Journey to ?!

The Idea....

So what's the idea then?

As the title of this weblog suggests, "Journey to ?!"it will be an account of my journey on my motorcycle.

As I have no idea whatsoever where the journey will lead, what I will see along the way or how long it will last, you are welcome to view this blog and witness any highs, lows and possibly my complete undoing!

For anyone expecting pithy and insightful observations, sorry! It might be an ideal time to log out now!

What will this weblog contain?

I hope to post my journey in photographs and words. For those who find such things interesting, I hope to include routes, some technical stuff about the bike, my impressions of the places, people and (possibly the most disturbing!) some introspection/navel gazing from time to time! (If I work out how to do it, I will try and separate the different threads so that any readers not interested in any one aspect can jump to the bits that do 'float your particular boat').

Apart from staying within the boundaries of the EU and starting the journey in Spring 2005, I have no set plans. Ideally I will start in Spain following the logic that I have toured Spain on a motorcycle before and at that time of year it will be warmer than more Northerly climes. I can then move North as the temperatures rise.

Why limit the journey to the EU?

No borders, no Visa requirements and the benefits of the E111 medical cover. That's the practical reasons out of the way. A more subjective reason is that there is so much to see in Europe, so much history, art and culture that I want to experience. Should I imbibe culture of the Botulism kind, that's where the E111 comes into play!

Why no set plan?

Having been regulated by the neccesities of work from the age of fifteen, I think it's about time I tried to loosen-up a bit. Being organised, either by others or self, has been a feature of my life to date. I've always had a sneaking envy and a certain respect for those who can just 'go with the flow'. It would be easier for me to plan an itinerary and probably more comfortable too. One of the reasons for the journey is to try and break with this to some degree.

Why a motorcycle?

I did consider some alternatives. On foot, using whatever public transport is available, something like a Land Rover with a tent on the roof and a mountain bike in the back or something simple and still fun like a well fettled classic MG. I settled on a motorcycle because motorcycling is so involving (if you have never done it you are unlikely to understand). The advantages of a motorcycle are many, no left-hand/right-hand drive issues, comparative fuel economy, ease of access (especially in major cities) and the sheer fun to name but a few.

What bike?

Always a contentious issue amongst motocyclists! Type, size, performance, reliability, carrying capability and Marque loyalty will be hottly debated by any motorcyclist. All things considered there was only one real choice for me, BMW ("of course", anyone who knows me will shout!). The descision then was what model? As I hope to explore some of the less well trodden byways of Europe, it had to be the GS (Gelande Strasse, "overland & road") range. After some anguish caused by the launch of the new R1200GS, I settled on the R1150GS Adventure following advice and reasoning that the new bike wasn't yet fully proven whereas the Adventure version of the 1150 was designed with such travel in mind and held records for trans-global trips, often smashing the times set and with no mechanical failures of note. The global BMW back-up network had to be considered too. (Yes. I know, more justification! Contrary to popular myth, I do not
have a BMW roundel tattooed over my heart - yet!)

 
Not pretty but form should always follow function!(Click on images
to enlarge).

If you have got through this first post, congratulations! (I'm off now to see what it looks like).

Accumulating the equipment

Well I feel as though things are starting to move forward having made a big dent in my long list of equipment I think I will need for my journey (as well as a big dent in my bank account!).

The prime concerns about camping equipment have been robustness or quality, suitability for purpose and weight. The latter has not been too much of a concern because the maximum permissable weight of the bike is quite high (having been designed for such trips) and going solo means I have the potential weight of a pillion passenger to use up before considering the equipment weight.

Robustness/quality doesn't come cheap. I considered the sort of tent that is available at discount stores as an alternative to the quality route, reasoning that when it (inevitably) becomes unserviceable I could just buy another cheap replacement. Two things determined me against this route; being of a certain age and used to a degree of comfort plus my time in the army has taught me the value of the best possible kit when living outdoors. The prospect of coping with equipment that fails easily or is a compromise just dosen't appeal and I'd hate to become disallusioned and return home in a sulk because of a leaking tent!

Fortunately a company called Touratech, who specialise in motorcycle travel have done most of the hard work over the years and have sourced nearly everything the discerning motorcycle traveller needs. (Touratech also supply many motorcycle modifications and parts much of which has been designed for and tested in events such as the Paris-Dakar) www.touratech.co.uk Everything has been tested in some pretty extreme travels and has been chosen for low weight and reliability. A couple of examples of their attention to weight; Titanium tents pegs and cooking sets!

Another consideration is clothing. My chosen motorcycle clothing is a textile two-piece suit that has a removable Goretex membrane. To work at it's best Goretex needs to be worn over man-made fibre clothing. The other advantage of modern man-made textiles is that unlike cotton and wool fibres they are in the main quick drying, don't need ironing and don't smell when wet/damp.

Rohan make a complete range of clothing from underwear to smart day clothes for a range of temperatures, climates and activities. Rohan clothing also has the added advantage of being very light. www.rohan.co.uk

Another good source are Berghaus. Both Rohan and Berghaus have made futher dents in my bank balance!

I will list fully both the motorcycle modifications and other equipment in further entries with photographs for those interested in such details.

Bike equipment and modifications.

If I were to list everything here it would go on far too long and even the most assiduous bike nut would be asleep before they got to the end! Instead I will post a couple of general views of the bike and some specific mods.

This is on the day that I collected it, as supplied. The BMW options I listed were all black seat (as opposed to yellow and black) BMW alarm/immobiliser, BMW Nav II GPS Satnav, heated handlebar grips and Evo III ABS brakes. Lots of Touratech extras, most noticeable being the big shiny Zega panniers. These are aluminium and have lids that lift off revealing 41 litres of carrying capacity, lashing loops on the top and I opted for the inner bags to allow the contents to be removed without unpacking individual items.

The modifications are in the main safety or protection (of the bike) oriented such as the twin fog lamps (these are good as day-running lights because they have a diffused beam that doesn't dazzle), a Xenon main beam conversion, a protector for the (expensive) headlamp, additional sump protection, extensions for the hand-shields amongst the many. The full list ran to one and a half A4 pages!

As you can see from this photo (don't forget you can click on the image to enlarge it) I've removed the nasty yellow bits on the tank(!) and the bike is generally turning more black. I was directed towards a supplier of the materials to cover the vast expanses of shiny aluminium by another GS owner on the UKGSers website. It was one of many really good tips I have gleaned from the website. In fact most of the solutions to various modifications I have found I needed were from the community of GS owners on www.ukgser.com  A really nice group of people.

I managed to scrounge some off-cuts of red high visibility tape to add to the rear of the panniers in the interests of conspicuity.

Mounted on the rear carrier is a small box that is made by Al Jesse in the USA, maker of another form of aluminium panniers. This box is actually designed to mount one of his top-boxes. I have no intention of fitting a top-box because I will need to carry a waterproof hold-all with my camping gear inside. I quickly saw that if I strapped the bag straight onto the rear rack, the bag would lie across the pannier lids meaning that I'd have to remove it every time I needed access to the contents of the pannier! Mounting this little box with another rack fitted to the top overcomes this issue. The box has a lockable side door so it also means that I have been able to move the tool-roll from under the seat, plus have other tools and odds & sods all in one handy place!

Not having to remove the seat to access tools allows me to have a rear seat bag in which to carry anything that might need charging from the bikes rear power socket such as digital camera, mobile phone or laptop.

This is a Powerlet dual adaptor. It plugs into the rear power socket. The lead can be run up to the rear seat bag or to a tank-bag. The bike has a second BMW power socket at the front but it's advisable not to use this whilst running because of the potential for trailing wires to foul the steering! Sensible advice indeed! I've run a couple of journeys with my camera and phone happily re-charging in the seat bag. (This Powerlet adapator also shows how much current is being drawn.)

Mounted on the left-hand engine (protection) bar is a one inch Ram ball. This with a five inch Ram arm and camera mount will allow me to have my camera just ahead of my knee to get some photo's whilst on the move. Either that or photo's of whatever bug kills itself on the lens!

The BMW Nav II should mount on the handlebars but again thanks to the UKGSers, one of whom makes some brilliant mods (you know who you are Migsel!), I've been able to move it directly above the instruments better to be near my eye-line while riding.

(The above photo shows the display in low-light mode. Normal light gives different colours for contrast).

The Navigator is not cheap but has too many really good features to list here. One of the useful things bearing in mind my trip is that it's possible to swap the readout into Kilometres. As the function automatically displays road speed it saves trying to squint at the almost unreadable KPH figures on the speedo. Trying to imagine just how many maps I'd need to cover the whole of Europe and to the scale that the Nav provides, not to mention that maps don't give you audible instructions makes the expense seem worthwhile.

I've also fitted an Autocom. The principal use of this bit of kit is to provide either rider to pillion or bike to bike radio communication but it also allows music and in my case the Satnav audible instructions to be piped into my helmet. If I'm listening to my Walkman when the Satnav advice comes through, the Autocom mutes the music to allow me to hear what she is telling me. (Yes it is a female voice. I was disappointed that she doesn't have a German accent though!)

I hope that this gives you an idea of some of the modifications I've made. It is by no means all of them. Few have been for purely aesthetic reasons but as to whether they are correct or even needed, only the trip will determine.

Stay tuned! All my camping gear has arrived. It's like the best Christmas ever! I'll post a list with some photos next time (bet you can't wait!).

Trying out the camera mount.

Just a few photo's taken from the bike to see how well the camera mount works!

My main concerns are vibration through the mount, the slight 'lag' that digital cameras have when acquiring an image and the whole thing falling off and bouncing down the road!

The camera is my (by now) ancient Fuji Finepix 4900. I see no reason to change it at the moment as it seems to work well within my abilities with a camera. I might try one of my Pentax 35mm SLRs too. Both have motor-drives but as neither have auto-focus the results might be bit of a lottery. Perhaps with a 28mm wide-angle, set to a fairly low F-stop I might get reasonable results.

You may be able to see in this photo that I have put some fairly thick foam on the camera mounting plate. I think that this and the five inch Ram arm are enough to damp out most of the vibrations that might cause camera wobble. I use two velcro wrap tapes to secure the camera strap to both the Ram arm and the engine bar. This should prevent the camera bouncing down the road and ensure that it just goes beneath my rear wheel instead!

I think this is the best effort so far. I wanted to get the bike shadow in the image.

The camera actually sits just ahead of my left knee in this set-up. To take a photo I just drop my hand to my knee and can then find the shutter release easily without taking my eyes from the road ahead. Just have to try to anticipate the photo slightly because the camera needs a second to acquire the image (I told you it was old!) and even at relatively low speeds the view changes pretty quickly.

Thanks to all who have left comments.....

If upon your return to the weblog and you see that your comment has been deleted, please don't take offence or think that I didn't
appreciate what you said!

The only reason why I'm deleting comments is in the interest of conserving the monthly allotment of space I'm allowed.

You are welcome to continue to leave comments, in fact I look
forward to hearing your thoughts or any questions you might have.

Tent

My home from home for most(?) of the trip.

It's an Exped Andromeda Extrem.

This was my first attempt to put it up and I was pleased to find that it's a relatively simple operation. Depending on the conditions, the tent can be put up only using four pegs.

Bearing in mind this was my first time and I didn't know what went where, it took me all of eight minutes from unpacking it to putting in the last peg. I only made one mistake, I have the additional 'Footprint' ground-sheet to protect the integral one, I didn't know which end was which until I had the tent up. Next time I'll get it the correct way round!!!

The inner tent is attached to the outer, so once the three hoops are slid into the pockets and two pegs at each end, it's up!

There are guy ropes and plenty of further peg loops if the weather conditions demand. Two vents, one at each end, screened with mosquito netting, a couple of integral pockets inside the sleeping compartment and a double entry flap, the inner one is again mosquito mesh. The large 'vestibule' should provide ample storage without cluttering up the sleeping area and might be handy for cooking when the weather is bad.

The outer tent is made from RipStop polyester, silicone treated on both sides, the inner tent RipStop polyester and the floor PU coated taffeta nylon. I've ditched the original pegs and have substitued them with titanium pegs, lighter and much stronger.

The whole thing weighs in at just over 4 Kg. (8lbs Imp.) and packs down to about 600 x 200 x 200 mm (20 x 8 x 8 inches in old money!).

The pack bag contains, tent, poles, pegs and the footprint ground-sheet.

It's not what you might call a palace but it should meet my needs. Time will tell!

Barcelona or Bust!

The Dakar rally/raid starts from Barcelona on 1st January 2005, I'm going to be there for the start.

I'm booked on Britany Ferries, Plymouth to Roscoff, leaving 23.00 on 27th December, arriving 07.30 28th.

I have a reservation for 30th December with the Holiday Inn at the Circuit De Catalunya, (just outside Barcelona), leaving on the 2nd January.

The journey dates were determined by the ferry availability, there is no Plymouth to Santander ferry until March 05, so there is nothing for it but a ride down through France and across the Pyrenees into Spain.

The outward leg will have a target of 300 miles a day. Not a huge distance on the face of it, the sort of distance I have happily done when 'just out for a ride' but the weather may be a factor at this time of year! Especially crossing the Pyrenees!

There are no plans for accommodation on the route down so I will take some camping gear just in case I cannot find any B&Bs open at that time of year.

Once in Barcelona, there is a party planned to see off some of the riders, among them Nick Plumb of Touratech UK. This is not his first Dakar and for those of you who have seen the HSBC TV advert (the "OK" except in Brazil hand sign one), Nick did the motorcycle riding scenes.

There is a dinner arranged for the 30th. December, partly sponsored by BMW Motorrad (GB).

I suppose I will have to witness how the Catalans celebrate new year  and report back, purely in the interests of cultural exchange of course!

The Dakar sets off on the 1st. January, with some 'Special Stages' in and around Barcelona followed by the rally cars, trucks and motorcycles being flagged away. If the start is too crowded I'll try and find a vantage point somewhere along the route.

I leave Barcelona on the 2nd. with a ferry crossing back from Roscoff at 22.30 on the 3rd. It means a less relaxed ride on the return leg but weather (again) permitting, it is well within the timescale.

A full report with fewer smilies and more photos will follow.

Edit; The party is now changed to the 31st December, so it will be New Year party as well. Perhaps there will still be a flavour of a Catalan New Year!

A couple of recent bike modifications.

I've recently added Touratech guards on the cylinder heads. The standard BMW ones are plastic and really don't do much except save the valve cover from scratches.

I don't intend to drop the bike but it is inevitable. It's bound to happen at some time and when it does happen I'd rather have these 4mm aluminium protectors in place. They come in a very fetching bright shiny finish and do look a little over the top.  As you can see (above) they are now black and not as visually prominent. I had them anodized black locally, as I have the BMW sump guard (just visible), the Touratech extended bash plate (fitted to the main stand), the guards on the Fog lamps and the Touratech extended rear carrier.

Now for the modification that will give you a laugh!

No not an ashtray! 

An umbrella! No really. Stop laughing at the back!

I have to concede (like many of the original ideas for most of the modifications) the concept is not mine.

In this case credit goes to Ted Simon, author of Jupiters Travels and almost a deity in the eyes of many motorcycle travelers. If you haven't read the book, you really must, even if you are not into motorcycling! Jupiters Travels is an account of his journey around the world in the 1970's, it is much more than a travelogue and must have inspired many journeys, not just those undertaken on two wheels.

Back to the brolly. Apart from actually having it's normal use when outside in inclement weather, it can double as a sunshade. Fitting it to the bike in such a way that it can be carried easily and be used attached to the bike (whilst stationary of course) meant sourcing some bits and pieces.

The ubiquitous range of Ram products had everything I needed, even if they were not intended for this use!

A U-clamp with one inch Ram Ball is mounted on the right-hand crash-bar, a five inch Ram Arm then provides an adjustable connection to a one inch Ram Ball clamp on the brolly handle. Apart from the last item it matches the arrangement for mounting my camera on the other side of the bike so has the additional benefit of being transferable from one side of the bike to the other. This is particularly important for the camera mount as it allows me to mount the camera according to need.

The ferrule end of the brolly slides into a loop on the pannier frame and sits flush with the side of the bike. It is completely inconspicuous from the riders position.

The Ram mounting allows the brolly to be clamped in various positions once it's up so that means it can remain upright whether the bike is on the side prop or...

on the main stand.

On short roadside stops in sunny conditions it will provide some relief from the heat, either for the bike (downside of a black bike) or for the rider when there is no available shade.

When it's wet it can be pretty miserable waiting at ferry ports or again on short roadside halts while brewing up.

The brolly itself is a 'Masters' golf brolly. Not as large as most golf brollies but very light and has a venting system designed to prevent it catching the wind or getting turned inside out.

I hope Ted Simon would approve!

Barcelona Preparation

Preparation.

On the run down to Christmas I changed the tyres, had a sticky choke seen to, (it needed quite a lot of effort to move the lever rather than it staying on or anything) and I had the Throttle Bodies balanced. They were out but not by too much, enough to notice the smoother running after the adjustments.

I've fitted Continental TKC 80 "Dual Sport" tyres. They are an 'option' on the bike as new but mine came with Metzeler 'Tourances'. I've always had a preference for Metzelers but the Tourance whilst giving great feel, wet and dry plus really good life, are a bit too road oriented. It's not that I'm intending to do a great deal of off-roading in the next few months but I want to find out now if I can live with these less road oriented tyres. They are not full trail tyres. As the name "Dual Sport" suggests they are a compromise giving more trail capability whilst retaining good road manners.

First impressions after a couple of hundred miles are favourable. At first the knobbly tread felt a little bit like riding on marbles at low speed and the steering seemed very quick. The bike felt more liable to drop into low speed corners but this has either diminished after a couple of hundred miles or I've just adjusted to this characteristic.

Grip so far seems to be as good as the Metzeler at least in the dry. I expect they will not have such good wet weather grip if only because the tread pattern doesn't have as large a contact patch. They will wear much quicker than a more road biased tyre and the large block tread pattern will "square off" with road use.

The run down to Barcelona will be a good test as the weather forecast is for rain in southern France turning to snow in the Pyrenees.

Packing.

I've decided to take some camping gear with me in case I can't find a hotel on the route down. I've bundled the camping gear into the Ortleib bag to be carried on the rear carrier.

The left-hand pannier has clothes for the week, the right has additional wet weather gear, oil, fuel, first-aid kit and brew kit (including coffee pot!).

The tank-bag has spare gloves, CD player, camera, travel documents and anything I might need quickly.

The seat bag carries chain and padlock, camera mount, light over-suit and charger cables for camera and mobile phone.

The fuel tank is full, 30+ litres. Getting it onto the main stand isn't too much harder than normal, getting it off is a little more difficult. The stand tends to slide a little and at my first attempt I managed to roll the rear wheel over my right foot. I was only wearing normal footwear at the time. It did make my eyes water a little!

The ferry leaves Plymouth at 23.30 today, 27th December. I have been contacted by a couple of other GS owners who are also attending the Barcelona party. The plan is to meet up at the ferry and ride down together.

One of the fellow GSers is Tiffany Coates 

Tiffany is quite famous. You can read accounts of her travels on various websites. There can't be many parts of the world she hasn't seen from her R80GS named Thelma. No pressure on the three blokes then! 

My next update will be once I get back, so Happy New Year to anyone reading this between now and then!

Barcelona, the start.....

Day One. Monday 27th December 2004.

On Boxing Day I had several 'phone calls from another UKGSer, Bert. He had seen the details of the party on www.UKGSer.com and decided on a last minute attempt to get there. After some discussion it was decided that an attempt to meet up on route was going to be difficult to arrange ( Bert lives in the South East so he had thought about Dover-Calais crossings). A few calls later and he was booked on the Plymouth-Roscoff ferry, the same hotel at Barcelona and the same one in Bordeaux, en route.

I had said that I'd meet up with him at Plymouth-Millbay docks, once he had arrived but I was surprised when he rang just after 2.00 pm to say he was here!

We got into the growing vehicle queue just after 8.00 pm and waited for Clive and Tiffany each to arrive from opposite directions.

Clive rode up at about 9.00 pm and shortly after the rain arrived too.

We had passed through the first embarkation check when Tiffany rode up on an F650GS. "Thelma", her trusty R80GS was at James Sherlocks getting some TLC and a new wiring loom.

Introductions done, we were the only motorcyclists, Clive and Bert on R1200GS's, Tiffany, F650GS and my R1150 Adventure. After a short time in the by now quite heavy rain, we were waved through the Customs shed and pointed towards an indoor waiting area. No need to deploy the brolly then!

I noticed quite a few occupants of cars looking at the four of us and our bikes. I'd like to believe that they were looks of envy but somehow, given the weather and the time of year, I suspect we were thought to be members of some obscure masochistic sect! That or more likely, despite all the motorcycle clothing, Tiffanys obvious female figure was the reason for the stares!

The ferry was the newest in the Britany Ferries fleet, Pont Aven. The stevedors were very efficient, lashing the bikes down with ratchet straps and cushions over the seats.

Overnight bags were grabbed and the cabins located. Then Tiffany, Clive and myself adjourned to the bar for one or three while Bert, who had had an early start, got his head down.

The wind at Millbay had suggested a choppy crossing and sure enough, once clear of Plymouth Breakwater, things got a bit bouncy!

Rather than face an early start with either a hangover or the effects of a rough crossing, we made for the cabins. I remembered to put my watch forward an hour and was looking forward to arriving in France when the motion sent me to sleep at about 1.00 am.