Today was a big day for our bikes: we rode 2 hours to get to North Oxford BMW, where we bought the bikes, and back, for their last pre-trip maintenance – like a full ‘health check’. We wanted to start the trip with all new consumables, even though it was earlier than necessary or recommended, for peace of mind and wanted to be involved in the actual maintenance steps in order to be able to perform routine maintenance ourselves once on the road.

We cannot thank North Oxford BMW enough for their assistance from our first dealings with them until today. Our sincere thanks go out to Nathan, Matt, James, Mark and Mark.

As part of this maintenance day, we also:

– installed Anne’s Rox Pivoting Risers (to bring the handlebars closer) – although fiddly to get the right position and secure the original bolts, no changes were required to the cables on the BMW F700GS. And they are perfect!!! I am very happy with them – the riding position is now perfect.

– wired up the GPS to Anthony’s bike

– replaced our main beam light bulb with a high intensity one – wow, they are bright alright!!

– wired up Anne’s new Cree fog/spot lights – for more visibility: oncoming traffic no longer just sees one little light coming towards them but a wider looking vehicle. We need to get an auxiliary fuse box to install Anthony’s lights as he already has the GPS connected.

– replaced our tyres with the new Heidenau Scout K60 which, based on reports, should last 10,000 miles. The ride back this evening was interesting, brand new knobblies on tar feel a little wobbly and then towards the end of the ride ‘home’, it started to rain. But all was good – the 2 Slow Speeds being as cautious as ever.

– Anne

Bike maintenance with North Oxford BMW