has been one of my incentives. Is there a patch available for that ride? If yes, I’m in!
My daughter lives in South Florida (Davie) and I had been planning to visit/spend some time with her. Davie is about 1,350 miles from my home in Dallas, TX. So, it was also a great opportunity to do the Florida SS-1000 (yes…it’s one of those few states for which you get a patch).
I ride a 2021 BMW K1600 GTL.
The Plan
Plan was:
As planned, I signed off a bit early from work on Friday and was on the road by 4 pm. It was quite an uneventful ride. I caught some Friday evening commuter traffic getting out of Dallas, but wasn’t too bad and I wasn’t really in a rush. I also hit a thunderstorm somewhere in Louisiana, but I just pulled into a nearby gas station for a few minutes and let the tempest pass. Again, I was in no hurry. Checked into the hotel in Ruston, LA at around 10 pm. All was good!
Next morning, I hit the road at around 9:30 a.m. after grabbing some light hotel breakfast. Weather was gorgeous with clear skies and temperature in the 60s. The ride was quite smooth for the first few hours.
An hour after passing Hattiesburg, MS, about 150 miles from Pensacola, I noticed oil splatter on the right side of my motorcycle. I thought some passing truck/vehicle might have splashed it. But then I also noticed oil on my left riding glove and on the clutch. Oil seemed to be spraying from the handlebar area in front of me. That’s when I knew it needed attention. I pulled over the motorcycle at the next gas station to figure out what was going on. First, I wasn’t sure if it was engine oil or brake fluid or coolant. Googling indicated that coolant is usually blue and not oily. Also, brake fluid is very corrosive on the paint. If it were brake fluid, the paint would have already started chipping/corroding. I checked the oil level on the dipstick and it was at the half mark. That’s when I knew it was oil. It was at the MAX level when I had checked it just before starting from Dallas. There was no way the bike could have burned through half the oil in 500 miles. What was really confusing me was the oil coming from the front of the bike. I would have expected the oil to drip down, not ooze out from the front of the bike.
I called the BMW dealers in New Orleans as well as Pensacola. Being a Saturday, they both closed at 4 pm. It was already 1 p.m. and I was 150-200 miles from either of those dealers. So clearly, I was not going to make it to the dealer in time. There was nothing I could do, so I decided to proceed onward to my hotel in Pensacola. I was watching the engine temperature all along, and fortunately the indicator light was not on; nor was the oil indicator light.
As soon as I reached the hotel, I checked the oil level again. It was lower than before, but it was still above the minimum level.
I was in two minds. I was smack in between Dallas and Davie. What should I do?
I set the alarm for 1 a.m. the next morning. I wanted to start earlier than usual, so even if the bike broke down enroute, it would be daylight and help would be more readily available. I didn’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere at some crazy hour on a Sunday night (been there/done that)!
Many riders find the 1000+ miles distance daunting. And I was starting that ride with a disadvantage!
I could barely sleep that night. I was up before the alarm went off. There was no point in laying in bed watching the ceiling. So, I got out of bed, packed my bag, put on my riding gear and started the ride at around 2 am.
My route: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/5bfc-1e161094-f258/view
The ride went as expected. I checked/topped up the oil every 300 miles. As soon as I used up the oil that I was carrying with me, I bought another quart from Autozone. So, at any point in time, I had an extra quart of oil with me.
The ride was nice. Temps in the mid-80’s in the afternoon, palm trees and beaches all along. I also took some country roads and enjoyed the scenery along the way.
I finally reached Davie at 10:30 pm. Eastern time. A ride which would have normally taken me 16-17 hours to complete, took 20 hours. I was exhausted more from the constant stress of the oil leak, than the ride itself. Anyways, I was just glad I successfully completed the ride. By the time I reached Davie, my entire riding suit, gloves and helmet was covered in oil. My visor was hazy from the oil smear. My riding boots were soaked in oil. It was an oil bath!
Anyways it was a small price to pay for a successful IBR and, of course, the accompanying patch.
Epilogue
On Tue morning, I took the motorcycle to the BMW dealer in Davie. It turns out that road debris (maybe a rock of something) had punched a hole in my oil cooler, causing the oil leak. The oil cooler on the K1600 GTL is like a metal grill (similar to a radiator) located at the front of the bike just below the main light, which explains the oil coming from the front of the bike. Although it is an exposed part, the dealer said it is rather uncommon for road debris to puncture it. The replacement part is not available anywhere in the US. It is being ordered from Germany, and takes about 3 weeks to arrive. So, I left the bike with the dealer in Florida and took a return flight home to Dallas after spending a week and having a great time with my daughter in Florida.
I am a “patch” seeker! During my 2017 Sturgis trip, much before I started doing IBRs, I had seen this old, scrawny guy on a Harley. He had patches all over his leather jacket – front and back, and then several more on his chaps. Fully covered with patches; there was not an inch of space remaining. I absolutely LOVED it! I wanted to be like THAT. It would be a testimony to all the great times I had on two wheels. Ever since I got the Iron Butt bug, that has been one of my incentives. Is there a patch available for that ride? If yes, I’m in!
My daughter lives in South Florida (Davie) and I had been planning to visit/spend some time with her. Davie is about 1,350 miles from my home in Dallas, TX. So, it was also a great opportunity to do the Florida SS-1000 (yes…it’s one of those few states for which you get a patch).
I ride a 2021 BMW K1600 GTL.
The Plan
Plan was:
- Cover an easy 300 miles on Friday after work, spend the night in Ruston, LA.
- Next day (Saturday) cover the 350 miles from Ruston, LA to Pensacola on the Florida/Alabama border and spend the night there.
- Start the Florida SS-1000 early in the morning on Sunday. I usually start my rides at around 4 a.m. because I feel like it’s a good balance between being rested and still finishing the ride by some decent hour late evening.
As planned, I signed off a bit early from work on Friday and was on the road by 4 pm. It was quite an uneventful ride. I caught some Friday evening commuter traffic getting out of Dallas, but wasn’t too bad and I wasn’t really in a rush. I also hit a thunderstorm somewhere in Louisiana, but I just pulled into a nearby gas station for a few minutes and let the tempest pass. Again, I was in no hurry. Checked into the hotel in Ruston, LA at around 10 pm. All was good!
Next morning, I hit the road at around 9:30 a.m. after grabbing some light hotel breakfast. Weather was gorgeous with clear skies and temperature in the 60s. The ride was quite smooth for the first few hours.
An hour after passing Hattiesburg, MS, about 150 miles from Pensacola, I noticed oil splatter on the right side of my motorcycle. I thought some passing truck/vehicle might have splashed it. But then I also noticed oil on my left riding glove and on the clutch. Oil seemed to be spraying from the handlebar area in front of me. That’s when I knew it needed attention. I pulled over the motorcycle at the next gas station to figure out what was going on. First, I wasn’t sure if it was engine oil or brake fluid or coolant. Googling indicated that coolant is usually blue and not oily. Also, brake fluid is very corrosive on the paint. If it were brake fluid, the paint would have already started chipping/corroding. I checked the oil level on the dipstick and it was at the half mark. That’s when I knew it was oil. It was at the MAX level when I had checked it just before starting from Dallas. There was no way the bike could have burned through half the oil in 500 miles. What was really confusing me was the oil coming from the front of the bike. I would have expected the oil to drip down, not ooze out from the front of the bike.
I called the BMW dealers in New Orleans as well as Pensacola. Being a Saturday, they both closed at 4 pm. It was already 1 p.m. and I was 150-200 miles from either of those dealers. So clearly, I was not going to make it to the dealer in time. There was nothing I could do, so I decided to proceed onward to my hotel in Pensacola. I was watching the engine temperature all along, and fortunately the indicator light was not on; nor was the oil indicator light.
As soon as I reached the hotel, I checked the oil level again. It was lower than before, but it was still above the minimum level.
I was in two minds. I was smack in between Dallas and Davie. What should I do?
- Option 1 was to ride back to Dallas (650 miles) and forget about Florida SS-1000 or even visiting my daughter. This option really sucked!!
- Option 2 was to ride on to Davie (700 miles) and get the bike repaired there. There was a BMW dealer just 3 miles from my daughter’s apartment. I would have to forget about the SS-1000 though.
- Option 3 – If I was anyways riding 700 miles to Davie, might as well cover 300 additional miles and get the SS-1000 under the belt. If the bike can do 700 miles, it can probably do 1,000 miles.
I set the alarm for 1 a.m. the next morning. I wanted to start earlier than usual, so even if the bike broke down enroute, it would be daylight and help would be more readily available. I didn’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere at some crazy hour on a Sunday night (been there/done that)!
Many riders find the 1000+ miles distance daunting. And I was starting that ride with a disadvantage!
I could barely sleep that night. I was up before the alarm went off. There was no point in laying in bed watching the ceiling. So, I got out of bed, packed my bag, put on my riding gear and started the ride at around 2 am.
My route: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/5bfc-1e161094-f258/view
The ride went as expected. I checked/topped up the oil every 300 miles. As soon as I used up the oil that I was carrying with me, I bought another quart from Autozone. So, at any point in time, I had an extra quart of oil with me.
The ride was nice. Temps in the mid-80’s in the afternoon, palm trees and beaches all along. I also took some country roads and enjoyed the scenery along the way.
I finally reached Davie at 10:30 pm. Eastern time. A ride which would have normally taken me 16-17 hours to complete, took 20 hours. I was exhausted more from the constant stress of the oil leak, than the ride itself. Anyways, I was just glad I successfully completed the ride. By the time I reached Davie, my entire riding suit, gloves and helmet was covered in oil. My visor was hazy from the oil smear. My riding boots were soaked in oil. It was an oil bath!
Anyways it was a small price to pay for a successful IBR and, of course, the accompanying patch.
Epilogue
On Tue morning, I took the motorcycle to the BMW dealer in Davie. It turns out that road debris (maybe a rock of something) had punched a hole in my oil cooler, causing the oil leak. The oil cooler on the K1600 GTL is like a metal grill (similar to a radiator) located at the front of the bike just below the main light, which explains the oil coming from the front of the bike. Although it is an exposed part, the dealer said it is rather uncommon for road debris to puncture it. The replacement part is not available anywhere in the US. It is being ordered from Germany, and takes about 3 weeks to arrive. So, I left the bike with the dealer in Florida and took a return flight home to Dallas after spending a week and having a great time with my daughter in Florida.
