Changing the oil in the BMW 650 GS and the Dakar is very simple. The BMW shop in my neck of the woods wants $150 to do the job, which is why I took it upon my self to learn how to do this. While you don’t have to get the oil change kit from BMW, it’s probably best because they provide the copper ring for the sump plug, the o-ring for the oil filter, and the oil filter itself all of which costs about $15. Some people make the…
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If you find that your BMW 650 CS/GS/Dakar tail light doesn’t work at all or flickers when riding, chances are the metal power terminals inside the bulb socket are no longer making a good connection with the metal bumps on the tail light bulb. This is a very common problem with the BMW 650 of all makes, models, and years. Fortunately, there is a very easy fix. Due to excessive vibration, temperature changes, and replacing light bulbs, the two metal power terminal tabs inside the tail light socket deform and…
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Taking pictures of lightning is not nearly as hard as you may think. In fact, it’s actually quite simple assuming you’re taking pictures at night. If you’re shooting during daylight hours, you’ll either need lightning quick reflexes (pun intended) or some expensive shutter trigger hardware. The reason being, at night the entire scene is dark, or nearly dark which allows you to keep the shutter open for long periods of time without exposing the sensor or film. When a lighting strike occurs, it acts as a natural flash exposing the…
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While chasing storms on the Colorado plains, I’ve found farms also have a lot to offer photographically. Windmills in particular provide a function to the farm that has been invaluable to farmers for decades. And after years and years of intense abuse, some are still standing today as a relic to the way things used to be. Below are some pictures of farmland I’ve come across while chasing storms in Eastern Colorado. This was a shot of a distant thunderstorm over the Rocky Mountains just after sunset. This photo was…
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Every aspect of the weather fascinates me, including things as mundane as the clouds. This fascination probably manifested itself early in childhood. Growing up and living the first 24 years of my life on the beaches of sunny Southern California offered little in the way of exciting weather, unless fog excites you. I remember as a kid reading books and seeing pictures of huge super cells and clouds bubbling from beneath and thinking the pictures were fake. Nothing could look that cool and be natural. It wasn’t until I moved…
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One of the first things I noticed about my BMW 650 Dakar was how dim the taillight was. The little incandescent bulb is not very bright and if the plastic light cover is even just a little bit dirty (as it always seems to be) the light is even more unnoticeable. And that’s the one thing you don’t want to be while riding a motorcycle on busy city streets, unnoticeable. So, one of the first things I bought for my bike was the Brake! LED taillight from Touratech online. This…
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When I bought my 2005 BMW 650 GS Dakar, I quickly realized I was going to need a top case for carrying some of my gear. The question was, do I go with the BMW case that is made for the bike or do I go with a 3rd party case? After speaking with some co-workers who have BMW motorcycles, none of them had many good things to say about the BMW top case. The two biggest complaints I heard were it was very compartmentalized which made storing larger items…
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