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Zubb

Big Bike weekend- Agua Caliente

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A dozen or so pig ranglers headed out for a weekend of general silliness from the BMW store Saturday  

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One guy had the new baby GS. 310 cc’s or so. He did manage to hit 90 with us so we were all satisfactorily impressed. He only had enough room  to carry a swim suite, candy bar and a hand towel. So he didn’t stay the night Inspite of being encouraged to just sleep on a picnic table. 

We took Wildcat- Old Julien HY — Wynola road (GREAT road!)- Banner grade- S2 to Agua Caluente campground. All in all an excellent road ride. 

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The typical rush to prove ones superior camping skills ensued and everyone got settled while Steve from BMW set out sandwiches and the Cooler full of cold drinks. 

I sold my 1150GS and bought this 1150GSA. I got a thing for these old bikes and this one proved to be top notch in every way  

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I know, it was only 1 night and that’s a lot of gear. But I wanted to shake down my kit with the new ride before I head out for a few summer trips. After a 2 year hietus I went back to a tank bag. Happy to report the MM Nomad is worth every penny. It didn’t interfere with me when standing, even on steep inclines. Moscow Moto has it figured out. 

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about 3:30 we headed out for an afternoon dirt ride. We headed back toward scissors crossing and peeled off left up a trail that for the life of me can’t remember the name. 

The sand was manageable and eventually we started climbing up some pretty rocky stuff. Baby heads and bigger strewn over steep rutted Jeep trail. I’ve been riding with this group here for a couple summers now but this  route was a new level of stupid for the big bikes. We ended up putting spotters along the trail on the gnarliest parts, which only means that the bikes had a slightly softer landing when they went down.  Much scraped paint, bent shifters, and gashed cylinder head guards were accomplished. 

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We eventually popped out at the Banner store and zoomed back to camp where Ukulele Steve was waiting with Cheeseburgers, salad, chips and wonderfully precious ice cold beer.  

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This guy kept checking us out ...

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Rudy summed up the post ride recovery session like this  

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I tested out sleeping under just a $20 down Costco quilt and am totally sold for warm weather camping.  The 15 degree down bag will be staying home now for most trips  

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Worlds largest storm proof matches  burn like a Roman candle for a looooog time. 

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Here’s the brand  

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After soaking in the hot springs, inappropriate amounts of bourbon, red wine and whatever else folks brought to the campfire, eventually the stories slowed down and one by one folks slipped into the dark  

this morning was beautiful.  It didn’t hurt that Steve had hot coffee and breakfast burritos waiting  

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They say if you don’t love your bike, you’re probably on the wrong bike. 

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And a good time was had by all . . .

 

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Cool little trip. I hope to get out with you and the boys soon. That left you made was probably Orliflame Canyon to Rodriquez Canyon??

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Hey Zubb, well done, Looks like a good outing and an adventurous group to choose oriflamme over Blaire or other on those big bikes. That sand before the rocks had to be fun too  :)

Did you already post how your new bike differs from the old one and why you didn't drop down to an f800 for your big bike new to you choice?

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i chatted with the guy on the gsa with the red crash bars and frame (i think his name was mark?) at the gas stop in santa ysabel... i parked my girlie tiger away from the group, i didn't want to cramp anyone's style! looks like a great time!

best regards,

johnnyg

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19 minutes ago, simicrintz said:

What is the Jeep picture on the side box, Kelly?

The stickers are pretty much all Colorado brewery’s. They came on the boxes with the bike. If I keep the boxes I’ll heat gun them all off and put my own on from my destinations and BDRs and Parks etc. 

I’ll  probably just go Reckless 80 though.  

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47 minutes ago, johnnyg said:

i chatted with the guy on the gsa with the red crash bars and frame (i think his name was mark?) at the gas stop in santa ysabel... i parked my girlie tiger away from the group, i didn't want to cramp anyone's style! looks like a great time!

best regards,

johnnyg

I saw your Tiger as you ride by and wanted to invite you along. Us big bike riders gotta stick together. 

Mark is one of the better riders off road I’ve known. He takes great pleasure in  grabbing any bike at hand and politely riding circles around me on street tires in deep sand. 

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 Do you agree;  It is all about Mo mentum or Less mentum in the dirt and sand obstacles??

    All good fun, glad your gang got it on.

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1 hour ago, MacDuncan said:

Hey Zubb, well done, Looks like a good outing and an adventurous group to choose oriflamme over Blaire or other on those big bikes. That sand before the rocks had to be fun too  :)

Did you already post how your new bike differs from the old one and why you didn't drop down to an f800 for your big bike new to you choice?

This new to me GSA is just a better, fresher bike in every way. 28,000 on the clock. My GS had 87k. It still was a great bike but this one is better off road and will suite my long distance plans a little better. 

I’m  not an 800 guy. It’s just not me. I enjoy long high speed rides across multiple state lines. And really enjoy going off Grid now too. The 1150/1200 class suites me perfectly. these big beemers will do so much more than most give them credit for. I would guess most owners wouldn’t dream of riding Oriflamme. But the bikes will do it easy enough as proven by a bunch of kooks yesterday. If little hundred pound Amberly can ride her 2016 lowered 1200 through all that sand and babyhead hill climbs and deep ruts........ then the rest of us don’t have any excuse except that we haven’t learned how to ride these things well yet. 

But I digress ... I just enjoy pushing past boundaries with the big bikes. 

I’d much rather have a 525 in the garage than an f800. 

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Just now, Bagstr said:

 Do you agree;  It is all about Mo mentum or Less mentum in the dirt and sand obstacles??

    All good fun, glad your gang got it on.

I’m not an accomplished dirt rider but here’s what works for me. 

Keep moving. Speed is your friend. Never Dab your foot - it hurts, and you can’t hold it up anyway. If it’s falling, you’ve already failed so get the heck off. The boxer motor keeps the center of gravity low and makes getting off easy since the bike does not fall flat  

Get your eyes off the trouble in front of you. Pick a line and focus eyes 100 feet ahead. Pick a gear that is appropriate and tractor up and over at about 2500 rpms. 

Point it and trust the bike to do it’s job. It will. Do your job - which is to keep the bike balanced. Don’t blip. Just tractor. Unless you’re in sand. Then blip like a mad fool. 

Always ride with helpful friends. I’m good for 3 or 4 ‘pick ups’. After that, it takes a village to get her up on two wheels again. 

It’s all part of the challenge to learn how to let the bike do the work because you can’t fight these things. In my dreams last night I rode it fully loaded up a hundred foot dry waterfall with the cruise control on and a cigaret and martini in my right hand. It was a good dream. 

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At the very end of this vid you can see that f800's like to nap just as well as the big girls do.

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This big guy was the highlight of my trip.  He crossed in front of me Sunday morning and graciously gave me enough time to get stopped and get the cameral rolling.

26769215727_79f7042c38_b.jpgUntitled by Kelly Goertzen, on Flickr

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Awesome trip..

What BMW dealer did you leave from and how would one go about joining you guys on the next trip? :D

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BMW Motorcycles of San Diego.  They have a Meetup group called Motorcyclists of San Diego and it is not BMW specific.  Look them up and join the group on "Meetup", they are great people at the dealership, and there's a really good group of members.  Tell 'em Kelly sent ya!  (Steve & Ed usually lead the rides and clinics)

 

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Nice ride Kelly, just remember a big pig is always a workout which make for a good night sleep.

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19 minutes ago, danrider said:

Nice ride Kelly, just remember a big pig is always a workout which make for a good night sleep.

That and some good bourbon

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Of which we had plenty of both. 

Gotta love this stuff!

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BMW's and bourbon; I am afraid that I am way outclassed on this page.  Do any of you guys know of a good page for Honda and beer guys?

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33 minutes ago, simicrintz said:

BMW's and bourbon; I am afraid that I am way outclassed on this page.  Do any of you guys know of a good page for Honda and beer guys?

Beer is the new bourbon. Don’t worry about it bro. As for Honda?.. if you can ride it, you’re in.  ? If it doesn’t run, trailer it to the campground and park it next to your tent. ⛺️  Fake it til you get it running. ? ?  Pull out a cold 6pack and pass them around camp. Ain’t nobody worth a damn ever turned down a guy handing out beer no matter what he rides. If your Honda happens to be the BRP,  I’ll feed you all the bourbon you can hold if you let me ride it. 

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Sweeeeeet!  Really did not want to look elsewhere :)

I have the BRP "Lite" (L) version; does that still count?  Kinda scared to get started down the bourbon route; is it a gateway drink that will lead to other stuff (tequila, vodka, etc.)?  Mom said I need to stay away from that stuff and that crowd :)

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1 hour ago, simicrintz said:

Sweeeeeet!  Really did not want to look elsewhere :)

I have the BRP "Lite" (L) version; does that still count?  Kinda scared to get started down the bourbon route; is it a gateway drink that will lead to other stuff (tequila, vodka, etc.)?  Mom said I need to stay away from that stuff and that crowd :)

Mom knows best. Awe... screw it. Have a swig. 

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