Newbie, new bike, great first trip

Sancho, great pictures of an amazing country. Blah, blah. I have more interest in your bike. What's it cost, how does it work, etc. It looks like a DR 650 engine in a BMW GS frame. Come on, man give us some details. And more pictures, of course.

That's just awesome!
I'll remember to bring my helmet the next time I go camel riding.

Q~

Great pictures! Thanks!

And I'm green with envy over your bike. They won't let us have that one here in the US. I've tried and tried to find a way to sneak one into the country without any success.

Have you tuned it up yet? Is there a dual-carb setup you have to balance? We'd love to see more pictures of the bike.

good job, more pictures and bike info

Basically it's a DR650 with a fairing and a better seat and some minor mechanical differences... It's a 2001 model and costs here 33,000 NSK which is about 6000 USD (crazy prices here on bikes).
More info about the model you can find here: http://www.thumperpage.com/articles/Xf650.html
and here:
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcsuz/freewind.html

My personal feeling about the bike is a total amazement of it's all around capabilities, it can do just about anything as long as you don't go to the extreme.

Jst got it, haven't done anything yet, but promisse to keep you up to date.
More pics - soon

This brings back some wonderful memories. We were there in 1999 and toured much of Israel. My wife was just telling me today that she would like to go back to visit. It was magnificant. Thanks for the post. Please caption any other photos so we all know your location and what you're photographing.

Well, I have a question. Could you please tell me what we're looking at on those pictures. They are intersting, but I'd like to know more.

Well ...
Generally the trip was around Jerusalem and Jericho.
The 3 main sites we visited were:

The tomb of prophet Samuel. The place is now a mask, church and a synagogue all together. Although Samuel historically means something only to Jews, the place was conquered many times by Muslims, crusaders and many more. It is the highest point in Jerusalem area (908 meters).

The second Place was the monastery of st. George. It's a gorgeous place and looks like it was taken from one of Indiana Jones movies.

The third place was "the good Samaritan" inn, but the place is in restoration, so couldn't get in.

Super, Alex! Thanks so much for posting! I bought my first bike in Israel when I lived there, also a Suzuki, and dropped it for the first time :huh on the road near St. George monastery. I loved riding all through Israel, and will look forward to "revisiting" it through your eyes. Well done!

Great picture!

Good to see a report from Israel. Would love to see more. Keep em' coming!

Those were not taken by me, but they are of professional quality.
(Forgot to mention that there was a dust storm that day and the visibility was not so great.)
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-pano-04.jpg
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-pano-08.jpg
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-00.jpg
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-02.jpg
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-03.jpg
http://fullgaz.co.il/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7653

OK sure
Nice view of the Judea dessert near Jericho:
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-pano-04.jpg

The St. George monastery, built into this canyon:
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-pano-08.jpg

A view on Jerusalem suburbs from the rooftop of prophets Samuel tomb:
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-00.jpg

A cross on the hill top near st. George monastery:
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-02.jpg

Nice pic, don't remember exactly where it was taken:
http://15levels.com/CBF/crusade-03.jpg

Highway out of Jerusalem area:
http://fullgaz.co.il/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7653

Ditto on the welcome to the Asylum!

Great thread.

Architecture has been called frozen music. As an architect, I have been listening to the sounds for years. As a practicing historical preservationist, I have long believed the classical sounds of antiquity are superior to the noise we currently produce.

Thank you!

and +++ on the descriptions, and locations if possible. I like to try and locate the sites on maps.

Thanks for the links to the photos.

I spent nine months in Israel. Some of the best and most meaningful times in my life.

Make sure to post more ride reports (with pictures) as you experience them, so that you can show people what a beautiful and misunderstood country yours is.

we dont get much of that part of the world on this site.good report!

Shameless bump for a fellow heeb..

Welcome Sancho