When putting the luggage on the bike this morning, I saw a leak at from the final drive seal. This is a known problem with my model bike and as long as the seal is replaced before the oil leaks out, shouldn't be a problem. The internet said the nearest place to get a replacement was in Izmir about 450km away. My hosts kindly did the translation and booked me in for that evening or the next morning if I didn't make it in time. That put the kibosh on any more wandering.
The first part of the ride was along more of the Turqouise Coast and the riding was just splendid. The road is a notch cut in the cliff and winds its way along the coast, with big mountains to the side, some up to nearly 3000m. Apparently the roads was only built in the 1970s and before that the villages along the coast were accessible by mule or boat. The riding took my mind off the problem with the bike and I made good time.
I stopped to gas up and thought I better wash the bike before I present it to a mechanic and expect him to fix it there and then. Unfortunately, the guy with the pressure washer got carried away and blasted my GPS mount to buggery so for the rest of the day it misbehaved badly, but got me to the garage to get the bike fixed.
The mechanic got straight to work and hacked the old seal out of the bike, leaking the remaining gear oil all over the back wheel. I was a even more concerned when I saw how he proceeded to alternately cover himself, the broke disk and the floor in more oil and using liberal doses of brake cleaner to wash everything, and then mess it up again. There didn't seem to be a method to the madness and there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary effort, including removing the entire final drive and jet washing it. Replacing the seal is not difficult but I didn't feel I could interrupt the 'process'. My price quoted on the phone was 80TL but that jumped to 260TL by the time the bill arrived. I guess BMW garages are the same wherever you go. I was glad to have the job done though even if the bike now has a couple of extra scrapes.
I got to Peter & Filiz and we went out for a beer and something to eat. Kokorec is cooked sort of like a Donor kebab except on its side. The other big difference is that it is made of sheep intestines and tripe and according to Peter is delicious. I had a taste and to be fair, it is not at all bad, but just the thought of 5 she eps intestines wrapped round that one spit wasn't doing it for me. I resorted to the other more meaty bits of the sheep.
The perple here are queueing for ice-cream...really.....
My GPS mount is foobar'ed. Looks like the pressure washer blast was the last straw. I opened it up to see that the contacts are corroded inside. That has been developing for a while so I can't blame the washerman. The unit won't charge in the cradle so I will be limited to however long it will last on battery per day. I have come to depend on it a bit too much I think so I will have to find some proper paper maps for Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
When putting the luggage on the bike this morning, I saw a leak at from the final drive seal. This is a known problem with my model bike and as long as the seal is replaced before the oil leaks out, shouldn't be a problem. The internet said the nearest place to get a replacement was in Izmir about 450km away. My hosts kindly did the translation and booked me in for that evening or the next morning if I didn't make it in time. That put the kibosh on any more wandering.
The first part of the ride was along more of the Turqouise Coast and the riding was just splendid. The road is a notch cut in the cliff and winds its way along the coast, with big mountains to the side, some up to nearly 3000m. Apparently the roads was only built in the 1970s and before that the villages along the coast were accessible by mule or boat. The riding took my mind off the problem with the bike and I made good time. 
I stopped to gas up and thought I better wash the bike before I present it to a mechanic and expect him to fix it there and then. Unfortunately, the guy with the pressure washer got carried away and blasted my GPS mount to buggery so for the rest of the day it misbehaved badly, but got me to the garage to get the bike fixed.
The mechanic got straight to work and hacked the old seal out of the bike, leaking the remaining gear oil all over the back wheel. I was a even more concerned when I saw how he proceeded to alternately cover himself, the broke disk and the floor in more oil and using liberal doses of brake cleaner to wash everything, and then mess it up again. There didn't seem to be a method to the madness and there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary effort, including removing the entire final drive and jet washing it. Replacing the seal is not difficult but I didn't feel I could interrupt the 'process'. My price quoted on the phone was 80TL but that jumped to 260TL by the time the bill arrived. I guess BMW garages are the same wherever you go. I was glad to have the job done though even if the bike now has a couple of extra scrapes.
I got to Peter & Filiz and we went out for a beer and something to eat. Kokorec is cooked sort of like a Donor kebab except on its side. The other big difference is that it is made of sheep intestines and tripe and according to Peter is delicious. I had a taste and to be fair, it is not at all bad, but just the thought of 5 she eps intestines wrapped round that one spit wasn't doing it for me. I resorted to the other more meaty bits of the sheep. 
The perple here are queueing for ice-cream...really..... My GPS mount is foobar'ed. Looks like the pressure washer blast was the last straw. I opened it up to see that the contacts are corroded inside. That has been developing for a while so I can't blame the washerman. The unit won't charge in the cradle so I will be limited to however long it will last on battery per day. I have come to depend on it a bit too much I think so I will have to find some proper paper maps for Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
Dont you get Merc motorbikes then??
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