This machine has been sitting huge and intimidating on the road outside my house, draped in an Oxford rain cover.
It was time to bite the bullet and get the step ladder out and try to climb on top and drive away. I had another dangerous destination in mind – this time Tesco at Milton. Aha, good news! The annoying gear problem seems like the clutch needs tightening up (however you do that on such a complicated bike). A little adjuster screw on the lever gives you an extra millimeter or so of movement and it seems to help – so maybe I’m not looking at a new gearbox. And at last, a biker nodded to me. I had thought there was a conspiracy of unfriendliness to people on BMWs (honestly – I’m not rich and overpriviledged). Tomorrow I get up at the crack of dawn to take it down to BMW Motorad in Hertford for a service and ‘inspection’ (sounds quite military). Two discoveries when riding today: first, I can actually get my foot flat on the ground so will cancel the leg lenghtning session I had booked at the spiritualists and second I have finally worked out what the engine reminds me of – it sounds exactly like the old Citroen Deux Cheveau. Now that‘s high performance.
First day riding the GSA
I couldn’t resist it – I’ve taken the day off to try out this bike….
On my first day of owning this bike I put my continent-crunching world-beating GSA through its paces – Destination Tescos in Ely. No problems getting out of cambridge. The border formalities were easy. Once on the A14 going west I felt a few drops of rain on my visor. Its well known that one shower on the A14 and the road will be impassable until next Spring. Luckily the rains held off. Some of the tarmac was ‘ever so slightly rough’ but the suspension coped really well. By lunchtime I arrived in Ely, a strange and wild place where banditry and corruption are well-known. Keeping a low profile I parked up the bike in Tesco and went inside to see if there was any food and drink available. With lots of gesticulations and shouting I made myself understood by the workers in Costa Coffee next to the pharmacy and cutomer toilets. On my return into Cambridge I was stopped at a chekpoint where I failed some of the questions on the IQ test. But with a bribe I was allowed in.
On the road I noticed some strange things: other bike riders don’t seem to return my nods any more. Instead I get greetings from the drivers of the following classes of vehicles: agricultural machinery, those big mowers that cut grass verges by the road; also scarecrows in the fields near Cottenham.
So day 1 was good – apart from struggling to get this machine into neutral once its warm. The riding position is good and the windscreen is great – I can ride with visor up now. I don’t know about its acceleration so no overtaking at the moment. It doesn’t feel as nippy as my previous bikes but presumably the power is there doing something.
Most of this post is also copied to the UKGSer website.
The company of BMW owners*
In that liminal space between parting with the money and owning, and with some time on my hands, I browse the UKGSers website. There are all kinds of useful threads there, including: where to stick your GPS. But there is a strange downbeat feel to some of them and I wonder if it reflects the character of BM owners. One of the most depressing is the ” I’ve had pain and tension in my right arm and shoulder since riding the GSA. I think it is to do with feeling tense about having spent so much money on it….” Then there is the chorus of folk swearing by spending out on the extended warranty listing the £1000s of repair bills, remarking that Japanese manufacturers don’t even offer extended warranty as their products are so reliable that no one would buy it. Then there’s the ‘brake-failure’ thread…
* Its an interesting slip of the keyboard that I wrote ‘owners’ rather than ‘riders’.
oh no, what have I done!
I just went down to a motor dealer in Hitchen who had a Beamer for sale on ebay. First I rang up about it and they said, sorry but someone is coming to see it, we’ll call you if they don’t turn up. I gave up and forgot about it. They rang me to say he hasn’t come. I rode down there enjoying getting back on a bike again. they showed me to ‘the bus station’ where it sat surrounded by dusty broken down cars, looking hardcore and beautiful and in immaculate condition – with 11,000 on the clock. They left me the key and said try it. Up on the centre stand I didn’t dare get it down and tried to climb on top and found I couldn’t reach the ground. So I though ok, BMW GS Adventure is not a bike for me. However I thought I won’t get this close to one again to try it out and the seller was including a low seat, so struggling and with the help of one of their salespeople we got the low seat on and the bike off the stand. Now, climbing on it and moving it around became a piece of cake. Where is this heavy unwieldy bike that people have written about? they phoned up the bos whose bike it is and he told me, ah someone is coming to see it and they have first refusal. I give up for the third time, then enjoy a confident ride home, wondering how different a GS would feel. In the bath and covered in soap, the phone rang and I learn that the bike is mine if I want it. Dripping I read out my card number for a deposit. I think this might mean I have become or very soon will become a GS owner. I can’t quite belive it. After all the hype – which is so consistent that I have to believe it – this bike seemed, on first experience, to be so normal and not as intimidating as I imagined. Let’s see how the next week falls out.
My motorcycling personality
Well, it is nearly midnight …
“What’s YOUR Motorcycle Personality?”
Instant Motorcycle Personality Analysis!
* Motorcycle Personality TestAre you “obnoxious”? How about a “liar”? Any chance you might want to add “stupid” to the equation? (Or, perhaps none of these apply to you!)
* On the other hand, would someone describe you as a “hard-core, motorcycle riding fanatic”?
* Of course, there’s all kinds of motorcyclists in the world. Does the term “inspirationally abnormal” best depict who you really are?
* Do you know any riders who are “bold, adventurous, spirited, philosophical and experienced in many areas of life”?
* Hey, you might even be fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to know a rider who is a “mature, intelligent, fact-filled encyclopedia.”
There’s MUCH more you can learn about yourself in this MOTORCYCLE PERSONALITY TEST. Regardless of what personal quirks and/or insights this analysis will conjure up for you, the only known cure is to ride more…
NOTE: This TWISTED GRIP MOTORCYCLE PERSONALITY TEST is simply for fun! If more than one answer seems right for a question, select the one that “best” applies to you. To receive your free analysis, enter your name & email, and click “My Personality.”
Analyzing
Michael’s Motorcycle Personality!
Hey Michael, below are the results of your MOTORCYCLE PERSONALITY TEST.
This was created and brought to you by Motorcycle-Intelligence.com, publisher of MOTORCYCLES ONLY, the world’s #1 newsletter for riders who can tolerate occasional motorcycle whimsy — all in addition to news, tips, and practical insights about riding, motorcycle gear and rider safety.
Question 1:
I am interested in motorcycles because:
Your Answer: C1
I enjoy riding
Analysis:
You are an adventurous creature who loves independence and freedom, and are not held back by risk. As well, you are secretly admired by those who wish they could be more like you (and who may also consider you “crazy,” or more precisely, “inspirationally abnormal”).
Question 2:
I ride motorcycles primarily to:
Your Answer: C1
Enjoy riding by myself
Analysis:
You are free-spirited, independent, actively competent and dexterious, as well as quite self-assured. You are a natural leader and go your own way: no one can tell you how to run your life. You enjoy life more than any non-rider you know. You’ve solved most of the primary problems in the world, and if you could spend a little less time riding, you could help get those resolutions implemented!
Question 3:
I think “motorcycle safety” is:
Your Answer: B1
Something I continually learn more about.
Analysis:
You are intelligent and/or experienced enough to respect the concept of reducing calculated risks for the purpose of enjoying long-term motorcycle pleasures. You are a good friend to yourself and to others, and all things considered, you have a pretty good life. You would help another in need (including non-bikers) and represent the cream of the crop within the global brotherood of motorcycle riders.
Question 4:
I primarily ride:
Question 4:
I primarily ride:
Your Answer: B1
When it’s at least minimally warm enough, but it doesn’t matter whether it’s sunny or raining.
Analysis:
You are a serious and seasoned motorcycle rider who not only can’t get enough of a good thing, you are self-secure, competent, hearty, have good riding gear, and quite likely have a lot of good riding stories.
Question 5:
Here is what I think about wearing a motorcycle helmet:
Your Answer: B1
I always wear a helmet, regardless of whether the law says I need to or not.
Analysis:
You balance your freedom and pleasure with practical responsibility. You have confronted the reality that if you want to enjoy motorcycle riding a long time, a high-quality helmet is an important part of ensuring your survival. Heck, that helmet of yours even has the potential to help your family, friends and associates to benefit from your brilliant and entertaining companionship indefinitely into the future.
Question 6:
The “Best” motorcycles are those that:
Question 6:
The “Best” motorcycles are those that:
Your Answer: D1
Go the longest distances in relative comfort.
Analysis:
You are bold, adventurous, spirited, philosophical and experienced in many areas of life. Even though you are a kid at heart, statistically speaking, you are over the hill. You are enjoying life more than most every non-rider you know and your non-riding friends think you’re eccentric.
Congrat’s! You passed the Twisted Grip Motorcycle Personality Test!! Keep an eye out in your email inbox for MOTORCYCLES ONLY, your FREE newsletter with news and tips on motorcycle riding, motorcycle safety, and occasional whacky motorcycle whimsy.
Motorcycle-Intelligence.com
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July 4th: On the boat back to Harwich
Well, the trip is over. I am sitting in my inside cabin on the Stenna ship that will leave in a couple of hours for Harwich arriving at 6.30 in the morning. I made it. I made it to Slovakia. I did not have a accident. The bike did not break down (or even hint at it). My toothache went away. I was not abducted by Roma or aliens. I didn’t even get seriously wet though the low points were weather induced. Crouching in my little tent in a thunder storm moving all my pathetic belongings into a smaller and smaller space is not much fun, though made a couple of nice videos. My precious down sleeping bag which everyone warns you not to get wet – never got wet. I was afraid of being struck by lightening though under a tree. I now don’t mind riding in the rain.
Yesterday I set out on the twisty route from the campsite near Fulda up through interesting Marburg to Soest where my cousin lives. The ride was the hottest riding I have ever done, beautiful roads but rather too long and tiring. My welcome by Astrid and Ullie could not have been nicer or more genuine. They had even bought me toothbrushes and shaving soap and gave me a lovely apartment – I mean to sleep in for the night – not to keep. In the evening we drove (in a car which seemed so wide) into Soest to have a lovely Chinese ‘all you can eat’ (which everyone seems to be doing) buffet. Ullie pointed out on the way the blocks of flats once lived in by British troops when they had stations in West germany and now, as a result of some clever policy making they are home to hundreds of immigrants. Germany’s newest immigrant group is Russians and we were surrounded in our restaurant by russians speaking german but, Ullie told me, with a harsh accent. They sang ‘Happy birthday’ in English though. That whole area of town seemed peopled on this Friday evening by rather poor looking and predominantly young down at heel people. I was getting the impression that this impressive German medieval town, with its circular arrangement of narrow streets now housed a predominantly displaced population. However on a short walk around the Centre of town, we stumbled on a wine fair in a small park, packed with stalls and people. So this is where the middle aged and middle classes were compressed. This was a completely different set of people. Over some delicious – unusual to my palette – German wine (of which Ullie kindly bought me a bottle to take home) I stared wide eyed at this crowd of animated people, all looking so un-English, somehow with better bone structure, or more imposing, stylish, better dressed unlike the slightly grey feeling that the English have. (I am aware that the fact that you can’t understand what people are saying makes you assume they are saying something interesting – Mike Carter makes this poit in his funny Uneasy Rider. And in the background, up on a small stage, in the evening sunlight, a band performed a passable version of Eric Clapton’s Wonderful tonight.
Today I packed up (so much quicker without a tent to take down) and took my leave. The ride here to Hook of Holland was 208 miles and took about 3 and a half hours. I felt so complacent and totally relaxed with riding. I had made it. In fact I sang Wonderful tonight in the privacy of my helmet for many miles. Waiting for ferries is always a great place to chat idly to people, to a cyclist from Chester on this occasion and then to a tubby couple astride a 1150 BMW GS. They both looked so heavy on this big bike. ( i am sure the suspension doesn’t sink like that when I climb on my bike.) I was impressed at his control. They had just come back from the Dolomites. This meeting has reaffirmed a craving to own a nice large Beemer. Because I didn’t stash some wine and food, I will have to part with some cash in the restaurant here. I have floods of Euro in my wallet because Campsites were so cheap and I paid for petrol by credit card (it will be interesting to see how much that costs). I have clocked up 2350 miles – more than my whole last year’s riding in just two weeks: 4 countries, only two nights in hotels. Not many conversations, some nice meals mainly in Germany, some lovely places too. I’ve done it.