Motorcycle Riders

Llarry wrote

Hat... check!
Jacket... check!
Shoes... oh, no!

ATGATT, with KMDAFM footwear?????

vreihen16 wrote

ATGATT, with KMDAFM footwear?????

Then you will really like this one.....

Watering hole in Sussex.

tom @ eas wrote

Can absolutely tell that's a 1200/1250GS setup.

Just did 1200+ miles in the past three days-- Denver, WY, UT, WY, MT-- finished off Yellowstone today. Heading out into MT/ID backcountry tomorrow.

The bike ran like a charm. I'm torn.... the Minister gave me permission to get a R1300GS next spring, but I love, love, love my GS. Yes, the new 1300 is a better bike in every category, but mine is just... perfect. I've farkled it to make it a combination touring, carving and backcountry/camping bike, depending on the situation.

I have... issues.... letting go of my things-- and I keep my gear in *excellent* condition. On the plus side, I never got divorced, so there's probably a positive lesson on sticking with something in there somewhere.

R.

Lady Jane wrote

Then you will really like this one.....

How... HOW do you get the helmet on over those dangles????

R.

flybigjet wrote

Lady Jane wrote

Then you will really like this one.....

How... HOW do you get the helmet on over those dangles????

R.

Very easy, It's called "I'm taking the cage today".

flybigjet wrote

I have... issues.... letting go of my things-- and I keep my gear in *excellent* condition.

R.

I'm the same with my bike. Mine is a 2013. I looked at new models over the years, very tempted, but mine is just perfect. We are one.

Littierally wrote

Would be interesting to know

A) How many have gone down on the street? How many times? Fault?
B) How long have you been riding?
C) Injuries?

I went down on the freeway on a KTM SMC 690 after riding on the street for just under 18 years. Went for a long slide, had pretty bad road rash, broke two ribs, and my hand.

Could’ve been worse, for sure.

Appreciate the responses.

I’m an ortho trauma surgeon, motorcycles are certainly the most common mechanism of injury for my patient population.

Given that, I have actually stopped riding on the street. Anecdotally, motorcycle riders are largely not at fault for collisions that can have life changing outcomes. Just no longer worth it for me.

RTE for lunch. (See lunch thread for details)

At the beach over this past weekend.

Ride to the pub for Fish & Chips, See dinner thread.

Best selfie ever !!!

His life was saved thanks to the wearable airbag vest. Thinking about it for my daughter now.

Dalco450 wrote

Best selfie ever !!!

His life was saved thanks to the wearable airbag vest. Thinking about it for my daughter now.

LOL. Best selfie indeed.

I'm also thinking about an air bag system too. I bought a new Rev IT jacket for the track that's specifically designed to accommodate an air bag from Alpinestars. The jacket has expansion areas for the bag to inflate without squeezing the rider to death. It's amazing the technology that's in these air bag systems. And at least with the Alpinestars, there seems to be regular firmware updates as Alpinestars collects data from air bag systems that have deployed. I personally witnessed a Dianese air bag system deploy and protect a rider on track.

The one thing you have to look for is if the air bag system you choose can be field serviceable. Many require you to send the air bag system back after one deployment for inspection and replacement of the air canister. Some allow you to do one field change and then it needs to be sent back.

smokinjoe64 Post here. The members will love your pics.

2007 in Germany with my new K12 "Bahn Burner".

Lady Jane wrote

smokinjoe64 Post here. The members will love your pics.

Roger That Lady Jane
...a few pics of ole school, now classic, modified Aprilia Falco - - “Bicilindrico" ~140hp boomer

Fantastico fast, versatile/comfortable [street, hwy, cyn carving] and a blast on track with insane torque from the venerable Rotax 998cc V twin [frickin bullet-proof]...of many whips, still most fav for two action.

Lady Jane wrote

2007 in Germany with my new K12 "Bahn Burner".

Well at least ya wore a helmet 😳
Luv the pic tho...

smokinjoe64 wrote

Lady Jane wrote

smokinjoe64 Post here. The members will love your pics.

Roger That Lady Jane
...a few pics of ole school, now classic, modified Aprilia Falco - - “Bicilindrico" ~140hp boomer

Fantastico fast, versatile/comfortable [street, hwy, cyn carving] and a blast on track with insane torque from the venerable Rotax 1000cc V twin [frickin bullet-proof]...of many whips, still most fav for two action.

It looks like you changed your exhaust system with aftermarket Renegade ? Yes?

Lady Jane wrote

It looks like you changed your exhaust system with aftermarket Renegade ? Yes?

Correctomundo
Renegades markedly improve performance, slim profile width, deliver distinctive ‘boomin’ tones much different than Duc Vs.
[BTW, corrected 'can' alignment for symmetry 😉]

Other ‘visible changes’ from 1st earlier pic; RSV Mille R “banana” swingarm with Öhlins, and forged wheels.

The Big Summer Old Man Ride with my buddy and his brother is compete.

4860 miles and eight states in 17 days, with camping all but a few nights for tactical reasons (laundry or starting at oh-dark-thirty to cross the Mojave).

Everything went well..... except for the part where we got chased out of Oregon a day early due to the fires and most major roads being closed.

Interstates were avoided at almost all cost-- we did end up on a little bit around LA due to a closure (and subsequent backtrack) at the top of the San Gabriel Mountains. For the most part, it was backroads/back country, the PCH and twisties to the maximum extent possible.

Butler Maps are an *absolute* necessity for this sort of ride.

The picture at LaVenture is just after I rode one of the best freakin' roads I've ever been on between Cambra and Paso Robles (Santa Rosa Creek Road). Since my wife was so nice about giving me a kitchen pass, I side-tripped (solo) to La'Venture to order her a case of wine and bubbles. They have several vintages that are available for order/purchase *only* from the winery itself.

I told my buddy that it would probably cost me $1500.

I was off by $15. But, Happy Wife, Happy Life (and additional kitchen passes to follow).

R.

PS: Note that although the bike "looks" top-heavy, it really isn't. The black bag on the top case is my lightweight tent. The two on the side-cases contain a lightweight Helinox cot and chair respectively. The one on the pillion has a travel pillow, sleeping bag and air mattress. Anything heavy is packed low in the side cases. Any of the bags can literally be picked up with pair of fingers.

This was *not* my first rodeo moto-camping.

PPS: There's a *reason* people say the GS is a "sport bike with a backpack". Set your throttle to "Dynamic" and your suspension to "Hard" and "Fight's On!"-- it's surprisingly capable in the twisties. There is no video (and my buddies have been sworn to secrecy), but let's say that I used up every single mm of tread up to the sidewall.

R.

flybigjet How did you manage the heat? It looks like it was over 100° in some area?

Lady Jane wrote

flybigjet How did you manage the heat? It looks like it was over 100° in some area?

I think we saw 112F/43C as a high.

For me? Heat doesn't really bother me all that much on the bike. Maybe it's genetic? I wore ventilated (and armored) Klim Induction jacket and pants, gloves, a thin neck gaiter and a full-face helmet. I dropped my shield to the lowest position to get airflow a bit lower on my chest.

My buddy and his brother were MUCH more affected. They had various techniques (not all of them completely successful).

My buddy would soak bicycle arm covers and a cooling vest in ice water for 15-20 minutes at every stop (he carried a giant cup for this purpose on the bike). He'd put them on under his ventilated mesh jacket. He wore a modular helmet, so he had iced drinks in two cup-holders on his bike that he could drink from. He'd manipulate his shield, the shield vent and his fancy side vents for optimal cooling.

His brother? Wore armored jeans (!), a mesh jacket and a modular helmet. He did the "cold drink in cupholder" thing as well, but said that the best thing was to buy a five pound bag of ice and put it under the front of his jacket while he rode. The ice melted, dripped all down his front and pants, and evaporated. It was messy, but worked reasonably well.... as long as you didn't mind looking like you'd taken a leak in your pants when you got off the bike.

The best (although most painful) technique was to get up ungodly early and ride as much as possible just after sunrise to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. That worked fairly well, unless the hotel had free brekkie starting at 6am-- that was a dealbreaker for an early departure for my buddy's brother.

The other thing we did was try to plan rides as high as possible with as much tree cover as possible.

There were a couple of times that we stopped early (Yucca Valley before crossing the Mojave and Wikenburg a bit north of record-heat-settinhg Phoenix) and got a hotel instead of a tent and made sure it had a pool. THAT was a nice break at the end of the riding day.

Oh-- and we all drank a lot of electrolyte replenishment drinks on our stops/breaks-- that seemed to help as well.

R.