The other day, I got off of work at 10AM. I called my brother at about 8:45 and asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. He informed me that his insurance has lapsed on his motorcycle, and he cannot ride it until he gets coverage. I offered to let him ride one of my “spare” motorcycles, and he said he would have to call me back. He asked his wife if he could ride, and she said no way. I understand, as Sunday is his only day off and she wants to spend time with him and not on the back of a bike when the temps are in the 30s.

I decided to take a ride anyway. This was a spur of the moment idea, so I left from work, still wearing my paramedic uniform under my riding gear. I jumped on the bike and started heading south on I-77. I was not sure which of 4 routes I was going to take, but I-77 would get me to some fantastic rides on two lane roads.

I called Amy and asked her where she was (she spent the night in LaGrange, KY, my old hometown) and she was going to go look at a horse in southern Indiana this morning. I turns out that they overslept, so they were getting a late start on the day. I decided then that I would ride toward Kentucky and see if I could meet them.

I rode to I-70 West then to I-71 South. In Cincinnati, I decided that I would head toward Lexington, KY as I would have enough time to get there and eat at Taco Tico. I could have gone to one in Louisville, but that is 20 more miles from my house. Eating in Lexington should give me enough time to eat, then make it back North to Florence (home of the Florence Y’ALL water tower) and intercept Amy, her Mom, and the girls.

320 miles after leaving my job for the day, I found myself eating at my favorite fast food joint in Lexington, KY. When I walked into the restaurant, the guy working in the back said to me “Hey, you’re the guy from Ohio who travels to Tennessee on that bike.” I told him that he was right. He told me that he does not see many BMW motorcycles stop at the restaurant, and that is how he recognized me. He remembered what I always order, and even had a 1/2 gallon bag of hot sauce ready to sell me (I always buy their hot sauce, I love it).

I finished eating and called Amy. She was still at the farm in Southern Indiana. I hit the road toward home. The next time I talked to Amy, I was in Cincinnati, and they were just getting back on the road. I knew then that intercepting them was going to be out of the question, as they were going to be several hours behind me.

I had good intentions of meeting with my family on this ride, it just didn’t work out. At least I had a beautiful day to take a 640 mile fast food run. I did not have my camera, as I left from work (Amy actually had it with her). The sky was as clear as can be. The temp when I started was 36 degrees. The high temp for the day was 60. The last two hours of my ride were the coldest, at 35-33 degrees. I was pretty comfortable, thanks to my heated liners in my suit. I did discover that I would love a set of heated insoles for my boots though.

For anybody who may be interested in heated insoles for Tour Master heated clothing, here is what they look like.  My Uncle Greg has these and loves them.  I am going to order a set of them as soon as I am done posting this. Click on the picture to see the product description.

I have been considering the purchase of a radar detector to use on my motorcycle lately. I spend a lot of time on the road and I have owned a few radar detectors in the past. I have found that traveling with a radar detector gives me a nice reminder to watch my speed sometimes when my cruise control lets my car or motorcycle “run” downhill a little too fast (this is not as bad on the bike as it is in the minivan). Police love to sit at the bottoms of hills and run radar or laser and ticket people whose vehicles gain speed going downhill, even while coasting. I think that a radar detector is a little insurance policy to clue me in on the police radar waiting at the bottom of that hill in the weeds. When I was stopped on US 129 the “Tail of the Dragon,” a radar detector would have prevented the whole stop, as I would have known the trooper was at the bottom of a hill and would have used my brakes instead of just coasting in second gear down the hill.

My issue with searching for a radar detector is that there are so many to choose from, and there is so much radar detector manufacturer propaganda out there that it will make your head spin. Just when I find a review that I seem to get into, I see that on that very website they sell the radar detector that was reviewed as being the best. I don’t want a radar detector review from a website that sells radar detectors. I want a review of YOUR radar detectors. Let me know what radar detector you use and why you chose it over all of the other radar detectors available.

I am aware of a couple of websites that do not sell radar detectors, but have tests published. I know that there are some of them out there, and I have read a few reviews from them. There are also many sites that want you to buy a radar detector from them, and they publish biased reviews.

Consider this a “reverse radar detector review.” I am asking you to review what you have, instead of my usual review of what I have.

Today, I found the advertisement for Benchmark Helmets and the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 (and the BTS-200) bluetooth motorcycle intercom systems. I was looking through an old issue of the BMW MOA Owners News. I found a toll free phone number for Benchmark Helmets and it was different from the number that I obtained from their website. I contacted the phone number and I spoke with somebody about my IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 bluetooth motorcycle intercom unit that is not working properly. I was emailed a return form which I filled out and emailed back promptly. In about two hours I received another email that informed me to send back the faulty IMC Motorcom BTS-300 unit and it would be replaced.

I was very pleased with the service I received today from Benchmark Helmets. I am still concerned, however, about my multiple emails concerning this same BTS-300 (sent from the form on the Benchmark Helmets website) that remained unanswered. The first email that I sent was on June 22, and the last was on July 27.

I will keep everybody updated on the progress of my dealings with Benchmark Helmets and the bluetooth motorcycle intercom replacement.

Over the past year, I have looked for a new motorcycle intercom to use on my BMW R1200 RT. I had installed my old Motocomm unit that I had on my Honda CB900 Custom, but over time, that intercom unit has slowly given up the ghost. It got to the point where I had trouble hearing Amy unless I raised my windshield all of the way up and ducked down against the tank. Amy could not hear me most times. The Motocomm intercom unit was about 5 years old and had served me well.

After much looking, I found the IMC Motorcom BTS-300 bluetooth motorcycle intercom.  I saw the advertisement for the IMC Motorcom BTS-300 bluetooth motorcycle intercom in the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Owners News, which is a monthly publication sent out to all members of the BMW MOA. I read a few reviews of the IMC Motorcom BTS-300 including this review by Web Bike World. The IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 looked like just the thing I have been looking for in a motorcycle communications device.

I ordered the BTS-300 intercom (two of them actually, one for me and one for my passenger) from the IMC Motorcom website.  The order was processed very quickly, with me receiving the order in two days.  The BTS-300 was very easy to install.  The IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 is shipped with a boom mic for open or 3/4 helmets and a “button” mic for full face helmets.  We installed the “button” mics in both my helmet and Amy’s helmet.  On a test ride, we decided that there was too much space between Amy’s mouth and her microphone making it difficult for me to hear her.  When we got home from the test ride, we swapped out her mic for one of the boom microphones.  Switching the microphones allowed the mic to be placed closer to her mouth and I had no trouble hearing her at any speed.  As with most noise canceling mics I have used, you need to be able to “kiss the mic” meaning that you should be able to touch the mic with your lips if you stick your lips out in a “kissing” like move.

Pairing the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 bluetooth motorcycle intercom can be a patience trying endeavor.  The instructions are a very poor translation to English.  The instruction manual for the BTS-300 intercom system has several stickers that are used to correct mistakes.  If the manual said to press the + button and that was wrong, the company just had somebody place stickers with a - over the error.  Who is the lucky guy that got that job?  Luckily I have paired many bluetooth devices and figured it out despite the best efforts of the instruction manual.

Most days on the commute to work, I turn on the bluetooth radio in my phone (a HTC Titan) and stream stereo internet radio over my Camos BTS-300 intercom.  The sound quality is great (as good as it gets with compressed audio formats, I prefer the sound of vinyl records myself, but that is another whole website).  The audio coming from my BTS-300 motorcycle intercom system is unmatched my the Motocomm unit that I used for so many years.  There are no issues with volume as long as you have the speakers placed properly.  The speakers need to be right over your ear canals, which I took great care in doing when we installed the units.  I cannot listen to my music with the volume all of the way up (unless using Pandora, which seems to provide a very low audio level for some reason).  When I receive a phone call, my music automatically pauses, and i take the phone call, then my music resumes when I hang up the call.

The buttons on the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 are very easy to use with gloves on, once you have the placement of the buttons memorized.  I had no problems memorizing where the talk, mute, volume up, or volume down buttons are.

I ordered the bluetooth adapter sold by IMC Motorcom that allows a two way radio to be connected.  I connected the adapter to my motorola FRS/GMRS radio and was able to communicate with others using a Chatterbox motorcycle intercom system and my uncle who has an Autocom intercom system.  The bluetooth adapter came with an equally bad instruction manual.  This instruction manual goes into great detail on how to pair the bluetooth adapter to channel 2 on the bluetooth intercom system.  The benefit, acording to the manual, is that you can then have your phone paired to channel one on the intercom system and have a two way radio paired on channel 2.  This is a setup that I would LOVE to have, as there are many times that I ride solo on the BMW R1200 RT and communicate to somebody that has a Chatterbox intercom system over FRS radio, but would like to receive phone calls from my wife who is at home.  With my Motocomm intercom system, it was no big deal, as there were wires everywhere that I could hook things to.  Sadly, the instruction manual is dead wrong.  Even though the bluetooth adapter instructions state that it can be paired on channel 2, it cannot.  The instructions were written BEFORE the Camos BTS-300 was released.  Channel 2 can ONLY be used to pair another IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 unit.  IMC Motorcom needs to get this fixed, as I spent about 3 hours trying to do as the instructions said.  They need a “Chapter sized” sticker to correct that mistake.

Phone calls using the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 motorcycle intercom system are great.  When I talk to people on the motorcycle, most cannot believe that I am not sitting at home.  While testing it out, I got on the freeway while speaking with my wife.  I placed the windshield all of the way down on the BMW R1200 RT and she could hear me just fine at 65 MPH.  I am not a scofflaw that would go speeding down the freeway, but I am an amateur scientist, so in the name of science, I took the liberty of testing my Camos BTS-300 intercom on a phone call at 80 MPH and still was asked by a friend “Are you really on the motorcycle?”  I have no problems hearing the people that call me.  The sound is probably as good as my cell phone can deliver.

The IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 motorcycle intercom system is advertised as a bike-to-bike intercom system.  To test the range of the Camos BTS-300 system, I enlisted the help of my 4 year old daughter.  We ordered a spare set of speakers for her helmet and we used a mounting clip to secure the second BTS-300 intercom box to her helmet.  If there are two things that she loves, it is talking and wearing a motorcycle helmet, so doing both at the same time is right up her alley.  For testing, we both put our helmets on and she walked across the yard toward her grandmother’s house.  There is a rise in between the houses, so I did lose sight of her at about 250 feet, but we were able to talk without static.  I lost communication with her at 300 feet, but she went down a good sized hill, there was no line of sight with the two radios.  When she climbed the stairs to her grandmother’s deck, I was able to talk with her at a range of 500 feet, as we had a clear line of sight.  Later that week, my sister wore a helmet with the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 installed and she rode another bike so that we could test the bike-to-bike capabilities of the BTS-300.  We were able to communicate at ranges of about 1/4 mile sometimes in straight stretches of road.  When we were in hills and turns, the range dropped off significantly, but we were easily able to communicate at ranges that I normally ride with others in all types of topography.

I like the size of the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 motorcycle intercom system.  It is very small, about the size of a small box of kitchen matches.  The IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 is much smaller than the Chatterbox system that my father-in-law has.  The BTS-300 uses a micro usb plug for charging and to plug the speakers into the BTS-300.

I have been having a problem with one of my IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300 units shutting off all of the time.  It has consistently been the same unit.  On a recent ride with my daughter to the local ice cream shop, I had to turn the unit back on 8 time during the 12 mile round trip.  I emailed the address listed on the website and have attempted to call their phone on several occasions without success.  I hate to think that I spent the kind of money that I did and they cannot be bothered to answer my calls or emails.  The local BMW dealer tried to contact the IMC Motorcom email and phone and also the email of Benchmark Helmets, the distributer of IMC Motorcom and Camos products in America, as he wanted to inquire about becoming a dealer for their products.  After waiting 3 months for return calls or emails, he gave up on Benchmark Helmets and IMC Motorcom.  If I cannot get my problem remedied, I will not do any business with IMC Motorcom or Benchmark Helmets again, which is a shame, because the units seem to be a great system, and I am sure that I have one that has a 1 in 100,000 type problem, but ignoring customers and potential customers is no way to make a name for yourself.  I am sending ANOTHER email to IMC Motorcom after posting this.  I will keep my readers posted on any progress in getting my problem fixed. I would strongly consider checking out other intercom units that may perform just the same as the IMC Motorcom Camos BTS-300, but with companies that do not ignore their customers. I am sure that my “ads by google” probably have several other companies that sell motorcycle intercom systems. Check any company for complaints about customer service before buying.

This photo was not taken by me, there are no storm clouds in sight.

Two weeks ago, Amy’s charger quit working on her Macbook.  After attaching my charger to her Macbook, her battery charged fine.  Her charger would not work on my Macbook.  This troubleshooting confirmed that the problem was indeed the charger.  I decided to pay the Apple Store in Legacy Village a visit.  

Legacy Village is in Lyndhurst, Ohio, about 70 mile from home.  I left work, riding my BMW R1200 RT in light rain.  I rode about 20 mile to get home, grab the offending Magsafe charger, and head north.  It was raining considerably harder when I left on the motorcycle.  I was planning on taking the motorcycle, rain or shine, and that is what I did.  It had been raining for almost 24 hours and showed no signs of stopping.  This trip was as much to test the “waterproof” claims that Olympia places on their liners in the gear that I wear as it was a chance to see the Apple Store. I had my trusty Frogg Toggs in case my Olympia gear left me wet.

While riding to Legacy Village, the weather and my gear did not let me down.  I kept plenty warm with my Tour Master Synergy heated liners in my Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket and Olympia Ranger 2 pants.  I kept as dry as I do wearing my rain suit.  I did not get the least bit wet while riding my motorcycle, even though there were times I had to slow considerably due to poor visibility because of the heavy rain.  When I arrived at my destination, the looks of disbelief were priceless.  People could not believe that some bonehead was riding his BMW motorcycle in the rain.

My experience at the Apple Store Genius Bar was terrific.  The Apple Genius checked my charger, which had somehow started working again prior to arriving at the Apple Store.  The Genius told me that he knew that I did not ride 70 miles in the pouring rain to make up a charger not working.  The magsafe charger was replaced free of charge under warranty.  

My ride home was in the same rain, but the wind was about 25 MPH sustained with 45-50 MPH gusts.  These winds were straight out of the west and I was riding due south.  On my Honda CB900 Custom, these winds would have been terrible to ride in, but on the BMW R1200 RT it was very manageable.    

I have always ridden my motorcycles in the rain or shine, hot or cold.  This was the first time that I tried out the “waterproof” claims of Olympia, and I was VERY pleased.  Before this ride, I always donned my Frogg Toggs rain gear if setting off in the rain.  I have since not worried about taking my Frogg Toggs out of my bike if I need to carry a few more things, as long as I am wearing my liners in my Olympia gear.

Last week, I left on a trip to Maryville, TN on the BMW R1200RT.  I had to go there for traffic court, as a Tennessee State Trooper was pretty impressed by the performance of my bike the last time I was there.  As another blogger, Gail puts it, I was given a performance award (ticket).  More on the ticket and court in another post.  

When I left Northeast Ohio after my overnight shift at my part-time job, it was 6:00AM and 22 degrees.  I had been meaning to buy heated clothing for months, but I kept putting it off “for one more week” after not finding any decent heated gear at local dealers.  I donned my jeans, chaps, a t-shirt, fleece sweatshirt, and my Olympia Patton Tech Mesh Field Jacket (they named it, not me).  I rode for about one hour and stopped for breakfast.  With the heated grips and the heated seat on the R1200RT, this ride was tolerable.  

I exited I-70 in Cambridge, OH.  The light at the end of the ramp was red so I had to stop.  To my alarm, my legs did not want to move.  I was having trouble moving all of my muscles.  It was hard to shift my motorcycle because of this.  I had lost all fine control.  I pulled into Bob Evans and had trouble climbing off of the motorcycle.  When I did dismount the bike, I had to look drunk walking into the restaurant, as I was stumbling a little bit.  The hostess seated me and when the waitress came, I realized what was happening.  The waitress took my order.  I ordered the “Rise and Shine” which is eggs, home fries, toast, and your choice of meat.  I always get this when dining at Bob Evans.  When the waitress asked me “Bacon, sausage, or ham?” I replied with “Bacon” (I never get bacon at restaurants, I always get sausage or ham).  I then follow with “I prefer links.”  The waitress countered with “Sir, you ordered bacon.”  ”Yes, I prefer links,” was my reply.  It was at that moment that I knew I was a victim of hypothermia.  After I was at the restaurant for about 20 minutes, I  warmed up enough to start shivering.

When I finished eating at Bob Evans, I crossed the street to the TSC (Tractor Supply Company), a farm store that I know sells long johns.  I bought a pair of long johns and added them to my layers of clothing.  The long johns helped tremendously, but I still suffered from hypothermia for the rest of the ride.  

In Florence, KY it started snowing.  I was halfway to my destination at this point.  It snowed on me for about 1 1/2 hours.  The snow only stopped when the rain started.  The looks I got from people while riding in the snow at 33 degrees were looks of disbelief.  

I pulled in at my Uncle’s house in Maryville, TN at about 3:45PM.  I was glad the ride was over.  This is the first time in my life that I have not thoroughly enjoyed riding a motorcycle.  I was rethinking my decision to take the motorcycle for the last half of my ride.  Again, after I was off of the bike for about 30 minutes, I started shivering.  I shivered for about two hours off and on.  It was about three hours after arriving that we found out the heat had been switched off in the house.  I was still very cold when I went to bed at about midnight.

The effects of hypothermia can vary from person to person, but they usually include the following list:

• pale, puffy face
• cold feet, hands, and face
• shivering (may not be present with the elderly)
• listlessness
• drowsiness
• mental confusion, irrational thinking
• apathetic, hostile, irritable attitude
• cold abdomen
• poor coordination and balance
• stilted, jerking movement
• slow, shallow breathing
• slowed or irregular heartbeat
• stiff muscles and some trembling on one side of the body
• loss of consciousness
• loss of heartbeat

This list actually follows the most common order for hypothermia symptoms.  I am not a doctor, but I am a paramedic.  I realized at the restaurant that I had a pretty significant case of hypothermia, as I had poor coordination and balance, confusion, and shivering had stopped.  As you can see in the list, it is probably a good thing that my hypothermia did not get much worse.

In 500 miles of riding, I saw three other motorcycles on the freeway.  Everybody I know said I was crazy for taking a 500 mile motorcycle ride in the middle of November, but I contend that the ride was not crazy.  My taking the ride with inappropriate gear was what was crazy.  After arriving in Tennessee and spending one night, I went to Destination Motorcycles and purchased my Tour Master Synergy heated liners and a pair of Olympia Ranger 2 Overpants.  The ride home was in toasty comfort.  There was no threat of hypothermia, as I rode with the heated gear on low in the morning, and by afternoon, I had to turn off the heat, as I was getting too warm.  I would encourage anybody who rides in the cold weather to buy heated clothing.  I never realized how nice it would be to have heated gear.  

After riding 500 miles in the cold (35 degrees and below), I realize that heated clothing is safety equipment.  I was not prepared for the ride I was taking, but that has changed.  I have learned from my mistakes.  I will not let that happen again.  I have ridden about 750 miles in my heated gear now and could not be happier.  It snowed on me on the way to work Saturday and the temperature was 28 degrees.  I never felt cold.  It snowed the next day on the way home and the temperature was 27 degrees.  I could ride all winter when the roads are clear.  Prior to getting my heated clothing, the coldest I have ridden has been 8 degrees, and I froze.  My commute is 20 miles each way and is safer now with my new gear.

Here I am wearing my Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Jacket

While I was planning my ride to the Emmitsburg, MD and then Mt Washington, NH, I started looking for another jacket to wear.  I needed another jacket as we only had one mesh jacket and several leather coats and we would be riding into temperatures nearing 100°F.  I had heard good things about Olympia jackets from my uncle that has one, and from the owner of the BMW dealership.  I decided to give an Olympia jacket a try, it was less expensive than some other jackets, but seemed to be built well.

I bought the Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket from Mathias BMW in New Philadelphia, OH.  Here is what the Olympia website has to say about it:

We’ve reinvented the classic field jacket and combined rider specific function with rugged go anywhere styling. Constructed in authentic DuPont Cordura® with ballistic airflow mesh panels, this jacket offers maximum cooling with superior abrasion resistance. Patton’s waterproof Thermolite® insulated liner insures all weather multi season riding comfort and doubles as a great looking stand alone jacket. To enhance Patton’s all weather riding performance it’s also equipped with a stand up neoprene edged collar complete with throat latch detail and two large waterproof chest pockets.

 I immediately wore the jacket home.  I was amazed at the amount of air that was able to flow through the jacket.  We were leaving on our trip in two days, and this would be the real test, but I was impressed early.  I got a few reactions about the “fluorescent red” color, but this is exactly what I was after.  You can see this thing!

We left on our trip and the temperature was 80°F already at 8:00 AM.  I was very comfortable.  The jacket was a little stiff at first, but as I wore it, it seamed to relax.  As the day wore on, we rode into hotter temps and I remained comfortable.  When we got stopped by a bicycle race for well over on hour, the temperature was 93°F and I never took the jacket off.  I did get plenty warm while stopped, but not to the point where I felt the need to shed the jacket.

We did hit some heavy rain for a short time, and we rode on wet roads with spray for over 100 miles.  I did not have the waterproof liner with me.  I donned my rain suit pants, but not my rain suit jacket.  I got slightly wet where the mesh runs up the sleeves and down my sides.  My wallet and PDA phone stayed perfectly dry in the waterproof pockets.  The rain making it in the mesh was actually quite refreshing.  I have since tried the waterproof liner and it works as advertised.  I have not worn my rain suit jacket in about two months now.

The collar has neoprene at the top and makes it very comfortable to wear.    The jacket has armor in all of the usual places.  The armor is articulated and makes wearing the Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket as comfortable as wearing my leather jacket that has no armor.  I do not have armor riding up on me like with my other jacket.

The price of the jacket was $249.00.  I think it was money well spent.  Eventually, I will buy another for Amy.  I have been very happy with my Olympia Patton Mesh Tech Field Jacket.  I am 5′10″ and 200 pounds.  I wear an XL jacket and have enough room for some layers beneath it.