Adventure of a lifetime

Exactly one week from today, I will be embarking on the biggest adventure of my life so far.  I will be flying to Madrid, Spain where I will meet two very accomplished motorcycle world travelers.

Jason Len and Duane Leib are brave enough to invite me to join them for one month of their two month motorcycle tour of Europe.  The boys (as I will call them) shipped their motorcycles to the UK a couple of months ago.

When we meet in Madrid, I will be picking up my rental BMW F700GS from IMTbike and heading out for adventure and shenanigans through Spain, France and Italy.

We have a rough idea of our destinations but it will depend on which way the wind blows us from day to day.

While I am very excited, this trip does not come without some fears.  This is the longest I will have ever been away from my wife, Becky.  I am certain that will come with some heart ache.  She assures me that I will be so full of new sights and amazement that it will not be as hard as I think.  We'll see....she is my heart and soul.

I will try and update this blog daily if you are interested in following along.  My blogs will be short and sweet.  For more detailed info on this adventure you can follow Jason Len's blog at jagmanxksunlimited.blogspot.com. 



Until next time.

Test

Today is the day that I am testing out downloading videos.  I will soon embark on the trip of a lifetime and am trying to prepare.  More to follow.

My first offroad experience with this bike came when I attended a weekend long off road training at the Rawhyde Offroad Adventure training in Valencia, Ca.  Attending this class was the best thing I could have done.  Not only does it give you skills and confidence in the dirt, it also increased my confidence in the motorcycle and the way it would handle both on and off road.
                                                                   

The group rallied around me after my first drop.
Bike was well protected, so very little damage.

Catch up with the 2013 BMW F7

Wow...time flies.  I have not posted for a very long time...actually, the entire time I have owned my first BMW F700gs.  This blog will probably only appeal to motorcycle peeps, especially smaller riders who might be interested in the experiences I had with this motorcycle...So, if that is not you, I am just warning you..this could be very boring for you!

So, you might remember I found this bike being sold by a really nice guy in San Diego.  He has a f700 but decided to purchase one for his wife in hopes she would ride.  It is a 2013 with the factory lowered suspension.  I also had a low seat on it.

Here she is before I added a few items to her.  first let me say, I am 5'4.  With the factory
lowered suspension and the low seat I was very comfortably able to place both feet on the ground.  The balance and weight of the bike was perfect.

My first additions were the Vario top and side cases.  I added a taller windscreen that later got switched to a Givi Airflow windscreen that I loved.  I could change the height easily if I was riding alone or added a passenger.  My passenger would sit slightly above me so to raise it a little really helped her to be out of any wind.  

I added a Givi tank lock ring and Givi tank bag that worked perfectly for carrying small things that you want within reach.  I put Rox risers on the handlebars which put me in a more comfortable riding position on the street and really helped when I went to the Rawhyde offroad training and was standing most of the time.  Of course, in preperation of the off road training I added a SW Motech skid plate and Altrider crash bars.  

Here she is with some of the accessories I talked about.

                            


This was on a ride up Indian Valley Road.  We took it from San Miguel, Ca to Hollister, Ca.  It is a beautiful ride through the countryside with very little traffic.  A great day trip.




This ride was one of our favorite evening rides to dinner at the Loading Chute in Creston, Ca.