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December 10th, 2011 | Australasia

Motorline BMW, Brisbane…

I had booked the Big Fella in for what was supposed to be his 120 000 km service, but by the time I reached Brisbane, his speedo was reading a lot closer to 130 000 km…!!

Peter McEwan of Motorline BMW.

Motorline Motorrad has only been operating for a few months, but it already had the feeling of a successful and professionally run enterprise… Peter McEwan, a Canadian, manages the dealership, and had ridden throughout his native country as well as his adopted one…

I received a hearty welcome and within a short space of time, Andrew, the technician who was all set to begin the service, had ridden the bike around to the workshop and parked it on the bike-lift…

We chatted for a while about the things I wanted looked at, and went over the bike checking that all the wiring was in good nick and had not rubbed through in any places, and then took a long look at the rear shock…

The bike had begun to “float” a little, and i noticed that there was a small leak on the little pipe that comes from the cylinder… This was not good news…!! We made a few adjustments to stiffen up the suspension, but I have a feeling that I will need a new shock somewhere in South America…!!

I am still carrying the original BMW rear shock, that has been better days… I changed shocks in Laos, putting the refurbished Ohlins back on and packing the BMW one away in case I needed it again… I can now see that being a distinct possibility…!!

Andrew and Paul Holiday pose with the Big Fella...

Sporty finish on a F800GS...

While the technicians were doing the service, I set up my laptop in the visitors lounge, and did some work editing photos for posts I still intended to write… I was offered breakfast and enjoyed a great cup of coffee while I waited…

All very civilized…!!

I made many trips into the workshop to check on the progress of the service… By noon, the Big Fella was ready to come down off the lift…

The generator belt had been replaced; new spark plugs went in; the valves were reset; engine, gearbox and drive-shaft oils were renewed; and the Big Fella was then hooked up to the computer to make final setting and checks before being given a clean bill of health…

Andrew returns from the test ride and pronounces himself more than satisfied...!!

Andrew took him out for a ride and came back smiling…

“This bike feels great…!! Hard to believe it has done almost 130 000 km…!!”

“And it has another 60 000 to go before we get home…!!” I replied, patting the seat proudly…

While I was at BMW, I met Paul Holiday, twin brother of South African former World Lightweight Champion, Philip Holiday… He came over to greet me and assist Andrew… Philip lives in Brisbane and works with young boxers in the community, getting them ready for the short life in the square ring…

The South African connections did not end there… The guy that washed and cleaned the cars and bikes after their services, was also a South African…!! And a short while later, yet another of my countryman who serviced the cars, came up to shake my hand and chat about my trip…!!

Just as I was leaving, we discovered that the bushing on my side stand was worn to a point where it was soon going to begin interfering with the cut-off switch on the side-stand… The part in question had to be couriered up from Sydney, which meant that I had to go back to BMW the following day to have it fitted…

The service both the bike and I received at Motorline was excellent, and easily compares to many of the older and more established dealerships I have visited…

Peter McEwan and Parts Manager Darren Thackeray,  gave me tons of advice on rides in their respective home countries, and Darren provided me with the contact details of a good friend of his in Nicaragua…

Old Beauty...!! Although I don't think it would suit me just yet...!! Let's give it another 20 years or so...!!

I left BMW with the Big Fella purring happily, knowing that this service would take us all the way through to Argentina, before he would need the next one…

©GBWT 2011

2 comments to Motorline BMW, Brisbane…

  • Darren Thackeray

    Ronnie,
    Nice read, until I got to this bit…”Darren Thackeray, an American”…just makes me cringe ever so slightly. I was born in Melbourne Victoria, mate. I only lived in The Land of the Free. LOL!

    Cheers on a riding Xmas season!
    Darren

  • Ha…!! My apologies Darren…!! Post corrected to take out that little bit that made you cringe….!! LOL…R.

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