BMW GS Riding

Richard's account of GS Safari and riding, owning & adding to a F800 GSA

[gssafari]

Preparation is key

What a great day.  Part of the fun of riding bikes is getting to tinker with them to set them up.

It can be complex stuff like mechanical work or adding accessories. Or it can be simple stuff like preping for Safari.  Yesterday was a day spent with Beno moving and riding bikes, then adding all the bits they need to carry.  Some of this stuff you normally wouldn't bother with, but these bikes were all being ridden by BMW Safari crew, so they carry extra gear to help assist other riders if required.

If you were just doing one or two bikes, you'd probably get it done fairly quickly, but we had eight bikes to prep.

We started around 2pm and by just after 6pm we'd smashed it, had all the bikes sorted, tidied up and were planning drinks & dinner.

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Reunited - Picking up my F800GSA in Darwin.

Not much happening today, but I did get to grab my GS from the holding warehouse this arvo.

Was nice to see the bike still all in one piece and with no damage.

Also awesome were seeing so many GS's in one spot.  And so many new/near new.  A rough top of head calculation put the value of all the bikes at upwards of $1M!

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It’s not all bad :-)

Currently awaiting takeoff heading from Melbourne up to Darwin. I’m heading up a day early flying with Trudi & Jess. I’ve got one day of work then offically on leave and fully into Safari. Can’t wait!

[gssafari]

Someone give me a shoulder massage

Well I'm packed.  In a first for me I compiled a list, ticked stuff off the list and now, I'm packed.  The day before I have to leave!

Now if only completing work was so easy so that I can get away on this Safari with everything well placed for my return.  Excessive hours in front of the computer = stiff neck and shoulders.  I'm sure the relaxing 1:45am flight from Melbourne to Darwin will be just what I need to help relax them :-\

Now I want to see my bike.  I know I don't get to ride it as much as I'd like, but at least when I get home and park the car, there is my bike...  except it isn't.  I dropped the GSA at Southbank BMW for it's first service last Monday week and by now it'll almost be in Darwin.

Nearly time for me to be in Darwin as well...

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Darwin - Mataranka - Lorella Springs - Hells Gate - Adels Grove - Karumba - Hann River - Cooktown - Palm Cove: Otherwise known as BMW GS Safari Enduro 2014

So it's been a fair old while since my last post.  Since then I've had a major 200kph get off at Phillip Island busting myself up, sold my F800GS... and purchased a new F800GSA!

The Safari kicks off with 2 days of training in Darwin, followed by 8 days of riding through what I hope will be incredible terrain on our way across the top to Palm Cove.  That's over 3200km of riding that the organisers have in store for us.

My plan is to try and do updates to Tumblr daily, but looking at Telstra's coverage map suggests this probably won't be possible.

Still, we'll see how I go...

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Finally got to go for a ride!

I had a couple of missions.  First up, remember how to ride a bike :-\  It’s been nearly 3 months since the bike was even started.

Luckily Melbourne turned on a beautiful day for me so I headed out into my normal stomping ground of Bunyip via Gembrook.  Once onto the forest roads it was perfect.  A bit of rain over the last few days had settled all the dust and the GS was fully up for it.

Took me a while to get back into it, but by the time I got to my favourite road, Blacksands Rd (just as I come off Mt Beenak Rd and cross over the C425) it was all go.  Hanging it out in 3rd & 4th gear on the GS is the best fun :-)

My other mission was to test some new gloves I’ve got.  The Rev’It! Hybrid WSP.  These have a Wind Stopper® layer, so instead of me putting the Wind Stopper® inners inside my normal GS gloves (which are great!).  The other feature they have is a super trick finger and thumb end that allow touch screen (i.e. iPhone) usage with gloves on.  This is great, now able to change music tracks, playlist etc. with gloves on.  Very handy as I like music when on the boring bitumen sections, but much prefer to hear the bike when off road.

Unfortunately by the time the temp got up above 18°C, it was time to swap to my GS gloves to stop my hands over heating.

Now, with just over a week before GS Safari starts, it’s time to starting planning and get the gear together I need for that great event, this year in the Victorian high country.

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Safety - well there’s an element of risk in most things we do, but I guess I have to concede that adventure riding on a motorcycle probably exposes us to higher risks than say, watching a movie at home.

So to help mitigate risk I’ve invested in a SPOT.  WTF is that?  SPOT is a GPS tracker that enables you to send “I’m OK messages” and “SOS” distress message (hopefully never have to test this!).

It relies entirely on GPS communications so even if you have zero cellular coverage, you can still get an I’m OK or help me message out.

  I’ve purchased my SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger (http://www.findmespot.com/) from Skyshop Australia (http://skyshop.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=1008).

  As well as signing up for the basic service (US$99.99/year) I’m going to add the GEOS member benefit, including the search and rescue insurance, which at US$12.95 for up to $100k of search and rescue insurance seem like a good deal. 

You can also add on other options like tracking progress, but at US$49.95 I don’t think I’ll do this.

  Now I just have to wait for it to arrive, then go for a ride! :)

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Well tried going for a ride yesterday.  Rain radar suggested the rain was moving away... guess not :)  Most of the ride was on sealed roads and basically very wet.  The small bit of unsealed (Beenak Rd) I rode was really nice.

At least I got a bit of a test of the GPS and and using BaseCamp.  Still working out the best way to use it.  Basic stuff like receiving tracks from the GPS seems easy enough, and moving that data to Google Earth works well, hence the nice image above.

Now I just have to work out how to plan a route and send it to the GPS. 

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Well I’ve finally brought a GPS for the F800.

I think $688 for a Garmin Zumo 350LM GPS is a bit rich when you can get in car stuff for a few hundred, but then I picked it up it certainly felt a lot more solid than my car GPS.  On top of the GPS I also spent $180 on the Garmin Aus/NZ Topo maps, pretty much a requirement if you’re actually going to use your GS off road (I mean, off even gravel roads).

Anyway I thought I’d document the install.  Garmin include a RAM Mount (http://www.rammount.com/) as part of the $688 but I also ordered the RAM Motorcycle Handlebar Clamp Base with M8 Screws (RAM-B-367U) as I think this is a cleaner solution than the Garmin supplied mount.

This is a simple install, but be sure to make sure all your handle bar clamp bolts are correctly tightened, don’t want shit going wrong here.

 Next up was power for the GPS.  There is an unused accessory plug (I think for BMW GPS) under the ‘tank’ cover.  I’d purchased a BMW part (83 30 0413 585), which is what you need to plug into this accessory plug.

The cables on this part are labelled (very small, look closely) 1 to 3.

Cable 1 is GND (negative), 3 is +12v (positive) and cable 2 is used by the factory GPS (a speed pulse I think).

A quick bit of soldering and heat shrinking and I had this connected to the GPS on bike power supply (included with the GPS).

A bit of testing with the multi-meter to make sure everything was OK and I popped the GPS into the cradle and it powers up no problem :)

When you test with the multi meter (on the 12v side of the connection) it’s worth noting that you may see ‘funny’ readings; 12v, then down to 5v, maybe back up again.  I believe this is because of some trick CANbus stuff going on, but it all works so giddy up.  Also the output at the GPS cradle is only 5v, not 12v.

So far my impression of the GPS unit and the cradle are very good.  The GPS clips in and seems very firmly attached, but I’ll need a couple of good rides to really test this out.

Now it’s time to try and work out Basecamp, and plan a ride...

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#gssafari Day 5 Port Macquarie to Forster

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GS Challenge & the loop.

Well day 4 started out with the GS Challenge.  GS Challenge is a concept used by a few countries to pick a team for GS Trophy (http://goo.gl/u8rc9).  Well the GS Safari crew scaled it back to turn it into a fun morning of low speed skills tests.

I didn't do any of the tests as a lot of it was stuff we'd done on the training course a few days before and at day 4 I was in energy conservation mode :)

After GS Challenge there was a loop out through Wauchope to Comboyne then back to Port Macquarie.  And what a loop!  An amazing climb out of a valley on a switch back gravel track was like a scene from Tour de France, with bikes zig zagging their way up the hill.

Then parts of the journey were the tress have grown over the road and formed a tunnel plunging us into darkness, brillant :)

So much fantastic riding meant I forgot all about taking photos, so not much to show from the day.

[gssafari]

This is #gssafari - What to say about the ride on day 3... stunning!

Setting out from Armidale on a beautiful morning with Craig, Steve and Adam, the first bit of bitumen made me hope that something better was in store, and it was.

The gravel roads into Georges Creek were epic.  Beautiful rolling stuff across farm land then, tight technical stuff into the forest before arriving at Georges Creek and rolling in there to join the hundred or so other riders already there.

Miles got all the riders together for a group photo and then I had to take my bike down and across the river as Adam wanted one of each model bike (GSA, GS, F800GS & Sertao) to do an interview with Miles.

This meant I got separated from the guys and rode the gravel out of Georges Creek heading to Kempsey by myself.  I was great fun getting loose out of corners and playing around then backing it off and taking in the view whenever I felt like it :)

I rejoined Steve at Bellbrook and rode with him through to Kempsey where he was meeting his brother Andy to hand over the GS he's been riding.  So now Steve's back to work at Ballina Motorcycles and Andy takes his place on the Safari.  It's been a great 3 days hacking around with Steve and trying to keep up.  I look forward to catching up with Steve on next years Safari!

The final part of the day were some very fast gravel roads into Settlement Point to catch a ferry.  What a great way to finish the day and arrive at Port Macquarie.

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Cold - #gssafari Well heading into the McD's carpark on the morning of day 2 to have the breakfast of champions (2 hash browns and a small hot choc in case you're wondering) it's cold.

The bike is showing 7.5C but I'm sure it's colder which is my excuse for having the heated grips on max heat :)

Heading out of Glenn Innes on bitumen is a nice way to warm things up on this cold morning. Steve, Jeff & myself are back together again and by the time we get to gravel I'm not thinking about being cold I'm thinking 'F#*k me these roads are wicked!'.  The 3 of us are just having to much fun and before we know it 2 hours has past and we're at Ebor.

We spend some time having a look at the scenery from the various lookout points in the area. Some more bitumen and gentle gravel roads and suddenly we're at our destination of Armidale.

Day 2 was a short day for us with the GS Safari team deciding to remove part of the planned gravel route due to the very dodgy weather on day 1 and possible thunderstorms on day 2, with the worry being that this road might become a bit to much by the time 160 odd bikes have traversed it.

Good call I say.  No problem with having an early hot shower and getting to the pub to discuss what legends we are ;-)

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Great Start - #gssafari Day one started dry riding with Craig, Steve and Jeff.  It was a nice relaxing start to GS Safari with a mix of bitumen and gravel roads on our way through to Grafton. After lunch at Grafton Steve, Jeff and myself joined Miles as we set off for Glen Innes via Dalmorton and we all had a great bit of fun on the bitumen on the way out of Grafton :) Off the bitumen and onto gravel, the weather changed dramatically after the Old Convict tunnel on the Old Grafton Road. Lucky a ramshackle old shearers shed was conveniently located providing us with some shelter whilst putting the liners into our riding gear.  After going through all this rigmarole we only get about 400 meters down the road before the rains stops, and I mean stops, line in the road, wet one side, dry the other!  Still it wasn't the last I was to see of the rain :-\ With Miles off doing other stuff, Steve, Jeff and myself continued on down the Old Grafton Road were we stumble upon a fellow GS rider who'd got into a land dispute over the bit of road he was on with a kangaroo.  Unfortunately neither party come off to well.  We helped the rider pick his bike up (he was OK, we did check that first!) and Steve did some road side repairs so he could continue riding when he was ready to. I took this opportunity to take the lining out of my jacket as I was starting to cook, and it was a beautiful day so why would I need it... It was not long after this that the three of us become separated and wouldn't actually see each other again until the riders briefing in Glen Innes.  Jeff had stopped to pick up a part that fell off his bike.  I rode on to try and catch Steve.  The ride up (and I mean up!) on the last part of the road was fantastic.  Very shortly after this assent as I start a gentle decent down the other side, it suddenly gets colder.  Time for the damn liner again!  I got it on just before it started raining, and this time it doesn't stop raining. Off the Old Grafton Road and onto the Gywdir highway for 9km before a left turn onto more gravel for the final run into Glen Innes.  I jump of the bike and wait here (yep still raining) for Steve and Jeff.  After a while still no sign of them so I decide standing in the rain is no fun and I'll head back to Old Grafton Rd where there is a shelter. Now everything is nice and wet but at least I have shelter.  Lots of riders pass by and a few stop and chat, still no Steve and Jeff.  As it's starting to get dark and the riders waiting with me are heading off I decide to join them. At the turn off for the final bit of gravel on a cold and wet evening a bunch of the riders decided they'd prefer to stick to the highway and head into Glen Innes.  Luckily me and one other rider (I don't even know who he is) must have remembered Miles at the riders briefing 'Adventure is discomfort recounted at leisure' and we opted for adventure! Cold and wet my visor so dirty I couldn't put it down as I couldn't see through it meant goggles only... more cold air and rain hitting my face.  At 100 odd kph that shit hurts!  So now I'm riding with one hand covering my face peering in to the darkness as the two of us splash and wiggle our way down the road.  Man I was happy to finally get into town and find the luggage truck.  Me and the unknown GS rider get off our bikes and shake each others hand, and now doubt both of us completely fried from a day of 'adventure', turn and wander off with out saying anything other than 'great ride'.  Who needs names when we all ride GS's.

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The day before - #gssafari Well 2 great days of training over and done with.  

As usual the Stay Upright (http://www.stayupright.com.au/) guys did a fantastic job.

Rider briefing was tonight at the Ballina RSL and was an excellent start to the event.

Have teamed up with Steve from Ballina Motorcycles (http://www.ballinamotorcycles.com.au/) to ride day 1.  He's on a new BMW GS1200 so should be fun trying to keep up :)

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Ballina #gssafari - uneventful flight to Ballina.  Made my way to Ballina Motorcycles to pick up my bike.  What a bunch of nice people.  Gave me great directions on how to get to Yamba.

Terrible road from Ballina to Yumba; speed cameras, warning signs, I'm suprised anyone can concentrate on the road.

Anyway, as I turn off the highway with about 15km to go I bump into Craig, with the guys that he's ridden up from MLB with, incredible!

Training tomorrow ready for the real fun on Monday...

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Departure #gssafari - at MLB airport waiting for departure :-)