Meet Marcelo San Martin, CAL's featured customer for September 2006

Customer: Marcelo San Martin
Age: 45
Riding Years: 3-4 months and 3,900 miles, about thousand miles a month... not bad, catching up after a recess of almost 20 years.

What do you ride?
2006 BMW R 1200 GS

Modifications to motorcycle
BMW Top case, BMW GPS, Passport 8500 X50 (radar detector) and a cheap MP3 player all connected to an Autocom-Pro. LED brake light and clear lenses. Evolution foot pegs. PIAA Xtreme White Plus headlight bulbs. Headlight protection. BMW Engine crash bar. BMW Cylinder head protection. Thanks to Paul for his patience and help in finding the right parts.

Motorcycles currently owned
Just the GS.

My favorite bike is (and why)
The GS. I looked and researched for quite some time for my new bike and at the end I came to the conclusion, as others did, that the GS is the best bike in the world :-) reliable and dependable, dual purpose, perfect bike for the roads around here in the bay area, fast, powerful and smooth, and technologically advanced (CAN BUS and ABS). Buying this bike was a very educated decision.

Dream bike
The GS. An Adventure maybe, but only if some day I have serious plans (i.e. courage and determination) to ride to my country, Chile.

The best ride I ever took was
I haven’t taken it yet. So far the long ride to Big Sur. You forgot to ask me for my “Dream Ride”: San José – Chile round trip, southbound following the South American Atlantic coast (Via Brazil) and northbound along the South American Pacific coast (Via Ecuador), one in a lifetime ride!

Advice for new riders
"Take the MSF course, and practice, practice, practice. Transform every mistake made, by yourself and others, into an learning opportunity Waving at other riders is just for the straight parts of the road."

Advice for experienced riders
"Be kind and help others to become better riders. Sometimes invite novices to tag along in your rides. Don’t preach but teach!"