Until recently I had two bikes collecting dust. An Ultra, and a Heritage.I bought the Ultra thinking that when I retired I'd be taking trips. Boy was I wrong. Our son will be 10 this Fall and he plays baseball 3x a week, and I help coach. There went that idea. And since he's an only child, the warden and I decided that we weren't riding on the same bike anymore. The chances of both of us getting squished at the same time are remote, but still there are no real alternatives to where he would go. So I sold the Ultra and kept the Heritage. Been out a total of twice this Summer. None of my friends are out and about because of covid, and I enjoy riding in small groups. Maybe when things cool off this Fall I'll get out. She sits on her battery tender ready to go and fully serviced about 200 miles ago.

Been there, got the t-shirt, in black of course....

This is the first summer in years that I have ridden my bike. Between back and neck problems,it has just been sitting. Took it and had the rear brake bled and decided to ride it a little.
I wish I had tried to ride the other years(4).
My wife wants me to sell it and get a 3 wheeler of some kind. I love riding though.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
The trailer isn't a problem, I have a fleet of them (4 at the moment).

Money for gas and motels is a minor issue, but an issue.

Leaving Mama home alone for a week or more while I go out and play is a non-starter.

Coming with is not an option. Not physically up to riding the back seat on the bike, and damn sure isn't going to sit in motel all day while I'm out riding.

Well if she doesn't want you to be away from her, and she doesn't want to ride with you, you're just limited to short rides from home. And for that as I mentioned a smaller dual sport bike may be just the ticket, something like one of the 250's by Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki or maybe a Suzuki DR650. With one of these you can have fun seeking out and riding the roads that you would be avoiding on the FJ-09.

Finally caught a day when I had nothing better to do and the weather cooperated.

Solved the "been there, done that" conundrum by heading to my older daughter's new digs to check them out. About 130 miles one way. Took mostly back roads on the way down and then hit the Interstate on the way home.

I normally try to avoid the "I" as boring, but it was kind of fun for a change. 80 miles from Augusta to Bangor running between 70 and 85 all the way. It's 20-ish miles longer that way, but MUCH faster. Don't often find the need to use 6th gear on the FJ, but that puts the motor right in it's sweet spot (4500-5000 RPM) at interstate cruising speed.

Didn't tell her I was coming. She moved to a group home for my grandson who is profoundly autistic. She has her own apartment and Shaun has his, along with 24/7 supervision/assistance. Gives her a break and is a start on transitioning him from complete dependence on his Mom. He's 19.

The looks from the crew when I pulled up on the bike were priceless. They had absolutely no clue who it was even after I took my helmet off.

Mid to high 90’s and humidity yesterday. I got a solid twisty run in, a tank and a half of fuel. Great cornering but since it was a Saturday, had to put in much more passing maneuvers compared to Sunday. Heat and humidity only got to me at a light, which I only encountered 2-3 times all day. Once you hit 80 mph, in a fully perfed suit, it’s just fine. I did stop half way through and hit a bottled water with electrolytes. That made a massive difference. There is a 2 mile straight between corners with zero traffic, no houses or structures on either side, that is my Kessel Run. Allows the motor to stretch its legs. Last corner is a long right sweeper you can take in 2nd or 3rd gear. You keep it in 2nd to keep the RPM’s up, then upon corner exit, WFO, I was pulling hard at the end of 5th gear before I let go the throttle Made my week.

Glad you got through the slump. The GF and I took the Harleys out this past weekend. Like you, had to kind of force myself to get all geared up.
We put a couple hundred miles on the bikes. Wound up having a good time.

Just got approved for my next interventional device:
2020 BMW R 1250 GS.
From the fine folks who co-sponsored WWII!
I just have to ride 180 miles to get the damn thing.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Just got approved for my next interventional device:
2020 BMW R 1250 GS.
From the fine folks who co-sponsored WWII!
I just have to ride 180 miles to get the damn thing.

Wonderful motorcycle! Getting bags with it? Where to Grand Rapids? Member of BMWMOA yet?

I did a nice 150 mile loop yesterday on mixed roads with my new Tenere'. One dirt road looked to be more difficult than my capability, especially considering the bike is brand new and with no engine guards, I was alone and there was no cell service. In my younger days I'd have gone for it but I turned around and found other roads. I *will* be going back but on my XT250.
Interestingly I only saw 2 other bikes, a Gold Wing and a Harley, both on a primary road but none on any of the little roads I was on. What I DID see were at least 25-30 side-by-sides.

ridewv:
No bags now. The OEM or after market bags are way over priced. I can modify Pelican or similar cases for less $$$ and did that with my S 1000 XR. I may just get some soft bags and call it a day.
Grand Rapids BMW is 400 miles away so I bought from a dealer in De Pere WI, a way shorter ride. I let my BMWOA membership expire. I may renew it.

They are expensive from BMW (or Honda) I agree. As far as hard cases I far prefer top load but will be just using a set of soft bags on my Tenere'.
For my Crosstour I ended up buying Givi Trekker Outback mounts and cases from Motostorm in Italy which saved quite a lot. One thing I really like is the mounts are quick release removable so when you don't need the bags on you don't have all that "scaffolding" on your bike. Or you can leave the mounts on for a bit of fall over protection. I just checked their site and it looks like 726 euro ($855) shipped for the mounts and two 37L cases which is about what I paid for my Honda. I got them in about two weeks. LOL I also got a bill from US Customs for $28 a couple weeks later. Still this setup would have been over $1,200 from someplace like Twisted Throttle.

https://www.motostorm.it/en/ac...tback-pl5108cam.html

Post some pics of your new bike when you get it.

Intervention on hold: BMW now refuses to sell the bike to me, claiming there is a recall on them.
Nothing posted on the NHTSA website.
So... Just another episode in the bummer summer of 2020.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YooperSigs,

That sucks, it looks like leaking brake calipers need to be addressed along with a VIN sticker.

https://advrider.com/f/threads...-gsa.1407354/page-26

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
...I did a nice 150 mile loop yesterday on mixed roads with my new Tenere'...

Nice looking bike!


...

Thank you mod, I'm liking it for much of the riding I do.

Thanks for the videos although I only got to watch the first. Beautiful scenery, but I think I noticed your boredom problem.
Find a road with some serious curves. You don't have to drag your knees, but plot the line through the curve and work at holding it.
Just my opinion.

Intervention device update: Parts are being flown from Germany to fix the problem. Should be here by Tuesday. Time will tell.
Problem stems from a falling out between BMW and Brembo when Brembo refused to allow BMW to re-brand the Brembos. The Hayes brake calipers have a seepage problem, hence the stop sale order.
BMW lost big in the Brembo / BMW argument.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Just got approved for my next interventional device:
2020 BMW R 1250 GS.
From the fine folks who co-sponsored WWII!
I just have to ride 180 miles to get the damn thing.

3 hours there, one hour back?

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Intervention device update: Parts are being flown from Germany to fix the problem. Should be here by Tuesday. Time will tell.
Problem stems from a falling out between BMW and Brembo when Brembo refused to allow BMW to re-brand the Brembos. The Hayes brake calipers have a seepage problem, hence the stop sale order.
BMW lost big in the Brembo / BMW argument.

These stop sale orders are not uncommon with any of the manufactures Honda included. Hayes has a pretty good reputation making brakes and they are made in the USA, sucks this happened. Nice that BMW is flying the parts in to remedy this.
I just returned from a weekend ride and one of the guys along has a new R1250GS. He traded in a 2016 R1200GS and really likes the new 1250.

I am hoping to ride this weekend. A new extra tall windscreen has been purchased from a K1600 forum member, and I hope this gives me the bubble of silence I crave. May come next week. I renegotiated the satellite radio cost today so I will continue to enjoy that. It is a great pursuit of happiness.