Discover Top Posts Tagged with #torresmazatlan

How’s the New Bike?

“So How’s the Bike?”

“Pete, you’ve had the bike over a month now. How is it?” I am often asked this by friends and co-workers.

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT:

Well, since taking home the bike for the first time April 15th, I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.

Here are some of the stats so far:

I know, I know … *yawn*. Okay, so you don’t like my long stories so far?

“What I mean is, how has your experience on the bike been? Tell us some stories!”

Well first off, I always have a biking story. Most of the time though it’s a laugh at my expense.

Here’s one. So as I was getting set to pick up my bike, I was thinking of getting a new tank bag. The tank bag is like a big purse … a biker’s purse. It holds a lot of things that you want to keep handy for when you are riding, and usually has a clear plastic sleeve on top to hold a map for your journey, and has a variety of pockets and pouches to store things, such as wallet, passports, pens, keys, Tylenol, chargers, bandages, duct tape, tools, side stand disks, … okay it really is a purse, isn’t it!?! My old one even has a spot for a hydration bag / tube to be able to keep hydrated on long journeys.

I had looked around at a variety of motorcycle shops for one, but couldn’t find one that was big enough but wasn’t too big. I went into the BMW store to see what options they had for my bike. They asked what kind of criteria I had in mind for it … I told them “Oh about 10-12 litres, carrying strap, magnetic as I don’t like the strap on kind…” They were chuckling a bit though as they then informed me that the magnetic one wasn’t possible, as the bike “tank” (which isn’t really a tank as the fuel is on the back right portion of my motorbike) is plastic, not metal. Darn, well there goes a whole bunch of research out the window. As I don’t want straps, I’ve decided to forego the tank bag in the end. I’ve got enough pockets in my jacket, and lots of space in my side and top cases.

I’ve installed a new GIVI 52 litre top case using an adapter plate to fit my specific bike. 52 litres is pretty big, but it now fits my extra big helmet. Also offsets having to settle for smaller bags on my bike compared to my last one. Loving the extra space so far. Also put on new windscreen as the wind buffering was making my neck hurt, and was also hitting my shoulders. A few years ago, in 2011, Lisa and I took a trip down to Grand Canyon. It was a great trip, but unfortunately it’s had a permanent effect on my shoulders that is often worked on by my physical therapist. The new windscreen nicely diverts around me and creates a nice still pocket of air in front of me.

Weird thing about some bikes … I wonder how they decide to go with a certain style of windscreen or kickstand. The windscreen the F800GT came with would force the rider to always ride in a tuck position in high speeds. There is no way that an average sized rider would be able to go beyond 100kmph without feeling an impact from the wind on their shoulders and neck. And the kickstand!? … what’s with the size of it that is smaller than a pin-head. Do they not know that there’s 600-700lbs of weight on the bike when fully loaded?

I also put on a tank pad which sticks on the portion of the tank right in front of where pant belts would sit and protects it so the tank doesn’t get scratched by belt buckles. I purchased a cheap version of one from Action Motorcycles for $15, but got ridiculed by my wife for spending so much on the motorbike, then taking the cheap route for the tank pad. So I went back out the next day and picked up the $25 model. Sheesh.

My inaugural trip was on the weekend of Apr 18th, just a few days after getting the bike. Stopped for lunch at the Rock Cod Café … great place to have lunch. Good food, at a good price. However they’ve changed my favourite dish. Instead of being Chowder in a bread bowl. It is more like a bread bowl sitting in a mess of chowder. Not sure why they have to pour chowder around the outside of the bowl, then put it on a plate to serve. Oh well, I suppose I shouldn’t complain about getting too much chowder. (Trip Info: Victoria to Cowichan Bay - 119kms – 1:45 – 68kmph Avg)

The next day I was out washing my bike for the 1st time. I think I’ve washed about 6 times so far. That’s what happens when you get a new vehicle. I’m sure the washing habit will wear off over time. Looks so shiny though. The first time washing, it was weird that I didn’t have any chain to lubricate, therefore no oily rags. Awesome. However the pollen is still dropping, so every day I go out to my bike after work and there’s a sheet of powder on it.

I am slowly getting used to the throttle. It is very sensitive and tends to want to take off really fast if I’m not careful. Don’t want to lose my wife off the back of it! However with the top case, that should help keep her on. Oh, and I also like the centre stand on the F800GT … much easier to get it up onto the stand than my old FZ6.

The bike is getting funner and funner to ride. Cornering is great, speed is awesome and nice to have a little extra to give if a passing scenario comes up. Heated grips has been nice to have on a few cool rides up the west coast of the island.

I still have to figure out which gas is truly best. Or rather acceptable for my bike. I was told 94 octane, but I've found that pretty limiting in my selecting a suitable has station that I can find a high enough octane grade at. So far I've only filled at Chevron, as the gas at Costco or easily doesn't have high enough octane levels. However today I was told the 91 Octane is the way to go as it is in its purest state when shipped as is from the fuel producers. 94 Octane has additives to bring it to that level. Also I’ve heard the Techron line is not necessary a good line to have in your bike. So I’m tempted to go with the 91 Octane fuel from now on, which will open up my options for fuel fillups.

At end of April we stopped at the Malahat restaurant which a friend from high school owns. Such a great view; great food too. Don't recall ever stopping there, but I'm glad I did this time. Then we carried on to Ladysmith and met my niece Ashley and her kids. One of her kids, at only 4yrs old, is an avid lover of any vehicle that looks nice, mainly big trucks, sports cars, and seems to like my motorbike. Looking forward to getting him on the back of the bike and doing a bit of a ride one day. Anyways, went out to the BeanTime Café, a nice little coffee shop in Ladysmith, for some hot chocolate and cookies. Afterwards we headed off north to Bowser for a visit with my father-in-law. After dinner we headed home. I recall it being the Vancouver Canucks last game in the playoffs as the roads were ultra quiet with everyone watching the game, but then when we approached home back in Victoria, the game ended and a multitude of cars hit the road. Many grumpy faces out there. (Trip Info: Victoria to Bowser and return – 377kms – 4:40 – 81kmph Avg).

(Above: Malahat Chalet restaurant.)

A few weeks ago, we went to Mazatlan, Mexico with the kids. Although the trip is outside the scope of this blog focus, the one thing to mention is that there are motorbikes everywhere … and nobody wearing helmets. Most bikes are less than 100cc, probably due to licencing issues, so don’t go super fast, but fast enough that it would hurt in an accident. I concluded that this is one place I probably never want to ride. I was informed that in February of every year, there is a big motorcycle rally event that goes on in Mazatlan, and many people from US and Canada appear each year. Perhaps I’ll make it down there one year on my bike, but it’s a long haul from British Columbia. 4,000 one way! The longest distance I’ve ever travelled on a bike is 1,000, but that was on a major US interstate highway from Grants Pass down to Bakersfield. I’m sure it would take me a lot slower pace to get down to Mazatlan.

(Above: One of many small engine bikes I saw around Mazatlan, Mexico.)

When I got back from Mexico, I took the motorbike into BMW for its 1,000 Km tune-up, and get some new LED lighting put on. Couldn’t believe that it took 2 hours of labour for a new bike to get tuned up. At $110/hr, the final bill came to $342! Wow. Anyways, the bike is sounding really good now. I also got a new cover for it to replace my well worn old one. Great to have a cover with cinches on it to get a nice snug fit to prevent it blowing off in wind gusts.

Last week, on May 19th, I got to work, and saw Lu and Al’s bikes there, so I tried to do a clockwise tight 360 to park right beside them so I could take a photo of our three bikes side by side. Somehow the weight got away from me … and the bike tipped over when I stopped! My hand was still on the clutch, and I was able to right the bike, hit the kill switch, manually push down the kickstand, and set down the bike properly. No scratches other than the right rear pod got scraped a bit. Had I released the clutch, the bike would have lurched forward and done damage to the faring.

On May 22, I did the Loop with Lu, Al, Shannon, Peter and David (see my last blog entry “The Ride” (http://provexcel.tumblr.com/post/119745665746/the-loop). (Highlights ... 276 Kms in 235Min (3.92 hrs) ... average pace of 70.47kms/hr. Fastest Leg: Port Renfrew to Big Tree (87kms/hr) ... with close 2nd going between Mesachie to Duncan Starbucks (86.4kms/hr). )

(Above: Port Renfrew outside Coastal Kitchen Cafe.)

My next trip is on June 4th up to Penticton to visit my mom for a bit, then Dave Friesen and I are taking a road trip June 6th and 7th, which I will feature in a future entry. We met last week to map out our route which will cover Kaslo, Nakusp, Vernon, Merritt, Whistler … and 1800 kilometer trip that will double my current odometer reading! Looking forward to sharing more about that journey.