caconcepts
Race Dog
200,187 miles on a bike? What the H***!!!
BMW K 1200 LT rider Darren Sandler is celebrating the fantastic achievement of riding 200,000 miles in just under five years on his luxury Tourer. There’s no need for a car for this 44-year-old from New Hampshire, as he rides all year round, using his motorcycle for work and leisure, averaging an amazing 137 miles a day – every day – over the past five years.
To travel such a distance – equivalent to approximately 11 times around the world – in such a short time requires a machine that is reliable, ergonomically efficient and supremely comfortable. Darren knows this better than most, as this is actually the second K 1200 LT he has owned. And what’s equally remarkable is that Darren nearly passed the 200,000 mile mark on his previous K 1200 LT and would have celebrated this long-distance achievement several years ago, had it not been for the actions of a careless driver.
“I had one of the original K 1200 LTs from 2000, on which I put 193,000 miles, but on January 11 2005 a woman driving while talking on her cell-phone rear-ended me and I was forced off my bike into the pavement,” said the mental health professional who thinks nothing of commuting 1,200 miles a week to clinics. “Fortunately, my helmet saved my life and I was soon thinking about getting back on two wheels again. In fact, by the end of the month I was the proud owner of a new BMW K 1200 LT, which is the bike I own now.”
Before owning his first K 1200 LT, Darren used to ride a BMW R 1150 RS, on which he covered 92,000 miles. The switch to a four-cylinder K Series BMW was made because he wanted to try this comfortable, long-distance flagship BMW tourer that excels on the kind of road networks that can be found all over the USA. He didn’t experience any problems with this first LT, despite the fact that the New England region experiences some of the worst weather in America, with temperatures regularly dropping to around minus 4 degrees F.
[fimg=right]https://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Darren_Sandler_and_BMW_K_1200_LT.jpg[/fimg]Darren Sandler with Cold Weather gear on his BMW K 1200 LT rider
The extended-warranty that had served him so well with his first LT was taken out again when he bought the second machine from the MAX BMW Motorcycles dealership in New Hampshire. In fact, there are still two years left to run on the warranty, so Darren has no thoughts about changing this much-travelled machine just yet. With the exception of a custom backrest and some additional comfort foot-pegs, the bike is completely standard.
“The LT is smooth, comfortable and gives a great ride all year round,” said Darren. “Most of my miles are covered in the winter and the LT’s wind and weather protection is vital, especially as this part of the States experiences freezing weather for six or seven months of the year.
“It works really well in rain, sleet and fog, and I have to take my hat off to Dwayne Robichaud, who is the technician at MAX BMW Motorcycles who works on my bike. It doesn’t get ‘regular’ service intervals because the distances I cover are so great, but it’s extremely well looked after. I do around 15,000 miles before changing the oil, but then I ride that far every couple of months. It’s only on its second set of shock absorbers and still has the original clutch!”
Darren spends most of his riding time in top gear at cruising speeds. He used to get up to 50 miles per gallon when the bike was new, and even now achieves 40 mpg on average. He’s even been known to get 60,000 miles out of a front tire, which just goes to show what is possible if you are careful with the throttle!
With MAX BMW Motorcycles’ Dealer Principal Max Stratton having arranged a day of celebration for Darren – and with his ‘five-year’ deadline for successfully passing the 200,000 mile mark taking place on 27 January – Darren still had to complete several hundred miles that very day before he could have the award authenticated. True to form, he got up at 2AM and rode 300 miles from Connecticut to Maine, thus achieving his first objective of passing 200,000 miles.
His second objective was achieved later that day when his odometer reached 200,053, because his K 1200 LT originally had 53 miles on the clock when he purchased it in 2005. And finally, his third objective required putting an extra 60 miles on the LT in order to make all of his 200,000 miles were “genuine New England miles”. Having ventured just 30 miles outside the New England region back in 2005, Darren was determined to put an extra 60 miles on the odometer to compensate for this round trip and truly authenticate his major milestone markers.
On Saturday, January 30th, Darren was the guest of honor at the MAX BMW Motorcycles dealership, where he spent part of the day meeting customers, catching up with old friends and conducting interviews. He was presented with a BMW Streetguard jacket and was reprieved of his final finance installment on the K 1200 LT – a kind gesture for a well-deserving and loyal customer.
This is an Iron-man and I hope to meet Darren myself someday.
BMW K 1200 LT rider Darren Sandler is celebrating the fantastic achievement of riding 200,000 miles in just under five years on his luxury Tourer. There’s no need for a car for this 44-year-old from New Hampshire, as he rides all year round, using his motorcycle for work and leisure, averaging an amazing 137 miles a day – every day – over the past five years.
To travel such a distance – equivalent to approximately 11 times around the world – in such a short time requires a machine that is reliable, ergonomically efficient and supremely comfortable. Darren knows this better than most, as this is actually the second K 1200 LT he has owned. And what’s equally remarkable is that Darren nearly passed the 200,000 mile mark on his previous K 1200 LT and would have celebrated this long-distance achievement several years ago, had it not been for the actions of a careless driver.
“I had one of the original K 1200 LTs from 2000, on which I put 193,000 miles, but on January 11 2005 a woman driving while talking on her cell-phone rear-ended me and I was forced off my bike into the pavement,” said the mental health professional who thinks nothing of commuting 1,200 miles a week to clinics. “Fortunately, my helmet saved my life and I was soon thinking about getting back on two wheels again. In fact, by the end of the month I was the proud owner of a new BMW K 1200 LT, which is the bike I own now.”
Before owning his first K 1200 LT, Darren used to ride a BMW R 1150 RS, on which he covered 92,000 miles. The switch to a four-cylinder K Series BMW was made because he wanted to try this comfortable, long-distance flagship BMW tourer that excels on the kind of road networks that can be found all over the USA. He didn’t experience any problems with this first LT, despite the fact that the New England region experiences some of the worst weather in America, with temperatures regularly dropping to around minus 4 degrees F.
[fimg=right]https://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Darren_Sandler_and_BMW_K_1200_LT.jpg[/fimg]Darren Sandler with Cold Weather gear on his BMW K 1200 LT rider
The extended-warranty that had served him so well with his first LT was taken out again when he bought the second machine from the MAX BMW Motorcycles dealership in New Hampshire. In fact, there are still two years left to run on the warranty, so Darren has no thoughts about changing this much-travelled machine just yet. With the exception of a custom backrest and some additional comfort foot-pegs, the bike is completely standard.
“The LT is smooth, comfortable and gives a great ride all year round,” said Darren. “Most of my miles are covered in the winter and the LT’s wind and weather protection is vital, especially as this part of the States experiences freezing weather for six or seven months of the year.
“It works really well in rain, sleet and fog, and I have to take my hat off to Dwayne Robichaud, who is the technician at MAX BMW Motorcycles who works on my bike. It doesn’t get ‘regular’ service intervals because the distances I cover are so great, but it’s extremely well looked after. I do around 15,000 miles before changing the oil, but then I ride that far every couple of months. It’s only on its second set of shock absorbers and still has the original clutch!”
Darren spends most of his riding time in top gear at cruising speeds. He used to get up to 50 miles per gallon when the bike was new, and even now achieves 40 mpg on average. He’s even been known to get 60,000 miles out of a front tire, which just goes to show what is possible if you are careful with the throttle!
With MAX BMW Motorcycles’ Dealer Principal Max Stratton having arranged a day of celebration for Darren – and with his ‘five-year’ deadline for successfully passing the 200,000 mile mark taking place on 27 January – Darren still had to complete several hundred miles that very day before he could have the award authenticated. True to form, he got up at 2AM and rode 300 miles from Connecticut to Maine, thus achieving his first objective of passing 200,000 miles.
His second objective was achieved later that day when his odometer reached 200,053, because his K 1200 LT originally had 53 miles on the clock when he purchased it in 2005. And finally, his third objective required putting an extra 60 miles on the LT in order to make all of his 200,000 miles were “genuine New England miles”. Having ventured just 30 miles outside the New England region back in 2005, Darren was determined to put an extra 60 miles on the odometer to compensate for this round trip and truly authenticate his major milestone markers.
On Saturday, January 30th, Darren was the guest of honor at the MAX BMW Motorcycles dealership, where he spent part of the day meeting customers, catching up with old friends and conducting interviews. He was presented with a BMW Streetguard jacket and was reprieved of his final finance installment on the K 1200 LT – a kind gesture for a well-deserving and loyal customer.
This is an Iron-man and I hope to meet Darren myself someday.
