Early Fall Trip

[BLAIR1200R]

The ride through West Texas last week was great intro to moto-camping for both me and my buddy. The months of gearing gathering and planning paid off. We used virtually every piece of equipment we packed and everything worked great.

We experienced sunny skies, dust storms, and an early cold front that brought rain and cooler temps... enjoyed every bit of it. Hard to gear up for such a wide range of weather, but things worked out.

We also had fun with Apple products...my wife used an iPad app to track our progress real time that she said worked pretty good, except when we lost cell signal in the mountains, I used an iPhone on a RAM mount for both GPS w/ voice nav (3rd party product) and for tunes on the road.

The R1200R was fantastic. Even in the sustained higher speeds (out West the posted limit is 80 mph), I simply leaned down on the tank bag to get a bit more relief from my sport screen. The twisty road along the Rio Grande was custom made for the R12 ... my ride partner said, "what's the deal, you never used your brakes ? ! I said, "yeah, we talked about that some on the BMW forum"
His FJR1300 is also a fantastic bike!

Here's some picts -->

[Snapping Twig]

Looks like a great time was had by all.

We're in the process of remodeling the kitchen, 4 weeks into it with as many to come and I have an overnighter planned when it is finished.

My friends say the same thing about my not using the brakes. The Pace is a good thing, flow.

Oddly enough, a friend and I went on a week long tour of Northern California last June. He also rides an FJR 1300. I remember looking at it in my mirrors from time to time and marveling at how nice a figure it cut on the road, real muscular. Handled well too.

We did take a trip out to the coast at Legget where the world famous "Ride-through Redwood Tree" is located. When we finally got off that roller coaster, I had a grin as big as the Joker, he... did not.

[AncientMariner]

Nice pix! Thanks for sharing.

How about showing us your list of camping gear.

Bruce

[MTBeemer]

Annie and I camp about 9 nights out of 10 when we travel. This year we've been on the road almost 10 weeks so that's a bunch of camping. Saves money in a big way. We have our load plan down to a science. The only cooking we do is boiling water with a jet boil. Dinner is often meat, cheese, humus and wine.

[KMalo]

Great pix. Good story. I'll bet you do more motorcycle camping

May I ask what top case you have mounted? It looks to be sitting much lower and maybe more forward that the OEM boxes I've seen -- and those are good things as far as I'm concerned.

Chuck

[BLAIR1200R]

Annie and I camp about 9 nights out of 10 when we travel.

WOW.. that's great! ... and a long time to sleep on the ground!

May I ask what top case you have mounted?

Factory BMW system case, 28 liter

How about showing us your list of camping gear.

Here's my packing list in no particular order... might have stuffed a few more things in the night before. Side case weight was 25 lbs each, top case 20 lbs, tank bag ~2 lbs

• (2) zip-off cargo pants
  (4) ride shirts
  (4) ride socks
  (3) ride pants liners (Under Armour Heat Gear)
  (3) underwear
  (2) tee shirts
  (2) Lg sleeve thermal tops
  Sleeping shorts
  Sleeping tee
  Thermal jacket (Mountain Hardware Zonal)
  
  Helmet
  Helmet beenie
  Moto pants
  Moto jacket
  Moto Gloves
  Moto glove liners
  Moto Boots
  
  Shave bag
  Shower towel (REI)
  Camp soap
  Flip Flops
  
  Jet Boil (Flash)
  Coffee cup (REI)
  Utensils
  Bottle opener
  (6) Power Bars
  Bag of pistachios
  Bag of nut crunch
  Camp meals (Backpacker's Pantry, various)
  Instant Coffee (Starbucks VIA)
  Fire Starter Stix
  Lighter
  Knife (Gerber)
  (2) Flashlights
  (4) Glow sticks
  Tent (Nemo Morpho 1P)
  Nemo footprint
  Sleeping bag (Mountain Hardware Pinole 20)
  Thermarest
  Camp chair (Alite Monarch)
  Net Hammock
  Camp towel
  Emergency TP
  
  (2) Hats (baseball & thermal)
  Sunglasses w/ case
  Prescrip glasses
  
  Clear visor
  Sm Plexus
  Microfiber cloth
  Air compressor
  Tool kit / tire kit
  Spare Key
  20W/50 in 6.5 oz container
  Sony camera and charger
  iPhone and charger
  Pigtail for chargers
  Map (Hardcopy)
  (1) 1 ltr Platypus bottle
  (1) 2 ltr Platypus bottle

[R12RnHouston]

Awesome!

The picture with your tents pitched… is that Davis Mountains Sate Park? Looks like a nice site.

I love my Nemo Losi II; are you happy with your Nemo Morpho?

David

[BLAIR1200R]

The picture with your tents pitched… is that Davis Mountains Sate Park? Looks like a nice site.

I love my Nemo Losi II; are you happy with your Nemo Morpho?

Yeah, that's site 47... not many tent campers there that day. The cool thing was that Steve had only viewed our campgrounds on Google, so he didn't know what the hills looked like...he really enjoyed the scenery.

Morpho pros are - fits perfect in my tail bag, sets up faster than any tent I've owned ... cons are - it's a single wall tent (no fly) and I get some condensation on the inside, regardless of weather condition. We had wind, rain, cool and cold-ish weather, and it handled all without issue, so I like it. I also like the quality of the product... seams, stitches, air beams, everything seems very well designed & manufactured.

[abambach]

how about the route, can you share? thanks

[janda]

Thanks for the photo's, and comments were interesting. I liked your comprehensive list. Weather forecast is very good for this coming week. My plans are a few days riding with a friend from NJ, then a few days on my own for Vermont and New Hampshire. Really looking forward to it!

[BLAIR1200R]

how about the route, can you share?

Leg 1 - Hooked up in Weatherford, I-20 all the way to Pecos, then 17 down to Davis Mtns St Pk
Leg 2 - 17/67 to Presidio, 170 along the river (epic), pickup 118 outside of Terlingua, and Chisos Basin Rd to Big Bend camp
Leg 3 - Chisos Basin Rd to 385 out of the National Park (epic) and all the way to Fort Stockton, then East on I-10 to S. Llano
Leg 4 - 377/29 through Mason to Llano (I know this area well and like to take 16 all the way back to I-20)

Mileage is approximately L1 = 463, L2 = 190, L3 = 348, L4 = 280

[BLAIR1200R]

My plans are a few days riding with a friend from NJ, then a few days on my own for Vermont and New Hampshire. Really looking forward to it!

Hope you made the trip janda

I like the fact that you plan to solo for part of the trip. I think I might give that a try next trip as well.

I really enjoy the fellowship of other riders, but enjoy the solitude of solo riding / camping as well. I've been on trips with larger groups too and that's a lot of fun, but found that things are really easy with a smaller numbers ... gas stations, places to eat, overall decision making... the list goes on.