Categories
Automotive German Cars For Sale

Introducing my 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster!

I’ve been very out of touch with this website for years but I’m hoping to change that in 2017 with the introduction of my new to me 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster!

This is the first picture I took of the car, while I was still on the test drive actually. We drove a few cars that day and within 5 minutes of seat time in this car and I knew we were buying it that day.

Some details about the car:

  • 41k original miles
  • 2 owner car
  • Set up for track days with H&R springs, Strong strut brace, solid transmission mounts, and camber plates.

With those modifications, the car has a little extra presence with it’s stance and backs it up with very quick direction changes at any speed. I’m sure it’ll eat up tires pretty quickly but then again I only put about 7k miles on my cars a year so not too worrisome.

My first order of business was to take care of the BMW Inspection II service which was due. This includes all fluids, filters, spark plugs, and the S54 engine valve adjustment. This service was expertly carried out by J&J Werkstadt in Albany, Oregon. This shop is owned by my lifelong friend Paul Breen, who has always been the best tech I’ve ever known, and also BMW certified when this car was new. The service took all day but I was pleased when Paul gave her a clean bill of health and provided a baseline for me to work from. While records were included with the car, with just 41k miles there hasn’t been much work to report on either and it was nice to eliminate concerns of a car that has obviously been sitting for extended period.

In terms of condition, the car is excellent mechanically but does have some exterior blemishes. A handful of tiny door dings, a few scratches, and some curbing on all the wheels show what life must have been like with the first owner in Santa Barbara. But the 2nd owner kept this car garaged as his weekend fun toy and track day warrior. I’ll be signing up with the local BMW club again to make sure I can get it on the track as well!

This feels like the right place to put an apology for not maintaining this website for the past 4 years (gulp!) but I’m eager to get back in the saddle so to speak. I’ve already got some more updates and look forward to sharing what I’ve been up to in the meantime and how I’d like to move ahead. Thanks for reading and chime in below with your comments.

dc

Categories
Corvallis Motorcycles

First Day of Summer, I Ride to Mary’s Peak

Our weather in Oregon has been a bit on the cool and slightly wet side this spring. But today temperatures jumped to nearly 80 degrees and it was too good to pass up. I did ride the bicycle a bit to try and get back on that horse, but the ride on the Ducati was sadly only the third ride of the year.

Paul and I are planning to hit Laguna Seca for MotoGP and do a proper vacation on motorcycles. But I’m a bit out of practice to say the least. He may be taking his BMW R75/5, but he’s damn proficient on it in the corners and I really do have to work to keep up with him. I need to attend one of Roger’s MotorcyclExcitement schools in the near future! (I maintain his current website and hope to make a new site for him soon!)

The good news is that Paul did such a stellar job dialing in this bike for Sears Point last year that she’s ready to hit the road again with nearly no adjustments.

dc

Categories
Automotive Oregon

Attending EESCC Event 3 AutoCross

As of right now, it’s my birthday next week and I think my first wish will be to attend the autocross this weekend with EESCC. If you search my site, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of this Eugene based organization as they run a professional event with a lot of friendly community feel. See below for some video of me in the S2000 when I first got the car. I haven’t been in a few years and I’m really looking forward to it. Plus I’ll be joining my buddy Gary from OSU who brings out his Cadillac Seville. I’ve included a video of his as well below.

dc

Here is a video of my buddy Gabe when we were actively running S2000blog.com:

And here is a run I did myself after just a couple weeks of owning the S2000:

And here’s Gary in his latest run this year:

Categories
Automotive Classifieds of Interest Corvallis On The Job

My 2001 Honda S2000 AP1 Has Been For Sale for 2 Weeks with No Bites!

Well this hasn’t happened to me before. I think all the cars I’ve offered for sale in the last 10-15 years have all sold in less than 2 weeks. After a full detail from Carlos at Sports Car Shop in Eugene I was confident that my 55k mile AP1 would have lots of attention, especially with the VIN-matched factory hardtop being available as well. Amazingly the only contacts I’ve had are standard issue Craigslist spam farm emails. See to the right for my ad, which I think is priced below book and accurately represented.

And here is my competition:

2001 Honda S2000, 31k miles adult owned – $13900 (Beaverton)

This is a 2001 Honda S2000. It has been adult owned and garaged it’s entire life(sunny day car). It currently shows 31,830 on the odometer though the weather is getting nice so it may get a few more miles on it before the car sells. I hold a clean title in my hand. This car has never been wrecked and the original soft top is still in excellent condition. The interior is also excellent, it looks pretty darn close to brand new. The drivers side seat foam is still perfect which is very hard to find on S2000’s. The exterior has some minor rock chips etc as you’d expect with a used car but still shines and looks VERY good. No dents or door dings. The car will come with all the manuals, aftermarket car cover, both keys w/remotes, convertible boot cover, and front license bracket and plate(not currently on the car). The car is all stock minus the following:

1)Boston Acoustics speakers. The OEM speakers are included so you could go back to stock though I can’t think of any reason you’d want to. The OEM speakers have PAPER cones!!!

2)USA-Spec ipod adaptor. This allows you to plug your ipod in to the OEM stereo and control your playlists via the CD shuttle controls. This is one of the few adaptors that allows full control of your ipod through the OEM stereo. It’s plug and play, so no holes were drilled nor any wires cut. You can simply unplug it and throw it away if you don’t like it.

3)Short antenna. The OEM antenna looked bad and such a sporty car. Again, this is plug and play(it just unscrews). The OEM antenna is included in case you want to go back.

4)K&N air filter. The OEM filter was dirty and I wanted the best replacement so I bought a K&N. It simply drops in the OEM airbox.

5)Updated banjo bolts. Honda changed the bango bolts mid ’02 for better oil flow. This was a recall everywhere else in the world but in the USA. Better safe than sorry so I replaced them.

6)rear suspension tweek. The ’00-01 cars were known for their snap oversteer. Part of this is because they had the stiffest rear sway bar of any other year and part was the suspension geometry. I have corrected the suspenion geometry and replaced the rear sway bar with a ’02-03 model. This is the next stiffest sway bar if you look through all model years. This helps take the ‘edge’ off without changing the feel of the car much. The original sway bar is included.

I’m asking $13900. Cash talks and BS walks. Please don’t contact me if you don’t have he funds available and no test drives without funds either. I can email more pictures on request and I can show the car most evenings. Low ballers will be ignored. I’ve watched the market for two years and I know what these cars sell for and what they are worth. With 31k miles this Honda is barely broke in…


Honda S2000 OEM Hardtop Extras Clean Title – $18500 (vancouver)

2002 S2000. Only 53k miles. Well maintained. Needs nothing.
Sebring silver with RARE red interior/black accents.
Soft top is in excellent condition.
2002 models are by many considered the most desirable. First year with a GLASS rear window in the soft top, suspension updates, cosmetic updates…and it was before the second generation changes, which in my opinion took away a bit of the character of the car. They kind of toned things down a bit too much for my taste.
Anyhow, it includes a lot of great extras that really enhance the appearance and driveability of the car, such as…..

*AP2 Wheels (17″), bigger size than AP1 for better handling and road grip (one of the few knocks on the stock AP1 models)
*OEM matching Honda Hardtop (a few scratches on it but in excellent condition)
*Clear Bra (great for keeping the rock chips away)
*Upgraded Comptech Exhaust/Sounds great
*Upgraded Stereo and Speakers (kenwood excelon with infinity speakers)
*Wheel and Seat locks
*High End Alarm (lots of extra features to keep it safe)
*Honda factory shop manual

So for the time being I think I’m going to pull the car off the market and enjoy it. Almost as soon as I had the car listed the spring weather turned to awesome and we’ve really enjoyed having a convertible for three weekends straight. There’s also an autocross coming up that I’d like to do with my buddy Gary who campaigns his Cadillac!

In the meantime I’m going to assess how much I’d like to keep the car versus shopping for another bike with the equity I have in the car. I miss the hunt and because aside from when the weather is nice, the car really doesn’t get driven much now that I work full time from home.

Decisions, decisions…

dc

Categories
Automotive Corvallis Motorcycles Photography

Some Snapshots from the 2012 OVM Motorcycle Show

This is my 3rd or 4th year in a row and this show never disappoints. You have the actual show which always turns out spectacular looking bikes, and there’s the bike parking lot which is like a show of it’s own. Always is at these things! Here are my pictures, enjoy!

dc