Reno, NV

Sierra BMW in Sparks, NV didn’t have the gas cap – which as it turns out cannot be replaced by itself but requires a new aluminum ring that it is attached to in the first place. However, he checked the BMW warehouses in the west and said he could place an order with overnight delivery for only 10% more of the order total. The cap assembly is $106 which added $10 to the cost with the grand total, after tax, coming to $126 :-(.We could do some riding around the Reno area so rather than postpone this repair we decided to head to the dealer in Sparks and order the part once they had a look and verified that the part he mentioned on the phone was the correct one.

Mike, the parts guy, knew exactly which part to order so this isn’t the first time he has seen this – which he confirmed after I asked him. Interestingly enough, on the new F650GS, the gas cap door opens the other way….hmmm. Design flaw? In any case, the part should get in tomorrow by noon. Maybe we can be back on the road by 13:00. Let’s hope we have all the parts we need and the repair goes smoothly.

After ordering and paying for the part we had some lunch and rode on a nearby scenic byway, route 445 and 446 to Pyramid Lake just north of Reno. A fun ride and amazing blue lake in the middle of the desert. At lunch I had made reservations at the Atlantis Casino, taking advantage of the cheap mid-week hotel rates so we had a place for the night and could take our time riding around and enjoying ourselves. So, although this was an unscheduled stop we made the best of it and actually got to see interesting things.

Todays route.