{"id":6096,"date":"2016-07-05T21:29:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T21:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/\/?p=6096"},"modified":"2016-07-05T21:29:51","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T21:29:51","slug":"motorrad-how-the-whole-motorcycle-thing-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/07\/05\/motorrad-how-the-whole-motorcycle-thing-going\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorrad: How the whole motorcycle thing going?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:4449,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/adamjackson\\\/27489845404&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20190114180856\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/adamjackson\\\/27489845404\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-04 09:13:16&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-22 08:16:11&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-07 03:02:02&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-16 00:04:55&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-23 23:41:39&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-09 01:38:05&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-21 05:18:18&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-26 18:49:48&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-04 19:13:29&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-28 04:01:13&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-02 04:41:33&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-02 04:41:33&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>The motorcycle ownership experience has completely changed how I plan my day, explore the roads, interact with others and overall it\u2019s a bit of a pain in the butt. Of course, like most riders would agree, the experience of riding has many benefits that outweighs the inconvenience of living your day-to-day life on a 2-wheeled scooter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you pick up Porter?\u201d is a text from Heather that I received within the last 2 weeks or \u201cCan you grab some fire-wood on your way home?\u201d or \u201cI locked my car keys in the car, can you drive me home and we\u2019ll carpool in tomorrow?\u201d or recently from a co-worker, \u201cWe\u2019re all going out after work, you should join us\u201d. In all of these cases, the motorcycle gear I was wearing, the fact that I didn\u2019t have a second helmet or a side-car or 4-wheels kept me from achieving these requests. It\u2019s 45 minutes to my house from town so that\u2019s a 1.5 hour round trip to go and get my car and do what is asked of me except the fire-wood thing, I managed to pull that off:<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View &#039;Hauling Wood - R1200 GS&#039; on Flickr.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/adamjackson\/27489845404\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  loading=\"lazy\"  decoding=\"async\"  style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"Hauling Wood - R1200 GS\"  width=\"640\"  height=\"480\"  border=\"0\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7617\/27489845404_0217be58a3_z.jpg\" ><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If I\u2019m out for a solo ride with no chance of being needed to take care of something, the bike is a dream. Because I\u2019m a new rider, everything bike related excludes my GF and anyone I know socially. If I go for a beer-trip, or go camping, if it\u2019s on my bike, it will be a solo endeavor. This will change next year when Heather gets her own gear and I feel confident enough to have her ride with me but that\u2019s a full year from now.<\/p>\n<p>Since taking ownership of the bike in April, I\u2019ve ridden 4,000 miles. The tires look great, the bike itself is in good shape and I\u2019m taking it in for its first major check-up. I did have the brake-fluid flushed and new tires put on in April but those were necessary things to go riding. A few areas of the bike are troubling and I\u2019m about to embark on a 4 day trip to and from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania which is 1200 miles excluding any detours that I take (for which there will be many). On my list for the BMW Dealer to review:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Replace my fuel tank under warranty since the fuel strip has failed and my gas light is always on showing 0 miles range (an item known by BMW and warrantied for 12 years past the standard warranty)<\/li>\n<li>Inspect and replace battery if needed (Hard start w\/ a battery icon is a daily occurrence and since I plan on charging my iPhone on this trip while riding, I need to have confidence in the bike starting after every stop)<\/li>\n<li>Inspect and repair some of the broken clips for my fairings and hopefully finish the season on these fairings before replacing them w\/ red 2009 R1200GSA fairings next year<\/li>\n<li>Inspect Brakes, Clutch, Tires for any possible issues<\/li>\n<li>Do 12K mile service<\/li>\n<li>Replace both headlights since they\u2019re reaching end of life given the Odometer and age of bike. These are still the original headlights<\/li>\n<li>Install my USB 3 charger that mounts on handle-bars<\/li>\n<li>Adjust clutch if possible to allow for a quicker grab when starting<\/li>\n<li>Inspect the vibration I get in my foot-pegs \/ butt when cornering. I think the vibration is from the rear wheels. I hope it\u2019s not an expensive fix.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I think the total spend will be around $500. If it\u2019s more than that, well I\u2019ll have to pick &amp; choose what I get done. I may just wait on the 12K maintenance and do it after Pittsburgh and do 12K + remaining things then. I can\u2019t afford new fairings this year but next year will be a bit more improvements. Fairings, Lighter Brakes, more dirt focused tires, larger wind-screen, cruise control lock and LED aux lights so that would mean 2015, I put roughly 1K into the bike, next year roughly $1500 on top of the normal stuff like payments, gas, insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The bike usage has been pretty good. On days Heather has other engagements in addition to work, I ride to and from work which is usually 3 days a week unless it\u2019s raining then I drive. On other days, we carpool alternating between my car and hers. On the weekends, any thing that will fit in my luggage boxes, I\u2019ll go on solo errands buying house stuff, fire-wood, deli sandwiches and things where she stays home and gets me time. Even after she gets full gear and I\u2019m a better rider, I don\u2019t think commuting together on the bike is in our cards.<\/p>\n<p>I did the Yankee Beemers Rally, I\u2019ll go to Pittsburg on my bike, I missed a motorcycle track day local to me because I was in Montreal but there\u2019s another in August which I will absolutely go to. It\u2019s $250 and the track is 3 miles from my house.<\/p>\n<p>Barring any life events, I\u2019d like to pay off the bike next year and own it and start saving for another bike to buy some time around 2020. The 1200 GSA is a wonderful bike. Decent on trails and great on the road but it has really shown me that I\u2019d prefer to own a dual-sport bike (a real one) for trails and a sport bike for commuting. The 1200 GSA is a road-trip bike that takes on any terrain with good hauling capacity, great gas mileage and really good comfort so long as you run an aftermarket seat and get cruise control added via a handle-bar mod. It\u2019s not fast and it\u2019s not great off-road. I think a BMW S1000 and a KTM250 CC dual sport bike would be great compliments to the R1200 GSA. If I had to pick between those 3 though, I\u2019d still go 1200 GSA. It is by far the most practical and that\u2019s saying a lot considering it\u2019s still a motorcycle.<\/p>\n<p>This year, I still want to drive across to the mid-west and back on the bike but if not, I still plan on taking the R1200 down to Florida to leave with my Dad for storage and safe-keeping. I\u2019d likely get the replacement fairings done there, ride on the current tires up to New Hampshire and replace them after that as they\u2019ll be at the 10K mark by then.<\/p>\n<p>A co-worker gave me the logical question that when you add up the $590 a month for my Golf R and $243 a month for my R1200, I essentially could afford a 55K USD car, I\u2019d be in used Porsche territory by then but honestly, the Bike and Golf R are both equally as fun. The Golf R is a daily driver (for now) and is reliable along with a blast to drive. The R1200 takes me places the Golf R cannot. Riding it on my back-roads, it\u2019s far better on my back and neck than the Golf R due to the Golf\u2019s track-tuned suspension and if I\u2019m by myself, the R1200 gets 20 more MPG and is actually cheaper the maintain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m so happy that a year ago, I started reading and learning about bikes and I\u2019m happy that I found a bike that works for me. The V-Strom and Africa Twin would be cheaper overall to own, the BMW is a total blast.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Next year, I\u2019d like to buy some different gear. I\u2019d keep my current gear for foggy rainy days below 70F and find some gear that I wear in temps that exceed 90F while still being comfortable and most importantly, protected.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026and that\u2019s my update on the whole motorcycle thing :)<\/p>\n<p>PS: If any riders are going through Canaan or Enfield New Hampshire, roll down the proverbial window and give me a wave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The motorcycle ownership experience has completely changed how I plan my day, explore the roads, interact with others&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2016-07-05T21:29:53Z","apple_news_api_id":"aed7349e-ab83-4d2d-bfb9-dcf416fbcd65","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2016-07-05T21:29:53Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Artc0nquDTS2_udz0FvvNZQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-my-bike","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-1Ak","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5727,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/04\/07\/the-motorcycle-safety-foundation-msf-training-via-m-o-s-t-review-re-cap\/","url_meta":{"origin":6096,"position":0},"title":"The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Training via M.O.S.T. Review &amp; Re-Cap","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday, I arrived at Harley Davidson in Concord, NH to take part in a training course organized by MOST Rider Training. They teach around 400 people a year how to ride in a basic course but they offer intermediate and advanced training as well. This figure compares to the state\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"M.O.S.T. Motorcycle Safety Foundation Training - Concord, NH","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1710\/25948447290_8dd324982c_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1710\/25948447290_8dd324982c_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1710\/25948447290_8dd324982c_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5634,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/03\/30\/motorrad-gearing-up-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":6096,"position":1},"title":"Motorrad: Gearing Up (2016)","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"March 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"More gear is arriving. I did a lot of research in what to buy and I\u2019m pretty happy with my first go at dual-sport gear. Forma Adventure Boots Size 13 Brown - $279.00 Motored Helmet Care 200ml - $9.99 Racing Tall Moto Socks Size 10-13 Black - $15.99 Alpinestars Andes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Motorcycle Socks & Helmet Spray","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1616\/25788188475_3a04871d78_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1616\/25788188475_3a04871d78_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1616\/25788188475_3a04871d78_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6303,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/10\/17\/properly-maintaining-your-car-motorcycle-costs-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":6096,"position":2},"title":"Properly Maintaining your Car \/ Motorcycle Costs Money","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"October 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This is probably the most \u2018duh\u2019 blog-title ever but I\u2019ve had a few recent experiences that have lead me to see that people really don\u2019t properly maintain their vehicles. While I\u2019m the kind of person who does more than I should, most of the Americans I meet simply do what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Car&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Car","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-car\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5968,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/06\/28\/motorradyankee-beemers-pemi-river-rally-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":6096,"position":3},"title":"Motorrad:Yankee Beemers Pemi River Rally &#8211; 2016","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"June 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As a BMW MOA member, I was looking for events in my area and saw a BMW club in Massachusetts having a Rally just 30 miles from where I live. 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I would spend all day at the surf shop and start each morning calling the surf report hotline with a pre-recorded message updated 3 times a day of the conditions, \u201cglassy with moderate chop and 90 second swells 2\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12427,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2025\/01\/08\/linked-hey-america-you-dont-need-a-full-size-pickup-truck\/","url_meta":{"origin":6096,"position":5},"title":"Linked: &#8220;Hey, America: You Don&#8217;t Need a Full-Size Pickup Truck&#8221;","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Via The Drive: \/ Kottke: \/ Kottke:\u00a0 I have to defend myself too much on this one. I emailed someone a while back who reached out to me asking why I drive a truck and \u201cyou don\u2019t seem like a typical truck owner\u201d and berated me for driving a gas-guzzler\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}