Back in September I bought a new 2006 R1150R in Montreal (sight unseen over the phone), and then had a long wait until I could go and get it, June 2007 to be exact . After allot of planning and allot of waiting I finally went to get it. My friend who had been prodding me to buy the BMW said he would make the trip with me, so the week before I left he rode his HD Sportster to Ottawa and meet me at the dealer in Montreal for the trip back to Newfoundland.
My biggest worry for the trip was the weather. When my buddy left Newfoundland it was 4C (39F) raining and he ran into sleet and hail on the west coast of the island (it was a very cold spring here). He did have heated gear which I don't have so he called and told me to bring lots of warm cloths. His ride to Ottawa was mostly wet and my luck wasn't looking any better. As my departure date got closer the more I checked the weather and the more worried I got. As expected the weather was going to be the bad when I arrived in Montreal and it was. The taxi ride from the airport to the dealer was in pouring rain and I was getting worried about getting use to a new different bike, clutch and ABS in the rain. During the wait for the bike as they installed the guards and did the final pre-delivery check the weather began to break. Since I was driving all the way back to Newfoundland they went over the bike with a fine tooth comb, good thing too. As it happens when they filled the tank all the way up they noticed a fuel leak around the fuel pump tank gasket. With the leak fixed the bike was delivered just after my buddy arrived from Ottawa.
My new ride in front of the dealer
Getting ready to load her up for the trip
The rain stayed away long enough for me to get the bike all loaded, my rain gear on, and get going. It didn't stay that way for long and as we progresses through Montreal we were in and out of showers. Derek lead the way so I could concentrate on learning the boxer ways and because of the rain I stalled a few times till I got the hang of the new clutch and power.
Stopped outside of Montreal for some lunch a little later than we planed due to the delay at the dealer.
The intent was to stay on the country roads along the St. Lawrence to stay in the break-in limits for the first 1000Km (the service guy said to stay below 4K RPM for the first 300Km then just don't go over 80% throttle). Our first day was going to be a 550Km ride to Rivera du Loop up the shore road but we got behind and ended up having to get on the highway to make up time. The weather got worse with rain, fog and cold. This bike was great on the highway and in the rain and my worry about the rain soon disappeared with each mile. It was 10:30 and dark when we arrived in Rivière du Loup in the pouring rain, we were tired but dry and the grin on my face was a mile wide.
The next morning still pouring
The next day we were heading to Moncton Newbrunswick to the BMW dealer there for the first service. The day started off wet again but started to dry out after a couple of hours and by the time we arrived at the dealer it was a beautiful sunny warn day. Dropped the bike off at the dealer just at closing for the first service in the morning as planned. We relaxed in Moncton and picked up the bike around 10:30 all clean and ready to go.
Nice Clean bike again thanks to the great guys at Atlantic Motorplex in Dieppe.
Another picture of clean bike, this was the first time I had ridden the R without the bags and gear.
With the bad weather behind us we headed to North Sydney to catch the ferry to Newfoundland
Going up Kelly's Mountian Cape Breton
The down side of Kelly's Mountian
Waiting for the ferry in North Sydney departure time 11:30 pm.
Thanks to Derek who has made this trip before my bike is strapped down safe and sound for the overnight trip.
In the morning we arrived around 6:30am to fog and light rain so we geared up in complete rain garb for the 900Km ride across the island. As we crossed the mountains outside of Port aux Basques the weather started to clear.
This is a famous area of Newfoundland called the Wreakhouse where the wind funnels down through the surrounding hills and can sometimes blow over transport trucks, when we had trains some would be blown off the tracks in this area.
A view from my grandmother's in Corner Brook. (notice the snow on the distant hills)
One last stop for food.
After purchasing the R back in September I had a lot of time to think about the trip and my decision and if I had done the right thing, but after this trip I know I did and I would do it again in an instant.
Derek and I in front of my house after 2672Km, the only time we got our picture together, we both had the same thoughts "is it over, lets go again" no regrets.
All clean with the flyscreen installed.
The bike is great and is the only one in Newfoundland, it gets tons of looks and comments.
Lots of Thanks to the many many people who contribute to this site, it's because of the information and knowledge contained within that I felt confident buying the R. (I think I looked all of the pictures twice on the site during my 8 month wait)
Shane
..Great pictures.. 
...Thanks for posting them for us...btw...I like it best with the small flyscreen.
...Just kidding..I've had mine 6yrs and I'm still smiling.. 
(Gambo)
I'll bet you're pleased with your purchase....and I like the exhaust colour turning to blue.
