2 week ride in the Rockies

[Wadadli]

Just got back from a two week trip out West and thought I'd share some photos. Left Toronto for Denver, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Jasper, Banff, Calgary for the Stampede and home via North Dakota. 10,000km in total.

See if you can tell which one was taken at the Stampede? What a wild party too bad they ran out of beer mugs...

 

[matthew]

thanks for sharing

 

[Scary]

Excellent pictures. Did you find that the handling of your bike changed significantly with all your gear on the back of it?

 

[Wadadli]

Excellent pictures. Did you find that the handling of your bike changed significantly with all your gear on the back of it?

Not really its a big bike and the balanced gear weight is significantly less then a passenger. Also I prefer to have everything behind me and don't use a tank bag.

The only pain was getting on and off the bike. With the Duffle bag across the passenger seat you can't swing you leg over so it was a sort of a one legged "Karate Kid" move to get on and off. Once on it was real comfortable and the bag provided a bit of back support.

 

[DJM]

Nice pics. K1200S is one of the "wish I owned" bikes on my list. What was your overall impression with it on the trip?

 

[Wadadli]

Nice pics. K1200S is one of the "wish I owned" bikes on my list. What was your overall impression with it on the trip?

The bike is great for traveling long distance. The power is amazing and the shaft drive is maintenance free riding.

It does however tend to attract attention:

 

[Scary]

The only pain was getting on and off the bike. With the Duffle bag across the passenger seat you can't swing you leg over so it was a sort of a one legged "Karate Kid" move to get on and off. Once on it was real comfortable and the bag provided a bit of back support.

Ha! Nice. Yeah I could see that being a pain - but it's funny to imagine.
Did you have any 'oh crap' moments on the trip or was it pretty relaxed? Were you carrying extra fuel? After seeing this thread and the Alaska thread, I'm seriously thinking about doing something like this also

 

[Wadadli]

Ha! Nice. Yeah I could see that being a pain - but it's funny to imagine.
Did you have any 'oh crap' moments on the trip or was it pretty relaxed? Were you carrying extra fuel? After seeing this thread and the Alaska thread, I'm seriously thinking about doing something like this also

Two wholly crap moments I guess.

1/ At Yellowstone you stop at a toll both to pay a $20 entry fee. Then about 15 minutes later you get to the official entrance where they check your receipt and offer you a map etc.. So I pull up show my receipt etc... and as I'm about to go my buddy says on the intercom (Scala Rider G4) "This is crap I ain't showing them *****" and blows past me and the gate saying "come on they'll never catch us" This leads to a spirited ride through the park with me expecting some sort of road block around the next corner. Later that night my buddy confessed the lady at the gate had waved him on but since I hadn't noticed he decided to have some fun. He got me good.... It was a fun ride though

2/ We were trying to make Marquette Michigan for our last night and ended up riding until 11:30pm. Riding at night is something I try to avoid as wild life can really mess you up. We must have seen at least 25 deer along the road. One was actually standing up on the shoulder as we passed, another one was doing a straight bee-line run out of the bush towards the highway and the scariest one of all doing a darting back and forth run along side of us. Not sure if it would bound onto the road or into the bush. Thank God I have a Stebel air horn and my buddy has an obnoxiously loud pipe.

As far as Gas cans: I don't ride with one. My bike will cover 250km and my buddies will likely go 350. I usually fill up anytime after 200km. I try and keep to the secondary roads and you usually pass though a town every 50km or so. Only after 9pm would I be worried as the stations tend to close down for the night.

If you are thinking about it just do it! You won't regret it. It truly is the best way to travel.

 

[RonnieRev]

Nice pictures man, did you go solo ?

 

[Wadadli]

Nice pictures man, did you go solo ?

Nah same as last year when I went to Vegas. Road out of TO with a buddy and met my brother out west for the middle portion of the trip. Next year hmmm.. New Orleans and Key West or East Coast including The Rock.

Might upgrade tho: (My baby just rolled over 80k)

 

[Scary]

... and as I'm about to go my buddy says on the intercom (Scala Rider G4) "This is crap I ain't showing them *****" and blows past me and the gate saying "come on they'll never catch us" This leads to a spirited ride through the park with me expecting some sort of road block around the next corner.

That's friggen hilarious! Nothing better than an adrenalin rush filled ride, putting some lean into your corners trying to get away

I know exactly what you mean about night riding, I'm the same way. I don't mind buzzing along at speed during the day but at night I get nervous because there's a fair amount of animals around here. That would definitely be pretty dodgy, deer running back and forth beside you like that...

My biggest concern about touring is seat positioning on my bike (gsxr1000). After 5 or 6 hours on the bike, I feel like I just got off a horse. BUT, if that girl in the other thread can ride to alaska on a busa, I don't see why I can't do something similar on mine

 

[Wadadli]

Short video of Glacier National Park

 

[LGdrama]

Next year hmmm.. New Orleans and Key West or East Coast including The Rock.

Looks like it was a blast! This trip is something I've always wanted to do ( it's on the bucket list)
I'm thinking about doing it this summer. Just not sure if I want to go solo nor do I have 2 weeks - do you think it's possible to do it in a shorter time span?

Was there a lot of preplanning for this trip? Routes/gas stations/hotels or camping/ attractions etc?how many kms/hours In a day did you guys ride?

If you're looking for a riding partner for next years trip - let me know!

 

[klr_guy]

The bike is great for traveling long distance. The power is amazing and the shaft drive is maintenance free riding.

It does however tend to attract attention:

Nice. I was expecting a police car - your pic was a much better option.

 

[Wadadli]

do you think it's possible to do it in a shorter time span?

Was there a lot of preplanning for this trip? Routes/gas stations/hotels or camping/ attractions etc?how many kms/hours In a day did you guys ride?

We averaged 1000 km per day for the first three days then let up to 500-700 kms per day. We spent 1/2 day in Jasper and 2 days in Calgary at the Stampede (including rear tire change). We blasted home from Calgary in 3 1/2 days. Straight and boring. Sure you could do it faster but with the heat, road construction and various distractions I'm not sure how practical or fun it would be.

Planning is Easy. I Google mapped it and highlighted the original plan on paper maps. We tended to ride past the original destinations and took whatever local advice we could get to alter the route for move interesting roads. I just highlighted the change with a different colour highlighter.

I would not want to do such a trip without at least two extra days that you can add on if needed.

We usually road until we wanted to stop and grabbed a hotel. We did camp twice, Once because we wanted to and once because it was late and all the hotels were full.

Nice. I was expecting a police car - your pic was a much better option.

I think they were "under-the-covers" officers

 

[7up]

Hi Wadadli,
Thanks for sharing. A trip like this is so high up on my wish list!! Beautiful.
Glad to see you home safe and I hope we cross paths again soon. I'd like to hear the stories over lunch during a break in a ride
Remember to keep me in mind when it is time to sell....80,000 in BMW km's is like 280,000 in Suzuki clicks. lol. I'll take good care of her too.

 

[Wadadli]

Hi Wadadli,
Thanks for sharing. A trip like this is so high up on my wish list!! Beautiful.
Glad to see you home safe and I hope we cross paths again soon. I'd like to hear the stories over lunch during a break in a ride
Remember to keep me in mind when it is time to sell....80,000 in BMW km's is like 280,000 in Suzuki clicks. lol. I'll take good care of her too.

Sure thing I love talking about my trip at least the sober parts I can recall. I'll keep an eye on the "Still in the Game Rides" BTW I think you have it backwards 80K on a BMW is like 28K on a Suzuki...ha

 

[Wadadli]

Thought I'd add a couple more shots