Last Inspection before the trip

Today, my Black Betty got a new TÜV stamp, which is the two-year inspection for fitness. The old stamp was valid until March 2023, when we would have just been in Marrakech. Now my licence is valid until 09 2024. 

The keyless drive is one of BMW's less reliable inventions. There is nothing but trouble with it. Inside the key is a CR2032 battery, which you should only buy from BMW. Internal sources said that it was a VARTA battery. The no name batteries sometimes don't last 4 weeks. So I got the VARTA. But today, also after about 4 weeks, the BMW onboard electronics showed the yellow triangle with exclamation mark in the display. The key could not be found. Bugger! I'm not in the mood for such annoying problems when I'm on the road. So I then had the supposedly original BMW battery installed at Wilhelmsen (BMW dealer in Oeversee). I am curious. Don't hold your breath. In the event that the key does go on strike at an inopportune moment, I had someone show me how to start the bike even if the battery in the key is flat. There is a recess in the middle above the rear wheel in the mud flap where you hold the key. Then you can press the keyless starter with the other hand and the machine's electrics come to life. I tried it out, it works.

On the way back home from Wilhelmsen, my mobile phone went into power-saving mode. The Google Maps Navigator had already consumed a lot of power on the outward journey. Of course I didn't have the charging plug and the charging cable with me, and of course today of all days there was an eternally long diversions due to a full closure on the route. I was lucky, the iPhone battery lasted just long enough to get back on the route I knew. My conclusion: I now put the bag with all my collected charging cables, plugs and adapters in my tank bag so that I always have the stuff with me. I'll also put a second USB adapter plug and a cable in the top case in case the tank bag gets stolen.

I also plan to take my second mobile with me, a cheap but very good A22 5G. The mobile phones with the traffic apps and Google Maps replace the old road atlas, which is useless for biking anyway. But if a mobile phone is lost or stolen, you're really in the woods and can't even make an emergency call. So I take the second mobile phone with me.

And for Spain, I got a mobile phone cradle for my Samsung A22 5G there and installed it today. In Germany, I use an iPhone XSmax, for which I installed a waterproof cover on the bracket that normally holds the BMW Garmin navi mount. From my point of view, the Garmin is more of a nuisance than a help. The menu navigation is outdated and cumbersome, the navi itself is sluggish and often misleading, and current traffic jams and detours are not displayed either. Nothing beats Google Maps. I have therefore turned the Garmin mount around so that it faces the windscreen, so that I have room for my iPhone. Unfortunately, the Samsung A22 is not waterproof, but it rarely rains in Spain, so a normal clamp mount smells. It's much less cumbersome than the waterproof iphone mount, and it was also quite easy to install.

Another disadvantage of the otherwise very good waterproof iPhone holder is the fact that it is black and that it protects the iPhone in an additional rubber shell for shocks. This was well intended, but it causes a build-up of heat. The clamp holder, which by the way can hold both the A22 and the iPhone XSMax, accommodates the phones with their white protective cover. This keeps the sunlight out and the phone is wind-cooled. In addition, the phone can be removed quickly and easily if you want to take a photo.