Two's Just Right

Here are the two bikes in all their wooded glory. 

Motorcycle Camping Take 1

Well, here's the reason why I sold the topcase. Kim and I went motorcycle camping on the Victoria Day long weekend (kind of like Memorial Day, but in Canada.) We met friends of ours at the Coquihalla Camp in Hope, BC. This is about 90 minutes east of Vancouver. The local joke is to say, "I'm beyond Hope!"

Anyway, this was 'supported' motorcycle camping in that we depended on the kindness of friends. We shared the site with two couples with trailers and didn't have to pack food nor cooking supplies. It was great.

We bought two dry bags from MEC and stuffed everything that wouldn't fit in the cases in those. It was the first time with our new 4-person (!) Wanderer tent. Honestly, I don't know how four people would fit in there unless two were conjoined twins. Kim and I were comfortable and it was roomy for our two Thermarests and sleeping bags. I wanted a tent with some headroom and this one delivers. And yet it's not too big; I wouldn't want to take it backpacking, but for motorcycle travel it's about right. 

Sold my topcase

Well, I'm changing to a Jesse Luggage 65L Topcase, so the BMW topcase had to go. Some lucky guy in California got it for a good price from my advertisement on Adventure Rider.

Now the waiting game begins until my new Jesse case arrives.

This was / is a great case. It's 35L and made of the same material as the BMW side cases. The lid hinges upwards towards the front of the bike and opens quite wide. The latch can be locked and by default it is locked on the bike. The GS needs a topcase mounting panel that simply bolts onto the rear upper frame. It was rock solid and never even hinted at falling off. I could easily fit my XL helmet in the case. It also turns out that a Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) duffle bag fit perfectly, so I bought that to use as a liner. Oh yeah, and it never leaked, even in some heavy rains.

One downside, and this isn't really the fault of the case, is that the dirt and grime from the road would be kicked up off the back wheel and land on the lower latch. It was a routine part of my twice-yearly washing regimine to clean that out. :-) 

Spirited Ride up Cypress

So last Friday I went for a spirited ride up Cypress Mountain in Vancouver. We took off at lunch from work and bombed along Highway 1 to the turnoff. Simon was on his new Suzuki GSX-R750 and Rob on his Buell Firebolt. I had my trusty steed the R1150GS. Simon had scouted the road a few days earlier so we knew it was clear of sand and other debris. That meant it was fun in the corners.

What a great way to blow out the cobwebs and release some stress! Turns out that it takes about an hour from where we work in Burnaby to do the round trip. 

Test Ride Day - a true Adventure

Well, I've done it. I test rode the BMW R1200GS Adventure. Yesterday was the annual test ride day at John Valk BMW put on with BMW Motorrad Canada. They had a lot of bikes there and the second one I chose to ride was the new Adventure.
My experience was good overall. Nice power. Very stable. Once moving the weight is hardly noticed. (The 33L fuel tank was full for my ride.) I especially like the wider footpegs (front-to-back) as it made standing so much more comfortable.
The ride route parallels a local park for few kilometers and the road surface is horrible. The GS just ate it up!
On the negative side I found the front brake pretty grabby, but that could be explained by unfamiliarity (and newer pads than my bike?). Also, for me, the suspension wasn't set up properly, except for the really rough part of the tour. It wallowed a bit in the 90-degree corners around the city, which didn't inspire confidence.
One final note: This is the first bike I've ever ridden where I wasn't flat-footed on both sides at a stop. It's one tall bike.