where we’re at
So I’d like to send out little status updates with details about how I’m preparing and what, exactly, I’m taking on my trip, so that a) everybody knows I’m still alive and doing this, and b) to get in the habit of sending these emails. I can push publish on a blog post real easy, but sending an email to a bunch of people still feels like a big deal? I’m thinking like every other week or so I’ll have something worth sharing.
In terms of preparation, I’ve been working on the bike quite a bit. You might think, Matt, you spent <redacted> thousand dollars on that machine, surely it is as perfect as it can be? And, indeed, I could have ridden it the way it rolled off the showroom floor off into the sunset, but there are two categories of improvement I’ve been working on, creature comforts and avoiding spending an additional <redacted> thousands of dollars on accessories.
The first thing I did was swap out the tires. BMW tends to send bikes from the factory with whatever options they feel like on a given day, and mine was set up for serious off-roading, with tires to match. Actually, that’s not true, the first thing I did was 3d-print an adapter so my Quadlock could mount my phone where the BMW connected ride cradle was, and drop that in a bin for when I sell the bike (the next owner may want to spend a thousand dollars on BMW’s custom tablet but I do not).
Anyway, tires. The off-road tires, technically made for 50% on pavement and 50% on dirt, made the ride a little rough and sketchy through corners. I ride mostly on pavement (ok, 100% on pavement with the potential to go down a fire road to came some time soon). So I got a set of Michelin 90/10 tires, Anakee Road they’re called. Really I was looking for anything 80/20 or 90/10 that would fit my rims, and the Michelin’s were what I could get. I looked at a bunch of others, all the big tire manufacturers have something in this category. I’m super happy with them so far, the bike handles a lot better now, runs a lot smoother at higher speeds too (more than 45 before and it wasn’t super fun).
The other creature comfort comes in the streamlining of the rear fender. The original has tail lights that stick out to the side, which is probably fine for most people but my clumsy ass knocked one off dismounting when I got the bike home on day one. I repaired it with some epoxy and soldering but it was clear I needed a more robust and streamlined solution. So, in comes my custom fender eliminator, made of stainless steel instead of plastic, with all the electronics inside and safe. It was actually a lot of work to get it going, I had to chop the stock blinkers in half and put them in a printed enclosure (sealed with RTV silicone) to make everything fit.
Mainly the cost-saving projects are luggage related. The factory luggage option, which has come out since I bought the bike, adds an additional three thousand dollars to the total cost if you add it to the bike at time of purchase. They are big burly hard cases which weigh a lot and give the bike a certain look that I don’t super care for, no matter how many stickers are added. Another problem, and the reason I’m doing so much custom fab for this is the bike is new for this model year, and not a lot of aftermarket stuff is out yet. I’m taking a page out of Mosko Moto’s book and using kayaker’s dry bags for the main storage in my saddlebags, and making an over bag out of cordura to slot them into, for abrasion resistance.
I originally thought I could do all this without support, just hang the bags over the back of the bike and tie them off to various points, but when I did that to go camping the first time, I could see there was a real danger of the hanging bag swinging into the rear wheel. I would need some kind of framework to hold the bags in position. So for the last week or so I’ve been working on that framework, which I’ve been thinking of as pannier racks, although I’m not sure if that’s the exact right term. I had a super productive day last Saturday, got the frame for the right side done and attached to the motorcycle. Anyway, I went back on Sunday to attach the left side and had every single thing go wrong, so much so that it undid some of the good work I did on Saturday on the exhaust side. I’m going to have to start over completely, but first I’m spending this week not thinking about it too much. I have material for one more try, basically, so that’s what I’m going to do.
So that’s where we are with 11ish weeks until the trip. Assuming the revised exhaust side rack works out, I need to get out and do some shorter trips, overnight camping like, to see how the bike handles with weight, if all my gear makes sense on the road, all of that sort of stuff it’s better to discover before I start down a 2700 mile road home.