Spring of 2006 - I've got the itch to buy a motorcycle and start riding on a regular basis again. I'm thinking about getting a bike that I can do some touring and cruising with. About the time I'm pondering this, however, my friend Bob invited me to go dirt bike riding with him (he had a couple of Honda dirt bikes - XR650 and XR400), and I then started thinking about getting a bike to meet the needs of both street and dirt.
The result - a 2006 BMW R1200GS
Now, at the time that this is occurring, I have a home and family in Camas, Washington but working up in Edmonton, Canada. I'm planning on keeping the bike up in Canada from late Spring to Fall while I'm working in Edmonton, and then riding it back to Camas to keep it there in the winter where I might have a chance to take it out for a few rides on trips home.
The first decision, once I had made up my mind on the 1200GS, was where to buy the bike. I had already decided to buy in the US, as the Canada work is temporary and I wanted to register the bike in Washington. As it turns out, I was attending a conference in Las Vegas in June; and had already made plans to take a 3 to 4 day ride around northern Arizona after the conference with another friend of mine (Pete). My original plan was to rent a Harley Softtail for that ride, but the plans changed to instead buy the 1200GS in Vegas, and use our planned ride as a shakedown ride for the new bike. I would then ride the new bike back to Edmonton.
Upon arriving in Vegas for the conference, I made my way over to Las Vegas BMW, purchased the bike and made plans to pick it up later in the week. After the conference, Pete and I then took off for a quick 2-1/2 day ride (I had to cut it a little short, as I now needed to take some additional time to ride it back to Edmonton). Also due to fires around the Sedona area at that time, we decided to ride through southern Utah instead. We left early on Sunday morning, and I got back to Vegas by noon on Tuesday so that Las Vegas BMW could take care of the first service on the bike. I then left the next morning, Wednesday, and arrived in Edmonton on Friday morning after about 1500 miles.
Anyways, my plan is to document many of my rides and adventures on this website. I hope that you enjoy the pictures and stories.
| Ride Safe!!! |
Last Update: 2010-01-17 |