u/Tattoodles

I’m a tattoo artist in San Francisco, and my wife Sarah works in the video game industry. We’ve been riding motorcycles together for more than 20 years, and somewhere along the way riding stopped being a hobby and became part of who we are as a couple.

The funny thing is she’s actually the bigger motorcycle nerd. Sarah follows MotoGP more closely than I do and has developed her own nicknames for half the grid. Marc Márquez is “Marky Mark.” Franco Morbidelli is “Death Meat.” Every race weekend comes with a running commentary that somehow makes perfect sense to her and absolutely none to anyone else.

People always ask what it’s like being married to another motorcyclist. Honestly, it’s pretty great. We never have to explain why riding 400 miles in a day sounds fun. We both understand the urge to take the long way home. And when one of us suggests a trip that involves crossing multiple states just to see a cool road, the other person’s first question is usually, “When do we leave?”

We’ve found that couples stay together when they play together. For us, that means loading up the bikes, pointing them at a distant horizon, and seeing where the road takes us.

This trip took us from San Francisco to Taos, New Mexico, and back again.

My wife and I are considering a move and would love to hear from locals.

We’re a dual-income, no-kids couple in our mid-50s currently living in downtown San Francisco. I’m 57 and work as a tattoo artist. My wife is 54 and works remotely in a director-level role for a large video game company.

Our household income would be roughly $420k annually ($300k from her salary and around $120k from my tattooing once I’m established and have built a client base).

One of our biggest priorities is maintaining a walkable lifestyle. We currently walk to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, entertainment, and most day-to-day activities. We don’t mind driving for larger errands like grocery shopping, but we’d prefer not to become completely car-dependent.

Although we’re in our 50s, we’re not looking for a retirement-oriented community. We don’t have children, and our social life tends to align more with people 10–20 years younger than us. We still enjoy going out, dining, live music, cultural events, and being around an active, engaged population.

Outdoor activities like cycling, hiking and beach days with the puppers is also high on our list of lifestyle requirements.

For those who live there, what do you love about it? What surprised you after moving? And do you think it would be a good fit for people like us?

I recently wrapped up this colorful ocean-themed octopus sleeve and thought you folks here might appreciate it.

The octopus was the centerpiece, but I wanted the entire arm to feel like a vibrant underwater ecosystem rather than just a single subject floating in space. The design incorporates reef fish, coral, and flowing tentacles that weave through the sleeve to create movement from shoulder to wrist.

This one took roughly 35 hours over multiple sessions. As a tattooer, octopuses are some of my favorite creatures to draw. Their anatomy naturally lends itself to the shape of an arm, and the tentacles create endless opportunities for composition and flow.

Tattooed by me, Adam Sky, at my private studio in San Francisco.

Thanks for looking. 🐙

Some tattoos feel almost more personal for the artist than they do for the client.

A client came to me looking to cover a small tattoo on her forearm. She asked for a reproduction of a famous Georgia O’Keeffe painting, featuring an orange poppy. Georgia O’Keeffe has long been one of my favorite painters, but this particular flower carried an even deeper significance for me.

Shortly before she passed away, my grandmother gave me a print of that same orange poppy. She was essentially my surrogate parent growing up, and losing her was one of the hardest experiences of my life. So when it came time to tattoo that flower, I found myself putting a little extra love into every petal.

I’m grateful to have shared that piece of myself with my client through the work.

The timing feels especially fitting. I’m writing this from a hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while on a motorcycle trip through the Southwest, just around the corner from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

Currently on a motorcycle trip and hoping some of the BMW brain trust can weigh in.

I’m riding a 2025 R1300GS with Adaptive Ride Height and am currently stranded (sort of) in Santa Fe, NM, about 1,500 miles from home in San Francisco.

The bike was operating perfectly when I parked it overnight in Taos. The next morning I was greeted by what appeared to be an entire family of birds using my motorcycle as a bombing range. I gave the bike a thorough wash before leaving, including cleaning around the seat and tank area where bird crap had gotten into every nook and cranny.

Immediately upon startup, the bike began displaying:

Load Compensation Failed
Ride Height. Raising Not Possible
Suspension Adjustment Limited. Onward Journey Possible

The bike now appears to be stuck in the lowered position. The yellow ride-height icon with the downward arrow remains illuminated on the TFT.

A few observations:
Bike starts and runs normally.
No strange noises from the suspension.
No leaks visible from either shock.
Bike handles normally and I successfully rode from Taos to Santa Fe.
Adaptive Ride Height no longer appears to lower or raise at stops.
Faults appear immediately upon startup.
The bike does not seem to attempt any ride-height adjustment whatsoever.
No crash, impact, tip-over, or off-road incident preceded the fault.

My current theories are:
Ride-height actuator failure.
Position sensor failure.
Connector or wiring issue.
Side stand / center stand sensor issue.
Some sort of software gremlin.

I’m planning to inspect connectors, perform a battery disconnect reset, and hopefully get the bike scanned by a BMW specialist tomorrow.

Has anyone experienced this on an R1300GS with Adaptive Ride Height? More importantly, has anyone had the bike get stuck in the lowered position and still successfully complete a long ride afterward?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I’d love to know whether I’m dealing with a “ride it home and fix it later” situation or the beginning of a much larger problem.

Thanks from Santa Fe.

Edit: I took the bike to an independent repair shop for an inspection here in Santa Fe. Here were their findings:

Customer States: Active Suspension is inop.
TFT Load Compensation, Fail
Ride Height limited
Performed:
Pulled codes
Tested system
Determined faults and advised on repairs
Findings:
Several codes stored for chassis oil level and ride height sensors.
Attempted to calibrate system:
Sensor calibration passed
Hydraulic calibration failed
Activation of hydraulic pump passed
Performed a hard reset and checked battery terminals
Faults are still present

Technician notes:
Suspect software issue or a defective hydraulic pump, as many R1300 customers have had similar complaints.
Customer requested removal of fairing panels and inspection of wiring and connectors because the motorcycle was recently washed and there was concern that water may have entered electrical connections.
No issues were found with wiring or connectors.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions. Gonna begin the long limp home in the lowered position from Santa Fe to San Francisco beginning tomorrow morning. I guess my bike got to New Mexico and decided it wanted to be a lowrider.

Four recently completed blue koi sleeves from my private studio in San Francisco. Three of these designs lean into a springtime theme with cherry blossoms, while one features peonies for more of a summertime feel.

I always enjoy revisiting similar subject matter and seeing how composition, flow, color balance, and background treatment evolve from client to client. Same core imagery, completely different personalities once they wrap around an actual human arm.

Each sleeve took roughly 35 hours to complete over multiple sessions. Thanks for looking.