The Devil's in the Details
This is a week-long trip not an expedition, but the more planning and foresight that are applied the smoother the trip will be.
And more expensive.
I'm beginning to feel like a traveling motorcycle shoppee - I've purchased or borrowed spare bulbs, tire repair kits, co2 cartridges to pump up the tires, a clutch lever and cable, a generator rotor, a diode board, engine and transmission oil, and tools - lots of tools from the regular kit of screw drivers and metric wrenches to exotic exhaust nut removal tools to a rotor removal tool. All I need is a little fold up mechanic to fit in the saddlebag and I'll be set. Fortunately the R100GS and the R80GS share some crucial parts, so if only one of us carries a spare we should both be protected.
Spare keys. First, BMW makes a nifty fold over model that no locksmith has available; so you buy the blank (at 6$) from BMW and take it to the locksmith to duplicate. Second, BMW keys are steel and no locksmith will cut a steel blank - it will dull their cutter wheel. So you have to plead with them to scan their wall of blanks and 'find' one that may fit. If they will and they do, then they still have to modify the standard blank to fit the BMW longer tumblers before they cut and duplicate. Ok, got keys? Good - now where do you stash them? One, of course goes in your pocket to use, and maybe one in your wallet for a spare, but what about that really bad night when you lose the 'use' and 'spare' as well (like someone says empty your pockets and gimme your wallet)? I like to put the third somewhere ON the bike, where it won't rattle off over dirt roads, but doesn't need a tool to obtain. I'd brag about where I located mine - but then I'd have to move it so you wouldn't steal my bike.
That's just the keys. I can figure how much money I'll need, but in what form? USD or Peso? Travelers Check or Cash, Credit Card or ATM and WHERE do you secure that! How many CO2 cartridges does it take to fill a motorcycle tire? Can I back that up with a pump? How about tire irons and lubricant to remove/replace the tire while the tube gets patched? Maybe I should order a new rear tire and have it delivered to the motorcycle shop in Presidio for our return leg?
I don't think I'll ever do a round the world tour, and maybe not even a hemispheric ride, but even this little sojourn into another country makes me appreciate what motorcycle travelers (indeed, travelers and explorers of any kind) have had to go through. Imagine Captain Shacklford organizing and leading the men of Endeavor into, across, and out of the arctic night by ship, on foot, and by boat - a year of exploration turned into surviaval - and not losing a man! Or Danny Liska riding a /2 BMW from Nebraska to Prudhoe Bay in AK down to Tierra Del Fuego in the 1960's.
Or a Mom with 4 small children heading into a mall.
But it will all come together and what is left will be inconsequential. I once read that "the proper attitude is the most important tool" and I believe it. I think Mark and I have the proper attitude, so we'll plan as best we can, do without what we forget, and work around anything that jumps up.
Dr. Livingston, I presume?
And more expensive.
I'm beginning to feel like a traveling motorcycle shoppee - I've purchased or borrowed spare bulbs, tire repair kits, co2 cartridges to pump up the tires, a clutch lever and cable, a generator rotor, a diode board, engine and transmission oil, and tools - lots of tools from the regular kit of screw drivers and metric wrenches to exotic exhaust nut removal tools to a rotor removal tool. All I need is a little fold up mechanic to fit in the saddlebag and I'll be set. Fortunately the R100GS and the R80GS share some crucial parts, so if only one of us carries a spare we should both be protected.
Spare keys. First, BMW makes a nifty fold over model that no locksmith has available; so you buy the blank (at 6$) from BMW and take it to the locksmith to duplicate. Second, BMW keys are steel and no locksmith will cut a steel blank - it will dull their cutter wheel. So you have to plead with them to scan their wall of blanks and 'find' one that may fit. If they will and they do, then they still have to modify the standard blank to fit the BMW longer tumblers before they cut and duplicate. Ok, got keys? Good - now where do you stash them? One, of course goes in your pocket to use, and maybe one in your wallet for a spare, but what about that really bad night when you lose the 'use' and 'spare' as well (like someone says empty your pockets and gimme your wallet)? I like to put the third somewhere ON the bike, where it won't rattle off over dirt roads, but doesn't need a tool to obtain. I'd brag about where I located mine - but then I'd have to move it so you wouldn't steal my bike.
That's just the keys. I can figure how much money I'll need, but in what form? USD or Peso? Travelers Check or Cash, Credit Card or ATM and WHERE do you secure that! How many CO2 cartridges does it take to fill a motorcycle tire? Can I back that up with a pump? How about tire irons and lubricant to remove/replace the tire while the tube gets patched? Maybe I should order a new rear tire and have it delivered to the motorcycle shop in Presidio for our return leg?
I don't think I'll ever do a round the world tour, and maybe not even a hemispheric ride, but even this little sojourn into another country makes me appreciate what motorcycle travelers (indeed, travelers and explorers of any kind) have had to go through. Imagine Captain Shacklford organizing and leading the men of Endeavor into, across, and out of the arctic night by ship, on foot, and by boat - a year of exploration turned into surviaval - and not losing a man! Or Danny Liska riding a /2 BMW from Nebraska to Prudhoe Bay in AK down to Tierra Del Fuego in the 1960's.
Or a Mom with 4 small children heading into a mall.
But it will all come together and what is left will be inconsequential. I once read that "the proper attitude is the most important tool" and I believe it. I think Mark and I have the proper attitude, so we'll plan as best we can, do without what we forget, and work around anything that jumps up.
Dr. Livingston, I presume?
posted by Randy Masters at 5:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home