I rode up to the Hakuba 47 ski resort in Nagano, Japan (home of the 1998 winter Olympics) with my buddy Fooj for the annual BMW Japan biker meeting. Saw some professional stunt jumpers (or whatever they're called, you know like the X-games guys) putting on a show: Odd that BMW would have non-BMW riders perform at a BMW rally, but it was so cool it didn't matter: Fooj participated in the hill climb challenge and rode his GS Adventure all the way up a ski trail. Then it was time for barbecue (That's the hill climb hill in the background)... ...and taiko drumming: Peace in our time: David Robb, the head designer for BMW was there showing off the concept 6; here's the bike, but not him: Some old GS's were on display in one of the lodges: There was a family-friendly atmosphere, with some bikes for the kiddies: And also a giant inflatable panda that kids could climb inside... And slide out of... You could go up in this hot air balloon for a quick ride, too. (I didn't do it since it seemed kinda lame to just go up and then back down with the balloon still roped to the ground): BMW being BMW, you could choose to stay in a nearby hotel when you signed up for the rally. But Fooj and I stayed with the cool kids in the tent area: We hung out with a bunch of folks that rode all the way up from Hiroshima (about 500 miles). The couple in the foreground is in their 60's and rode 2-up on an R1200RT: The next day, we did a 3-km dirt test drive up a ski trail on F800GS's. Yes it's a light bike, but the suspension is no match for the 1200, IMHO. No pics of the test ride, because I was busy riding. I rode home in the killer heat, but dumping a bottle of water over my head every rest stop takes care of that (along with drinking plenty of it, too).
i love how that giant panda poops out kids.........So thats where kids come from. Man my parents and my biology professor were completely wrong!
I would guess maybe 300 or 400. That's just my best estimate. Put it this way: There's enough interest in BMW out here for BMW to stage events like this!
Talk about getting air, wow. Interesting shots, not something I would ever think of doing! I visited Japan about 15+ years ago staying in the small resort town of Miura. But also venturing into Tokyo. Great people and a amazing country. Looks like all had a super time.