Short report on the ride to Whistler

Here's a quick little report on my dirt experience on the weekend.

First off, thanks to the BMW GS list on micapeak for all the advice. I
followed some and filed the rest away for the future months.

I took it really easy and did a 99% pavement ride up to Whistler and
back on Sunday morning. There are a few little offshoot roads on the
way up there that are dirt, so I did about 4-5 km of dirt riding on
those. It was certainly an experience!

- I stayed in first gear, which on the GS isn't saying much since it's so tall
- I tried standing on the pegs for a while, which worked well, but is
difficult because it's such a different way of riding
- I don't have ABS, so I didn't have to worry about turning that off

A good first dual-sport experience.

Chatterbox GMRS-X1 Communicator

Kim and I bought a pair of these for our trip to Nelson and Osooyoos this summer. With Kim being a new rider we felt it prudent to be able to keep in touch on the 8-hour riding days without resorting to ambiguous hand signals.
Well, they worked great. Ever better than we imagined. They took away so much of the stress of paired riding because we were in constant contact. No missed turns, no ambiguity about filling up or the reverse.
We did a trial run using VOX (voice operated transmission) only, but it was a little frustrating. With the wind noise on a motorcycle we had to have the sensitivity turned down, which meant that we were losing the first word of what we said.
Fortunately, the units come with a PTT (push-to-talk) extension cord and handlebar mounted button. This is the thing to use. We each mounted the button on the outside of the left handgrip and it's super easy to reach a pinky over to transmit.
The X1s also have stereo input so we've been listening to our iPods on longer trips. Note the music doesn't transmit, it's just played locally.
Some might worry that putting a radio on the side of your helmet would be bothersome, but we haven't noticed any problem with that. You hardly realize it's there.
Batteries are NiMH or something not NiCd, so you don't have to worry about developing memory when charging. They seem to last about 8-9 hours of continuous use, with an iPod playing the entire time. They'll probably last longer if you don't play music.
Downsides? Rechargable batteries are nice, but it would be nice if they also accepted AAs for if you ran out of juice on the road. Other than that, which is pretty unreasonable in the first place, nothing comes to mind.
Recommended for people who travel in groups of riders. Note if you just need rider to passenger communication there are less expensive options. Chatterbox doesn't have a site that allows deep linking, but here's the URL: http://www.chatterboxusa.com/ Look under "Rider to Rider."

BMW System Cases on the R1150GS

I had BMW Integral cases on my K75S before. They were good, but not great. The latches, especially, left a lot to be desired. I was always worried about them popping open at highway speeds. I even went to far as to wrap one up with webbing on my BC to California ride. They were also a bear to get off the bike. Fortunately, the previous owner of the K75S had the bag liners. They were wonderful: I didn't have to detach the bags to bring stuff in to the hotel room / house after riding. Also, the exhaust pipe was low enough on the K75S that the cases were symmetrical. Equal volume on each side. However, they didn't fit a full-face helmet.
Now I have the BMW System cases with the standard lids on the R1150GS. These are a revelation compated to the Integral cases. One latch to manage to get them on and off the bike. One key per bag to operate both locking the case closed and locking the case to the bike. (The integral cases had three key holes each.) And getting them on and off is really easy, but I also feel like they're secure on the bike.
Downsides? Well, with the R1150GS exhaust coming up high the left case is smaller than the right. I could fix this with the larger size case lids, but I won't do that until I know I need to. And I don't yet have the bag liners, but I have my eye on a few non-BMW solutions.
Helen Twowheels' Saddle Bag Liners
Cee Bailey's BMW Saddle Bag Liners
BMW Inner Bags (no link available, try http://www.bmw-riders-gear.com/Index.asp and then "Luggage")
In short, I'm really glad I got the BMW System Cases with my bike.

Stuff about my stuff

I'm a gadget guy. There, I said it. I like equipment. Here's a short list of the stuff on my bike.
BMW System Cases
Garmin eTrex Vista GPS on a bicycle handlebar mount
BMW Vario Tank Bag
Arai Quantum F helmet
Chatterbox GMRS X1 (Rider to rider communicator w. stereo audio in)
Apple iPod 15 GB Third Generation (run through the Chatterbox)

Another Sunday Ride

Filled up at Chevron on Boundary for $0.929 per litre of 94 octane. Regular was $0.789, which is a really good price right now. 238 km on that tank for a mileage of 33 mpg (US Gallons) or 7.13 L/100 km. (I'm going to try to get used to that metric measurement.)
Off to Trev Deeley Harley Davidson, also on Bounday. I wanted to get a cleaning solution for plastic. I ended up getting Kim a pair of Joe Rocket Ballistic pants, but they aren't the right size. They were on sale for $100 down from $210. Great deal. I think I'll bring them back and get a pair for myself instead (same price.)
I did end up getting some plastic cleaner, so I'll give a report after the next time I wash the bikes.
That reminds me, I washed both bikes again this morning.
After Trev Deeley I went up to Lynn Canyon Headwaters Park, just because I haven't been there before. I toodled around North Vancouver a little bit and then got frustrated with traffic. Off to Highway 1 and up to Cypress park again. The parking lot at the top was open and quite a few people were there, presumably hiking.
I saw many motorcycles on the road again today. People likely thinking it's one of the last good riding days. Brilliant sunshine and not too cool. Must have made it to 20C today.

Off to Antons to pick up pasta

Another errand on the bike. I'm at work but Kim's coming home on the late ferry from Victoria. I popped up to Anton's Pasta on Hastings in Burnaby to pick up a pasta dish for dinner. Nothing spectacular, but a nice little ride. At least it's dry, even if it is a bit chilly.

Second errand ride of the day

I stopped off briefly at Fabricland and Lee Valley tools on the way back from Generic. I'm looking for a replacment catch for my waterproof and insulated riding pants. The exisiting one is broken, so only the built-in belt is holding the top of the pants closed. No luck at either Fabricland nor Lee Valley, as it turns out.
(I experimented with a rare earth magnet solution from Lee Valley, but it didn't work as planned. Maybe that's a story for another time.)
So, back to the point of the post...
Kim and I took off for Dressew, a fabric / sewing store at 337 W. Hastings. The lady at Fabricland recommended I have a look there. Boy, the streets around the Main and Hastings area are about as close to treacherous as streets can be without killing someone. Very rough, deeply gouged from bus traffic and multiple patchwork areas.
After parking nearby we quickly found what looks to be the very thing to repair the pants. Hard to describe, but essentially a hook and a loop that latch together. I haven't installed them yet, so I'll report on that in a later entry.
Then off to Robson to drop off something at the Swatch store. After an initial nightmare with parking, which is a long enough story to deserve its own entry on this blog, we found pay spots on the street about two blocks from where we wanted to be. Successful drop-off and back on the bikes.
We rode through Stanley Park, stopping briefly to change face shields as it was approaching dusk. Then across the Lion's Gate bridge and onto Highway 1 West. We took the Cypress Bowl exit and wound our way up that lovely stretch of road to the top. We even saw a pair of deer on the snow tube run near the summit. Very cool. Back down, again a lovely ride, and back to the highway to get home.
Filled up at Chevron again for $XX.XX at 138 km on the tripmeter.

Errands and nice little ride

So, I had to return a computer today to Generic. Blown motherboard or power supply. Long story.
Anyway, this was probably the first true test of living the one car lifestyle and relying on a motorcycle as a second vehicle. I removed the passenger seat, battened (sp?) down the toolbox cover with the included latch and brought out the bungee cords.
Sure enough, the computer box fit comfortably wedged against the back of the main seat, on the cargo area above the tool box, resting on the raised bar across the back. One bungee to keep it from sliding left-right and one bungee to keep it from sliding back and Bob was my uncle.
Since the computer box was wedged against the seat I could feel it gently pressing into my lower back as I rode. Very reassuring and I didn't feel it move around once.
After a brief stop to pick up four chocolate eclairs for dessert this evening (they went in the right saddle bag, away from the muffler!), it was off to Generic. I removed the bungees and it was overall an uneventful ride.

Friday fill-up

On my way to the check-up at the doctors I filled up at 289 km on the tripmeter. Second fill-up with the new bike.

Exploring Ioco and Buntzen Lake

After work on Thursday I took off for a brief ride. I wanted to try the Barnett Hwy to Coquitlam, which was great, BTW.
I took the left for Ioco and follow a few roads to Buntzen Lake, just to explore. At Buntzen Lake I parked briefly to change faceshields (tinted back to clear) for the ride home. Good roads up that way, some mid-speed sweepers with elevation changes. Good for another shakedown cruise on the new GS.
(On the way back there was a movie or television crew shooting on a side road.)

Aborted Whistler Trip

We filled up at the Chevron on Boundary. $17.42 for 17.437L for me and $12.74 for 12.748L for Kim.
Off to Whistler and we got to a point north of Lions Bay and south of Squamish before hitting a traffic jam. As we pulled into the line of cars we noticed people getting out of their vehicles ahead of us, which is never a good sign. I booted up the shoulder (carefully!) to have a look around the next corner. I couldn't see the front of the line of cars.
So we decided to turn around and keep riding rather than wait in traffic. No lunch in Whistler for us, I guess.
Off to Pitt Meadows via Highway 1 to Coquitlam and then Highway 7 (Lougheed). We ate lunch in a Boston Pizza-clone restaurant that was passable, but not worthy of return.
The return trip to Vancouver took us along 7A (?) back to Highway 1 just west of the big bridge. From there we superslabbed it home.
All in all a nice ride, even if we didn't get to Whistler.

Silver 2001 BMW R1150GS

Today I bought a used silver 2001 BMW R1150GS from John Valk BMW Ducati in Vancouver. It came with a multivario tank bag, BMW system cases and hand protectors. It had about 26,600 km on the odometer and a full tank of fuel when I picked it up.
John Valk was great to deal with and he took a lot of time to teach me about the bike before we rode away.
Kim and I rode down together on her black 2004 BMW F650GS and then took both bikes to Kelly Fennig's place for a little BBQ.