Leaderboard

So Why Not a Big Bike? It really is quite amusing to find discussions here and there across the Interwebs when it comes to "what bike should I buy?" You hear some good advice like questions as to what the rider wants to do, what their riding background is, etc.... You also hear some really strong opinions, declarations really, about the bike the rider is supposed or not supposed to buy. A more recent example is when I made a big deal about Noah Horak's statement of what a "true adventure actually is" and "if you cannot pick up your bike fully loaded in any situation, it's not an adventure bike." O-kay, Noah I mean, I get that many peoples' opinions are based on their own real world experiences or what's worked best for them, but it really is amusing to see some people succumb to paroxysms of bitterness and rage if the rider says they're leaning towards a big bike, whether that be a GS or a Super Tenere, Tiger, etc... I think Jim Downs gets it quite well: So much gets said in motorcycle riding circles about motorcycle size. Prominent naysayers hail the trend of larger adventure-style motorcycles coming to market with the fevered zeal of sandwich-board wearing religious zealots crying out about the end of the world from city street corners. But instead of demanding that we repent our sins to Jesus, they try to shame those of us who like to ride heavy motorcycles on the dirt, saying that our bikes are “too heavy” and that we’d be better off with something smaller. Disciples of this “moto-size,” religion are also want to plague social media feeds. Always quick to interrupt otherwise civil threads with some shrill vitriol about why we ride the wrong kind of motorcycle. Like the rapture nuts on street corners, I usually pay people like this little mind. But lately I’m finding their rants more difficult to leave unanswered. I see the bike you choose to ride simply as a tool you picked from a tool chest. Some tools are better suited for some tasks better and worse than other tools. I am completely bike-agnostic too. I used to own a KTM 500 EXC and it's a fantastic bike! I wish I could have kept it but with no truck/trailer, I wasn't riding it enough to justify parking that much cash idle in my garage. I know many of you also own small bikes, touring bike, choppers, etc... Is owning a big bike expensive? I don't really know... How much is a second vehicle (truck) or trailer, gas and time (limited to 55 mph w/trailer) worth? I can ride a few hours to a destination, camp off my bike, ride multiple days off road and then get back on the pavement and ride home. That seems like quite a value to me. But see, I'm the rich guy! That's what a guy who is retiring at 55, has paid of his mortgage, has a tricked out jeep, toy hauler and multiple bikes once told me. I really love my big bike! Yes, it's the first motorcycle I've ever owned (I did ride scooters in high school/college but that doesn't count). Yes, I hadn't nearly a clue about adventure enduro riding (vs. adventure touring) when I first got it. Yes, it did take me quite a while to figure out how to ride it. Yes, I may have found a smaller, less expensive bike easier to learn on. But I really have no regrets. I've seen many people also figure out that riding these bigger bikes off road is not as hard as it seems with a few pointers, feedback and some professional instruction. I have seen SO many great places, met SO many great people and have had a blast riding my big bike. Yes, it does take a different and more focused set of skills to ride a big bike off road but therein lies the fun! Ryan Frazier (GS Trophy Team USA '12) said something to the effect that he prefers a bigger bike off road because they require more input and finesse and that it's the challenge that makes it so much fun. Obviously falling and getting tired from lifting your bike isn't so much fun, but with time and a few friends around, the challenging parts become a lot more fun. I personally cannot stand Harleys but I realize they are popular and there's a lot of people who enjoy riding them. That's why I do not care to bash them here or there because I really don't care what another person's choice of ride is. It has no effect on me whatsoever. But that also means I do not care to share a forum, Facebook group or online community with Harley riders. We're just different, that's all. I really don't care to hear about how shiny and loud they are or how I'm "doing it wrong." And as much as I still love the smaller bikes, I really don't care to hear from someone who's never ridden a big bike off road how I'm supposedly ruining "their" trails; my bike is not practical to ride more than a simple fire road; I'm carrying too much; I should have started on a smaller bike, etc... Bigger bikes are just that polarizing I guess. That's why I think XLADV makes so much sense. We get it. There's no explanation or defense of our choices required.

I think it's relative to what one is used to. The last bike I owned was a big, monstrous, 990 lb behemoth of a fully dressed cruiser - and that was without rider(s) and luggage. That bike easily pushed over 1150 pounds 1 up with gear (I did drop it once - two of us were able to pick it up adrenaline induced). Get off that bike onto my 570 lb Super Tenere and the Tenere feels like a bicycle under me. Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but the point is that relative to my experience my XLADV bike doesn't really feel that XL. I did have a couple dirt bikes as a kid, but that was sooo long ago it's not really relevant. I can cruise down they highway in perfect comfort, hit the trail without skipping a beat then cross a stream and bounce over some rocks. When I see a nice camping spot I can stop, set up camp, enjoy some fine culinary delights over a fire, then get back on the bike the next day, bump over some more rocks, and then hit the highway and head home! What's not to love!? I've picked up the bike solo in the mud with panniers, and no it wasn't a cinch, but doable. To be honest I found the hideous panniers made it easier to pick up as they provided a fulcrum to assist in the lift. Just my .02

Motostella - Thank you very much! I couldn't have done it without all the video and stills provided by Mirko and John though. Your video is amazing - I don't know if I would have the patience to set up, ride by, take down, move, set up, ride by, take down, move. That's a ton of patience and dedication; although, it does lend to a great production. I especially like the silhouette work you did on the ridge line - Very nice. Again, thank you for the Kudos. (spelling errors are forgiven) Bryan - I couldn't agree more - If you have an aversion to riding in Southern Utah you either belong in an institution or you're dead. Eric - Believe it or not I don't run a GPS on the bike. I kinda have a "go where the front wheel takes me" kind of attitude. I resort to paper maps when I have no clue where I am which usually doesn't help! haha. I'm sure I can come up with a .gpx file though - shouldn't be too tough. Ya'll have to make me one promise though! If I provide a track you have to promise to hit me up if and when you go, so I can go along! Rigs - Yup! Highway 12 and 24 are gorgeous! Especially in the Fall. The trails that leave them are even better!

It looks like a great ride. I usually won't sit through more than about 5 or 6 minutes of video, but I found myself watching the entire 15 minutes with interest. Great job with the music and editing.

It all started in June of ’14. I found out I had a few days of vacation to use or lose at work, and at the last minute (3 days before departure) I decided to take a few days off and do a ride from Salt Lake City up through Yellowstone National park to Montana, and then back down through Idaho and back to Salt Lake. I called one of my riding buddies, he jumped on his Harley, and off we went. A motley pair - Me on my Tenere, and him on his Harley. There was no plan. It was ride, find a place to camp, ride, repeat. On day 1 we rode from Salt Lake up past Jackson Hole Wyoming with plans to camp in an ‘un-reserveable’ campground right outside the South entrance of Yellowstone. Well, as things sometimes go we found the un-reserveable campground not only full but half reserved. We rode around the loop of the campground once, and then started to ride the loop again just in case we’d missed something. As we rounded a corner on the second circuit of the campground this crazy German guy in a Touratech riding suit came bounding out of the bushes holding up his hand for us to stop. We did, and he began to inform us that the campground was full, but we we’re welcome to share his campspot with him and his wife! What luck! We quickly agreed, and thus a long-standing friendship was born with Claudia and Mirko of http://www.2ar.eu. 2 Adventure riders on the ride of their lives through the Americas on a charity Mission. We ended up spending the next few days with them as we explored Yellowstone, but I won’t get into that in this account. It was decided in those days that we would meet again in the Fall as they made their way back South from Canada to central America - we’d meet back up in Salt Lake City and do a tour of Southern Utah! Throughout the rest of the Summer I planned the Southern Utah Tour, figured out the routes we would take, and in early October Claudia and Mirko showed up with John Colyer of https://www.facebook.com/anomalyadv in tow. We spent a week in Salt Lake getting everybody ready, and then off we went - South for a planned 9 day tour of 6 National Parks - Zion, Bryce, Escalante, Capital Reef, Arches, And Canyonlands (Moab). It turned into 10 days however, as it got really windy on the day we we’re supposed to ride back to Salt Lake from Moab, and we all felt that was a good enough excuse to extend the trip another day! Hahaha. I won’t bore you with a long-winded account of the trip. That’s what video is for! Here’s a rather long, 15 minute account of the trip. Obviously you can’t fit 10 days of fun and adventure into a 15 minute video, but this was the best I could do! Enjoy! Oh, and if anyone wants to enjoy this route themselves HIT ME UP!!!! I’d be more than happy to do it again with a group, and I won’t even charge a tour-guide fee! Or, if you're interested, I can provide some links/coordinates of camping and trails along the route.

I definitely will. Zach and I have ridden a lot in Southern Utah and were talking about doing the UTBDR in June. This is a good option too. Jesse Kimball lives in Hurricane and does a ride every summer called the Flying Monkey Adventure Rally. Really great guy! He's showed us quite a bit there but there's so much more.

If this doesn't make you want to get out there, you're dead. Thanks for sharing!

Believe it or not, I know those guys. They are also from Catalonia, Spain. We're the best! :P Good section Eric! And I'm glad you like my videos!! :) Awesome work on XLADV.com BTW!

Topic for my upcoming plans with the BMW R1100GS. Some of you might know/saw some video's or pictures of me and know that I have Big plans for my Hyperion. I'll try and keep this topic updated with our progress. First of all we are trying to get in perfect riding shape. This is going slower than expected because of money, time and most irritating of all, delivery failure of some parts. Very short, we want to get a Dakar fairing and a selfmade subframe on it. Kinda like the one Touratech made, but then lowbudget ;-). When we bought the 1100, it wasn't in a good shape, hadn't seen a toolkit in years and almost everything needs a revision or has to be renewed. Summary *October 2014 : bought the bike, placed new battery, sprayed the windscreen yellow, installed new gear box *November 2014 : steel brake lines *January 2015 : new throttle cables, synchronisation, risers, crashbars, new rims with Heidenau M&S TO DO : * mount crash bars * revise Wilbers suspension * decide which fairing kit to use and adjust * do I want a lowering kit or not? * mount slimmer heated grips * GPS-device START BLOG Hyperion is a R1100GS from 1994 and had 147 000 km on it when I bought it. I have full confidence in that he will take me everywhere to see the world and explore what our earth has to show. He wasn't the youngest one on the market, but we have a saying, you gotta learn how to ride on an old hag... The biggest reason we chose this R1100GS was the price, for 2500 euro plus he had Wilbers suspension and a set of R1150GS Panniers. (And maybe I did like the color) So, this is him when he first got home. Me getting a lesson on how to get my bike on his centerstand. So I didn't like the silverish windscreen, got a yellow spraycan and got rid of the silver. More important was, during my first rides I noticed that I couldn't wheelie the bike. The bike just popped out of gear whenever I tried. Our first cost was a new gearbox then. We found one for about 175 euro and placed it ourselves. The operation was a succes,+ fitting in a new battery, and now Hyperion happily lifts his front wheel in the air. With the costs from the insurance, the gearbox and the bike itself there wasn't much to spend left, so I kep riding with it like that till November. In November it was really time to do something about the failing rubber brake hoses. The brakes got stuck because of mush that came out of the brakelines that were detoriating from the inside. So we bought some steel brake lines and that made a big difference. Instead of slowing the bike down, I was now able to stop it completely... I did not like the positioning of my arms, it looked as if I was on the road with daddies bike. My upperbody was pushed to much to the front which had a big influence on my technical riding. We ordered risers for my handlebar that inclined backwards too. Got no problems with the cables, everything still runs smoothly. Positioning on the bike is great at the moment ! Got him synchronized this week too, both cilinders got calibrated and now he runs brilliantly. Gas respond is so much better. If anyone still rides with an older version, get that thing synchronized. It is unbelievable how smooth the engine runs now. In the beginning when standing on idle, the bike rocked between my legs, now it just rests at one place. And last for now, but not forgettable. I bought new rims from the first owner and mounted them with Heidenau M&S, Scout. Was an excellent choice, but I'll leave this open for a tyretopic. ;-) Greeetz Sjiriki

So we are busy riding from Argentina to Alaska at the moment, we are two doctors so we are doing it for MSF (Doctors without borders). The video below was taken on the Carretera Austral, in Southern Chile, a legendary road in the adventure motorcycling world. We got stuck behind some cattle on the bikes and this was the result, just a bit of fun. The video was recorded with a GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition and the audio was done with a Sena 20S bluetooth intercom and a Sena GoPro pack. This amazing piece of equipment records all your helmet audio, including your conversations, directly over the video, its a GREAT toy---