Lynden lunch.
Any bike forum out there has the same thread question every year. ‘Do you insure your bike year round?’. First I am lucky to have a bike build for that, and the lower mainland always… Lynden lunch.
Ride to Northern California
Last night saw the end of a week long ride to Northern California with Theo. During my Laguna Seca ride, I missed many twisties in Northern California due to my rear tire replacement headache. Since… Ride to Northern California
Mt Baker quick ride
Today Slow Bob and Theo joined me to a quick rip up to Mount Baker. The crossing at Aldergrove at to be one of the smoothest so far. Theo took the lead and showed us… Mt Baker quick ride
Bike Show in Gastown
Bike Show in Gastown. I think this is the third year this event is running. But this is my first time. No comments necessary. Those freestyle guys were awesome.
Laguna seca round trip
Back from Laguna Seca for the first time. Even though I have never really followed Moto GP seasons before the urge to go came after watching the DTK movie. I was lucky to have a… Laguna seca round trip
Moto GP racing day
The big day at the track as finally arrived. Thousands of fans waited a year for this day and travel from all over the continent to watch the only Moto GP race of the year… Moto GP racing day
Boys Tour 07
Just came back yesterday from the annual ride with the Brad gang. We had a new member this year in the person of Jeff, who I rode with a couple of times over the last… Boys Tour 07
BMW K1200GT Breakin
Today I had the opportunity to log some miles on an almost new BMW K1200GT. Based on the K1200S the body style and riding position is way different. There are many more options and gadgets too. A very fast, maybe too fast bike is my best take on it. Being new I was not allowed to pass the 6,000 RPM limit, and even at this engine regime, the bike is scary fast. I most certainly do not have the experience to handle such a bike.
The riding position was not my favorite especially on the Duffey lake road. I enjoy the sporty position of the K1200S better to ride this kind of road with this engine. It was hard to relax on the GT. However on a cross country trip I can only guess how nice it would be to ride.
I did my usual break-in loop up the Duffey lake road until Pavilion, and back to Vancouver but this time I went to Anderson lake on the way down. This was perfect and put just over 900 Kms for the day. Mission accomplished and the bike is now being serviced on time for the Baja Blast IV.
In stanley park going around the park causeway at rush hour.
Winthrop loop
All right … This was a good week-end. The first ‘road trip’ with the HP2. I was
a bit worried about it because of the limited touring capabilities of this bike.
Well it was not that bad. I wll need some preparations if I want to go with the gang
in June next year.
So I was joined by Connie and Rolf on their respective bike, and Jeff on his GS
carrying Sheri. We did a quick Winthrop loop via Washington pass, and Osoyoos.
The pass was cool, but this morning ride out of Osoyoos was simply amazing.
It was just the perfect riding conditions. Absolutely memorable.
Rolf got me playing around at a Gas Station in Concrete. Pushing the
bike a bit hard along washington pass required a new fill up in Winthrop. This
bike is worth than a sportbike.
Airport experiment
Adding more miles around town shifting up and down. I stopped at the airport and experimeted a bit. many car drivers gave me a strange look while passing by. In any case, here is a… Airport experiment
HP2 Break In
Today I headed off solo to put some miles on the HP for its breakin. In West Vancouver I thought I spotted another HP in traffic. Sure enough along Marine drive I met Andrei and… HP2 Break In
R1200S So much fun.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up a brand new BMW R1200S for a quick break-in today. The bike is on its way to a loop through the USA all the way to the grand canyon.
All right I will be totally honest. I will not buy this bike until I have the spare cash. This bike just do not fit most of my riding. However if I wanted a sport bike for day rides maybe overnights then this would be the one. Size and comfort is ok. Not as good as the K1200S of course, but the fun factor is way up. This bike is plenty fast enough and give lots of sensation. I have honestly not have that much fun before, on any bike in my very limited experience. The smoothest boxer so far. ESA suspensions and ABS for this extra sense of safety is the package for me. The noise/music that engine makes is just addictive to the ears. I ended up on the duffey lake a bit late. So the return section was done in about 45 minutes, the fastest so far, and without breaking the 6,000 rpm limit. I guess that this bike can do well over 200 Km/h under skilled hands. I felt no fear or no reasons to hold back today.
For some reason this bike has almost nobody interested in it, but I have seen and read amazing reviews. My guess is that the usual BMW crowd do not like the fact that there is no luggages system, and the crowd usually looking at Japanese liter bikes just feel that the price Tag is not justify. Anyway I know that many riders out there just don’t know what they are missing out.
The bike last night after pick up at the Burrard inlet before sunset.