Winter Madness 2010

[MilleArp]

This thread rawks. Waiting for the rest of the story....




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[Drif10]

Ride on, Finn.

[sasper]

Great so far. Love the story of smoking the blunt with the hookes in Louisiana Hope you make it to your lady friend in LA soon.

[EnderTheX]

Nice one Joe, and merry X-mas!

Don't forget to hit me up if you are close to Dallas. I finally got my bike back and I am itching for a winter ride around these parts!!!

Cheers

[Oso Blanco]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

And even if he did would he know that 47,000 miles meant I was out of warranty?

Out of warranty at 47,000 based on miles. I wonder why BMW USA warranty is 3 yrs or 36,000miles and BMW Canada warranty is 3yrs unlimited mileage?

"BMW Motorrad Canada warrants BMW motorcycles, imported by BMW Motorrad Canada to be free of defects in materials or workmanship for a period of 36 months, without kilometrage limitation, commencing with the date the motorcycle is first delivered to the first retail purchaser, or is first placed in service as a "demonstrator" or "company motorcycle". The battery shall be covered for a period of 24 months. This limited warranty does not cover any performance accessory or any component attached or provided by the retailer which alters the original engineering or operating specification of the motorcycle nor any damage to the motorcycle, which results from any such performance accessory or component. To obtain service under this warranty, the motorcycle must be brought, upon discovery of the defect, to the workshop of any authorized BMW motorcycle retailer. This retailer will, without charge for parts or labour, either repair or replace the defective part(s). The decision to repair or replace said part(s) being wholly the prerogative of BMW Motorrad Canada. Parts for which replacement are made become the property of BMW Motorrad Canada."


Maybe because the weather in most parts of Canada makes it nearly impossible to ride for 1/2 year so in theory we will only put 1/2 the miles on as the riders in the warm areas of the US

Great RR btw.

Cory

[65bmwr50]

Chitown,

I bet that Love's that you stopped at to warm up was at Williamsville, IL. I worked for the engineering firm that did all of the civil engineering work there. I know that place very well.

Enjoying the report. Keep it up!

[Mark.F]

Great RR,
Kudos to you for riding that kind of mileage in those weather conditions.
You seem to have dropped onto a very good bike dealer,are they all like that in the U.S?
thanks for taking us along

[Loutre]

Just one word can discribe you and your story Finn: LEGENDARY

This whole thing is just amazing, best X-Mas present i could get this year.
I think you should write a Book of your adventures! Your writings are like fairytails that i would read to my children.
would be so nice to meet you one day and i would be glad to listn to your storys infront of a bonfire. You'll be a great grand dad one day ;)

Keep on riding and writing for all of us and of curse MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS to you



thanks to you ive got no doubt: i'll always ride bmw :o)

[Lost Rider]

Thank you all for such kind words, and happy holidays to you too!

I also can't thank Eric and Tammy at Gulf Coast BMW enough for going above and beyond what many dealers would to keep a traveler like me in motion.
Actually it's hard to believe but that experience is the highlight of my journey so far, such good people who are passionate about their work....
Thanks again.

There's no time for me to do a proper update at this exact time, but will be very soon.
I just wanted to check in and let you all know I'm am indeed alive and well...
and have been following the exact route I took at the beginning of Roadie in Motion, minus the run in with the Border Patrol....
So strange how life repeats itself....


(shameless plug)
I did see the comments on paypal donations - Thank you for the offer, at this time I'm not set up for donations... but....
All my photos are available for purchase through SmugMug found in the link below.
From $2 downloads to $300 large framed canvas prints or various things like mouse pads or magnets... Purchases of my images will directly fund my adventures, and give Baldy (ADV site owner, who also runs Smugmug) some business too.
(end plug)




Sorry for the teaser, I will be back with the next installment!

[yns]

You are my hero.

[NYP797]

Mr. ChiTown:
Having read some of your illustrious posts in other threads on ADV,
I must truly restate, that if you rode out of Chicago in the kind weather that is laying siege to NY City at this moment, namly blizzard like conditions, than you are truly one prideful fella and will remain in the upper echelons of dare devil hero. The great B&W retrospective, all with your Leica X1 make me wanna ditch my own pro Cannon's. May you keep on tickin' and I hope there's a wonderful welcome awaiting you when you reach the end of this journey. Would welcome some more deets about how you treat the digi's, since you ditched the big laptop, like how you post process. Cheers from the frozen apple, NYP797, snowed in in Queens

[Dalmatino]

Courious...what did you think of the new 1200gs?

[Stymitshinks]

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves.”

-Andre Gide

[Lost Rider]

Originally Posted by EnderTheX

Don't forget to hit me up if you are close to Dallas. I finally got my bike back and I am itching for a winter ride around these parts!!!

Glad you got your bike back finally!
I actually had it in the back of my head to hit you up while passing through, we could undoubtably have some fun riding and making photos together.... But I blasted through Texas and we'll have to figure out another time soon enough....

Originally Posted by steingar

Was there a previous Winter Madness? Or are you expecting a future one? Don't worry, those of us left behind in the cold don't hate you. Some of us do think you're a wuss, though.

There was, and has been for a few years for me, though this one is much different as why I called it this. There's much more turmoil going on in my head that I haven't touched on, the kind that only some real long miles can help me to help myself and figure things out. Add in some good old fashion troubleshooting or climatic challenges and here we are.... Winter Madness 2010
This is the best way for me to deal with things, some of them are things that all of us have to deal with at one point or another, some of them not so much.
I also expect future winter Madness to set in, in my life I mean.... Winter's are usually play time since there's little work for me, and if there's no play time to be afforded like this year, then The Madness can also set it.... get it?

I'm sorry for being such a wuss, I'll try and man up next time!

Originally Posted by Dalmatino

Curious...what did you think of the new 1200gs?

Well...... I think it's a very nice motorbike..... but coming from the owner of a 800GS and a R1200R I have a little more unique perspective....

I can go just about anywhere you'd want to go on a 1200GS on my R, and already have.... but the 1200GS can't go where my 8GS has been, at least with me doing the riding. (thinking places like Pete King Trail, Massacre Mountain, or up Poughkeepsie Gulch for example)

The new engine is nice, and since it was brand new I didn't really wail on it much, never winding it out to red line.... but I can say that the DOHC GS still doesn't pull as hard as the R1200R, regardless of the stats on paper. I'd imagine that engine will loosen up and get a bit faster, but it won't be able to compensate for all that extra weight compared to the 12R.

The ESA was a neat feature, and I like the new gauges.
The windscreen worked nice, as did the seat, all it would need is some bar backs and I could have rode long miles no problem.
The exhaust sounded real nice, better than my 12R with a Akrapovich can...

It doesn't handle nearly as good on pavement as the 12R, and surely can't handle as good as the 8GS once you get off pavement with it's extra weight, telelever suspension and small front wheel. Though honestly I didn't try out it's off tarmac potential much beyond a simple gravel road or quick spin on the Gulf Coast beaches near Galveston.
Now if Chicago BMW gave me a brand new GS as a loaner it would have come back much differently and I could give you a real assessment to it's potential...

Overall it's a nice bike, and for someone to ride long miles on pavement with some mild gravel road adventures plus the ability for lots of cargo capacity I think it's great, it sure is comfy to ride and smooth..... but when I'm looking at that $18,500 price tag I can't help but feel that you could probably find a used 12R and 8GS and have the better of both worlds....


Now if they only made a DOHC Boxer 800......

Originally Posted by NYP797

Would welcome some more deets about how you treat the digi's, since you ditched the big laptop, like how you post process.

Real simple...

I'm recording two files, 2144×1424(3.1 MP) JPEG's plus 4272×2856(12.2 MP) RAW files with the X1.

Most of the photos in this thread are straight out of camera JPEG's that I have set to +1 sharpness, +1 contrast, and of course B+W in camera.
I do the small JPEG's to save space and help with the somewhat slow read/write performance of the X1, plus for internet presentation the JPEG's files are fine, they just don't hold up to cropping much.
All I see on the camera for framing is the B+W though, same with previews.
For a select few I use the RAW file, doing more basic PP, getting the blacks right, or more sharpening, or dealing with highlights or shadows, then use Silver Effects Pro plugin in Aperture for B+W conversion. I don't really like to do too much to the photos in PP, just where needed. I much prefer spending time behind the camera vs. time in front on my Mac.

Oh, yeah.... I do have a laptop with me.... See I don't have much cash flow right now, but I did make some big changes in my electronics this fall regardless.
I sold my whole Canon setup, my 13" MacBook Pro, and eventually the iPad to buy the (used) X1 and a new MacBook Air 11" Ultimate. (and pocket a little cash for bike expendables).
With the next generation iPad coming in February I thought I'd get out and get most of my money back before the used prices drop.

The 11"MBA is ridiculously small and is the perfect travel laptop for me. Powerful enough to do what ever I need it to do, yet the same size basically as the iPad.
With the X1 and 11" MBA I'm feeling like I have far enough powerful tools for my purposes, save carrying over 15 pounds of gear, and have no need for a hard case on the tail with a DSLR in it. There is most definitely compromises to having the X1 over a DSLR, but I'm content for now...
Thinking of a RTW ride eventually or at least some overseas motorbike travel in the near future I want to pack very small and light, (thinking I'll be on a very small bike) but still be able to capture nice images and do what I want with them while on the go...

[HighFive]

Ho-chi-momma....what an Adventure!

Thanks for posting the camera info. Very impressive pics.



HF