Klim Badlands Pro

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Splinter

Yes, this is an expensive jacket.  I’ve been eyeballing the Klims for a long time.  Sadly, no hi-viz.  That is until recently!  Now, with the introduction of the Badlands Pro Hi-Viz.  I finally have, what I’m hoping will be, a waterproof, breathable, protective and long lasting jacket.

I’m finally learning that most waterproof protective clothing uses liners to become waterproof.  This jacket is all GoreTex.  Making the shell waterproof and even remotely breathable requires expensive materials.

Am I kidding myself?  Am I just buying into the marketing machine?

New jacket and the first ride of spring!  We’ll see how it goes.

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Sad Day!

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Splinter

Posted today on CraigsList.  We are in mourning.

“A nearly new bike that hasn’t even seen it’s 600 mile inspection.  Other than the ride home, this bike has been primarily ridden in parking lots in an effort to build confidence.  Seems we’ll be going with a Spyder.

The bike is a factory low BMW F650GS Twin with ABS and AltRider engine protection bars.  It’s a beautiful blue that’s been safely and sadly garaged for nearly its entire life.

We are asking $9,500.  Please feel free to e-mail with questions, hi-res pics or other information.”

Blue Beemer

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Richa SpiritJacket

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Splinter

Purchased a Richa Spirit Jacket.

Spirit

It’s a four-season jacket.  It fits well across the chest and shoulders.  Feels good on my neck.  Isn’t too stiff.  The fun part: No Vents.

It’s made with C_Change technology.  It’s a wind and waterproof membrane that reacts to change temperatures and activities.  Hotter it is, the more it breathes.  They compare it to a pinecone.

I’d love to keep this jacket.  If the features are half as good as advertised, it’ll be awesome.  However, it seems the hips are a little small for me.  I Can barely get it zipped over my Olympia pants, even without the liner.  Four season gear has to fit over layers.

I’ll keep an eye on Richa.  The jacket feels like its made of first rate materials by folks who know what they are doing.

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WTS Recognition Conference – Scottsdale

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Splinter

Only had a short time for a ride.  Found a rental and mounted up!  Talked over my route with Gaylen of AZ Ride and he and I felt I had time, turns out the only reason I had time was due to severely pummeling posted speed limits.

Good ride, new areas, new terrain.  Can’t tell you much about the restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, etc, but I can say the 2013 F800GS rode like like a dream!


My Route

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New Tires!

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Splinter

All this new riding style has finally gotten to me.  I’ve mounted more aggressive dual sport tires: Heidenau K60 Scouts.

So far, I’m sold.  They change the entire character of the bike.  These are tires that look like they can go anywhere.

On the road, where I have a little experience, the stick pretty well, both wet and dry.  No issues layin’ the bike over far enough to grind a little more from the pegs or my boot.  They scream a little at speed and you can feel all the “knobbies” when slow.

Off road, where I have less experience, I think they do well.  I haven’t lost so much traction as to concern me.  There’s so much more movement off road, hard for me to say what’s too much.

Only about 1,000 miles on these.  Looks like they’ll hold out for typical life.  When I’ll probably get another set.

 

 

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First Night Out!

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Splinter
CZ P01

This gallery contains 1 photo.

We got up early this morning to catch our flight.  A nice easy flight out of Charlotte with a layover in Phoenix, AZ destined for San Jose, CA. We had to get there early so we could get thru security … Continue reading →

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A U-Turn in California

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Splinter

A Little disappointed that our first day of video is too shaky to really watch: WineCountry

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We’re Home!

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Splinter

You can probably tell, we got too busy and such too keep up with everything. Also, it was tough to upload pictures and we all know they are worth a thousand words.

We’ll post some about the later days of the trip soon!

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Day 6 – Catch up time from the riders view

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Vix

It’s been a crazy few days for us and words can’t really do justice for some of the things we’ve seen in the last 6 days.  We’ve been in temperatures as high as 102 to as low as 42, sometimes the change has been within hours of each other!!   We’ve been just shy of 10000 ft above sea level to 258 ft below sea level. We’ve been along the coast, in the mountains and in the desert.  We’ve seen some of Mother Natures most beautiful works and we still have another whole week to go.

For anyone who has never been on a motorcycle before it’s hard to describe how different the experience is from doing it in a car.  You get to feel all the temperatures and how quickly it changes.  You get to smell all the smells which at times can not be so good!  You get to see so much more than if you were in a car.  I can promise you that nothing gets your heart racing like coming down or going up a curvy mountain road with loose gravel and no guard rails!!  I swore a few times it looked like we were going right off the mountain.  I have to admit to shutting my eyes more than once.  Lucky for me that Sandy is such an awesome driver!!

We finally left CA today and entered into NV.  Everything we’ve seen on the trip has been a new experience for me.  I am so glad I’ve had the chance to experience this with Sandy.  I have a whole new appreciation for CA and all the beautiful sights in holds.  Today we did Death Valley and it was gorgeous and really HOT!  That’s where we felt the 102 temp in a place called the Furnace.  Seems someone named that correctly!  I’m looking forward to what tomorrow holds and what new trouble we can get into!

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Our National Parks

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Splinter

We are lucky to have an amazing country.  Living here, like anywhere, jades us to it.

Visiting these World Famous parks, We Americans are the minority.  I’ve heard languages I can’t identify.  It’s tough to strike up a conversation with another biker cause we mostly get, “No English.”

They flew here, rented bikes and are on tour.

We’ve found more English speakers from the UK and Australia than Americans.  We feel like the foreigners in our National Parks.

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